A Worn Path

            I personally liked the written story of "A Worn Path" better than the movie. I really did not notice many differences between the two. However, I felt that the story left more to my own imagination that did the film. .
             In both the book and movie, we see an old Negro woman walking from her home in the country to town. She is wearing the same clothing in the film as described in the story. She takes the same path and meets the same characters. Yet in the story, I am allowed to pick the shade of color of her red rag and the length of her dress. In my mind I picture Cleo, our old next-door neighbor, who used to work in her flower garden. I see the scarecrows from my Papa's garden hanging from an old t-post with two broken brooms for arms, and papa's old straw hat on top of his head. In the film, I see the scarecrow created from the imagination of another. I see the size of the creek she must cross, and the age of the log she must trust. The little boy of her imagination is the boy that I see. He has blonde hair and he is wearing shorts held up by suspenders. In the film, the slice of cake is the one I conjure up from those I have eaten in the past. When the old woman falls, I feel her!.
             fall into the ditch after the black dog scares her. I remember when a big dog scared me once. I see two very different dogs - the one that scared me and the one I loved as a child. I picture a white hunter dressed in camouflage, carrying all kinds of hunting gear. He reminds me of a man that my Uncle had to make leave his property one day. The lady in my mind who ties the old woman's shoes is young and kind, and very pretty. The nurse is one that I can relate to, and the doctor's office is a place that I have been to before. Even the degree on the wall is one that I, too, long for. When the old woman talks about getting her grandson a pinwheel, I remember a blue pinwheel that my sister got from the smoke shop when I was little.