by Mauverneen Blevins
“Until now, I had no complaints. Life had been good to me. I spent the days playing with my dolls, cutting out pictures from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, and talking to my friends, some real, some imaginary.”
From the opening paragraph to the last, Sophia Zufa’s Why God Has Gray Hair is a highly entertaining collection of stories and anecdotes based on the author’s own experiences in a Catholic elementary school.
Weaving a rich tapestry of memories and emotions she carries us from that first, hesitant day of school through her 8th grade graduation. “…my mother says it is something that happens to everyone. I am six years old and therefore must go to school. Who invented it? Maybe that is one of the things I will learn.” I suspect Sophia was a precocious child.
The novel is set in the 1930’s, the years of the Great Depression, but the author does not belabor that fact. Instead she paints vivid pictures of collecting marbles, picking up coal that has fallen from boxcars, and noting quarantine signs on front doors for illnesses we no longer hear very much about, like scarlet fever and diphtheria. The images she evokes can be mesmerizing. A few reminiscences of those “good old days” make you wish you could bring back some of the simpler times — like walking to Midnight Mass on a snowy Christmas Eve.
We meet Zufa’s parents, her brothers, teachers, schoolmates and neighbors – and assorted other characters along the way. Charmingly told through the eyes of her childhood self, most of the book is humorous and will keep you smiling — even laughing out loud at times. Yet don’t be surprised to find a lump in the throat once or twice as well. Most of her short, engaging chapters end with a personal contemplation on what life may have just taught her. Whether learned at that moment or in retrospect, it’s a nice touch.
At a time when the Catholic Church has been getting its share of bad press, it’s nice to be reminded that not every story that comes from a kid who was put through diocesan school system is a scandal. More often than not it’s somewhere between heartwarming and downright hilarious.
If the Catholic Experience is universal, the elementary school experience is even more so. I’m sure every class had it’s own clumsy, not-too-bright Peter Umisal, and “teacher’s-pet” Anna May Vestal, and perennially trouble-making Leonard.
A delightful, easy read, Why God Has Gray Hair is a great addition to any family’s Catholic library. And you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy this book. I’m sure some of God’s gray hair was caused by public school kids.
To visit Sophia Zufa's website and purchase her book, click here.
