To Kill a Mockingbird, Toilet Paper and Post-Its

James and I have officially become regional theatre enthusiasts after seeing "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the Company Theatre in Norwell. It was much better than the production I saw in Boston a few years ago. In fact, it was so good, I feel compelled to become a member of the theatre and sell raffle tickets for cured meat outside of Hannaford's.

Still, the best part of the evening was revisiting Harper Lee's book, which is inarguably one of the best books ever written. It's been required reading in schools for so many years, I'm surprised it has not changed the world. But after several post-cocktails at 53 South, we've come to the conclusion that it's an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing." I think we need to condense the book into digestible, in-your-face chunks of wisdom -- decorative Post-Its, word of the day turlette paper, etc. -- so we can enjoy daily reminders of the world according to Atticus Finch -- a world where good and evil coexist but where putting yourself in someone else's shoes before offering up judgment makes all the difference. Too often, human nature in the real world involves the unmitigated trashing of someone else's perspective -- I'm not just talking about other people's politics or idealogy, but other people's parenting styles, their opinions on pop culture, their grammar, or even their choice of lipgloss. Instead, "self awareness" is often projected outward:"Whatever is wrong with you only makes me look better. " Finch's philosophy: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Daily affirmations like these may not bring about the demise of evil, but maybe they could -- at the very least -- bring about the demise of pettiness.