Here is this week's story: There once was a girl named Rhoda. She grew up in a small apartment in The Bronx, living with her manipulative mother Ida, her loving father Martin , her sports-obessed brother Arnold, and her needy,seemingly depressed sister Brenda. Now, Rhoda was a very unique child. Her grades weren't the best, mostly b's and c's. But, she failed self control, and she passed art with flying colors. Most neighbors recall her sitting by her bedroom window at night, with her pencil and paper in hand. When the time came to see what she would do in life, she chose 4 years of art school. Doing her entrance exam on a book of matches that had a 'draw this' ad on the back, she aced her schooling and she eventually decided to move out of her cramped apartment. Out of all the places she could've lived, she chose Minneapolis. She lived in the attic of a renovated victorian house. She put her flair into it, painting it shades of pink and yellow. Getting a job as a window dresser for a famous deparment store, she was unique. But people wonder why she never found the right guy. Brenda was going through the same problem. She had no sense of self- confidence, but people loved her. They loved her for her humor, her simplicity, basically for being herself. And she couldn't see that. Everyone thought highly of her. Rhoda especially. Brenda wanted to be like Rhoda for her whole life. She used to watch Rhoda draw self portraits and still life, and she didn't have any problem whatsoever doing this. When Brenda realized she needed to learn the facts of life, she didn't ask her mother Ida, she asked Rhoda. Rhoda knew Brenda looked up to her, but she still made mistakes. One mistake that haunted Rhoda was the first time she tried elderberry wine. After just smelling the sickeningly sweet wine, she puked. Now, her brother Arnold was another story. He was a passionate fan of all sports, especially baseball and softball. Because Ida and Martin loved their only boy so much, they made Rhoda play softball too. Martin knew how strongly Rhoda disliked softball, but she played the game and she played it well. Dinner at the Morgenstern house wasn't what you'd expect. Usually, Ida would have to yell for Rhoda Arnold and Brenda to come to the table. Then they'd talk about their day at school. Rhoda usually had problems with girls who couldn't understand her. Arnold didn't really like talking, and Brenda was generally shy. At first-glance, everyone has a way to convay what type of person they are. Rhoda wasn't shy at all, but like her brother, she wasn't a talker. And you wouldn't want to be within at 5-foot radius of her if you weren't prepared to be blown away by her personality. Like her father, she was charming and not very predictable. Brenda, on the other hand, was a true mama's girl. She was always insecure about herself, like her mother had been. She wasn't really into anything specific, but she was great at math. Her grades in math had probably influenced her grammar school teachers to persuade her to become a bank teller. Arnold wasn't really rowdy, and he didn't like to make himself stand out in any situation. His teachers thought he had trouble communicating, so they made him a set of index cards that had things he had to say to someone everyday. Rhoda was a special case. She couldn't focus at all when she hadn't slept well, and she'd focus too much when she was wide awake. She got ok grades, but her teachers thought she was struggling with her subjects. Ida and Martin were puzzled with how often the teachers would complain that they had a lack of communication with the Morgenstern children, especially with Brenda. Brenda was very shy, and she wasn't very good at communicating well with people she didn't really know. She was especially open to talking with her sister and brother, kind of open to talk with her parents, quiet around all members of her family,and horrible at talking with ANYONE she didn't know. Rhoda and Arnold tried very hard to get her to at least say hi to a lonely little girl at the park. It didn't end well. She ended up getting so scared of talking that she started to cry when she approached.