My neighbor saw me fooling around with leaves and might have gone off wondering what kind of “funny business” I have with trees. I wasn’t raking leaves and throwing them away, but picking some up from under a pear tree so I could bring them into the house. It was windy and cooler than usual in San Diego, so I decided I’d try to make my photo-for-the-day inside the house.
I was reminded of a telephone conversation between Muriel and her mother in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” one of J.D. Salinger’s Glass family stories. In the story Muriel and Seymore Glass have just driven down to Florida from Connecticut. Seymore hasn’t been home from the War long (World War II) and is suffering from what we now call "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome." Muriel’s parents are worried about her.
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“Mother,” the girl interrupted, “I just told you. He drove very nicely. Under fifty the whole way, as a matter of fact.


“Did he try any of that funny business with the trees?”

“I said he drove very nicely, Mother. Now, please. I asked him to stay close to the white line, and all, and he knew what I meant, and he did. He was even trying not to look at the trees--you could tell. Did Daddy get the car fixed, incidentally?”--------------
If you haven’t read “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” I recommend it. It’s the first short story in Salinger’s Nine Stories.