Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!     – Dr. Seuss

 Theodor Seuss Geisel was a wonderful writer who has shape the imagination of so many generations.    The first book I remember  checking out was  One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish from Oxford Elementary ‘s library and I checked it out so many times that my Mom finally made me stop.  Between the silly drawings and the funny sentences what child would not be mesmerized by these stories?  The worlds and characters he created you just wished you could go and visited and play for the day.

These books opened your imagination and the possibilities that could be out there in life. Why can’t eggs and ham be green?   Who knows maybe there is a tiny planet no bigger than a speck of dust? Your wish is that all children have the opportunity to read and experience the cat in the hat,   the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, Thing 1 and Thing 2 and to know that there is beauty, silliness and hope out there.   I discovered last year that Dr. Seuss is not known to all the parents or children. Jay and I were on the island of Dominica which is one of our favorite ports  to explore.  We had been there several times and decided this time to be ambitious and hike to  Middleham falls.  The hike is two hours long and the trail is slippery and rocky and I was not sure if I was going to make it. One of our guides was also named Cindy and we stuck up a conversation about kids as she guided me along the path.  Cindy was in her 50’s and had three children her youngest was 8 and she also was a grandmother. She did this hike about four times a week and could maneuver like mountain goat over the rocky and root filled paths.  As I’m resting at one point I asked her has anyone ever called her Cindy Lou Who.  She had never heard of Dr. Seuss nor had she ever seen The Grinch That Stole Christmas. Imagine trying to describe this story or any of the stories to someone who had never read or seen these books.    What stood out to me was there are experiences and ideas that you think that most of the world has been exposed to and children books come under that umbrella.  Each of our lives has so much in common but so many differences the goal is to learn from all of them.  

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!