Dr. Seuss

As I mentioned last time, we moved from The Pink Palace into The Bat Cave. Mom tells me we only stayed at The Pink Palace for about six months, so I would have been three-and-a-half during that January or February of 1966 when we moved to the house on Pine Avenue (aka The Bat Cave). We lived there for only a year, but I remember so very much from that year. Never, ever believe that the time you spend working with small children is wasted or forgotten. They will remember things that you never expect, and they will learn things that they don't consciously remember. My mind is filled with a million things that I did, or saw, or learned that year. It's as if I came alive while I lived there. Fortunately for me, one of the most important things that happened to me while my mind was coming alive was that my parents subscribed to a book club that delivered Dr. Seuss's books directly to our house.

If you, or your children, or your grandchildren can't quote Green Eggs and Ham without looking at the book; then follow the link this instant and buy it from Barnes and Noble. Do not buy a Nook or Kindle version, and do not buy a video. Buy a real, live book; then sit down with your young person and prepare to read that book until you are so sick of it that you try to sneak out and bury it. If you are very, very fortunate, the same thing will happen to them as happened to me: they will learn to want to read. Yes, someone has to teach them to want to read.

Dr. Seuss created a burning desire to be able to read. I still remember the sheer joy that surrounded the arrival of the latest Dr. Seuss; and I knew that only people who could read were admitted into the magic that was contained within the pages of the book. I had to wait for someone to be willing to read it for me; but they could pick it up and see what was inside any time they liked. I memorized the stories so that I could look at the pictures and know what was happening; but, oh, to be able to pick up any book I wanted and know what was happening anytime I liked! I couldn't imagine a more amazing power. Next to that, all of my Bat-powers were trivial. For people my age, and for people a couple of decades younger, Dr. Seuss opened a world of pure imagination and endless possibilities. He defined life as something to be lived without fear of the unknown. We could walk down Mulberry Street and see amazing things. Even a rainy day could see the arrival of Thing 1 and Thing 2. Anything was possible!

He never did get us to eat things that looked funny, though.