Category Archives: December

Right and Wrong

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“All mine!” Yertle cried.
“Oh, the things I now rule!
I’m the king of a cow!
And I’m the king of a mule!
I’m the king of a house!
And, what’s more, beyond that.
I’m the king of a blueberry bush and a cat!
I’m Yertle the Turtle!
Oh, marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see!”
Yertle the Turtle



If you follow my blog, you know I’m a fan of Dr. Seuss. His stories are not only entertaining but also teach morality.

Recently I read a thesis on Dr. Seuss written by a young woman. She wrote about how Dr. Seuss stories always have a political theme and because of this, his stories are not suitable to read to young children. She believes that young children are not smart enough to understand these political themes.

This young college student obviously does not have children. Unfortunately, because I don’t know how to contact this woman, I am unable to tell her how wrong she is.

When my son was very young I would read to him Yertle the Turtle, his favorite bedtime story. Before he could walk, he would crawl over to his bookcase in his room and drag this large green book to me. With little talking he could do, he would ask me to read this story. Up until he was two or three years of age, I must have read this book to my son well over 100s of times.

Yertle the Turtle made such an impact on my son, that I believe his values, his political beliefs and his compassion for the difference between right and wrong are due to this simple story, Yertle the Turtle.

If you are a young parent, and you wish to teach your child about standing up for their self, about compassion for every living thing, bullying, and yes a little about politics and power, then you should be reading this book to your child.

Yertle the Turtle and all of Dr. Seuss books are not just entertaining to read out loud, but they are a great way to teach our children the difference between right and wrong.

Shine On

Some Things Never Change

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“From my tribe I take nothing,
I am the maker of my own fortune.
A single twig breaks,
but the bundle of twigs is strong.
Show respect to all people,
but grovel to none.”
Tecumseh
 
 
  • Tecumseh (March 1768 to October 5, 1813)
    A Shawnee leader who became the primary leader
    of a large Native American confederacy in the early 19th century.

With Thanksgiving behind us, I realized I had not heard one newscaster or for that matter, one government official mention Native Americans. This nation began with the genocide of the Native Indians. I often wonder what North America would look like without its 1492 landing and the fore fathers that confiscated it unlawfully.

I’ve been reading and listening to the news about the Coronavirus impact on Native Americans. There’s one article in particular written by Lizzie Wade in Science Magazine that was eye opening about the COVID-19 data on Native Americans which is a national disgrace. I hope you’ll take the time to read the article.

This country hasn’t respected Indigenous people since the day we set foot on their land. It angers and saddens me that some things never change.

Shine On

Good Reads Goal

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“A man only learns in two ways,
one by reading, and the other by
association with smarter people.”
Will Rogers

2015 yyib header maxres
Congrats! You have read 100 books of a goal of 100!
2015 Reading Challenge

The beginning of the year, I made a commitment on the Good Reads website to read 100 books by the end of the year. Well, I’m happy to report that I was able to reach my goal.

I enjoy reading, so it wasn’t that difficult to read all the books I read. Although, I would have liked to read more of the classics. But while on my reading journey, I discovered some new authors and ended up reading most of these new authors books.

My plan for 2016 is to continue reading more with the coming year. However, I need to do more writing this year than reading. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to concentrate more on my writing.

I figure, if I put as much effort as I did to reading this past year into writing, I’ll be able to finish my novel by the end of 2016. With any luck, by this time next year maybe my novel will be on someone else’s Good Reads goal.

Shine On