some of my favourite books - 5

 

okay - i know that i have now admitted to other books being my favourite books but this little book really, really, really is my favourite!

 this has been a go-to book throughout my life whenever troubles seemed to big to bear, or when i worried or wondered if i was making the right decision or choice about something. this book has never let me down.

Dr. Seuss was an amazingly talented man! You can read his wikipedia entry here, as well as visit Seussville.com here, to play games with the Cat in the Hat - teehee!

anyway, like i said above, this book has always held incredible meaning for me. i think i was 4 when my mother first checked it out of the library for me. my mother was allowed to check out 12 books a week and she always let me have four of them. every week for years i checked out this book and 3 others. once i was 6 and could get my own library card, i was allowed to check out 6 books a week. for years, i always checked out this book and 5 others. when i started babysitting when i was 11, i bought myself a copy of this book. that book travelled far and wide with me, had been dropped in the bathtub (i love to read in the bath!) so many times that it was swollen to 3 times it's size! i eventually replaced that book with another which also met a similar fate. i was with jambaloney by that time and so he went out and replaced it the very next day. i guess that you can say that this book has been with me for most of my life.

Dr. Seuss, thank you from the bottom of my heart. whenever people ask me who i would most like to meet, living or dead, i am torn between T. S. Eliot (my favourite poet), Elizabeth the First, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sappho, Malaclypse the Younger, Pope Joan, Sir General Isaac Brock or King Sejong....and then i remember....the person that i would most like to meet is Dr. Seuss. i would love to be able to thank him in person for all of his wonderful books, but most importantly, to me, for writing "Oh, the Places You'll Go" and "The Lorax" (i will do a different post on "The Lorax" as i believe that "The Lorax" contributed greatly to the development of some of my religious and bioregional animism beliefs.).

 

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!"


 

"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 guy who'll decide where to go."

 

"You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, 'I don't choose to go there.' With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street. And you may not find any you'll want to go down. In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.




"It's opener there in the wide open air."
(i often wonder if reading this book so young, so often, is not one of the reasons that i left the city the minute that i could?)
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and for your reading pleasure, here is the rest of the book. take a few minutes to read it and get it's powerful message, won't you?

"Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew. Just go right along. You'll start happening too.

OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't. Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you. You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple, it's not, I'm afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break, or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying. You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping, once more you'll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't. Because, sometimes, they won't. I'm afraid that some times you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance, you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go through the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak.

On and on and on you will hike. And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!"

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i guess now you understand why i love this book so much! it is a wonderful book for children to not only learn phonetics from, but to learn about what to expect from life and how to get around the problems that they may encounter. however, i believe this is a book for adults, too. and that is why i am sharing it with you all!