Happy Birthday Theodore Geisel!

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

“How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

all By~ Theodor Seuss Geisel

Dr. Seuss!

Today would have been the 105th birthday of one of the most well-known names in children's literature. In honor of his Birthday I will share with you a few facts about the famous Dr.


1:) His name was Theodore Seuss Geisel - Seuss was his mother's maiden name. He started using it as a pseudonym, or alias, while still in college. He added the Dr later, as a joke, because his father, who was a brew master by trade, had always wanted him to get a doctorate and become a professor.

2:) Between 1937 and 1991, when he died aged 87, he published more than 40 books, which have sold half a billion copies between them - that's more than even J K Rowling's Harry Potter books. He nearly burned his first book, "And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street", after it was turned down by 27 publishers. Never give up !
~ I personally would love to get into his files of stuff he didn't ever publish!

3:) In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Dr. Seuss $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham.Oddly Cerf never paid him the $50. I guess with the millions of books sold by the good Doctor, Bennett figured he didn't need the extra fifty bucks.

4:) Having read that educators believed children couldn't learn to read because their books were boring, Seuss's publisher made up a list of 400 words he felt were important.He then asked Dr. Seuss to cut the list to 250 words and write a book using those words. Nine months later, Seuss, using 220 of the words given to him, completed The Cat in the Hat. This book retained the style, verse rhythms, and all the imaginative power of Seuss's earlier works, but because of its simple vocabulary could be read by beginning readers. I myself remember the boring tales of Dick and Jane and how we were lucky enough to Have Mrs.Dumbar in first grade. She had a full shelf of fun books in the back of her room. Even though it wasn't my first choice to take home and read, I did eventually choose "Hop On Pop" to take home for the week-end. I loved it and was after that a fan of the wonderful crazy zany lines of Dr Suess.

5:) Dr Suess did not have children of his own. He liked them well enough it seems since he devoted many years to entertaining them. He wasn't really fond of spending time with them though. His widow, Audrey, said in an interview that she believed him to be slightly afraid of them. She said he was always thinking: "What will they do next? What will they ask next?" She added: "He couldn't just sit down on the floor and play with them."

6:)Dr. Seuss also wrote books for adults that used the same style of verse and pictures: The Seven Lady Godivas, Oh, The Places You'll Go!, and his final book You're Only Old Once. The final book is a satire of hospitals, and the geriatric lifestyle.

7:)At the time of his death on September 24, 1991, some 200 million copies of his books, translated into 15 different languages, had found their way into homes and hearts around the world. Since then, sales continue to climb year after year.

8:) Six books were produced posthumously, all based on Dr. Seuss materials, with one exception: My Many Colored Days was written by Dr Suess himself in 1973, but the text was not discovered until after his death. Many of these posthumous books, such as Daisy-Head Mayzie and My Many Colored Days, were made into animated specials.

9:) On March 2,2004 the Us postal service unveiled a Dr. Suess stampin celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday. The stamp featured Geisel surrounded by six of the charactors from his books including my two favorites , the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch.

10:) To show support for Dr. Seuss - originally known as Theodore Seuss Geisel - on his birthday, the National Education Association (NEA) will hold its annual Read Across America on Monday, March 2, 2009. The NEA hopes that parents and teachers around the nation will spend some time today to read with a child.


How wonderful an outlook one must have on the world to write such stories as the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch. When asked where he got his ideas from Dr. Suess would usually frown and say he hated that question. He learned his way of rhyming from the pie selling chants his Mother used to sing him to sleep as a child but I would imagine his wildly animated charaters came from his own vivid imagination.

If you have children please spend some time reading to them today and every day. Children learn so much from being read to and they love the attention you give to them. Relax and enjoy a funny rhyming book from the long list of Suess books or choose something you like by another Author. Please spend time with your children. If you don't have children you can still read a childrens book and laugh. Even we adults need a chuckle now and then. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

Another Poetic Wednesday!

"Let your tears come. Let them water your soul. " ~Eileen Mayhew

"The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears." ~John Vance Cheney

"I heard the teardrop hit my pillow before I even knew I was crying." ~Amborella Oltre


Many years ago I used to write every day. I even took writing classes through the mail. I was published in several magazines and really thought I would someday be a "real" writer. Which was my school girls dream. Then My life took some drastic turns and twists and in 1990 I laid aside my pen to deal with life! I never regretted my life. I enjoyed some of it! What I didn't enjoy I am still thankful for because it has made me who I am.. Then Last year Dave and I took a trip to the beach and on the way home I felt tears for no reason. I cried all the way home. Him constantly asking if I was OK.. By the time I got home a poem had already written itself in my mind. My first writing in a lot of years. Today I am including two poems. The last one that I wrote in 1990~ ( I can't believe I found this after all this time. I need to have a serious throwing out around here!) and the first one I wrote when I decided one fine day to take back my dream!


Trucker Husband

Many miles away
you sit in a truck stop
filled with women.
~ And I worry!

They feed you steak
and smell like french perfume
they refill your cup.
~ And I worry!

You look down from your window
at their mini-skirted thighs
zooming along the interstate.
~ And I worry!

The phone rings
late at night
and you're away~ somewhere.
~ And I worry!

But you need not worry!
Cause when the last load is delivered
and your eighteen wheels roll toward home.
I'll be there waiting.
For the love of my Trucker Husband!
written By: Patricia Sawyer

(Patricia Black Holder)
1-10-1990
~before the storm~


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A Tear

A tear dropped from eye today.
Why it fell I can not say!
Was it what I heard,
that you had said?
Was it the thoughts of friends long dead?
Was it a warn of things to come?
Was it because of things I'd done?
He rolled away across my cheek:
He made me feel both small and meek.
I never did decide you see
just why that tear jumped out at me.
But as he dripped down from my chin
I felt the smile begin again.
For tears aren't always for the weak!
Each tear that falls will feed our strength.
And as I brushed that tear away,
I thanked my God for one more day!
For as that tear swept across my face,
He touched my heart and added space!
for Us to grow and change each day,
Sometimes a tear must pass our way.

written by:Patricia Black Sawyer
1-20-2008



We all have trials and troubles. My Daddy used to say
"The sun don't shine on the same dogs back all the time. Either the dog or
the sun one will move!" I thought for many years that Daddy was wrong.
I even kicked my dogs a few times. Hoping the sun would again shine on me.
Today I write something every day.. Not all of it is good.. I am taking several
writing classes on-line.. I never knew there were so many forms of poetry!
I am thankful for the hard times.. they give me emotions to draw on when I am
writing. Be thankful for every day.. for even days with tears are important.
Have a great day today if you can.. and if today brings you tears.. allow them to
build a rainbow with-in your soul!
Patsy

Blessings Rambling Through My Mind Today.!

" Our Greatest Glory in not in never failing but in rising up every time we fail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson~



" Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and repeat to yourself the most comforting words of all " This too shall Pass." ~ Ann Landers~





Troubles of one kind of the other come to every single one of us at some point in our lives. For some of us it seems to be a constant companion but it visits us one and all. It likes to surprise us. We worry over our children fearing they will find trouble. But Trouble will always find them. For some of us we also have the extra trouble of worrying over our parents. Maybe they are old or just forgetful. Maybe either the children or the elder is Ill? Illness in the lives of either can devastate us.



Illness in our lives can bring financial difficulties. Sickness can strike quickly and wipe out any savings quick as a wink. For those without savings even minor illness can spell disaster. I have heard many people say that they can't afford to be sick. I have tried and I really can't think of any one, That I know, who can afford to be sick. But Sickness passes. Most people do recover. The debt is repaid even if it is done slowly.



Most of us feel afraid sometimes. We fear many things. We fear what we don't understand. We fear the future because we don't know what it will bring to us. Will it bring Blessings? Will it bring Troubles? We are scared to imagine what it might deliver to us. We can also fear the things we have already lived through. If you have survived a violent storm you may become afraid of even the mildest thunderstorm. I actually like storms myself, but I understand why some people don't. I'm sure if I ever survived a really violent storm I would feel differently about them too. Some people fear flying, some fear heights. Some fear bugs or spiders or snakes. I knew a lady who was in a car accident and who feared driving or even riding in a car for a very long time afterwards. People can fear absolutely anything. I personally am not afraid of many things. I hate crowds of strangers and mice. I am afraid of both. I don't know why. I Just know that I loath both of them. It is troublesome to fear crowds. That means I hate malls and Christmas shopping. I do those things but they are hard for me.



When we are young we often fear failure. AS we get older and look back we sometimes don't like the way things have turned out. Many things we planned while young , simply didn't come to be. Other things are different than we had hoped for. My Daddy used to say. " God works all things together for Good." What we thought was a failure maybe was part of a bigger and better plan. Daddy also said " Nothing beats a try, But a Failure, and nothing beats a failure, but a try, try again." I have tried and I have failed But I accept that. I have learned from my mistakes. I think That's what my Daddy meant. I have beat a failure By a try try again. I don't fear failure. I do fear not trying.



When my children were small we were often separated for periods of time. A hospital stay with one meant being away from the other two. I hated it then. I am not fond of separation even now. I hated the fact that Anthony lived on the other side of the Country till I went there for a visit. He misses us who still live here in this tiny town where he began life. He however loves it there. "THERE" has become his home. I realized that long before I visited there. I knew his heart was there long before I accepted it. When I visited him in his new home I accepted that he would Most likely always live there. Cooper joined him there this year. Cooper is still dealing with the separation issues in his own way. New Mexico may not capture Coopers heart like it has his brother's But I am almost sure that if it isn't there, It will most likely be some other place besides here. They aren't like me. They enjoy the crowds of the city. I don't. It is only miles that separate us. We talk to each other almost daily. Memories keep us close. Love binds out hearts together even though we are far apart.



I love my children. I loved them when they cried and I loved them when they Talked back to me. I loved them when they did what I hoped they would and I loved them still when they did what I prayed they wouldn't. I let them know when they did wrong. I even let them know loudly some times. But they always knew, even when they were in the wrong that I loved them. They didn't get into trouble often. I count that as a blessing! None have ever been in jail. I count that as a Blessing. I am also blessed that they are all grown now.



I am at a point in my life where I can look back and see some things that I thought of as horrors at the time in a different light. So many trials and troubles have become over time another blessing. Socrates said "Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us!"

Sometimes troubles weigh heavy upon our hearts. Sometimes they cast a shadow that hides our many blessings. It is up to each of us to remember that our blessings are there. I was going to try to day to count my blessings but I ran into a Small problem. I can't count that high. Don't fear failure unless it's the failure to try. Remember you can only be separated from those you love by miles. Love is a binding bond. When you have troubles, meet them head on.
For troubles are quiet often the escort of another blessing. To the world I am sure that I do not appear to be a wealthy woman. My life is rich with blessings and joy. Have the courage to count your blessings. Troubles visit us all. Sometimes they seem to move in to stay. It is natural to feel scared. The most frequently repeated command in the Bible is ~ Be NOT Afraid~ and remember that no matter what the problem is, "This Too Will Pass!" Have a great day!
Patsy

The Long Way Round

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. ~ Doulas Adams -( 1952-2001)

When I was around five I wanted to be a trapeze artist. I had heard of them from my brother David, He had been to the circus and seen one there. I had never seen one but I knew I wanted to be one. I would hang upside down from the top of our swing set and flip and pose for the entire Back yard to watch in wonder. Of Course the only watchers were the chickens and hunting dogs But still I put on a pretty good show. My brother Frank saw me from the garden where he was hoeing one day and with some rope and an old broom handle he made me a swing high up in the China berry tree. I would climb up the boards he nailed to the tree and climb out onto my swing and practice my moves for hours. I could hear the roar of the crowds and the applause in my young mind. I just knew I would be a famous circus performer one day.

A few months later I decided I wanted to be a ballerina. Jimmy nailed a couple of wedges of wood across the back of the smoke house and after adding the handle from daddy's best shovel he declared that it was now my studio complete with a practice barre. I had discovered Ballet while looking through the New World Books Daddy had bought from a salesman. I would hang onto My barre in the back of the smoke house as I ignored the canned goods lining the walls and the ropes of sausage hanging from the ceiling. I could do all of the basic moves. I could twirl and stand on my toes. I was convinced I'd be a great dancer some day.


I was always changing my mind about what I wanted to be. When I got an easy bake oven I swore I would be a great chef some day. My Oldest Sister Trudy would help me mix up cakes and I'd bake one of the cookie sized cakes for every member of the family. I loved My oven till the light bulbs Burst inside the little oven and Daddy took it away. They made a new version after My own children came along. Both my daughter and my step daughter had their own. They too wanted to be chefs for a short time!

I wanted to be many different things. But I always from my first day of school wanted to be a writer. When they made me read ~run spot run ~ I wanted to be a writer. I told the teacher, Miss Dunbar that I would write better stuff than that . I despised Dick and Jane. I whined over Sally and Spot. Finally Miss Dunbar gave me a book from her shelf. It was called " The Big Yellow Umbrella". She told me that if I could read it and tell her what it was about she wouldn't make me read Dick and Jane any more. I read her wonderful book about an Umbrella and was in love with words. From the day I stood in front of her desk with my hands clasped behind me and told her about the book that she didn't think I could read, I never had to read Dick and Jane again. Miss Dunbar was a great teacher. She realized that I had five siblings older than me. She realized that I might already know how to read some words. She even allowed each of us to write something for the class to read aloud. My sentence was " One day I will be a writer and write sentences that will be read a lot by other people." I was the only one who could read it. But Miss Dunbar let me read it to the whole first grade class. I thought they would cheer; they frowned at me.. They called me names. I was different they said.

I was in love with words. I would read every word I could find. I would write words on the wall inside the smoke house when I was supposed to be practicing my Ballet. I would write words in the dirt with a stick beneath the shade of my china berry tree. The rope and broom handle swing rotting away above my head. I wrote poems and stories for my neighbors children and later for my younger brother and sister. I wrote extra stuff for school. Sometimes writing two or three for each assignment then choosing what I thought was best. I even decided to change the smoke house from a ballet studio to a writers studio. Dragging myself a peach crate in there and setting up my own office. I was going to write a mystery book and My sister Mary who was handy with a pencil and could draw anything at all was going to illustrate it. We were talking about it a while back she thinks we could still write a book like that, maybe one day we will..

And then I became a teenager. I was a good teenager. I always did my chores. I helped out in Mama's daycare center with the small kids. I loved to read them stories or make up stories for them.My youngest brother Reuben,would beg me for stories and I would make them up as I went along. I'm sure sometimes I had facts confused but little kids didn't care they loved my stories. I would write things for school and the teachers would tell me that the stories were wonderful, But that I HAD to write in proper form. I hated that too. It was as bad as reading Dick and Jane. And then I discovered the boys. Writing wasn't as interesting to me as were the boys.

I got married the first go round at sixteen. That marriage lasted for eighteen years. I actually did a good bit of writing during those years. Besides the stories I wrote for My oldest son , who came along when I was almost nineteen, I actually wrote a few times for money. I wrote for a newspaper for a while. My Sister-in-law, Camella, and I often working together. We liked to expose things that we thought were secrets or injustices. We would sometimes cause a stir here in this small town. People thought we were trouble makers. I wrote short stories for a couple of magazines and was published quiet a few times. But even though I was writing, I was way off track. Life wasn't taking me where I wanted to go. I wasn't headed in the right direction and I knew it. But I was; I thought; trapped . Finally I bought a lock box and pushed everything inside it and found me a job in a factory. Living takes money and writing was just for fun. And I was a mother with a child so I had to have steady money. I would write sometimes on my napkin as I ate supper in the green walled cafeteria where I worked. I would toss the napkins into my box at home and never look at it again. I wanted to write but I couldn't, life was leading me down another road.

Life took a big turn for me in nineteen ninety. My youngest child Emily was born just after the new year. Emily was sick from day one. I had two other children too and they had almost become my Mama's kids. Anthony was twelve and Cooper was sixteen months old. I was at the hospital and they were with my parents. I missed them But life was taking me where it wanted me to go. I wasn't writing now. I was to busy worrying about my sons, watching over my daughter, and learning to be a single Mother. I was divorced with a sick child and two sons besides her. I was way too busy to write.

I did keep a diary all those years. I pulled out some of the old ones a few months ago. I laughed about some of the things I wrote there. Entry's like ~Thanks God Cooper isn't a midget~ caused me to roll across my bed as laughter pealed from my lips. Cooper is well over six foot tall. But I remember when the nurse told me they thought he would be a midget. They measured him constantly until he grew a tiny bit.. He grew slow.. He took the long way round to get there but now he is Tall. Other entries caused me to cry. ~ Mike died cause we didn't match~ caused me to hang my head and weep remembering the little boy who was Part of Emily's cancer support group. We were all tested for a bone marrow transplant but none of us matched. I was devastated when he died. I was so afraid that Emily would be the next one to go.. And yet she recovered and will graduate from high school this year.

I married for the second time in nineteen ninety four. This Husband, who remains the best thing in my life, came with two more children and a whole lot more work required as a stay home mom. And even the diary stopped for many years. I didn't miss writing. I was way to busy being a Mom and step-mom and wife. I was off on a new path. I read every thing I could get my hands on and I even have some books where I wrote an extra bit in the back. I guess I didn't quiet like the ending of those so I "fixed" it. But I wasn't doing any real writing.


Last Summer, Dave and I went to the beach for a week-end, Taking Cooper and one of his skater friends along. Dave and I were going for a relaxing rest and the boys intended to skate. We even checked into a motel right across from the skate park so that they could run across to it without us having to drag them every where. Something happened that week-end. I was watching Dave sleep and the boys were skating. words began to pour through my mind. I hunted a pencil and searched the room for paper. I finally found a pen but no paper. I made so much Racket that Dave woke up and offered to take me to wal-mart to get what ever I wanted. He had that, I think she's lost it look on his face but still he was willing to haul me, in my crazy state, to wal-mart. I was ready and in the car before he could get his shoes on. I bought paper and two pens. I bought a folder for finished stuff and a pencil with a packet of erasers in all shapes and sizes. Rushing to get it all and get back to the room Just as my mind went Blank. I managed to hold on to one poem as all the other words ran away. But they were only hiding for the week-end.

I have wrote something every single day since then. I have learned something about me too. I was always a writer. I was writing when I rocked Emily in intensive care and told stories that the nurses would sometimes stand still and listen too. I was writing when I explained to my children that sometimes people just have to move into new houses and families have to divide. I was writing when I explained to my new love what Life meant to me and how he would have to act if he intended to share this wonderful life with me. I was writing when I mitigated problems between his children and mine convincing them that we were all going to make it.. I was taking the long road, But I was headed in the right direction.

Last night I sat in my Baby sisters living room and watched her youngest son climb up and down on Dave's knee. He took a liking to Dave last night like never before. Dave has that effect on children sometimes. All of mine say he's a hero. His know he is the greatest dad. And I tell everyone he's my soul mate. Martha had been sitting quietly watching them, when suddenly she asked me. "Patsy, do you remember taking me, when I was little, to run through Emmett's wheat field?" I smiled because I had forgotten till she mentioned it. She talked about how the wheat felt so silky as it brushed against her skin. She said she remembered that I took her there and told her to run and feel the wheat brush against her. She said I took pictures of her there so we could remember the fun that day. She's ten years younger than me so her memory is better. I asked her where we were heading. She laughed and said.. " We were walking to Grand-ma's House." I frowned and said "well we were way off track for Grandma's house.. We could have been to Grandma's house quicker another way." She just laughed and said.. "Yea Patsy, But you ALWAYS took the long way round!"

My sister was right. I always took the long way around. If I was sent next door to borrow sugar I would go way out in the woods behind our house and then run back to the neighbors house. Being sent to grandma's house just a small distance away often meant a trip to the railroad tracks or through My uncle Emmett's fields. I always looked for something more. I was on the right track all along. I was just taking the long way around! Don't be afraid to try paths you haven't walked before. Never fear the unknown. Sometimes there is a short way to reach your destination. But I'm sure you will have more fun and maybe learn something extra if every once in a while you will take the Long way around! Have a great day!
Patsy