​    “Can I get a trampoline?”
     “I want a pogo stick!”
     “And a portable popcorn maker!”
     “I have only one thing to say,” Daddy answered. “Is it on the list?
                                     from Daddy’s Back-to-School Shopping                                              Adventure
                                                    by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
                                                    illustrated by Abby Carter
                                                          Disney/Hyperion, 2015
 
       I’m pretty gullible. When I read Science Fiction, I “suspend my disbelief” and buy-in (so-to-speak) to the author’s premise usually by about page 6.  So, when Amazon announced it is buying Whole Foods, my mind went straight to the future where I'll buy everything in one place--on-line. I'm not sure convenience is worth the price. Imagine: I’ll only have to think of something, and it will appear on some digital or virtual list I make up as I move through my day, ready for me to click on or speak to, or scan a credit card or phone app and voila! It’s mine! Next day, or sooner, drone delivery appears on my doorstep or back porch or where ever I designated. Now, that’s a little scary! What if I need to return something? Like maybe the peaches are too hard or too soft.
     Do-it-yourself check out, I hear, is moving forward at the speed of light. In some test markets, all you have to do is scan the barcode of an item with your phone app and the purchase is made—straight to your credit or debit card. No clunky conveyor belt. No fancy cash registers. No cash. No cashier! Well, when someone figures out how to get all that stuff I bought into and out of my car and onto my kitchen shelves and into the refrigerator. . .
       My mom was a child of the Great Depression. We had enough food stocked on our basement shelves and freezer to last for probably six weeks. When we’d get down to about 5 cans of mushroom soup and 5 cans of tomato soup, a couple of boxes of macaroni and cheese, and 3 packages of frozen mixed vegetables, it was time to go shopping. My mom liked to grocery shop. She always had a list. She always used coupons and she always paid in cash. She stacked her items neatly in the cart, which she always called her wagon.
       Sometimes I got to drive the wagon. Sometimes I got to help find stuff on the shelves. I always got to help put everything away.
       There is no end to the items we must shop for. Clothes, food, light bulbs. Many people use Amazon. I've been known, on occasion, to buy something that's not a book. I even have an accidental Prime! membership.
       Where are the people in this production model? The farmers, the makers of every stripe, the store stockers.
       And what if I have a question?
       When it comes to choosing shoes or peaches or underwear, I like to see and touch and smell, (well, not the underwear) what I’m buying, before I pay a cashier with cash.
                                                                   --stay curious!

     When Fox arrived, he looked over Rabbit’s                           shoulder at the new rug.
     “What a beautiful rug!” he said.
     “What fine-looking red flowers. . .”
     Fox began to walk into the house.
     “Don’t walk on the rug!” shouted Rabbit,                                holding up a paw.
     "Am I supposed to stand outside?
     “Walk along the edges of the room, then,                              said Rabbit. “Just don’t step on the rug.”
                                                         written by Judy Delton
                                                     pictures by Marc Brown
                                                 Parents Magazine Press, 1979
 
       The National Portrait Gallery's exhibit of Marlena Dietrich includes many fabulous photos. One stands out. Marlena is bent over on a low chair or stool. Her face is obscured by a curtain of hair. Nothing in the picture is as important as Marlena’s legs. She was famous for them. Her legs were so famous that her studio insured them. You can see the photo and read the whole article here: 
http://www.npr.org/2017/06/19/533090309/gallery-gives-movie-star-marlene-dietrich-the-big-picture-treatment
       I can’t tell in the image of the photo whether or not Marlena Dietrich is actually wearing stockings. If she was, they would be silk. This was during WWII, and silk stockings were expensive and dear. My father sent my grandmother a pair of silk stockings when he was stationed in Europe during that war. My grandmother tucked them away still in the tissue paper, still in the box. She waited for an occasion important enough to wear something that special. No occasion must have been special enough or worthy enough or important enough. When my mom and aunt went to Babba’s house after she passed away, they found those silk stockings still tucked into their tissue paper—-tucked into their box, never worn. “How said,” I remember my mom commenting, “she never really enjoyed them.”
       My mom gave me a beaded bag that belonged to my Gram. It is a subtle geometric pattern in gold and silver with a little bakelite-looking snap closure. It sat in my drawer for many years, waiting for just the right occasion. That time came a couple of years ago. I went to a very formal wedding and wore a flowy dress with silver beads on it. Perfect. As I packed my Gram’s beaded bag, I imagined her using it on her many occasions: parties, concerts, social events. I felt like she was right there with me.
       When I got home, I unpacked the bag and noticed some of those tiny beads were missing. Some of the delicate threads holding them together had worn out and let go. Sadly, I put the bag back in its box and kept it in its drawer for another while.
       A couple of weeks ago, I took it to an antique dealer I know. I wondered if he could recommend someone to fix it, or if it was even worth fixing. Well, no. No markings identified a designer or manufacturer. The beads were not gold or silver (I already knew that!) and the colors would probably be impossible to match. Well. What now?
       I keep remembering those silk stockings. I did try to use the bag. I’m sure Gram used it. And I enjoyed it before it fell apart. I’m thinking of hanging it in one of those shadow boxes.
 
                                                                   --stay curious!

       “We need a typewriter so that we can get to the truth.” said Flora.
       “The truth,” said William Spiver, “is a slippery thing. I doubt that you will ever get to The Truth. You may get to a version of the truth. But The Truth? I doubt it very seriously.”
                                                       from: Flora and Ulysses
                                                      written by Kate DiCamillo
                                                   illustrated by K. G. Campbell
                                                        Candlewick Press, 2013
  
       My mom liked to tell us she learned her definition of conscience from reading about Native Americans. Here it is.
       Our conscience is a triangle that lives in our hearts. When we do something we know is wrong, like telling a lie, the triangle turns. It hurts. After so many lies and wrong deeds and mistakes, the points of the triangle get worn down and it doesn’t hurt so much when it turns in our hearts.
       Science corroborates this. An experiment by Tali Sharot, a neuroscientist at University College London, and colleagues showed how the brain becomes inured to the stress or emotional discomfort that happens when we lie, making it easier to tell the next fib. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/lying-hoax-false-fibs-science/. One lie often leads to another.
       Science has also shown that everyone lies. Some of us lie more, some lie less. Some lie because they want to appear better than they are (or than they think they are). Some people lie to make others laugh. Some lie to cover up a mistake and avoid consequences. Only 7% of people in one study said they didn’t know why they lie.
       The other side of the coin is that science has shown that in general, people are not very good at knowing when someone is lying to them. Most of us are trusting. We want to believe what we are told. Pamela Meyer calls lying a cooperative act.
       In her TED talk delivered in July, 2011, she says lying is an attempt to bridge the gap between our fantasies about who we wish we were, how we wish we could be, with what we’re really like.
       But, lies destroy trust. I think that’s where our society is right now. What we are told and what we believe doesn’t often match up. And our conscience triangle is hurting.
       How can we make it better? Stop listening is not the answer. We need to listen more. Pay more attention. Ask more questions. Become more involved in our communities.
       Do more good. Tell more truth. Play fair.
       Love more. Smile more. Hug more. Kiss our children and grandchildren more.
       I’ll sign out with Garrison Keillor’s famous advice:
                Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Not too much is more important than that.
                                                                                                                                                       --stay curious!

     “What are we celebrating?”
     Thea groaned. “Come on, Geronimo! It’s been ten years since you started writing your adventures. We’re throwing an enormouse party to celebrate.
                                        from: The Hunt for the Golden Book
                                                        Geronimo Stilton, pseud.
                                                                 Scholastic, 2014
       
       For me, anniversaries, like birthdays, are times to reflect, especially as I get older. And older. Most of my ideas come from that place in my mind that I thought I forgot about.
       When I decided to create this blog, I wanted to call attention to children’s literature. The quotes are all from books I’ve read, some new, some old. Some better than others. Some classics and some pretty forgettable! Sometimes the quote comes first, sometimes the reflection, sometimes a news story. Sometimes it all ties together.
       I share my anniversary with Donald Duck. He debuted June 9, 1934, in a version of The Little Red Hen called “The Wise Little Hen.” You can watch the 7:41 minute video on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5dowCyaP7I (The quality is excellent, but don’t use the subtitles.)
       Donald did not start out as a star. But not being the star can be important, too. While I’m sure it is true that everyone needs to feel useful, I used to think that only the leader or the chairman or the person in charge was important. I’m much more comfortable following a plan than delegating the work to others. I’m happier working as part of a group than being the one who devises the job to be done. I’m satisfied being a worker bee. I don’t really need to be the queen. So I guess this blog is about me finding out more about myself. Always a good thing.
       Some of my favorite blogs are memories and reflections. They might be yours, too. Let me know!
       Friday marks my 2nd blog anniversary. Some of you have been with me the whole way. Thanks! Some are sometimes visitors. Thank you, too!
                                                                   --stay curious!