Shari Della Penna
  • Home
  • About
    • My family
    • My work
    • My favorites
    • FAQ's
  • Contact
  • Blog

"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
   Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
   ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
                         Author, Advocate, Advisor

Lies, Spies and Alibis

7/18/2017

0 Comments

 
      “I’m the bestest spier in the whole world,” I said to my bestest friend named Grace.
      Then I took off my shoes. And I showed her my sneaky sock feet.
      “See?” I said. “See how quiet they are? You can hardly even those those guys.”
       After that, I breathed in and out for her.
       “And see? My nose doesn’t whistle, either,” I said.
       That Grace smiled. “I’m good at spying, too,” she said.
       I patted her. “Yeah, only too bad, Grace. But you can’t be as good as me.  ’Cause I said it first.”
                      from Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying
                                                               by Barbara Park
                                                  llustrated by Denise Brunkus
                                                            Random House, 1994
 
       Russia is in the news. That’s not news. The Russian government treats its people badly. That’s not news, either. Russia’s been treating its people badly for a long time. In fact, that’s the reason my grandparents moved away from there.
       My grandparents and their friends spoke English like Boris and Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Spies, criminals no-goodniks doing dastardly misdeads.
       Boris and Natasha always got caught.
       Like Junie B., spies are sneaky tip-toers. They lurk. They try to trick us out of our most carefully guarded secrets.  
       Unlike Junie B., real spies distract us from doing and thinking about what is really important, taking care of ourselves and each other and our planet.
       Like Boris and Natasha, spies do bad things.
       Unlike Boris and Natasha, real spies don’t always get caught.  
       The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show aired from 1959 to 1964. I was young and missed most of the satire and irony. I think I liked the show because of the accents. Something felt familiar in a kinda crazy way.
       It’s a crazy world we are sharing. The Cold War is over. Now the news is just plain chilling.
       I’d like to end on a positive note, but I’m having a hard time in my little piece of the world. A lot of my anger has turned into fear. I’ll work on rolling up my sleeves and doing something useful.
 
                                                                   --stay curious!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

         I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly