So Elegant In Its Seussian Complexity
by Richard
Yesterday, March 2, was one of those days I live for. For those of you who don’t know, it was the celebration of the birthday of America’s greatest writer, Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
As part of that celebration, I was invited (after slobberingly asking for said invite) to come to Speed Racer’s elementary school and read Dr. Seuss books to a gaggle of kindergartners and second-graders. Which, if only by itself, would have been fantastic fun. But there was one added ingredient that pushed this event into the stratosphere of scintillation, the farthest reaches of fun. I got to dress up as Thing 1, a character from Dr. Seuss’s seminal work, The Cat in the Hat.
Here’s what I looked like.
Well. Sort of. But I think you get the gist. Yes, I really did dress up like that. And, no, I did not have to actually go out and buy or rent a costume for this. All I had to do was go up in the attic, remove the gorilla suit, the Jack the Pumpkin King suit, the Marry Poppins suit (don’t ask) and a few other costumes and, viola, there it was. All ready for me to wear.
And, dude, it was sweet. The little dudes in the library were clustered around me with wide-eyed smiles and friendly faces, like they’d never seen anything so wonderful before. I can tell you this: It made my poor, black, shriveled heart beat. A little. It’s almost like it grew three sizes yesterday.
Sorry. Wrong Seuss book.
Anyway, I got a chance to read a selection of Seuss’s masterpieces, including the aforementioned The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, I Can Read With My Eyes Closed and Ten Apples Up On Top. The best part, though, was between book readings I got to answer questions from the little dudes and dudettes.
Mostly along the lines of my hair being fake, which I denied; my wearing a costume, which I denied; and my being a handsome devil, which I could not deny. I got to pull out all my funny voices that my own little dudes, now to old to really fall for those sorts of things, don’t enjoy nearly as much as they used to do.
So, happy birthday, Dr. Seuss. Here’s to a great holiday that gives as much as it gets.
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