WHAT EVER HAPPENED...? "Dr. Seuss's Help"

DR. SEUSS’S HELP

          I have learned so much about life from the words of Dr. Seuss –Theodore Geisel. There is SO much more to his stories than just learning how to read!

For many years as a teacher, I celebrated his birthday (March 2nd) with a Dr. Seuss Day. We read all day, dressed up in the cat-in-the-hat’s red-and-white hat and just discussed the lessons to be learned from his stories. I know a lot of schools do this each year.

When I couldn’t be a teacher anymore, I brought this idea to my church where I volunteer twice a month with preschoolers. We have so much fun looking at all of the books I’ve accumulated. I post some of the best Dr. Seuss sayings around our little room.

I was going to just quote a few throughout my book, but then I decided they were worth a whole chapter. So – here are my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes. I’ve starred (*) the ones I’ve used as a teacher and/or church volunteer. Enjoy and THANK YOU, Dr. Seuss!

·       
      Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

·       Be who you are and say what you feel. Because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

·       You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose! (*)

·       Stop telling such outlandish tales. Stop turning minnows into whales. (*)

·       This was no time for play. This was no time for fun. This was no time for games. There was work to be done. (*)

·       I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am. (*) [Some years when we celebrated his birthday, we actually made green eggs and ham. It was pretty simple – we just added green food coloring to the scrambled eggs we prepared. The kids, staff, and I loved eating what Sam-I-am in the book wouldn't try until the very end of the story. That's another of the things I miss about teaching.]

·       The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go. (*)

·       Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. (*)

·       You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in! (*)

·       A person’s a person, no matter how small. (*)

·       Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more! [Thank you, Grinch!]

·       Oh! The places you’ll go! (*)

·       It is fun to have fun but you have to know how!

·       You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting! So get on your way! (*)

·       Smile hi! Smile low! Smile everywhere you go! [I wish I would.]

·       Try to remember through thick and through thin, when you give it your best… Why, that’s when YOU WIN! (*)

·       Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

·       Today is good! Today is fun! Tomorrow is another one! (*)

·       There is fun to be done! (*)

·       Do what you love and love what you do. There’s no better way to a happier you!

·       From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!

·       Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!

·       Whatever you do, do it well! Do it YOU!

·       If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

Aren’t these great? Dr. Seuss’s books are not just for kids, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. In that spirit:

Dr. Seuss’s rhymes are really fun,

Even if you’re not a little one!

At the conclusion of writing this book, I learned that a new Dr. Seuss museum just opened in Springfield, Massachusetts. I can’t wait to visit!

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I (Douglas Winslow Cooper) have been excerpting, weekly, material from this almost-final version of the fine book by Janet Johnson Schliff, M.S. Ed., which she wrote over a three-year period with some coaching and editing help from me, through my business, Write Your Book with Me.

Her memoir is now available in paperback and ebook formats from Outskirts Press  and amazon.com: 

What Ever Happened to My White Picket Fence? My Brain Injury from My Massive Brain Tumor

                                              ###

BOOK TALKS AND SIGNINGS

Janet is taking a much-needed respite from her book tour. More talks will be planned in the spring of 2019… she can be contacted at 845.336.7506 (home) or 845.399.1500 (cell).

Janet Johnson Schliff spoke at the Oblong Books Bookstore in Rhinebeck, NY, on Tuesday, February 6 at 6 p.m.

Janet was on WKNY Radio 1490 in Kingston, NY, on Thursday, March 1 at 9:10 a.m. 

Janet spoke at Barnes & Noble in Kingston, NY, on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m. 

Janet spoke at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck, NY, on March 6 at 7 p.m. 

Janet spoke at the Golden Notebook Bookstore in Woodstock, NY, on March 17 at 2 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Morton Library in Rhinecliff, NY, on March 28 at 6:30 p.m. 

Janet spoke at RCAL in Kingston, NY, on April 3 at 4 p.m. [They gave her an impromptu book-launch party.]

Janet spoke at the Parkinson's Support Group at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck, NY, on April 4 at 2:30 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Stone Ridge Library in Stone Ridge, NY, on April 27 at 5:30 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Hurley Library in Hurley, NY, on May 4 at 6 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Kingston Library in Kingston, NY, on May 9 at 6 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Staatsburg Library in Staatsburg, NY, on May 14 at 7 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Clinton Community Library in Rhinebeck, NY, on May 31 at 6:30 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Mountain Top Library in Tannersville, NY, on June 9 at noon.

Janet spoke at the Gardiner Library in Gardiner, NY, on June 11 at 7 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Marbletown Community Center in Stone Ridge, NY, on June 20 at 6 p.m.

Janet was interviewed on radio station WTBQ-FM (93.5) on June 29 at 12 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Esopus Library in Port Ewen, NY, on July 13 at 7 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Pine Plains Library in Pine Plains, NY, on July 20 at 6 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Ulster Library in Kingston, NY, on July 23 at 5:30 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Northern Dutchess Bible Church in Red Hook, NY, on August 11 at 1 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Inquiring Minds Bookstore in New Paltz, NY, on September 6 at 7 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Adriance Library in Poughkeepsie, NY, on September 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Janet was interviewed on radio station WRIP-FM (97.9) on September 21 at 8 a.m.

Janet again spoke at the Mountain Top Library in Tannersville, NY, on September 22 at noon.

Janet spoke at the Enchanted Cafe in Red Hook, NY, on September 28 at 7 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Hyde Park Library in Hyde Park, NY, on October 4 at 7 p.m.

Janet participated in an Author Weekend at the Barnes & Noble in Poughkeepsie, NY, on October 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Janet spoke at the Tivoli Library in Tivoli, NY, on October 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Janet’s interview for the TV program Wake Up with Marci on the You Too America Channel aired on Monday, November 5, and Friday, November 9. It can now be found on the Internet.

Janet spoke at the Germantown Library in Germantown, NY, on November 7 at 6:00 p.m.

Janet participated in the Red Hook Middle School's College and Career Cafe in Red Hook, NY,  on December 19 at 10:30 a.m.

Janet will speak at the Moffat Library in Washingtonville, NY, on Saturday, May 11 at 1:00 p.m.

More signings will be coming up. A fine feature about Janet by John DeSantos [845 LIFE] appeared in the Middletown Times Herald-Record on Monday, March 12, as part of Brain Injury Awareness Month. An article about her book was just published in the May 2018 Living Rhinebeck Magazine. An article about her book appeared in the May 14 Daily Freeman of Kingston, NY. and another in the Family Life section of the Poughkeepsie Journal on June 8th. The Millerton News published an article on Thursday, August 2, about her talk at the Pine Plains Library.