Travel is the enemy of bigotry!

The subject line quote is by Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell retraced Marco Polo’s entire 25,000-mile, land-and-sea route from Venice to China and back. PBS recently aired their documentary, "In the Footsteps of Marco Polo" about the trip. It is a motto my husband John and I have found to be true throughout our lives. John’s exhibit, “Who is My Neighbor” opens at the Clark County Public Library on October 1^st and run the entire month. The Opening Reception is October 7 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm and John will lecture on the exhibit on October 18^th at 6:30.

The story of John’s travels ranks right up there with Belliveau and O’Donnell’s retracing of Marco Polo’s. The provenance behind the photos brings even more enlightenment to the concept of being a neighbor to all peoples.

Granddaughter Payden kissing "Bobby," a Sepik River sculpture from Papua New Guinea

Remember the song, “You have to be carefully taught” from South Pacific? (Linked here to a Barbra Streisand rendition.) The song, sung by the character Lieutenant Cable, was considered controversial when the musical first opened. The dialogue which preceded the song said, racism "not born in you! It happens after you’re born..."

Rodgers and Hammerstein risked the entire success of the show when legislators challenged its decency or supposed Communist agenda. Georgia lawmakers even introduced a bill that would have outlawed entertainment containing "an underlying philosophy inspired by Moscow." Rodgers and Hammerstein defended their work strongly. James Michener, upon whose stories South Pacific was based, recalled, "The authors replied stubbornly that this number represented why they had wanted to do this play, and that even if it meant the failure of the production, it was going to stay in. (Wikipedia)

Join us for John’s exhibit in Clark County for an update on “Who is My Neighbor?” You have to be carefully Untaught if you got the message wrong the first time.

Tristan's Reading Choices

The Costume Trunk written and illustrated by Bob Fuller was provided to me through membership in FromLefttoWrite.com. This is not intended to be a review of the book but rather this post was inspired by the book.

Grandson, Tristan prepares for his bedtime ritual at Mimi and Poppa’s house---two Oreo cookies and milk, teeth brushing (“Tell me when I can stop, Mimi.”), good night hugs and kisses for Poppa and off to read books with Mimi. His wiry body, inherited from my son, wiggles up next to me with a stack of his reading choices.

Mimi, Tristan and Payden reading the Sunday funnies

“Tristan, I have this book that I’m going to right about for my website,” I say as I hand him The Costume Trunk. “Would you please tell me if it is too young for you, just right or too old for you?”

He takes one look at the cover and declares, “Mimi, this is too babyish for me!”

I don’t dare question that declaration. “Ok, what about Payden?” Payden is his 14 month old baby sister.

“No, Mimi, she would rip the pages and it’s too long for her.”

Finally, I ask, “Well what about our friend, Sydney?”

“Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuust right, Mimi,” he replies, so pleased that I’m finally getting a clue.

Our "just right" friend, Sydney Grace Dryden

I can’t help but agree with his assessment. Tristan is a five year old boy whose taste in reading leans toward super heroes, Garfield joke books and even, Gary Larson’s The Far Side cartoon collections. Payden hasn’t developed the ability to sit still long enough to make it through The Costume Trunk even if she would enjoy the illustrations. Sydney Grace Dryden, our two and a half year old friend, is just right for the adventures of Paddywhack Lane, the wonderful world Bob Fuller has created in The Costume Trunk.

As we scrunch up next to each other in bed, Tristan chooses Gary Larson’s Beyond The Far Side ® collection for his first choice tonight. At five, he doesn’t get all of Larson’s jokes, in my sixth decade I don’t either. But as we snuggle up and talk through them, I shiver with delight that he chooses his Uncle Mark’s Far Side and Garfield Fat Cat Three Pack Volume VII collections for his bedtime reading. Uncle Mark died before Tristan was born but his influence lives on.