Grover, Grouch, Green Eggs and Ham

It's amazing what parts of me I've been able to trace back to books I read early in my childhood:




Reading about Grover's visit to the museum, I learned that you cannot easily categorize any object, and that nomenclature has its limits in defining things. Is a carrot a vegetable or a fruit? I also learned that life gets overwhelming, that there is much to learn about how to get through an experience, that we learn from past mistakes, and that the world is the most amazing of all museums.


Reading about the life of Oscar the Grouch, I learned that just because everybody else dislikes somethings doesn't mean I should dislike it too. In fact, it can be fun and identity-defining to like things that others don't - is it because of the Grouch that I have always loved rainy days?


Dr. Seuss has taught me much. What more simple and life-long serving lesson could you find than a willingness to try something new, however unappealing it may seem, especially when suggested by a friend? Interesting how I learned this without necessarily learning to give in to insistence - which would be a very bad thing. I guess the balance and completion of these lessons came in the virtues and qualities with which my parents inculcated me (note here the use of "inculcate" without its negative connotations).