The Little Prince

By Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Copyright 1943

It was either in seventh or eighth grade that my homeroom teacher read this book to our class.  We all looked forward to the end of the day when we could set aside our school work and listen to a story.  I don’t really remember how much I learned from the book at that time, other than the fact that one never outgrows the ability to enjoy being read to.  For some time, I’ve had the French version of the book, but that didn’t do me much good.  Yes, I took three years of French in high school.  But no, I’m not capable of understanding a children’s book written in French.  Fortunately, last week I came across an English version in a used book store.

 

The Little Prince has come from a very, very small asteroid.  So small that by moving his chair around one day, he saw forty-four sunsets.  On a trip around the galaxy, the little prince visits other small asteroids, remarking on the strangeness of the adult inhabitants he meets.  Eventually coming to earth, he meets the narrator of the story, a pilot who has crashed his airplane in the desert and is worried about dying of thirst.  As the little prince tells the story of his adventures, both he and the pilot learn many life lessons.  

So much can be taken from The Little Prince.  What affected me when I read it this week?  

The Little Prince notices that he loves the singular rose on his planet more than men on earth love the thousands of roses on their bushes.

“The men where you live,” said the little prince, “raise five thousand roses in the same garden—and they do not find in it what they are looking for.”

“They do not find it,” I replied.

“And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water.”

“Yes, that is true,” I said.

And the little prince added:

“But the eyes are blind.  One must look with the heart..”

The little prince has learned what many adults never learn.  Love is something that is felt with the heart, not seen with the eyes or held in the hands.  One can appreciate a few simple belongings much more than a whole house overflowing with possessions. More is not usually better. 

How to Tell Time

a Little Golden Book 

By Jane Werner Watson

Pictures by Eleanor Dart

copyright 1957

A recent trip to the local Savers thrift store resulted in a wave of nostalgia.  I found a copy of the same book that I used as a young child learning to tell time.  This was, of course, before the days of digital clocks and watches.  The real excitement about this book is the movable plastic hands inside the front cover.  

The book tells the story of Tommy O’Toole, nicknamed Tommy-Too-Late by his family.  One day, Tommy’s father brought home a gift for his son.  It was a watch, just like Daddy’s!  Now, Tommy could learn how to tell time so he would never be late again.

 

What I remember most about reading this book, other than being able to move the little clock hands, is the dawning realization that different families lived differently than mine.  I can recall asking my mother why Tommy left for school at 8:00 every morning, came home at 3:00, and went to bed at 7:00 in the evening.  Silly!  That wasn’t how my family lived!  It may have been my first step in accepting the many differences in the way people live their lives. 

Later on, during my grade school years, there were many more opportunities to experience different lifestyles.  I would go to a friend’s house for the first time and be offered a food that I had never had before but was commonplace in their home.  “What are those orange things?” I asked.  My friend laughed at me and said they were sweet potatoes, of course.  I would invite someone to my house and wonder why they were surprised to see my many siblings coming and going.  I was used to having many other brothers and sisters, but to some it could be overwhelming.  

For some reason, I remember one incident very clearly.  When seeing a school friend’s bedroom for the first time I was flabbergasted at the large number of pairs of shorts in her dresser drawer.  You mean some people owned more than two pairs of shorts?  I had no idea! I thought one for gym class and one for play was all anyone ever needed.

What did I learn from these little lessons?  We may have many, many differences in our home lives and daily routines.  But deep down, those differences don’t matter.  We are all the same in the ways that really matter!

What Did You Do When You Were a Kid?

Pastimes From Past Times

 

By Fred Sturner with Adolph Seltzer

Illustrated by Bill Charmatz

Copyright 1973

Part nostalgia and part how-to, this book was written as a guide to the children of the seventies from children of the 30’s and 40’s. The children from an earlier time had to occupy themselves without a television and with few store-bought toys.  The authors tell how to make your own scooter out of an orange crate and give directions for making paper airplanes and matchbook belts and bracelets.  The rules for different marble games are given, along with how to play a game of Stick Ball or Steal the Flag.   Some of the pastimes in the book were popular during my childhood.  Others had been replaced by more modern activities.

As a child of the seventies, what do I remember doing when I was a kid? (Besides reading books, of course!)  Sure, I spent some time watching television.  I remember watching The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Family Affair, My Three Sons, Zoom, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Carol Burnett, and The Muppets. But much of my time was spent in other activities.

I remember:

Backyard games - Red Light Green Light, Spud, Mother May I?, Freeze Tag

Card games – Go Fish, Old Maid, Spoons, War

Board Games – Aggravation, Operation, Candy Land

Listening to albums and 45’s on the record player

Colorforms, Yo-Yos, Slinkies, and Silly Putty

Jumping rope and Hopscotch

ViewMaster, Lite- Bright, Spirograph, Etch-a-Sketch

Bike riding, playing at the park, playing in the sandbox

What did you do when you were a kid?

Found in a Used Book

Last week I wrote about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  I had purchased the book used from an online retailer.  While reading, I came across two different loose paper advertisements that were probably once used as bookmarks. What an unexpected bonus! 

 

The first is an ad for J&J Television Service in Jamaica, New York.  As a special offer, for a limited time only, they will charge $1.75 for a service call, rather than the usual $3.50. The offer is good until September 1st, with no year noted.  Unfortunately, no phone number is listed, so I guess I won’t be able to take them up on their offer.  Besides tv repair, they could have fixed my home or auto radio, my phonograph or my toaster. 

The other ad is for Sister Columbiana – reader, advisor, and healer.  She claims to be unlike ordinary fortune tellers.  She will give me the full secret of how to control the thoughts and actions of anyone I desire!  Her advice never fails!  Her location is also Jamaica, New York and the ad is good for half off her services.  I wonder if she’s still at the corner of Liberty and 170^th Street.  

These little pieces of paper are so interesting to me that I wonder if I should start saving those annoying flyers sometimes found stuck under the windshield wiper on the car.  Someday, that ad for computer repair or satellite tv installation may be intriguing to someone.  Will the next generation find today’s advertisements as quaint as I find these?    

I’ll tuck these two back inside the book for the next reader to discover.