Holly Huckeba

“One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.” —President George W. Bush, U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

None. Not ever. Not when the little darlings did well at regional trials. Not for birthdays. Not when you want the teenagers to come to the pool early on picture day. No conscionable adult should ply children–who are trying to turn into athletes, for cryin’ out loud–with these belly bombs. You should see the number of overweight kids on our swim team.

Nutritional info for JUST ONE puny Krispy Kreme Original Donut (who can eat just one? I dare you to prove it):

200 calories, 12 gr fat, 6 gr sat fat, 5 chol

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer…It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, GAY, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

Barack Obama shone a powerful light on gays and lesbians when he said those words in his acceptance speech last night. I woke up last night and had to pinch myself to remind myself that it was true that we elected Obama as President. I was too giddy to sleep.

Then I heard the news that California’s Proposition 8–the repeal of legal gay marraige–passed, and the joy I felt last night–which I knew couldn’t last for long–is today mixed with hurt and sadness and anger.

To be claimed as part of the fabric of America one moment and the next moment torn out of that same fabric–this is the painful schizophrenia of being gay in America.

I’m not as worried about the outcome of today’s election as I probably should be. Instead, I’m focused today on the next four years. A lot can happen over four years, even more over eight. I’ve got the scars from the past eight years to prove it. When I was young and single and basically penniless, a presidential election seemed more of a philosophical issue to me: I cared passionately about the politics, but didn’t feel a direct impact on my life by the particular person who held the office of president.

Well, I’ve got a lot more to lose now that I’m raising a family. And on this election day, I understand that it’s not just the person holding the office whose choices make a difference in my life, it’s all the people who surround the president–people appointed by the president or friends of the president or people who have got the president’s ear. Those are the people who have made decisions over the past eight years that have affected my family, and although the faces will change, it will be the same group of people who will make decisions that affect my family for the next four years. Those are the people I’m not voting for and whose influence worries me. Those are the people who I will have a hard time pointing a finger at when things go wrong.

So, even though I’m as excited as anyone about this presidential election, and I’m pretty sure that my pick will prevail, I must admit, I’m anxious about the next four years no matter who is in office.

I started hearing this expressionfrom my son and my son’s friends starting in the 4th grade. Of course, I’d heard the expression before. My own family used to use the expression right to my face even after I’d come out to them.

But that was a while back and I’ve gotten married and had kids since then. I never hear it anymore from family or friends and I guess I’d hoped that this particularly hurtful expression had disappeared. But I just must be travelling in different social circles, because I’ve had to have this conversation, almost word-for-word with my son. In fact, I’ve had this conversation with my son’s friends. It’s pretty funny, because the open-mouthed goldfish reaction was identical to that shown in this public service announcement.

I think this expression is a social virus for a myriad of reasons. Each of us need to give this short and sweet speech to everyone infected.

In a previous post, I offered praise for audiobooks because they opened up a world of books for my twins that they would likely otherwise have never read.

One year later, we are still listening to audiobooks in the car, which is a great goodness, because—sad to say—I’m not sure how much reading either of them would be doing otherwise.

My son isn’t reading much because he is a “reluctant reader.” Given a choice between reading or doing anything physical with his body, he will always choose the physical activity. In the car, however, when he’s a captive audience, so to speak, he enjoys listening to a variety of audiobooks. He definitely prefers The Lightening Thief or Peter and the Starcatchers, but even action-boy can find himself being drawn into the magical story line of A Single Shard.

My daughter isn’t reading much because the rigors of 5th grade have sucked up much of her free time. She is normally a voracious reader, but these before she can crack a book, she must go to school, do her homework, practice cello; then comes sports and girl scouts; and finally—the activity that trumps all other activities—playdates. But when we listen to an audiobook in the car, she and her brother become so engrossed that they sit in the car listening long after I’ve parked the car and gone into the house.

There are many forces that keep children from turning into bookworms. These days, videogames and television are given much of the blame for both low literacy and childhood obesity. Recent trends to keep kids active encourage parents to sign up kids in multiple sports instead of hanging out together in the library and curling up on the couch together with a good book. Active lifestyles and bookworms aren’t ready bedfellows, it seems.

But listening to audiobooks in the car can help to combat low literacy and childhood obesity in one stroke! Exposure to literature expands children’s minds whether they are reading the book or listening to the story. Even though kids are signed up for two or three sports, they still need to find time to get lost in a good book!

So next time you are driving your kid to school, soccer, ballet, chess club, swim team, tae kwan do, whatever! turn on an audiobook instead of a DVD. Go to the library, pick out a blockbuster and get started. Audiobooks are great entertainment, and they promote literacy while you all stay active!