It’s hard to believe that any book could have ever cost just 25 cents, much less one that could have survived since I was a tiny boy. I’m sometimes surprised by which things from my childhood have managed to stay with me for all these years, but I’m not surprised to still have “Good Night, Little Bear.” When I was the tiniest of little boys, this was my favorite book. I’m told that I used to carry it around with me. Everybody around me got tired of reading this story, but I asked for it over and over again. I was delighted by the question of whether the little bear was fooling Papa Bear. The story tickled my little brain with the concept of how people could fool one another but without the malice involved in lying. I think everybody can connect a little bit more with the child he or she once was by being able to touch and re-experience such things from their past. Such artifacts tell us a lot about where we came from and how we became what we are. This is something from childhood which makes me happy.
Briefly: Trump’s narcissistic rage makes his tantrums dangerous
Briefly: Check out new podcast for fascinating tales of Salem witch trials
Briefly: Suicide reminds me that we don’t always know other people’s issues
We’re neither friends nor enemies, just strangers who share the past
Society needs storytellers to help make sense of a changing world
My bad teen poetry suggests I’ve always hungered for missing love
Briefly: Broken key reminds me how much we’re at the mercy of technology