Carole Marsh Blog

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I can't wait to catch back up with you on the new blog!

 

 

www.BlufftonBooksBlog.com

Who is Carole Marsh?

Who IS Carole Marsh...

Questions Asked and Answered, Short and Sweet*

*Hey, Carole Marsh is short... and sweet! 

1. Home base? 

My new home on the South Carolina coast! 

2. Job? 

Writing as many books as I can! 

3. Working on? 

A book about my 34 years of school visits! 

4. New Year's Resolution? 

Finish the book! 

5. Family? 

Papa, a son, daughter and 6 grandchildren, 18 months-18 years!

6. Favorite thing? 

Sitting on my porch reading a book and eating something chocolaty!

7. I'll never get tired of... 

WRITING!

8. I secretly want to be... 

A fourth-grader!

9. Least favorite thing? 

Kids who don't say yes sir and no ma'am!

JFK

So, where were you?

That's the big question going around.

I was in class.  It was announced over the PA system.

We could not believe it.  Our president—ASSASSINATED?!

This was not in the history books we grouched about...this WAS history, being made, alas, before our eyes.  It was a whole new world. 

A LOT of kids today would read the above paragraph and have no idea what I was talking about.

Think about it:  A LOT of kids today were not even born when 9/11 happened. 

So for kids or teens, or even adults who can't see why we bother to study history—get a life, as they say:  your life...because this IS your history, my history, our history. While it helps if we all speak the same language when we are trying to communicate, it really helps if we all understand the history of where we came from...what happened...why...

As it has been said, "History isn't the past...it isn't even history."

If you don't agree, tune in to all the media coverage of the 50th anniversary of JFK.

We don't forget, because we don't want to forget, nor should we ever forget.

It's easier to learn history when you are in school, and then never let up, but continue the story, the saga—if you think it's dull or boring or unnecessary, well...

The next time a kid grouses "Why do I have to study history?" sit down and give them a really good answer.

If JFK doesn't do it for you, then try WWI, WWII, MLK, 9/11...all the things we care about so much we eventually distill it into a snippet of letters or numbers.  But behind those snippets is history worth learning.   

You can be an adult without learning history, but you really can't be a valid part of the national conversation, a part of common ground, a part of the curiosity that creates, cures, and cares.  

Light the fire of the eternal flame of history under some kid you know.

Because BISO (Because I Said So) is not nearly a good enough answer.

Why Do We Love Zombies?

People love zombies.  I did not know that.  I just wrote a book—MY LIFE AS A THIRD GRADE ZOMBIE.  I didn’t even know that I love zombies, nor why, but after signing books at the annual Savannah Children’s Book Festival, I have some new insights into zombie love.

First off, to my surprise, it seems to have nothing to do with The Walking Dead; out of 100 people, I only heard one reference to this popular TV show, and it was,“I don’t watch it; it scares me.”  [This was from a 20-something year old man.]

I sat right by the display for My Life as a Third Grade Zombie.  As you can see, it’s a small book for kids.  It has the title on the cover and Joe, the main character. Joe looks, well, like a kid who’s a zombie. He’s “thumbs-up,” as you can see, and not particularly gory or scary, but he is a zombie.

For six hours, I watched people from age 3-4 to age 73-74 approach our table and this book, as in making a beeline for it.  What fascinated me was the look on their faces.  It took awhile for it to register with me, but whether kid, mom, or man, they all looked at Joe, not with disgust, horror, curiosity, etc., but with the exact same look that they would have given…AN ADORABLE TEDDY BEAR! 

I did not understand.  People puckered their lips in tenderness; they grinned like Joe was a long, lost friend.  Kids picked up the book and held Joe close to their eyes.  Adults grabbed the book and said to their kid, “You want this one, don’t you?!”

I did not understand.  However, later in the day, a small boy approached our dwindling supply of My Life as a Third Grade Zombie books and said (with a tilt of his head and a goofy sad smile)  “He broke.”  Then he handed the book to his dad to buy for him.

It was my zombie eureka moment.  I slept on it and came to these possible reasons why we love zombies, love them so:

• Zombies are broke.  Joe has sickly hair, a bad eye, yucky teeth and green goo dripping from his mouth.  His shirt is ragged and torn, his face is dirty (or something), but he’s grinning, thumbs-upping, and hanging in there with his “Save Haiti” tee and book bag slinking on his skinny body.  He looks like he needs love, attention, and a friend.  We may have our own issues, problems; even kids do.  But clearly, we are not as bad off as Joe.  Zombies just seem to bring out the charity in us, the empathy, the “I want to take you home and make your boo-boo better.”  Zombies, if nothing else, are a mess of boo-boos. Even 35 years later, I recall an early postcard mail-out I did to sell a few of my early kid’s mystery books.  The front side of the card had a graphic of a teddy bear.  He had a patch over one eye and one fuzzy leg was in a cast and he had a crutch.  That simple postcard drew more orders (percentagewise) than anything else we ever did.  I think it was because the bear looked so sweet and in need.  He was just a boo-boo bear who needed love.  A zombie bear? Yes, we sold lots of zombie books at the Savannah Children’s Book Festival, but mostly, I think people just wanted to take Joe home and give him some love?  It’s sort of the way I feel when I see that current TV commercial with the guy who insists that he’s not a zombie…then a chunk of his face falls off.  He’s just so pathetic…you want to help him, even if you don’t actually want to hug, or smell, him. I recall being at St. Vincent’s Hospital’s famous ER in New York City after Bob broke his wrist at a book show.  While I waited, folks wandered in:  One had her jaw completely popped open, her mouth wider agape than seemed humanly possible; she was in great pain, drooling.  A young man, rushed from a job site, held one arm (the detached one!) under the other arm.  Another man ran in and out of the ER, arms akimbo, legs stiff, and eyes wild, in some kind of drug overdose reaction.  Zombies all:  gross, yes, but more so pathetic, needy, broken.  You didn’t want to look, but like that train wreck, you just had to, and you wanted to help. 

• Zombies are interesting, even fascinating.  Kids know what a zombie looks like, but not really what a zombie is, or how he/she got to be a zombie, I don’t think.  I have done a LOT of research on zombies and there are a lot of scientific facts, a lot of legend and lore, and a lot of mumbo-jumbo voodoo spells, and such.  I can vouch that there really can be “walking dead.”  But, if they are walking, just how dead are they?  I think this dichotomy intrigues us.  On occasion, I have felt like a zombie, even looked like a zombie (usually both at the same time after New Year’s Eve.)  We just have some kind of human connection to the walking dead, whomever, whatever they are.  As I said, when people looked at Joe (people old and young), they just seemed to recognize something/someone there.  Their oldest kid off in college?  Weird Uncle Joe?  Crazy Aunt Mable?  You gotta love 'em, relatives and zombies all, cause if you don’t, who will?  And in what can be a boring world, well, at least zombies are not boring.

• Zombies are fun!  Really.  For our annual office Halloween party, three perfectly normal, sane, attractive women of a mature enough age ALL dressed up like…Joe, the third grade zombie!  Take a look!  They had the look, the walk, the talk, and they had a blast!  They, hand’s down (or up…you never know with zombies) won the costume contest—I told you we all love zombies.  They looked perfectly awful, their fake, bloodshot eyeballs hanging on their cheeks, but all we wanted to do was hug them.  Most of us got out of our itchy, cheesy costumes and make-up as soon as we could, but not the Three Joes.  They stayed in costume and character the rest of the day.  For all I know, these perfectly respectable, church-goin’ women went to lunch…as zombies.  If so, I’m sure they got a lot of laughs, thumbs-ups, and maybe pats on the back, just in case all that stiff-legged walking was not fake but a little arthritis or something? 

I still don’t understand.  But I do want a Joe Save Haiti t-shirt and a Joe coffee mug, and maybe a Joe sock-puppet to sleep with.   At least I know Joe’s ok; I wrote the book, so naturally, I had the inside scoop to help him.  I had to help him, and Maria, his zombie girl friend in the story.  I love him.  He reminds me of a certain very young boy who used to live in my house a long time ago (Hi, Michael!), as Maria reminds me of a very young girl who also lived in my house once upon a time (Hi, Michele!), who went through those awkward, uncomfortable ages and stages—I’m sure you parents have all seen The Walking Dead come downstairs to your breakfast table on occasion?  

Joe and Maria found a lot of good homes this weekend.  I know.  I saw their new families wear their hearts on their sleeves and in their smiles.  It was surprising, it was touching. 

Zombie love—who knew?

GO WEST! TODAY'S WEST!

COME ONE, COME ALL, LADIES AND GENTS, COWBOYS AND CITY SLICKERS, BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES!

Ok, you're not gonna want to miss this!

Just now strung and hung and waiting for your eyeballs! No it’s not just one, but TWO, exciting, rare, unheard of in the South, art exhibitions that are just a gallop away!

The High Museum of Art (you know, the big white Guggenheimy-looking building on Peachtree Street) is hosting GO WEST!  ART OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER FROM THE BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST, now through April 13, 2014.  Aw, don't moan and groan...you DO love Western art, you just don't know it yet!

And this, pard'ners, is the creme de la creme of Western art.  As some of you know, Bob and I go to Cody each year to the "Buffalo Bill" (a swank, Smithsonian-affiliated museum of five wings of some of the most beautiful art, artifacts, sculpture, and more than you've ever seen!) for their annual soiree—a black tie ball right there in the museum, no less!  This year the guest of honor was Prince Albert of Monaco! You will want to bring children, especially middle-schoolers and teens, who can SEE the things they've only read about in school.  We are blessed that the Center of the West is sharing.  

Now, I know they can't bring every last Remington, Russell, N.C. Wyeth, and other world-class art that they have, but they have shipped more than 120 pieces—none of which you will want to miss.  We know the Southern culture like the back of our blue-veined hands, but, hey, get up off your chaps and come, see, and feel the authenticity, the sheer outrageous talent, the dust, the "Dang-its!" and more in this exhibition.   

The lovely Native American pieces are worth making a visit, and your kids will love "Buffalo Bill" Cody, a master showman and world ambassador of his day! Not to mention Annie Oakley, whom I believe said, "Well if you want to be a legend, then just go on and be one."  My sentiments, exactly!   

I know where you live.  I'll know if you go!  I'll kick ya if you don't!

What?  You've got five months!  You'll probably spy Bob and I wandering around the exhibits, revisiting our friends from the walls of yesteryear.  It will be magical.  Hey, and then, you can mosey on down to Ted's Montana Grill and have some bison burgers and other cowboy grub.  Yeah, it's ok to wear your jeans and boots—but it will be the Thomas Moran's...or something...that will make you shed a tear.  

The passion of the West and for the West is what you'll find, and you don't find that in the South every day, do you?  Get your calendar; mark it; send me an email how you liked it...loved it!

AND….ALSO AT THE VERY SAME TIME, MIRACULOUSLY...

The Booth Western Art Museum, just 45 minutes more or less, up the road also has – from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West – CONTEMPORARY WESTERN ART!

Now, we're talking!  This absolutely gorgeous 120,000 square foot museum in Cartersville is another "must see/must do!"  Again, bring a kid—they will love this more modern view of all things West, and so will you!  For the little types, there's a Sagebrush Ranch on the lower level.  The permanent exhibitions will make you swoon, so all this added extra wild and wooly and even wacky and colorfully wonderful Western art will really get your...your...your...well, I don't know, but don't be surprised if you run out and buy some spurs or something!   This truly is our favorite local museum, bar none; you will be stunned!  

There's also a fabulous gallery of Presidential Letters and Portraits (again, be sure and bring those Common Core kids...maybe they can get some extra credit!), and a magnificent Civil War gallery.  I go and I drool, honestly.

If you have a little more time, head to the quaint downtown of Cartersville, Georgia and do some holiday shopping or scoot over to the nearby Tellus Science Museum.  If you have not seen a contemporary science museum in awhile, well get ready to get your mind blown!  

Truly, we are fortunate to have such great art from such a distinguished source right here down South. Go Sunday and have Sunday brunch at Table 1280.  Museum stores are my fave places to buy Christmas gifts.

Now that I've opened my big mouth, I guess I will have to rent a sleigh or a van to cart all our grandkids to these worth exhibitions.

There is NOTHING more thrilling (or worthwhile) than to see a kid go gape-mouthed over a piece of art.  Sometimes, they just mutter, "I didn't know..." and you know what they mean.  

Ok, I had Papa proof this and now he insists we go out for chili and cornbread for lunch.

What did I say?

Yehaaaaaaa!  

 

Carole Marsh

[email protected]

 

Remember we have autographed copies of The Cowboy's Christmas Ball,

The Crybaby Cowboy, and more, for gift giving; visit gallopade.com to learn more.  

 

PS:  One last comment, ladies:  Buffalo Bill didn't wear those tight pants for nothing!

Go and see!

Space, or Bust!

Space, or Bust! 

That's how I always felt as a kid!   

If you did, or know a kid today who's space crazy, or needs to be, take them to one of the many Challenger Learning Centers around the country!  I just visited a great one in Columbus, Georgia.  As soon as you launch yourself through the door, you are immersed in all things astronauty and space-agey, both historical, and, as cutting edge as it comes.  (They had a new 3D printer working away!)

Of course, the Big Deal at a Challenger Center is participating in one of their mission programs. On this day, a class of sixth graders divided into two groups—one as the base crew and the other aboard a shuttle.  (They swapped roles mid-way thru the mission.)  Each child manned a workstation and was responsible for a role in getting the folks on Mars safely lifted-off for return to Earth.   

But, oops! Suddenly there was one of those "Houston, we have a problem!" moments that the kids, I, uh, mean crew, had to take care of.  It felt real and fun.  It reeked of science, math, engineering, and technology. I am sure it is something that each child will remember forever, and some will be inspired to make space their career.

If a picture says it all, below is my granddaughter Avery, who came along for the ride. 

God bless June Scobee Rodgers and all the other astronaut spouses and others who came up with this great idea in honor of the Challenger crew.  It's an awesome experience expertly rendered.

Yes, we need gravity (or so I hear), but we also need the freedom to explore – unhindered – the possibilities that may lurk in our future.  Kids are the future and they are up to the challenge!

A New Book Festival!

There are many, many book festivals held around America each year.Some of them go wayyyy back, and are still popular as ever.  Bob and I have been to many; but many we have never gotten around to attending.  

Each book festival has its own personality.  We love the Chicago book fair, which is held on one of the old streets, has a tunnel of white tents, and a gazillion books...just a rip-roarin' literary fest, with warm chili, cold beer, and more!  

This past Saturday, our very own Fayette County hosted its first annual book festival:  Books Down South. Joyce Beverly, owner and editor of The Fayette Woman, and her husband, Cal, owner and editor of The Citizen, did a great job organizing, hosting, and covering the event in various media.  Gallopade was a sponsor and we had a lovely booth and room for children's readings. 

My job was the best:  sign books and talk to parents, kids, old friends, and fellow authors… plus, eat a donut now and then! It's so much fun to be around book-lovers and to see parents and children stew over "this book or that one or both?"

I believe BOOKS DOWN SOUTH will be an annual success.  

Z is for Zombies!

Why is a Grammy so enamored of zombies?

Good question!

I've always been a big fan of the unusual, strange, and especially "possible?" impossible!

My life as an author just seems to lead me to weird subjects, places, people, and events... hence my new book: My Life As A Third Grade Zombie! 

My grandmother really did have a voodoo doll pincushion.  I have read many scientific things about how there really can be "zombies."  Along the same lines: (and especially since I plan sequels) My Life as a Third Grade...Werewolf and My Life as a Third Grade Vampire, and perhaps, My Life as a Third Grade Mummy, it's because I just know a lot about— 

a.  how, scientifically, someone can be a werewolf, for example

b.  and how it feels to be the geeky, shy kid, which is what these books are all about—how to be yourself, love yourself, accept yourself, and not worry so much about what other people think about you.   I know that's hard when you're a kid, but really, we need to help kids get a self-determined mind-set to help them take the initiative and cope with the stupid stuff that comes their way, from peer pressure, to bullying, to just plain hatefulness.   

But back to the fun stuff!  I really do have info on a man who was diagnosed with porphyria; he was a young adult, in treatment, but left the sanitarium (in western NC) before being cured; I always wondered if I ever, uh, dated this guy?

I love going to Anne Rice country in New Orleans and checking out all the vampire lore; learned a lot when I wrote The Mystery at Dracula's Castle, set in Transylvania, Romania.  Truth is truly stranger than fiction!

As for mummies, well, it's been confirmed:  they really did get the brain out with a hook put up the nose!

Made your day yet?

I love to help kids learn by learning that life is flabbergasting and that facts are a lot more interesting than they think!

In this new series, I also enjoyed mentoring Savannah College of Art and Design grad, Dexter Blanding, who did the lovely (uh, did I say lovely?  maybe, more like zombie-lovely) color illustrations.   

You can see us at the Books Down South Festival next Saturday or at the Savannah Children's Book Festival in November.

Oh...yeah, you'll know me when you see me!

Miscellaneous from Carole Marsh...

• I AM MALALA!  (I will just assume you know whom this means; if not, find out.)

• Our government is just now finding out that most of us (as a new poll proves) are independent, intelligent, do not fit in a box, do understand what's going on, and are a threat to their often assumed "automatic" vote to reelection. 

• I think we're taking the wrong approach with kid cyber-bullies. Instead of trying to get kids to not cyber-bully, we should get kids who are vulnerable to being bullied (i.e., all kids who are bullied) to think differently.  I know it might not work, but it's worth a try.  

          Hey, kid:

• When these cyber-bully jerks are pitiful adults, you will be in your best years—it is worth waiting for.

• Those who bully you on the web (or in general) are either responding to a bad thing in their lives, think they are cool, or are just plain mean. This should mean nothing to you; it's all about them, not you; toss your cell phone and ignore them. 

• One day you will be the cutest, coolest, smartest, nicest, have the best home, husband/wife, kids, job, travel plans...and they won't.  It's always this way, just ask anyone who's ever been to a high school reunion. So, hang in there and ignore them; you WILL have the last laugh, probably sooner than you think.

• Yes, it hurts, it's mean, and it’s not fair.  But the old saying about "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is just as true now as then.  I know it feels like it's killing you, but YOU have the ultimate power...not to talk back, respond, or suffer.  Even if you have to throw your phone in a river, tune out and tune in to good things, good friends, or a good book. One good thing is worth more than a whole lot of cyber jerks.  They hate to be ignored.

• It's just a fact of life that the Ugly Duckling often ends up winning the beauty contest later… or the bullied geek, the Nobel Prize… or the shy kid turns out to be a millionaire, or gets the cool spouse, who is, hmmm… a kick-you-know what Marine.  Please don't give in or give up.

• I could write this a thousand ways...but it would still be the truth.  Adults, help kids understand that good does triumph evil, though it sometimes takes time.

• And if you still feel bad about your life, in the meantime, I can send you a list of kids who can't cyber-bully because...well, for a lot of reasons.

• God Bless the Georgia high school football coach who lets handicapped kids have a chance to be the 'player of the week' and ride on the bus, run through the hoop on to the field, go to training, and all the "I'm one of the team" things; you are part of the problem or part of the solution.  He put it best; "I'd rather be a great guy than a great coach."

• Apparently, a lot of kids are choosing to wait to get their driver's license.  Good!  The traffic, weather, or stupid drivers won't get better, but you will get smarter, more mature, and better able to cope with the chore of driving, all in good time.  

• If someone can become famous by creating cast iron skillets in the shape of U.S. states, then any of us can achieve anything.  In the meantime, I sure would like to make some SOUTH CAROLINA cornbread!

Crime Ain't What It Use to Be...

Well, mostly, we only hear crime that is grim, horrible, and just hurts our hearts and strains our brain as to "Why?"

However, while camped out at West Yellowstone, I actually enjoyed the Local Police Report.  A few highlights:

•Excessive noise on Madison Avenue.
*A person was driving without a license.
•A wallet was found in the middle of the highway.
•A suspicious phone call was reported.
•Report of an abandoned boat (hey, summer's over!)
•A brown wallet was found...and returned.
•Possible illegal campers at the LDS church.
•A vagrant was found sleeping on the porch of the National Smokejumper Center.
•A black and pink bike was found.
•People were skateboarding on the sidewalk.  (I'M AGHAST!)
•A man was yelling on Geyser Street.
•Possible illegal campers at the shooting range.  (Illegal, but not too smart?)
•A vehicle owner requested a locksmith.  (Oops!)
•A credit card was found and turned in.
•A burglar alarm went off in the street. (?)
•An illegal bonfire at Duck Creek.  (Duck S'mores, anyone?)
•A sow grizzly was spotted.

I think I will sleep soundly here tonight...as long as the mama sow finds her cub.
Life is good in the woods, and the sun's even coming out.

105 Newly Alive

A few months ago I wrote a blog about trafficking, and I didn't mean cars. The issue of the trafficking of women, girls, and even children, was brought to my attention by Kristin Hauch Melton, Gallopade's marketing manager.  Of course, I'd been aware of the situation, but she expressed concerned about how prevalent it was in our nearby city of Atlanta.

I attended a Methodist Women's meeting Sunday...and the subject was this very same thing. A lovely young woman passionate about the subject came to speak to us.  The very next day, I saw (as I'm sure you did) the news that a nationwide operation had rescued 105 children and netted 150 arrests.

The big news seems to be that there is just a more determination by law enforcement, and others, to  put an end to such illegal and awful activities.  The other big deal is that such victims are now treated as that—victims, and not criminals; makes sense to me.  

I won't recount all the details, but the operation freed children ranging from 13! to 17 years old.  The youngest victim was being offered up, so to speak, by her own father.  Many of the children had been "recruited" from foster care or group homes.  They were being "sold" over the Internet, at truck stops, casinos, motels/hotels, and on street corners.  Victims came from all across America, including cities such as Jackson, Mississippi and Springfield, Illinois.  The most arrests were in larger cities; Denver, Milwaukee, and Knoxville, Tennessee having some of the larger numbers of arrests.

Our speaker emphasized how the "perpetrators" know how to find these vulnerable children...in malls, in neighborhoods, in schools...as well as in the places noted above:  in other words, out our own backdoors!  I also won't go into how these children are coerced, and why they are certain that they can never speak up, nor escape.  

Our speaker also gave us some tips:

• This may be happening to people you see all the time—friends of your children, domestic workers, people you see around your town, no matter how small.
• Signals may be a child who is alone, avoids people, will not answer questions you may ask (because they fear to), or who say, "I can't go home" or other such "absolutely can't" sounding statements—they may be trying to tell you something.  Once a woman kept insisting to me that she could NOT leave her "job."  I think she was trying to tell me something, but I did not really know her and I did not suspect anything.
• Speak up!  Ask questions.  If you feel or sense something about a child, investigate.
• There are many resources you can report to and this is how law enforcement is putting together information to make such arrests, and more importantly, the "freeing" of such children.

I'm no expert, but I am now more aware.  You be so, too.  Thanks.

Something to Think About, Something to Do

This is a short blog but a severe one. 

Our nearby town of Palmetto, Georgia, had a police report, and confirmation, of a rape of a three-year-old girl by a 17-year-old, the son of the girl's babysitter.  Needless to say, the media was all over this story. Also, as you might imagine, vicious tweets toward the boy/man were rampant.

 

More than 15 years ago, I was invited to speak to the Planned Parenthood Council of Buffalo, New York. I thought I was going to speak about sex education, my new book, Smart Sex Stuff for Kids 7-17, and, defend my position that you need to teach young children the facts of life in a simple, straight-forward way.  I had no idea  that what they really wanted to ask me about (a writer, not a sex ed expert, as I felt they were) their local problems with older boys (older often being as young as age 9) raping younger girls, yes, say as young as age three.  Often, these were younger siblings. 

 

Now, I'm not asking you to wrap your head around that, but I am suggesting that:

    a.  In this day and time, it is long overdue for even conservative, sex education-resistant or -reluctant 

Americans, whether teachers, parents, or religious institutions, to "get over it," and realize that even young children need to know about sex.  No, not ALL about sex, but respect the young child!  Even they know they have "private parts" (or all those funny names you might use), but it isn't funny.  Help even young children learn the accurate words for their genitals.  There is no shame in this; actually, it's more shameful to have some poor kid made fun of later because they walk around talking about their peenie-weenie.  Young kids don't need a lot of info, but they do need what they need at the appropriate ages.

Unfortunately, much younger than ever, they need more awareness to speak up if someone bothers them in certain ways.

    b.  In this day and time, we should not stick our head in the sand; we are aware that such things happen, perhaps rarely?, but what difference does that make when your resistance or reluctance could leave a small child at risk?  Statistics prove that such sexual assaults occur in fairly predictable patterns:  older brother to younger sister, alas, or in this instance, an older teen to an "opportunity" victim, let's call it. Vicious emails after the fact are not nearly as effective as keeping an eye out for younger children, whoever, and wherever, they may be.  While we may never expect this in our home, in the next room, on our playground, in our group of friends, relatives, or acquaintances, we know better.  

    c.  In that day and time, back in Buffalo, I had no answers to the poor counselors and others' questions.  I still have none, but hope that they do. I do think they would sound a lot like a and b above.

 

I have to ask:

    1.  When is the last time you talked to your child about sexual matters, appropriate to their age?

    2.  When is the last time you had the urge or inkling to explain something (even the correct name of a body part or to "Let me know if you ever feel uncomfortable around Uncle Joe"), but just didn't speak up, because you felt uncomfortable?

    3.  When is the last time you checked to be sure that your schools, libraries, even religious institutions had appropriate and quality sex education materials available for children?  (After all, if they are not available in school, at home, at the local library (and not hidden behind the counter!), or in church, just where do we expect kids to find informational materials on this important subject?

 

When my sex ed book came out (the first of many that I wrote), a young mother of a young child bought a copy from me.  She sat there and read it and began to weep.  

 

"If I had had this information when I was younger, my life would have been so different," she said.  When next I looked, she had her young daughter beside her, and they were reading the book together. We can, as we say, be part of the problem or part of the solution.

 

I wrote this book about 20 years ago and there was a brief flurry of interest and acceptance because we were all in a kerfuffle over AIDS. Once we found out that AIDS mostly affected gay men (that's what we thought at that time), the curiosity died down.  However, as you well know, the sexual images, videos, music lyrics, and more, have ramped up super-significantly in the last 20 years.

 

"In this day and time" IS the time to get serious about sex education for everyone.  Otherwise, well, otherwise, we just see more heart-breaking headlines, and the answering OMG tweets that are a "sound and fury signifying nothing," instead of anything that really helps a child be educated, prepared, protected.

 

And if you just think this is only a guy-on-girl thing, you are mistaken.  Or that it can't happen to you and yours, or in your own backyard (literally, or neighborhood), you are also mistaken.

 

Sex is fascinating, funny, a fact of life, and kids (even young kids) love to learn about it, especially silly sex stuff animals and insects do. If it "takes a village" to educate children on the facts of life, our village is way too small, and often, way too late.  As the 18-year-old boy told his mother when she asked, "Can we talk about sex?"..."Sure, Mom, what do you want to know?"

 

Go to www.gallopade.com or amazon.com or your local bookstore or library and get something (not old and outdated, please!), read it, share it.

 

While you're at it, buy a second copy for someone else, such as a child, friend, teacher, librarian, or other person who works with children of all ages.

 

This is the day.  You know what to do.—Carole Marsh

 

Review By: James Cox,   Wisconsin Bookwatch: April 2008 - April 5, 2008

Just as children must become literate in reading and capable in mathematics if they are to succeed in today's complex and rapidly evolving world, so they must also become knowledgeable about matters of sex well beyond the simple rudiments of human 'plumbing'. Once the isolated province of parental responsibility, sex education for children ages seven to seventeen is now recognized as requiring the joint and cooperative participation of parents, teachers, and the children themselves. An expert and an author in the field of sex education for children, Carole Marsh has now written "Smart Sex Stuff For Kids 7-17: Practical Information & Ideas For Kids, Parents & Teachers", a compendium of information, advice, suggestions, and commentary that will prove invaluable in developing sex education curriculums, as well as parent-child discussions on this sensitive but necessary subject. The text is particularly 'reader friendly' and illustrated with cartoon-like artwork as everything from 'Recipe for a Baby', to 'Master Bation', to 'The Dating Game', to Sex Abuse/Rape, to the issues of pregnancy, abstinence, safe sex practices, love, morality and ethics. From the basic 'facts of life', to the emotional and social ramifications of being sexually active, to 'smart strategies' for boys and girls from puberty through adolescence, "Smart Sex Stuff For Kids 7-17" is an invaluable and strongly recommended resource and reference. Two other titles from Gallopade International on this topic by Carol Marsh which are also very highly recommended include: "A Period Is More Than A Punctuation Mark!: Smart Sex Stuff For Girls" and "Sperm, Squirm & Other Squiggly Stuff!: Smart Sex Stuff For Boys".

You're Invited...

Please come visit me at my "summer home," a.k.a. my summer blog, at http://carolemarshblog.typepad.com/onesummerwriting/

Ben Tucker

Bummer day:  Our friend, Ben Tucker, a famous Savannah jazz musician, 82, was killed by a car ramming his golf cart.  Ben was a great guy and famous in black jazz/radio history.  Mostly he was the king of a 100+ year old bass fiddle.  He was gregarious, gentlemanly, inclusive, kindhearted, and much more.  I once played nine holes of golf with him and he made me believe I was a great player (trust me, I am not!)  As a star-level ambassador for Savannah, this is a great loss for the city, his sweet life, and his many friends. 

Memorial Day Follow Up...

If you saw USA Today's weekend edition, you saw a rather mind-shattering article on four boys who were ages eight or nine when "9/11" came along.  Believe-it-or-not, it's been enough time for them to grow up and go to war...and die.  Wasn't 9/11 just yesterday?  They were inspired to serve their country, and they did.  Not sure how many more, but getting to peace can have many ramifications; I hope we get there soon.