A 5-in-one book for multiple reading levels

Kindle version

What’s a 5:1 Book About? Glad you asked. To be direct, it’s about encouraging reading: for all ages. ESPECIALLY so, for children and young growing-up boys and girls—but also with a twist. 

The twist? It’s for adults to read aloud to young children. See, we know as educators that reading helps the mind grow stronger; it develops the imagination, and it opens possibilities of original, creative thinking skills that will come with new opportunities. 

 So, here, I’ve packaged a 5-layer “cake” of reading pleasure. (It would be a chocolate cake if I had my way, but sorry, this one is for reading, not eating. But you can “eat up” the stories if it helps feed your interest in reading! Or sharing the art of reading! So, here you’ll find a gradual phase of reading levels for children and also a top level for young people and even adults! (Yes, adults! We still have a lot to learn by reading, and in the stories from a very special high school with very unique students, you may find the ideas and interest to write YOUR memories! That’s what I did!) 

 And within this book are five different ranges of reading styles that will be suitable for young children: starting with “I am the Flumps,” and then going on to either the Platypus or Rose Plant & Blueberry Bush story, and then on to the Girl Who Made Friends with Dragons—and then, in time, on to the madcap high school adventures of eight friends who just look and act a bit...weird?! To be read alone or aloud: it’s anyone’s correct choice!  

The GOAT of the NBA: the greatest player's impact ever - Wilt Chamberlain

A short video clip for sports fans. I know there's a lot of debate about the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) in the NBA and who was better. I certainly think Bill Russell was a champion player, teammate, and legend. But for the record, just watch Wilt Chamberlain MOVE Bill Russell by just using his forearm--and strength. Watch Russell fight for balance and position. I have a lot of other reasons to be a Wilt fan--especially because so many (close to 90) records still are intact--50 years after Chamberlain retired. By the way, the record for rebounds in a game (55) is held by Wilt--against Russell's Celtics. 

And I grew up in Wilt's era. I saw him on TV. He was unstoppable--against top opponents like Abdul-Jabbar, Willis Reed, and Nate Thurmond.
Rules were changed because of Wilt: goal-tending (he would go so high up for shots that the refs didn't believe it possible), widening the lane (6 to 12 feet), not entering the lane after shooting a free throw (Wilt used to take a running leap from the line and dunk). THOSE were Wilt's comments to Michael Jordan about "Who had the most influence." Wilt said, "They changed to rules to make it harder for me. They changed them to make it easier for you."
By the way: Wilt NEVER fouled out of a game. EVER. And he averaged 48 minutes.

(Wilt's strength was another story. When he dunked, there were times the ball bounced up as high as the rim after hitting the floor. He definitely dislocated Gus Johnson's shoulder by blocking an incoming dunk; Wilt didn't like being disrespected like that. And he broke Johnny Kerr's toe when he slammed one that hit Kerr's foot. Big Bob Lanier, who stood 6'11 and weighed 270, said "Wilt picked me up like a coffee cup and moved me for better position.") And that IS Gus Johnson, at 6'6", 245, being thrown off the court by Wilt. And Gus was one POWERFUL man himself. Not to Wilt: "You go there. I want this spot."

Wilt also stopped a bench of players from coming on the court simply by walking toward them: it was said they all stopped like they hit a wall. They almost did: a human wall. Wilt's shoulders were huge.

Stories for Business Speeches & Reading Aloud to Children

 

Oh, a few weeks ago on a Saturday, I found myself on the phone with my middle brother, Steven. And I had just written a short story the day before about a VERY upset, confused cow. In talking with him, I found myself thinking about putting these stories together with some others I had written, and then putting them into a Kindle book. And the ideas would be all based on stories of animals.

Now, for the audience. Well...some of these would work for children--but I think it would be better if an adult (maybe Grandpa or Grandma) read them out loud, but the first story about the cow...is better for a business audience. (Sometimes when a person is called to give a speech or tell a funny story at a party, they could use one of these. Especially the story about the cow--or the story about the duck. But THAT story came to me when I was 11 years old, by way of my mother's mother, and I was her first and favorite grandson. I also wrote other stories about her and animals...including the pet woolly monkey she had in her living room. The living room with the waterfall and goldfish pond....)

So...this is for sale on Kindle (this makes #13 for me on Amazon), and here's a preview of my brother's story and one about my grandma.

Without further adieu, please welcome "The Pig's Tail and the Goat's Neck," and "The Fish with Two Tails and No Head." And yes: they're true.

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    My middle brother, Steven, is two years younger than me. And he’s known among family and friends for his enthusiasm, laughs, and attention-sharing episodes. This is his story: of the Pig’s Tail and the Goat’s Neck.

        Steven, who is a very diversified retired chiropractor (someone who adjusts the body for better health) was on a date with a girlfriend. And he was filled with knowledge and technique from his new medical degree from a fine college—and he wanted to show off a bit. So he and his girlfriend were at a local farm in New Jersey where they featured a petting zoo.

        After looking around after they arrived, Steven and his date stopped by a wandering goat who seemed to be a bit out of its comfort zone. It kept stretching and twisting its head back and forth and side-to-side. That’s all it took for Steven to take the situation in hand—and I mean that directly.

        He grabbed the goat’s head and in one twist, performed a standard chiropractic procedure to fix the neck muscles. Of course, it’s normally done on a person! But—Steven had found himself his first patient, and he wanted to show his girlfriend what he could do—and he did. Crunch!

        The goat was astonished—or perhaps relieved of the stress—or perhaps it didn’t know what had just happened. (How do you explain chiropractic to a goat?) It didn’t matter: it worked, and the animal walked away looking around slowly but surely with more confidence and not doing all those twists.

        But that wasn’t enough for Steven: he had to prove his skills even more—with a pig. And that’s when he noticed a pig’s curled tail with its backside against an open space on a fence. So he reached over and took the pig by the tail—and pulled.

        It squealed—loudly!--but its tail went out straight. Another adjustment! And so Steven walked off, laughing and happy at his success, and his girlfriend shook her head at him in behalf of the goat and the pig.

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 The Fish with Two Tails and No Head

    My mother’s mother, my grandma, had a very large and  expensive tropical fish collection in her home.  She was one of the first homeowners in Long Island to have a large aquarium when a tropical fish craze took hold during the 1940’s. 

There were up to 10 tanks going at once, each with its own kind of species, and when we visited, we received a tour of the Fish Room.  She had scorpion fish, lion fish, sea horses, angel fish, all kinds of rainbow-colored miniature darts, and some ferocious Oscars.  They were terrifying cannibalistic hunters, ready to eat anything dropped in the tank, especially goldfish.  Grandma found herself one day with a fish that was never seen before: the fish with no head and a tail at either end.

        She had walked in to look at her collection, and she stopped by each tank to examine her treasures.  One tank held....what was this?  A fish swimming in circles...with no head?--and two tails? 

One of the fish had tried to eat its partner.  They were so closely matched in size that the victim couldn’t quite fit, and it was hard to see where one started and the other left off.  You could say that one of them tried to bite off more than it could chew.  Grandma couldn’t separate them, but for a few minutes, she had the strangest fish she ever could have shown us.  But the Fish Room had other guests on daily residence.

(This continues with the Boy Bird who Laid an Egg and the Bird who Barked and Meowed. They're ALSO a true story. So is everything else in this book.)

"Owls" by Leo Kottke; performed by Andrew Lardner

Art (and beauty) are in the eyes of the viewer

Very Special People - a warning before you proceed

 If this topic disturbs you, please go to any other post instead. No judgement on my part--or yours, please.

These were fellow human beings. And they have a story to tell.

Of challenges, struggles, notoriety in its own cruel way, employment (yes!), even romance and families; of proving themselves. This is the story of some Very Special People. And I discuss this with nurses and other medical professionals to ask, "Do you know of these people and their conditions?"

I had this book in paperback in 1973, and last read it in 1982. The stories still are vivid in my memory. Even now, I can tell you some of the names of the book cover: that's Eli Bowen on top left, born without a lower body but attached feet instead; poor Julia Pasternak, who was from a Mexican Indian tribe and labeled "The Ugliest Woman in the world," who did get married, but only at death to have her body put on display by her greedy, manipulative husband. To her left; well, she was obviously a midget, and around 18 inches tall. The overweight man eludes me, but that's "The Human Caterpillar," Prince Randian from the Caribbean, who is rolling his own cigarette with his mouth. There were others whose story I would leave for another possible post.

But very special in his own way: Joseph Merrick. The Elephant Man, whose short life was totally misplaced and ruined by David Lynch's movie of the same name. Joseph, who suffered NOT from neurofibromatosis but instead, Proteus Syndrome, did NOT face the social ridicule of Victorian England when he DID work as a side show exhibit. He DID have a fairly normal childhood although his growths were obviously forming, and he was unable after age 11 to work in a factory--and ended up in a workhouse until age 17, and then went to the side shows for employment. 

He WASN'T associated with a theater star, nor was he abused by a guard at the hospital where he lived after he WAS introduced to his benefactor, Dr. Frederick Treves. He did NOT meet a beautiful theater actress, but he WAS introduced to one of Queen Victoria's daughters. He would normally sleep sitting up because of the weight of his skull being impossible to sleep sideways or on his stomach or back. When he DID one night try to sleep on his back, the mass and weight of his skull broke his neck and killed him. He was known to never complain about his condition.

Proteus was the Greek god who could change into a gas, solid, or liquid. He did so to try and avoid helping Hercules complete his 12 tasks. Hercules still contained him and got the answers he sought.

Oh. About Eli Bowen. He had a pal named Charles Tripp, who had no arms but had his legs. They would go out on a two-seated bicycle throughout Ohio as a tour enticement for their act. Eli would steer and Tripp would pedal, and a crowd of amazed viewers often heard Bowen snap back, "Get your hands off me!" Tripp would call out to his partner, "Watch your step!" 

The 16 Types of Government

Civics isn't taught in high school anymore; a real loss for social knowledge skills and decision-making, in my view. And although I didn't have that class as my choice in high school, we did take sociology in 10th grade, and I took "Presidential Politics" as a course in 1976 at a college. It reflected on four styles of the office of the commander-in-chief: how they could be either active or resistant to handling responsibilities. It would also depend on two choices once they were in office: how did their term as president reflect in a rewarding view by historians--or not? Active presidents sought the office. Negative presidents didn't want the office but were swayed to accept it.

Active-Positive; Active-Negative, Negative-Positive; Negative-Negative.

(A Negative president could be someone who replaced a previous leader.

 Calvin Coolidge is a Negative-negative)

(Dwight Eisenhower-Franklin Pierce / Harry S. Truman-Calvin Coolidge) = Active/Positive & Active-Negative, while Truman/Coolidge is Negative-positive and as mentioned...

But here's a list of current ideas rolling around everyone's vocabulary--which is why I'm posting it.

The Evolution of Rhinos

Evolution of the Platypus