Today would have been Theodore Geisel's 105th birthday. If that name doesn't sound familiar, you probably know him by his nom de plume, Dr. Seuss. For kids like me who grew up in the 1950s, Dr. Seuss led the way for our reading habits. I think I had my first library card at the age of six from the Amarillo Public Library, and I can remember going to the library with my mom and leaving with a stack of books like The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
All those rhymes and the amazing characters opened a world of imagination for me, a world that most of my Coworkers probably wish had been kept isolated. But for an only child growing up in the 50s, Dr. Seuss was one of my best friends. But, Theodore Geisel was much more than the good doctor. In the 1930s, he created several popular advertising campaigns. He was a political cartoonist during World War II, and he won an Academey Award in 1947 for Documentary Feature with a film about Japenese Culture. In the guise of Dr. Seuss, he also won the 1950 Oscar for Animated Short Film.
I'm not alone in my gratitude for this man. I showed this post to my boss, Linda Rutherford, and she e-mailed back: "Here's my favorite quote from Dr. Seuss: 'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened'." So, here's to Dr. Seuss for teaching a nation how to read--and smile (and for helping me develop my sense of humor).
