The Saddest and Most Thoughtful Book I’ve Ever Read
Damn you Dr. Seuss!
Damn you Dr. Seuss!
Looking back on my childhood, I was lucky enough to be alive at the same time as several creators. Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, and Jim Henson are a few that come to mind. But the artist I enjoy the most is Dr. Seuss.
He died in 1991 when I was only nine years old, but I remember watching the news with my mom that evening. ABC Evening News ran a special that night remembering his books, and cartoons, and looking at his legacy.
The final book he released before his death was ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go.’ Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, battled cancer for his last few years. Therefore, the book became his swan song; a summation of his entire life condensed into 56 illustrated pages which he drew.
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Amazon.com: Oh, the Places You'll Go! : 8580001038957: Seuss, Dr.: Bookswww.amazon.com
Released in January 1990, my parents bought the book for my brothers and me. I don’t remember what I thought on my first read, but it must have struck a chord with me. My mom still has the same copy of the book on her shelf and has refused to let it go through two divorces and decades of problems. Perhaps she feels a similar connection to it as I do.
Now, the story seems sadder than I remember.
In college, circa 2002, I found the book on my hall director's desk. I worked the overnight crew at the front desk and her work desk was nearby. I read it once, then again, then, with tears in my eyes, read it a third time before putting it away.
A flood of thoughts rushed to my mind all at once.
I remembered being a little boy and knowing my entire life was ahead of me. I wasn’t naive enough to believe I could be anything I wanted, but I was smart enough to know I can make thousands of choices over the next 80 years. But, when reading the book in my boss's office, I knew I wasn’t eight anymore, I was 20 and in the middle of choosing my future career.
I had already run out of time to “fix” my childhood problems before becoming an adult because I was an adult. This became even more apparent when making friends who the high school experiences I wanted, but never had. Sex, parties, dating, breakups, hookups; all just dreams during high school for me, but a weekly occurrence for some.
I thought about my future. I was single and hadn’t had a relationship in two years. Would I leave college alone and have to face the world of online dating? Would I always be poor and work some awful dead-end job? How much longer would I have to journey alone? Five years? Ten years? Forever?
I’m an overthinker and I know it shows through my writing, but the story is true. I’m sure Dr. Seuss didn’t mean to invoke quite so negative emotions and thoughts through his childhood readers, but for me, a young adult with the weight of the world beginning to come down on his shoulders, it broke me.
Five years later, my first child is two years old and wants a bedtime story. I look through the bedroom at our mini-library and find our Dr. Seuss section. There, sitting between Cat and the Hat and Fox in Sox, is a white, thin-spined, book. I pull it from the shelf knowing exactly what I’m reading, but the thing I’ve always wanted to impart to my children was the gift of forethought. So, I began to read it out loud.
Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places. You’re off and away.
Slow breathes.
All Alone! Whether you like it or not, alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.
Don’t tear up.
So… be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, You’re off the Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!
Damn it.
