Thanks to Google, I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood authors Robert Louis Stevenson.  What ten year old doesn’t love Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped?  But my true love was the poetry written by the man.

Again, thanks to Google I found “A Child’s Garden of Verses”.  Someone, on my eighth Christmas, gave me an edition of that volume of poems and the memory of that gift sticks in my head like it was yesterday.  The cover  was pale green with pink ribbons streaming down the front and back of the book, and my rush to open presents stopped, as I took the time to run my hand over the silkiness of the cover.  The real treat came that afternoon, when I sat curled in my favorite overstuffed chair with my collie,Duchess sleeping contentedly at my feet,  and I cracked that oversized tome for the first time to experience the poems of RLS.   The illustrations were memorable and when I read the poems again today those pictures of yesterday filled my head.  Some time over the years, I lost my book of poems, but I never lost my love for the poetry.

I’ve provided links to three of my favorites for just a taste of his grasp of a young child’s curiosity. I would urge any one who has a young reader on their gift list this holiday season to consider choosing an author, 160 years young, who will undoubtedly still stoke the  creativity of a child’s imagination for that someone special, eight or 10.    

The Wind                  The Swing                      My Shadow

Another year gone, added to our past.

Remember the laughter, the smiles, the bright sunny days.

Cherish the friends, the family, the time you spent together.

Reflect on the hopes, the dreams, the promise of a new tomorrow.

Be thankful for good health, for second chances, for all the good that came your way.

Another year waits to become our present, to create our future.

Bring the memories, the reflections, and the thanks with you.

Build a foundation of strengths within you and those around you.

Use each day to make the world a better place by being you.

Embrace your dreams by making them reality.

Dear Friends, on this New Year’s Eve, straddle the new and the old and make the future yours by living each day fully.

And as for me, I wish a New Year filled with health, prosperity, and happiness for each and every one of you.

Just received this email from our friend Dennis, the inventor.

Come see the speakers at Euclid side of Halle
Building during the ingenuity fest   Please forward this to all your friends.

Sent from my iPhone
Dennis All-Tronics
Builders of one of the finest  speaker systems in the world.
WWW.Atssounds.com
WWW.all-tronics.net

He has invented the most awesome speaker I have ever experienced.   Yes, it is an experience-not hearing, not listening, but experiencing.  Everyone I talk to who has head them say it is hard to  describe  to those who have not yet seen them and sat in the seat to hear them.  Kind of like being right there in the concert hall.  And a piano, the sound of a piano at its best if you can’t be there live.

Stop by when you are strolling down Euclid Avenue enjoying the Engenuity Fest!

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there’s free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.”

Hear, hear.

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