http://thedailywh.at/post/722933024/the-oatmeal
Showing posts with label Child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child. Show all posts
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Saddest Article ever.
Commentary: The sunflower boy's smile
By: Bob Greene, CNN Contributer
(CNN) -- On the morning of last year's annual Sunflower Fair in La Porte, Indiana, a family, appearing a little lost, walked up and down a crowded street, looking in vain for the table to sign up their entry. They carried a large sunflower with them.
If no one noticed the exhausted, grieving look in the family's eyes, that was understandable. The Sunflower Fair is a place of happy noise: rides and music and food booths. It is La Porte's fall festival, and people from across northwest Indiana come to spend a Saturday in the midst of the milling, chattering crowds.
The family silently bearing the large sunflower had never been to the fair before.
But this was important.
They finally located the entry table, and asked for a form. They carefully filled it out. Their flower was entered in the seed head category -- the one that judges the largest seed head, which is the circular area in the middle of a sunflower.
They wrote down the name of the person who had grown the sunflower:
Wyatt Wilke.
He was their 7-year-old son. He had died earlier that same day, at a few minutes after midnight.
Now, less than 10 hours later, here they were, with Wyatt's flower.
"He loved growing his sunflowers," said his mother, Cathleen Wilke. "Every year we talked about coming into La Porte for the Sunflower Fair, but we never got around to it. Wyatt really wanted to be part of the contest."
That's what they had planned -- a day at the fair, to enter his sunflower. He was a healthy, constantly laughing boy -- he loved school, where he was in the second grade, he loved horses, he loved his big brother John, with whom he shared a bedroom. The Wilkes lived in the tiny town of Hamlet, about 15 minutes from La Porte; Wyatt would look out the back window, watching for blue jays and cardinals.
"He planted his sunflowers in our garden," Cathleen Wilke said. "He was so careful with them. A few weeks before the fair, there was a heavy windstorm that knocked his biggest sunflower over. He called to me: 'Mom, it's on the ground -- my flower, it's down.' He was afraid it was ruined. But he managed to save it."
The week before the fair, Wyatt wasn't feeling well in class -- he had a sore throat. The school called on a Wednesday. He came home.
"But the next morning, he was up, and he wanted to go to school," his mother said. "He was always so responsible -- he said, 'I didn't get my homework done last night.' I told him that was all right, that the school would understand. But as I made him his toast, he sat there on the couch, doing his homework."
She told him he really shouldn't go to school. He stayed home. That day, he seemed to get sicker and sicker.
"We drove over to the hospital in South Bend that night," his mother said. "He was talking in the car. As sick as he was, he said to us: 'Mom and Dad, when are we going to get to go camping?' There was this big, round, moon in the sky, and he looked out the window of the car and told us to look at it. He said the moon was so beautiful."
At the hospital, they knew he was in very bad shape. Wyatt, it would turn out, had contracted an overwhelming bacterial infection that had entered his bloodstream and that was attacking his organs. He was in the hospital that Thursday night and all day and all evening Friday. His body went into septic shock; it couldn't fight off the infection. Friday turned to Saturday. His life ended just as the new day began.
"He had always told us he wanted to grow up to be a Marine," his mother said. "Then he said he wanted to be a doctor. So we told him he could be a Marine doctor."
And now they were at the hospital, and at age 7, he was gone.
Someone remembered: This was going to be the day of the Sunflower Fair.
How they found the strength to do it is hard to conceive. But that morning, carrying Wyatt's favorite sunflower -- the one he had saved when the wind had knocked it down -- they were at the fair in La Porte.
They waited together as all the categories were judged. No one around them had any idea.
And then, through the loudspeaker system at the fair, the winner of his category was announced:
"First place. . .Wyatt Wilke."
The judging committee looked around, waiting for the winner to come forward and accept his trophy.
His family. . . .
Well, you can imagine.
"I don't even remember which one of us went up to accept it for him," his mother said. "But Wyatt had won. He had won."
That was a year ago. A few months later, the fair's organizer, Phyllis Jones, approached Cathleen Wilke and asked her if she would like to serve on the committee. She said yes.
And this year at the fair, the contest -- all the categories, the whole competition -- had a new name:
The Wyatt Wilke Sunflower Contest.
The seeds from Wyatt's winning flower were given to his classmates at Kingsford Heights Elementary School. The children planted them in the school's new memorial garden, the one that is named for Wyatt.
The sunflowers are blooming now. Soon enough winter will arrive, and the snow will cover Indiana. But the seeds will be planted in the school's garden every year, and forever the flowers will return, bright and vibrant and full of life's very best promise, like the smile of a boy who believes he can do anything.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/04/greene.wyatt.sunflower/index.html
By: Bob Greene, CNN Contributer
(CNN) -- On the morning of last year's annual Sunflower Fair in La Porte, Indiana, a family, appearing a little lost, walked up and down a crowded street, looking in vain for the table to sign up their entry. They carried a large sunflower with them.
If no one noticed the exhausted, grieving look in the family's eyes, that was understandable. The Sunflower Fair is a place of happy noise: rides and music and food booths. It is La Porte's fall festival, and people from across northwest Indiana come to spend a Saturday in the midst of the milling, chattering crowds.
The family silently bearing the large sunflower had never been to the fair before.
But this was important.
They finally located the entry table, and asked for a form. They carefully filled it out. Their flower was entered in the seed head category -- the one that judges the largest seed head, which is the circular area in the middle of a sunflower.
They wrote down the name of the person who had grown the sunflower:
Wyatt Wilke.
He was their 7-year-old son. He had died earlier that same day, at a few minutes after midnight.
Now, less than 10 hours later, here they were, with Wyatt's flower.
"He loved growing his sunflowers," said his mother, Cathleen Wilke. "Every year we talked about coming into La Porte for the Sunflower Fair, but we never got around to it. Wyatt really wanted to be part of the contest."
That's what they had planned -- a day at the fair, to enter his sunflower. He was a healthy, constantly laughing boy -- he loved school, where he was in the second grade, he loved horses, he loved his big brother John, with whom he shared a bedroom. The Wilkes lived in the tiny town of Hamlet, about 15 minutes from La Porte; Wyatt would look out the back window, watching for blue jays and cardinals.
"He planted his sunflowers in our garden," Cathleen Wilke said. "He was so careful with them. A few weeks before the fair, there was a heavy windstorm that knocked his biggest sunflower over. He called to me: 'Mom, it's on the ground -- my flower, it's down.' He was afraid it was ruined. But he managed to save it."
The week before the fair, Wyatt wasn't feeling well in class -- he had a sore throat. The school called on a Wednesday. He came home.
"But the next morning, he was up, and he wanted to go to school," his mother said. "He was always so responsible -- he said, 'I didn't get my homework done last night.' I told him that was all right, that the school would understand. But as I made him his toast, he sat there on the couch, doing his homework."
She told him he really shouldn't go to school. He stayed home. That day, he seemed to get sicker and sicker.
"We drove over to the hospital in South Bend that night," his mother said. "He was talking in the car. As sick as he was, he said to us: 'Mom and Dad, when are we going to get to go camping?' There was this big, round, moon in the sky, and he looked out the window of the car and told us to look at it. He said the moon was so beautiful."
At the hospital, they knew he was in very bad shape. Wyatt, it would turn out, had contracted an overwhelming bacterial infection that had entered his bloodstream and that was attacking his organs. He was in the hospital that Thursday night and all day and all evening Friday. His body went into septic shock; it couldn't fight off the infection. Friday turned to Saturday. His life ended just as the new day began.
"He had always told us he wanted to grow up to be a Marine," his mother said. "Then he said he wanted to be a doctor. So we told him he could be a Marine doctor."
And now they were at the hospital, and at age 7, he was gone.
Someone remembered: This was going to be the day of the Sunflower Fair.
How they found the strength to do it is hard to conceive. But that morning, carrying Wyatt's favorite sunflower -- the one he had saved when the wind had knocked it down -- they were at the fair in La Porte.
They waited together as all the categories were judged. No one around them had any idea.
And then, through the loudspeaker system at the fair, the winner of his category was announced:
"First place. . .Wyatt Wilke."
The judging committee looked around, waiting for the winner to come forward and accept his trophy.
His family. . . .
Well, you can imagine.
"I don't even remember which one of us went up to accept it for him," his mother said. "But Wyatt had won. He had won."
That was a year ago. A few months later, the fair's organizer, Phyllis Jones, approached Cathleen Wilke and asked her if she would like to serve on the committee. She said yes.
And this year at the fair, the contest -- all the categories, the whole competition -- had a new name:
The Wyatt Wilke Sunflower Contest.
The seeds from Wyatt's winning flower were given to his classmates at Kingsford Heights Elementary School. The children planted them in the school's new memorial garden, the one that is named for Wyatt.
The sunflowers are blooming now. Soon enough winter will arrive, and the snow will cover Indiana. But the seeds will be planted in the school's garden every year, and forever the flowers will return, bright and vibrant and full of life's very best promise, like the smile of a boy who believes he can do anything.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/04/greene.wyatt.sunflower/index.html
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
30 Classic Childhood Games
These just bring back memories:
I found this fascinating quote today:
You should read the whole article.
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/08/simpleoutdoorplay/
I found this fascinating quote today:
Red Rover: Divide everyone into two teams, each forming a long line, holding hands, facing the other team. The two teams should be around 20 or so feet apart. The teams take turn calling out, “Red Rover, Red Rover, let <insert child’s name> come over!” That child leaves their team’s line, runs as fast as they can toward the other line and tries to break through the held hands. If they break through, they get to take someone back to their team. If they don’t, they join the new team. When a team only has one person left, that person tries to break through the other team. If they do not, then their team loses. If they do, they gain a player and play continues. Number of Players: Any decent size group. Equipment: None.wired.com, 30 Classic Games for Simple Outdoor Play, Aug 2009
You should read the whole article.
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/08/simpleoutdoorplay/
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Dirty Mind
A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"
Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"
Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.
While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.
Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.
Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."
Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."
And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know.
The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade"
Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."
The principal and Harry both agreed.
Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"
Harry, after a moment: "Legs."
Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"
The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."
Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"
Harry: "Pants."
Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."
The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.
Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"
The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."
Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"
Harry: "Shake hands."
The principal was trembling.
Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"
Harry: "Firetruck."
The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong.
http://www.testriffic.com/joke/Strikerdude/23930
Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"
Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.
While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.
Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.
Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."
Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."
And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know.
The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade"
Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."
The principal and Harry both agreed.
Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"
Harry, after a moment: "Legs."
Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"
The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."
Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"
Harry: "Pants."
Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."
The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.
Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"
The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."
Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"
Harry: "Shake hands."
The principal was trembling.
Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"
Harry: "Firetruck."
The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong.
http://www.testriffic.com/joke/Strikerdude/23930
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