50,000 BOOKS FOR NORTH CAROLINA CHILDREN

Want to win 50,000 books for children in your state? Or mine!?

Go to FIRST BOOK: What Book Got You Hooked?
and cast your vote by answering the question, What book got you hooked on reading?

Right now, North Carolina is # 4 in the rankings.

You are not required to answer "What book got you hooked?" and "Why?" (But you can if you want.) If you prefer, just go straight to "Where would you like to send 50,000 new books?" and vote for North Carolina.

Run. Do not walk. Deadline is September 30th!!

A MOMENT IN HISTORY: Me and Robin Roberts

I was driving through Newton the other day when I saw this. Hundreds of school buses returning to the bus garage for the summer.

And just like that - I returned. Back to that sing-songy Schools out-Schools out-Teacher-wore-her paddle-out feeling. There is nothing quite like that moment when a kid (or teacher) is let out of school for the summer.

And that goes for bus drivers too.

Believe it or not, for two years when I was in high school, I was in that line-up of drivers returning buses to the school bus garage.

It's ancient history now. But for decades, North Carolina actually hired student drivers. There were 8 children in my family and every last one of us drove school buses as students.

Somewhere I have a pic of my brother and me standing in front of our two buses which are parked in our yard. (I spent too much time unsuccessfully looking for it this morning so you'll have to take my word for it.)

Here, instead, is a photo of several of us at an earlier time boarding a bus in our yard. My older brother, Ken is driving.

I suspect one of the visiting relatives from Pennsylvania took this picture. They never quite got over the fact that North Carolina allowed students to drive school buses. (Note: Governors on the buses prevented us from traveling much over 35 miles per hour).

North Carolina was not the only state to do this. A few years ago on Good Morning America, the morning crew shared glimpses of their first jobs. Guess what Robin Roberts' first job was?

Yep! She drove a school bus! (in Alabama) To read her story, follow this link and scroll nearly to the bottom of the page.

So happens, Robin Roberts is one of my most admired people. I like having this in common with her.

TARHEEL TRIVIA: Insectivorous Plant

Eons ago, a friend and I sat for a brief time in a theater watching Little Shop of Horrors. It’s not the sort of movie I gravitate toward but we’d already walked out on The Name of the Rose and Three Amigos. (Clearly it was a bad day at the movies.)

We endured the little shop for only a short while because I have no patience for stories about plants that devour human beings.

I was familiar with carnivorous plants, having grown up in North Carolina, home of the Venus Fly Trap. Of course, it was mostly head knowledge learned in social studies class but a plant that "eats" insects is one of those facts that sticks with a 7th grader.

I’ve seen Venus Fly Traps - but never growing in the wild. Perhaps that’s because their natural habitat is strictly within a 100 mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina. They live in the boggy savannahs of the Carolinas which I typically pass on my way to the beach.

A few facts:

• Venus Fly Trap has stiff sensitive hairs on its leaves
• When an insect bends the hairs, the lobes of the leaf snap together, trapping it inside
• The leaves excrete digestive juices which break down and utilize the softer inner parts of the insect.
• When the digestive process is finished the plant opens and the ecoskeleton blows away.
• The plant grows best in poor soil and thrives on the nutrients provided by insects.
• The Venus Flytrap was discovered in 1763 by Arthur Dobbs, governor of North Carolina.

For pictures and much more info, visit this site.

For a video visit to a flytrap in its natural habitat click here. (Unless, of course, you'd rather not see the hard facts of the food chain in action. But it's a David Attenborough, BBC wildlife video that is more science than drama.)

TARHEEL TRIVIA: Where'd we get that name?

I’m starting a new feature here on my blog. Think I’ll call it Tarheel Trivia. Whenever you see that title, get ready to learn something about my home state!

Fortunately, I have the assistance of my 7th grade Social Studies book! Well actually, I turned that copy in at the end of the school year. Since then, my sister, Jeannie found this one at a yard sale and loaned it to me! I'll start with the term “Tarheels”. (In case you've wondered where the 2009 Basketball Champions got their name?)

It’s like this...

Once upon a time, North Carolina had huge forests of longleaf pines. The pine trees produced sap which could be used to produce turpentine, pitch, rosin, and tar. Making and selling these products for shipbuilding industries was our main industry. (Just ask Mr. Tarheel)

Of course you can’t make tar without stepping in it occasionally. ICK!

Hence our name. North Carolinians have been called tarheels at least since the time of the Civil War. It's that simple. Although, if you're more inclined toward a legendary explanation, Answers.com will be happy to oblige!

A few related things:

• The long leaf pine is our state tree.
• A few North Carolina towns which reflect the long leaf pine influence are Pinehurst, and Pineville, Tarboro, and Southern Pines.
• We even have a Tar River.

Thankfully, the Tar River is made of water!

CELEBRITY SIGHTING!

Hey look - it is the March of Dimes Poster Child all grown up! Dan Moury and his lovely wife Carolyn were out and about in Newton, NC yesterday and I was the paparazzi!

Actually, just prior to taking this photo, I was in the Catawba County Museum of History with other members of a very interested audience hanging on to every word that came out of Dan's mouth.

In 1944, at age 9 Dan was a patient in the Miracle of Hickory emergency polio hospital. The following year he posed with his nurse for a photograph which served as a model for this poster.

Dan's father took 8mm color film of various aspects of the emergency hospital, spliced the footage, added titles, and took them to clubs and civic groups around the state in the years following our epidemic.

Dan is a superb speaker with a relaxed manner and with the assistance of Catawba County History Museum Director, Melinda Herzog, he narrated the silent film for us.

The audience was perfectly lovely as well. There was a great turnout of locals who remembered the epidemic as well as some younger folks who, like me, discovered it recently through BLUE.

Best of all, there were a number of former patients from the hospital. I hope I can connect with some of them very soon. They might not be celebrities but their stories have enriched my life and I would love to explore them further.
The next Miracle of Hickory event is coming on July 12. The paparazzi will be there. Stay tuned for more info!

STATE BOOK AWARD LISTS

More fun stuff. Thanks to Cindy Lord I just learned that BLUE is on another state Children's Book Award list for 2008-2009. This time it's Arkansas and the award itself is called The Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award.

It's also on the book award lists for these two southern states.


Do you recognize them by shape?

All the above are for 2008 and 2009 so voting is a year away. The important thing is that during the next year children in those states will be reading BLUE.
And here in North Carolina they've been reading it too.

As a matter of fact voting is going on right now by students at public and school libraries across the state. The polls close on March 31. Announcement of the winner will be in April.