The questions were fast and furious. Photo courtesy of retired teacher Maria LaPlaca Bohrer, who, with her husband Glenn, graciously fed and put us up for the night.
Mike, Whitney and I flew into La Guardia last Tuesday evening. The next day, New York City schools were closed due to snow. The next day, schools on Long Island were closed, too, so our Thursday visit to Rall Elementary School was cancelled.
Eyebrows up! Whitney and I finally outlasted Mother Nature on Friday. We spent that entire day at Harding Avenue Elementary School in Lindenhurst, and if you ask me, the questions the kids asked there made the wait worthwhile. Some examples:
- What happens when you have to go upstairs?
- How many dogs have you had?
- What inspired you to write books?
- How do you eat ice cream?
- How can you write books if you can’t see??
- What if your Seeing Eye dog bit you?
- How come you’ve had so many dogs?
- But what if the ice cream is in a cone?
- Can your dog have babies? Why not?
- When you go to shop, how do you pick out clothes?
- How can you drive?
- How come you have to change dogs so much?
- Is your dog with you all the time when you’re at home, too?
- How do you feel if you’re blind?
- You said all you can see is the color black, right, so I gotta wonder if, when your dog pulls you, does she keep you safe?
It took that little boy a while to get that last question out. I sure didn’t mind — it just gave me a chance to lean down and scratch Whitney’s ears while I listened. Bonus: the concern in the boy’s voice motivated me to lift the harness on Whitney’s back and demonstrate how a Seeing Eye dog works.
And so, for our grand finale, I commanded “Whitney, outside!” The kids watched in awe as my magnificent Seeing Eye dog led mea safely around chairs, bookshelves and children sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor to the door out of the room.
This past Monday special education teacher Caitlin Farrell emailed me thank you notes from her class that I can hear. If you are looking for — or need — something to smile about, click the players below to hear their beautiful voices.
Love this! I give Future Leader Dog presentations at our local school. The questions are always priceless. Thanks for sharing. And I especially loved their voices.
Those voices truly are beautiful, aren’t they? Thanks for reading….and listening!
Beth, Glenn and I truly enjoyed spending time with you, Mike, and Whitney. You are welcome to stay with us anytime you’re on Long Island. The students at Harding loved your visit…great questions. Mrs. Farrell’s students “thank you” message is priceless! Hope to see you again, soon, Beth! 💖
Yes, and maybe next time in summer — no snow days!
You can hear the sincerity in their voices, and the thoughtfulness in their questions.
This is why I write for kids, Beth. I love ’em!
Ohh, Lee. I love ’em, too.
I love the comments and hearing them is especially a treat.
Hi Beth,
That was so interesting. You can imagine all the things kids told me when I use to be a child therapist!! Their parents would die if they knew. I had to tell them it was our secret. Of course, I didn’t realize that I would hear all the “dirty laundry”!! Kids are just great and soooo
innocent.
Kathy
Aha! This explains why you never wrote about your days as a child psychiatrist when you were in my memoir-writing class: it’s a secret.
Always love to hear the uninhibited questions. The endless curiosity of kids. And the audio snips are so lovely.
Thanks for this comment, Gretchen –curiosity is underrated! I especially appreciate your taking the time to hear those kids read their thank-you notes out loud to me. Priceless.
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