Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten
8 book talk Posted by The Bookworm at 10:47 AM
As one of the fans of Bob Ong, I've read all of his works including Stainless Longanisa, which Bob Ong had mentioned his favorite author. We were in high school then and we were hanging out in bookstores most of the time. Surprisingly, I spotted a familiar name while looking around. "Robert Fulghum!" I knew I was the first one who noticed the book author if I'm not mistaken but my friend was first one who got it from the pile of books on the shelves. "He's the favorite author of Bob Ong!" And because everyone loved Bob Ong, everyone wanted the book and thus our pal who got it first from the shelf was able to purchase it (the only copy available that time). But that was not the end of the story, we came back again in the same store and kapow, there were three other copies of the book. Yes, we bought them all. I keep Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten for more than four years now because I never lend it to anyone. Thanks Bob Ong.
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| Robert Fulghum |
The book is nonfiction. It is not a novel. It is a compilation of sort of short narratives and essays from a sentimental minister who loves Chicken-fried steak and Beethoven. A gentle sentimental old man who doesn't kill spiders nor eat mushrooms, who doesn't rake leaves nor shove snow in his yard, who loves to create Crayola bomb, and who always wanted a cuckoo clock. He's Robert Fulghum, a natural-born storyteller whose stories were remarkable yet so simple. You may find yourself smiling at his paradoxes and then saying with a sigh, "That's very true."
Let me share with you my favorite excerpts from the book:
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge.
That myth is more potent than history.
That dreams are more powerful than facts.
That hope always triumphs over experience.
That laughter is the only cure for grief.
And I believe that love is stronger than death.
Don't sell yourself short. You may never have the proof of your importance, but you are more important than you think.
The lions are so prolific that the zoo has had to place IUDs in each of the lionesses. So all the lions do is eat and sleep and scratch fleas and have sex without consequences.
My friend says if you want to know the truth about people, it's the place to go. All you have to do is look in the drawers and shelves and cabinets in the bathroom. And take a look at the robes and pajamas and nightgowns hanging on the hook behind the door. You'll get the picture. He says all their habits and hopes and dreams and sorrows, illnesses and hangups, and even their sex life-all stand revealed in that one small room.
I suppose it's harmless enough for a yearning to be so strong that what you need becomes very real in some corner of your heart. Picasso said, "Everything you can imagine is real." And I understand that.
-all those who are different, who do not fit the norm and who do not accept the available boxes and pigeonholes? Answer that question and you can build a school, a nation or a world on it.
Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away!
Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time crisis developed, we would launched one. It would explode high in the air-explode softly-and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.
Yelling at living things does tend to kill the spirit in them. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words may break our hearts.
I want my childhood back. A child who is impractical, unrealistic, simpleminded, and terribly vulnerable to joy.
...she usually doesn't really like what I give her for Christmas, anyway, and I usually end up with it in the end, so I figured I might as well start out by giving her something I want in the first place, so when I get it back I can be truly grateful.
Not many people have murdered a cuckoo-clock bird, but I had done it. I could see Christmas morning: "Here. dear, a cuckoo clock. For you. The bird is dead.
But me, I think old God is Sardine player. And will be found the same way everybody gets found in Sardines-by the sound of laughter of those heaped together at the end.
And many more. Robert Fulghum, like his book, is exceptional. His positive perspectives about life, his humour, his uncommon thoughts on common stuff and how he has seen Christmas in late August are which I always ponder and admire. A good person really makes a good book. Honestly, I want to meet him in person and I'll ask him, 'Sir, who's your favorite book author?' And of course I'll search it again among the thick piles of books on the shelves of every bookstores.
I bought the book for some reasons:
1. I wondered how male authors write romantic novels. Apparently, most romance writers are female. And I haven't read romantic fiction that is written by a masculine before. I believed that there could be a difference between how a woman handles and how a man sees love in their very own point of view, I reckon. It could reflect in their writings.
2. I wanted to try reading romance fiction in English for the first time.
3. The book was cheap, 150 pesos only.
4. The book cover was cute.
Vince O. Teves' Vince's Life was a cute story of guy who was very in love with a girl. The plot is all concerning Vince and his love for Andrea. It would be more suitable if the title was 'Vince's Life with Andrea'. But it was cute. I liked how it's written in male first person point of view. From what I've read, I could say that there was no big difference between a man and a woman if they are absolutely in love. They say that girls are more emotional and serious in relationships while boys are often incapable of fidelity and less emotional. They say that ladies love one man at a time while men are less serious and always flirting every pretty and sexy ladies they know. But in the novel, it breaks the rules and wrong perceptions about gentlemen. There is no such thing as incapable of fidelity. Vince's pure love for a one and only woman, that's Andrea, was amazing. Boys and girls, if Mr.Cupid struck our hearts there would be no less emotional nor less serious. Everyone gets serious and emotional for the special feeling we have for the dearest person in our lives. By the way, there are two other books (sequel) follow after this one.
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