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4 comments about All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Fifteenth Anniversary Edition Reconsidered, Revised, & Expanded With Twenty-Five New Essays.

1. ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN
   by Robert Fulghum is a collection of essays that reflect the author's thoughts on life, death and a whole lot of other subjects in-between.

   So when I saw the 15th Anniversary Edition I naturally had to get hold of and then devour it . . . and am glad I did . . . it's GREAT!

   It is also quite different . . . or as the subtitle indicates, it is "reconsidered, revised, and expanded with 25 new essays."

   I liked all the new entries, but also got a kick out of revisiting the old ones . . . it was like being with friends I haven't seen before.

   Fulghum is that kind of author . . . once you read him, you'll
   want to get everything else he has written: IT WAS ON FIRE
   WHEN I LAY DOWN ON IT, UH-OH and MAYBE (MAYBE
   NOT) . . . you won't be disappointed in any of these, nor with
   his latest work either.

   There were several memorable passages in the 15th Edition that
   I had not come across before; among them:

   * "And so then what happened?"

   An urgent question out of the bedtime darkness, asked by my children, when they and I were young. Just when I thought I had slam-dunked a story-ending-just when I was certain the children were safely in the arms of the sandman--a small, sleepy voice would plead, "So, then what happened?" And no matter what I replied, the plea went on, "Please, please, Daddy--tell the rest of the story."

   In cranky desperation, I would resort to apocalypse: "Suddenly a
   comet hit the earth and blew everything to pieces."

   Silence. "What happened to the pieces?"

   "It doesn't matter. Everybody died a horrible death, especially
   all the little children who were not asleep." I also tried, "The father sold all the children who would not go to sleep to a passing gypsy who ground them into sausage meat. The first children to be ground up were those who would not stop asking questions."

   Go ahead, shame me. But it worked. Most of the time. On reflection, I suspect such gory endings were what they really liked most. Perhaps it was a scheme to see just how far I would go--to see how crazed their father really was.

   Now I am dealing with grandchildren who have the same restless
   minds. I am wilier now than I used to be. To the inevitable request for more, I reply, "Only your father knows the rest of the story. Ask him to finish it when you get home."

   * Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret
   weapon. A happiness weapon. A Beauty Bomb. And every time a
   crisis developed, we would launch one first--before we tried
   anything else. It would explode high in the air--explode softly--and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth--boxes of Crayolas. And we shouldn't go cheap either--not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the word with imagination instead
   of death. A child who touched one wouldn't have his hand blown off.

   * I recall an old Sufi story of a good man who was granted one
   wish by God. The man said he would like to go about doing good
   without knowing about it. God granted his wish. And then God
   decided that it was such a good idea, he would grant that wish to
   all human beings.

   And so it has been to this day.




2. This is a classic. I had the original and Robert Fulghum expands on the ideas in this revised edition. This is the audio version, read by the author, so it's like he's talking personally to you. A thoroughly enjoyable listen.



3. I read and lost the first publication of this neat little book, so my only legal option was to buy another copy. However, this one has many improvements. The large type I got used to real fast and it did make the delightful text easier to read. The "rest of the story" updates only made the book better. Since nearly all of the "chapters" are not longer than three pages the book is easy to read either at one setting or just whenever you have a little time. And while many of the stories are entertainingly funny, others are poignant and gives one some cause for pause from a hectic life to think about the subtile real values which often go unnoticed.



4. I was alerted to this book in graduate school. Having a vague memory of it, I ordered a big print copy which arrived clean but with yellowy pages. Why all the hype? It's ok but sometimes I think it got a lot of fame because a distinguished male wrote it. Really, you can find better books!

5 comments about What On Earth Have I Done?: Stories, Observations, and Affirmations.

1. Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really need to Know in Kindergarten, is one of my favorite authors. Not because his works are particularly entertaining, but because they are thought provoking in regards to the everyday. I suppose this can be entertaining. It is for me anyway. He's not a political writer, a theologian of grandest prose, nor is he a poet. He is simply, as he contends in his latest work, an essayist who writes his thoughts on things. I'm often asked, "What's that book about." "Well, it's not about anything," is often my response. The subtitle of his Kindergarten work is: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things. This pretty much sums him up.
   
   Since I read him last in college, blogging has become a popular form of expression. With no investment other than time, someone can post their thoughts on everything from politics to bar-b-q. I have my own website/blog and I have discovered a whole new appreciation for Fulghum's work; an appreciation that was probably there all along, I just didn't know it. Fulghum has really influenced my own style of writing. His simplistic love for the ordinary allows the reader to see the joy in his everyday life. This, I believe, is one of the greatest tasks laid before writers. It is their responsibility to the world.



2. WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I DONE? by Robert Fulghum is a series of semi-sermons and often sensible substance...whew! Try saying that a few times? Regardless, what you find in it is simple wisdom and basic truths that a lot of us have forgotten or in our quests to become something or someone special, have overlooked in favor of self importance. We text or twitter to avoid conversation. We sit in coffee shops with laptops open trying to look or write with profundity without taking in the world in front of us. We race around daily and when we finally get home we're too tired to talk.
   For years now Fulghum has reminded us of what we're missing, politely nagging us to get us to play nice, enjoy our family and friends, and maybe slow down long enough to find substance.
   In between my stack of whodunnits, history books, Nave SEAL shoot'em ups, Special Forces secret stuff, high seas high adventures, P.I. capers and cookbooks (Yeah, that's right! I like cookbooks!) I toss in works by Fulghum, Vonnegut or Mark Twain to remind me of the good people and things in life there are to enjoy.
   Good stuff here so reel in your ego and open up your ears to what he has to say on the page. If it helps then think of his observations as preventive medicinal droplets that don't hurt and might help stave off stupidity.
   Hey, there's a lot it going around!



3. Robert Fulghum is a genius at using humor to reflect on the "why and why not" of behavior. I gave a copy to each of my grade school girl friends (from 50 years ago) plus a copy to two of my current Amigas. It helps to remember "some things never change" as we move along through our journey through life. When I catch myself saying or doing things I promised myself I'd never do, I realize we really do carry around our past through DNA and experience. Of course the more novel and meaningful the experiences, the more we are bound to be affected and doomed to repeat our past. As someone once said, "I turned out to be my mother!" ..not such a bad thing really! Thanks for the memories.



4. Another AWESOME piece by Robert Fulghum! I have most of his books and this one is especially good.



5. As always, Fulghum's writings are hillarious and insightful, but the droning voice of the author makes me forget that there's humor somewhere between the monotone words. He tries to play the part of the storyteller, but it just doesn't work for me. I'd stick with the book, unless you're confident you can overcome his soporific cadence.