Libraries are my happy place. The cliché that books can take you all over the world is true. Who needs to travel when there is a library? Once upon a time, I was a preschool storyteller and the guest storyteller at our library. Is ‘Once upon a time’ a thing of the past? What about, ‘And they lived happily ever after’? That one is definitely fiction; but children have not changed. They still love to sing silly songs, and march around the room.
On my last trip to the library, I spied a book that I haven’t seen since my storyteller days. The Boy Who Fed His Fish Too Much by Hap Palmer. Briefly: A boy messes up and feeds his pet fish too much. What will happen? He has been warned by the pet shop owner, Mr. A. Carp that if he feeds Otto too much something will happen. What happens? His fish grows, and grows, until finally it has outgrown the family bathtub and needs to be hauled to the town pool. In the midst of the confusion, the police and the firemen are called. They are more than willing to come and help. Instead of saying “Look kid your fish is going to die, they respond with: “What! A boy has fed his fish too much? We’ll come right away.” I love it.
Let’s apply the Otto paradigm to adult life scenarios. “What! A girl has spent too much! We’ll come right away.” If I overspend my bank account (something that never happens) it will grow and grow and grow until finally I have to take all of the money out because it just won’t fit! The bank is too small. “What! A man has had too much to drink! We’ll come right away.” Long past sober and surrounded by empty bottles Hector is found alert and doing calculus! The more he drinks the smarter he gets! “What! I have eaten too much!” The more I eat, the thinner I get. I am more athletic with every mouthful!
On any given day I can be easily found happily browsing the library bookshelves. Of course you will find me in the children’s section using my grandchildren as an excuse to reread my favorite stories. If you haven’t already guessed, my unsolicited advice is to kiss the frog, climb the bean stalk, and marry the prince.
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