I attribute my lifelong love of words principally to two things: my parents’ willingness to read to me — and read, and read, and read, and read some more, long after their sanity must have been strained — and the poetry of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr Suess. From him, via my longsuffering parents, I learned to love the feel of words in one’s ears and mouth, the bounce and swing of rhythm and the “just-so” pleasure of rhyme. Today would have been his hundredth birthday, and the occasion will be marked by the unveiling of a statue, the issue of a postage stamp (I swiped that picture of it from the NYT) and the addition of a star to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. His publisher, Random House, also has a variety of events planned, including an art exhibition which, sadly, does not seem to come anywhere near Portland. Personally, I think it would be better celebrated by reading one of his books aloud to a small child — or to yourself. Wikipedia has an excellent entry on Dr Suess, much better than the official Random House site (which requires Flash). The Chase Group handles sales of Geisel’s art if you fancy a print or even a sculpture.