Wednesday, March 19, 2008

We are here! Where are you?



Horton Hears a Who! was written by Dr. Seuss in 1954. And if you think the Whos sound familiar, they made an encore appearance in his 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas (though they seem to have grown a bit in three years).


The book is about Horton the Elephant who hears a speck of dust talking to him. The speck is actually a tiny planet that's home to a city called Who-ville. Horton can't actually see the Whos, but he can hear them. They ask Horton to protect them and in doing so, he is ridiculed by other animals for believing in something they can't see or hear.

Horton finally tells the Whos they need to make themselves heard or they'll end up in the stew pot. So they gather all the members of Who-ville to yell "We are here! We are here!" as loudly as they can.

My town won a special pre-release screening of this movie last week. Our mayor, 300 soldiers and a crowd of children and adults, many wearing Horton ears, gathered outside our civic center to yell "We are here! We are here!" for a minute. Sound levels were recorded and in the end, we beat out eleven other cities to win the special screening of the movie.

Neat, huh?

Well, there's something that we at the Playground can't hear. On Thursday, March 13, we had 340 hits on the blog, but only 8 comments. Three of those were from the other Playfriends and Problem Child would have commented had she not been in the wilds of Scotland and away from high-speed internet access.

We know you're out there. This picture shows it. But we can't hear you. Yesterday you came from the US and Canada, the UK, Germany and Austria (not to be confused with Australia, where we also have lurkers), Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovakia, Israel, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Serbia & Montenegro and Japan. Heck, you even came to visit on Sunday.




You need to yell "We are here!" so we can be sure you're really there.

Give us a shout in the comments section and two lucky shouters will be selected to win some Easter chocolate. Tell us who you are and how you found us (did we blow in on a breeze like Horton's speck of dust?). Tell us about where you're from. What is its claim to fame? Invite a friend and shout in stereo with them.

Go ahead and shout!

22 comments:

Wendy said...

Hi!

I think I found you through the Soapbox Queens. I'm in Tampa, Florida (Boooooo!)and its claim to fame? Um.. let me get back to you on that.

Cheryl said...

I'm here! I'm here! I know I surfed in on a link quite some time ago & I've been here ever since.

I'm in Ohio. The claim to fame for my city? We're on the lakefront. Beautiful in the summer . . . lake effect snow in the winter.

Cheryl

birdzilla said...

Howdy Teacher,

I like the ... "Go tell it on the mountain"... (insert song lyrics) theme. Or better yet ... "I have a dream"... that one day all little boys and girls will get off the bench and come and play theme.

I am sure that most of the playground is probably getting bored of my unusual comments, but until I am put in timeout I will continue to stay.

I (or I should say we) reside in the metropolis of Mud Tavern (no fame there, or people for that matter).

Lovely area, safe for children, and perfect for farm animals...yeah.

Sorry once again, just trying to improve my comminuication with areas especially important for you know whos life.

Good Day To All

Unknown said...

oh ive been lurking for a bit now, i visit alot of author blogs so hard to remember which place i got to here from.. i live in Iowa.. its claim to fame? snow and cold in the winter and corn in the summer..lol.. Jolene

Rhonda Nelson said...

I am here! (and you know where that is. :-)

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I was always amazed by Dr. Seuss' ability to address social issues within in confines of a children's book - and rhyming, at that!

Come say hello, everyone! Easter candy is the best!

Angel said...

This is my last shout out for a bit! I'll be out of town until Saturday and might not have access to a computer.

The in-laws took my kids to see Horton Hears a Who last night. The older one loved it, the younger one, not so much. Not quite Little Man's cup of tea.

Y'all behave while I'm gone! (Yeah, right....)

Angel

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

I was thinking about taking the girls to see it tomorrow but decided maybe we'll just die Easter eggs instead.

Instigator

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

*Pats Zilla on the head* Good boy :-) Effort duly noted.

Instigator

Problem Child said...

Dr. S is so cool. Every single book is a classic and they have such rich meanings in such a simple structure and vocabulary. ~takes teacher hat off now~

I think it's so cool that we have readers from so far and wide. Even if they do come for the goats... :-)

And 'Zilla, you may even shame the DG out of lurkdom.

CrystalGB said...

I found you through Lori Handeland's newsletter.
I am from Kentucky. Claim to fame: Kentucky Derby.

Rebekah E. said...

I found you through an email. I'm in Colorado about forty five minutes from the rocky mountians. Our Claim to fame would have to be the beautiful Rocky Mountians, Denver Broncos, Rockies baseball Team, and for me the historical and haunted Stanley Hotel. I know I chose Alot of things, bet you can't tell that I love where I live.

Lynn Raye Harris said...

You know who I am and where I come from. And don't you dare give me any chocolate!!! This extra poundage has GOT to go. :)

Playground Monitor said...

It's 10:31. We've had 62 hits from around the world including the UK, Japan, Italy, Germany, Indonesia and Canada.

We've had 13 comments, 5 of which are from the Playfriends.

I can't heeeeeear you!

PM

Barbara Vey said...

Yay!! I posted on the 13th!!

I found out about you at RWA and now you can't get rid of me. ::g::

I'm from Milwaukee, WI, famous for Laverne and Shirley, the Fonz, beer and being Cheeseheads.

I'm going with my grandkids on Friday to see Horton and I'm so excited.

My friend, Joyce, will be by after work to give her shout out.

birdzilla said...

Wonderful topic today. Perfect opportunity to introduce yourself. Kudos Teacher.

Thanks devil. But should it not be pat the bird on the head.

PC...DH is just waiting for the opportune moment. Maybe ducks, turkeys, geese, of guineas are more his style. We all know farm animals bring out the best in everyone :)

Look everyone (and you know you are reading these) come out and play.

If I can do this, anyone can. I am a recluse...ask espescially inastigator or any of the other playfriends.

Again, Good Day All

Anonymous said...

I'm old news but I'll give a shout-out anyway. My Girl's fave Dr. S was Fox in Sox. That's the hardest damn book to read without tripping up. I think she liked me getting my tongue twisted more than the story itself. :)

Playground Monitor said...

It's 2 PM and we've had 101 hits. France and Hungary have hopped on board.

3 more comments other than mine.

I still can't heeeeeeear you! You need to yell louder!

Lis said...

*grabs bullhorn* I'm here, been lurking lately. I think originally I found you from a link on the old gonnabeez list.

I'm from St. Albert, Alberta which is probably best known as the hometown for NHL players Mark Messier and Jarome Iginla.

catslady said...

Lol maybe I'm just a semi-lurker. I really do try to post but some days...and I want to do it on days I feel I have something to contribute.

I live in Pittsburgh and spring has still not sprung.

I love all the Dr. Suess books!

Anonymous said...

There are a few Ohio folks visiting here. I live near the Rubber City where seeing a Goodyear Blimp or 2 is not uncommon even without special events.
I pop in here to lurk now and then, since Barbara Vey pointed me toward the Playground. However, she does not allow me any time to play or socialize, the slave driver, but when I do get recess, I enjoy the chatting. Happy Spring, everyone!

ruth said...

I found your blog from the romance blog where michelle. B. was originally I am from the Great White North but live in the Land of Enchantment which I love. Magnificent sunsets, 365 days of sunshine, no rain and beautiful vistas.