January 25, 2007

Zoboomafoo and Steve Irwin are corrupting the children of America



Originally uploaded by Citizen Rob.
This time, Schuyler tries her hand at fiction. I say fiction because really, outside of a pet store, Schuyler has never seen a snake. We don't exactly spend a lot of time in the woods, communing with nature. There is neither cable tv nor air conditioning in the forest, after all. Isn't that why we stopped living there and built actual cities in the first place?

Anyway, here's another little essay from Schuyler, written on her device at school.

---

I see snake in the forest. I feel scared. Snake is hissing. Baby snake is green. Snake is in tree.

Schuyler


---

I'm not sure why I keep sharing these with you since they're certainly not any different from what any other kid would write at school.

Well, I guess that's why, come to think of it.

21 comments:

Kinzie said...

heh! that IS why. :) I like them, anyway. Keep on.

Mary said...

Rob, posts like this make me less afraid that if I have a child, it will be something other than neurotypical and easy. I really appreciate them. Thank you.

Gabby said...

those camouflaged pants/tights are pretty rad. did she pick them out herself?

Bev Sykes said...

Schuyler has a legion of fans out here and we're all thrilled to read her work, that's why. Besides, when she wins the Pulitzer prize, we can all boast that we remember when she was afraid of snakes.

Robert Hudson said...

I'm not convinced she's actually afraid of snakes, either. Every time we take her to the graocery store, she finds this little wooden snake in the toy aisle and chases us with it, hissing menacingly the whole time.

Iselyahna said...

You share them because she's awesome, and we all care to hear.

That, and she probably comes up with better stories than most of us do.

kris said...

I'm glad you choose to share them, Rob. If nothing else, it demonstrates exactly how the BBOW helps Schuyler to participate in the "neurotypical" world.

Her fiestiness and personality shines through in her writing. Please continue to share what you (and she) are comfortable sharing.

Anonymous said...

Going outside might not be a bad idea. She might relate to the plant and animal guys. I personally find comfort in them.

Robert Hudson said...

I was kiddding, we actually spend a lot of time outside. We used to go geocaching, back when we lived in Austin and the surrounding area was a little more interesting, and she really dug it.

She's just never seen a snake that I know of.

kintheatl said...

Awesome.

She's so beautiful.

Anonymous said...


Well, I guess that's why, come to think of it.


so sweet... :)

Anonymous said...

I shouldn't say this, but I can't help myself.

You'll know she's really growing up when she writes that story replacing every instance of 'snake' with 'Hillary'.

I know, I'm a bad, bad, person.

Dooce Fan! said...

In first grade, we were asked by the teacher to draw leaves of poisonous plants. The description she gave me said that Poison Ivy had a brown tint to its coloring. So, I drew a picture of a tent over some leaves. I didn’t understand, I had never seen such a plant in the woods with a tent over it. I felt if it were true there would be little tents all over the woods. But I followed the directions. She laughed hard, but she explained what I had done and didn’t make me feel bad. I like her story. It’s like poetry.

restlessly said...

Thanks for sharing it with us, Rob. It's through her writing that we get to hear her voice.

crazy dog lady said...

When your book comes out, I am hightailin' it to the Barnes and Noble you used to work at here in Kalamazoo tp check snd see if they make a big ass presentation of it. As in, "previously lived/worked here" type of thing. hehe

They will probably shake their heads in wonderment. :)

Anonymous said...

exactly - that IS why! yay!

just like that's why parents of kids with social skills problems cheer hard and get excited about the number of kids coming to the birthday party. :)

very cool story, Schuyler. My kids want a snake at home, loose - just in case the cat misses a mouse.

Balancing Act; Jenn said...

She like my oldest son seems semi fascinated with snakes. He scours up whatever he can find about snakes and spiders but my God, show him a real one though, he's done. Not sure what to make of that. Normal probably. And that's what I love about reading what you write about her. While she isn't normal she completely completely is. Probably more so than some other kids. But then I guess that's maybe threaded throughout some of your writings now isn't it? I find myself often comparing Schuyler to my son and I marvel at how kids that age sometimes display the same thought processes and tendancies. Very cool.

You are quite the awesome Dad for even seeing let alone being able to articulate your feelings and intuitions.

-J

angie said...

Hello Rob,
I e-mailed you a couple of days ago asking some question about Schuyler's BBOW. I'm not sure if you check the e-mail address on this site. Just wanted to check. We may be looking at a BBOW for our daughter, and I just wanted some info.

Thanks

Robert Hudson said...

Angie, can you resend your email? I can't find anything from you in my in box.

Dawn said...

Kids & animals belong together.. There's a wonderful bond that happens ~ words are NOT necessary in this combination. Animals dont speak our verbal language. Does she have a pet yet? We've had SEVERAL and each experience helped my kids develop in different ways. Also theres a differnt kind of love/bond that happens ~ that just belongs to them .... ESP w/dogs :D

Dawn said...

That was great !! Thanks Meg :) I'm still really new @ this blog stuff. Great pics Rob ~ totally impressive !