Through the eyes of a child

By Nury Vittachi

Memo
TO: God.
FROM: Nury Vittachi.
Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to apply for a new position. I realize you have not advertized any vacancies in the area in which I am interested, but I thought I would write in anticipation of a post becoming available.

The job I want to apply for is “Child”.

I realize that I am a little bit (okay, several decades) past the usual age for this position, but I believe I can be retrained.
*
Last week, I was crossing a pedestrian walkway with my child when we saw a beggar. I saw a smelly man flouting society’s conventions and speeded up my steps to pass as quickly as possible. My child saw a person in need and gave him a huge smile.

*
Then we crossed a car park. I saw a patch of dirty ground with oily puddles to be avoided. She saw rainbow-filled pools to be stirred into psychedelic patterns with the toe of her shoe.

*
Then we passed a group of men digging a large hole in the road. I saw an irritating danger to traverse. She saw a glimpse of the heart and lungs of the city and insisted on stopping to watch for a full eight minutes.

*
Then we headed to a shopping street for lunch. As a boringly predictable adult, I suggested Starbucks. But she smelled fried noodles and dragged me into a workmen’s cafe where we shared a really tasty meal for less than the price of one designer cappuccino.

*
Then I scanned the newspaper to look for cinemas, shopping malls or theme parks to visit. She decided “the fun-est thing to do” would be to take a ferry nowhere in particular and then take it straight back to where we started.

So that’s what we did. It WAS fun. And then we headed home.

*
On our journey, it became clear to me I am not cut out to be an Adult. How could I have got it so wrong? In my teen years, I believed I was born to be one. Not only was I growing taller, but my voice was getting deeper, my skin hairier and my birthdays greater in number. Drifting into Adulthood seemed natural.

However, I now realize this was a gross error. I had not fully considered the consequences.

So I resign from Adulthood with immediate effect. Please find enclosed my car keys, my house keys, my credit cards and my gold membership card to the Old Codgers’ Club.

*
I will no longer pretend to like subtitled European art house movies. When asked what my all-time favourite movie is, I shall admit to it being The Lion King.

*
I will no longer buy suits from tailors who offer me a choice of colors limited to grey, grey, grey or grey.

*
I will no longer pretend to enjoy books which have won the Booker Prize and will re-read The Magician’s Nephew.

*
I will no longer pretend I like sitting in bars late into the night discussing politics. I will go straight home after work and play Monopoly.

*
I will no longer eat organic lettuce drizzled with olive oil. I will have Coco Pops for dinner.

*
Why not join me? You might like it.

Amen.

Comments

[Ani]

It was a good idea Mr. Vittachi. I think I will join with you:)

[fardel]

Sir
When was the last time you went down a slide?
I see
When was the last time you came home with mud on your pant s from jumping in puddles?
I see
When was the last time you slid down a staircase railing?
I see
When was the last time you laughed out loud , in public , without paying attention to people around?
I see
When was the last time you tried to catch a butterfly?
I see
When was the last time you danced in the rain?
I see

I see, I see ,
My poor Nury
I have bad news for you
You have been infected by the deadly virus A dull t H50, which means that you have a disease commonly called the acute A Dult-I -tis Syndrom

I might have a cure for this disease but its success will depend entirely on you :

1 Every morning, First thing
You will laugh at anything and everything ( you can get help from the columns of a Mr Vittachi from Hong Kong )
2 Every weekend , ask your children to take YOU out .
I should not have to remind you the You ARE the sick one.
Therefore you are supposed to follow their advise attentively, to the dot (not the way around )
Trust their experience in childhooding.)

3 Every day on your way to or from work:
You will LOOK around and find things that you did not notice for the last half century, and marvel at them.

4 Each time you look at yourself in a mirror you will remember a thought from 300 BC,found p .52 of the City of dream from the same Vittachi:
The Great man is he who has held on to his childish heart

5 Do like ,you will buy yourself a DVD of the jungle book, without telling your children AND watch it every two days for at least four months.

You will notice that this treatment will bring you a lot of forgotten pleasure.

Signed Dr Forever-Yong

[angela]

Dear Nury,

You are a bit late as I have tendered my resignation some years back after I turned 30 and realized (with much glee) that adulthood is not the path meant for me.

However, due to my work I have to hide this fact from the rest of the world (and especially my bosses) and I kept my black and white and gray work outfits but at home when nobody's looking (except for one neighbor on the next building who likes to smoke over his kitchen sink and watch me hang my laundry) I wear my all time favorite matching pink koala t-shirt and shorts and the hello kitty hairband my daughter gave me.

I bought secret seven and famous five series which I read everyday on the train to work but ofcourse I covered the title with white bond paper to avoid idle prying eyes of fellow passengers. I also read my 9-yr old daughter’s Geronimo stilton books but I am careful not to spill drink on or crease the pages so she wouldn't suspect me of reading them.

I always use straw to sip my drink bought from the vending machine (it is more fun to watch vending machine operate than to suffer grumpy service people who take your order) at worst you can always kick the machine if it does not dispense but can you kick the surly waitress without risk of getting arrested for physical assault? and I avoid designer coffee shop because they are always teeming with adults reading the newspaper or working on their laptop. I only read cartoons section and other than for work I only use my laptop to check email and read Nury vittachi for my daily dose of humor which I am addicted to like some people are hooked on caffeine or nicotine, I need my daily humor fix.

I got on the slide with my little girl and we’ve also danced in the rain and we chased some stray cats on my apartment lawn. On a recent holiday to Nepal I tried to catch a yellow butterfly in the hotel garden (now I pray that they didn’t have CCTV cameras there). And on some lazy weekends I take my daughter out, we get on a random (double decker only) bus and sit on the front most seat on the top deck where we can hang on the handle bars and pretend we are driving while we watch the traffic below and enjoy a fantastic view (adjective is referring to view in general and not to the horrible buildings in particular) of Singapore HDB housing estates until the bus makes complete round and takes us back to where we started. Cheap thrills…yes, it is fun sometimes to let the little girl/little boy in you take over the decision making, but not all the time or else I would not be trusted to do the things I do in the office - which includes reading your column in the guise of doing in-dept research for some up-coming presentation.

ps: I think it is easier when you have a child to do these things with coz it makes you look like a fun mom/dad/auntie/uncle instead of a weird old geezer (mis)behaving like a kid :)

[Nury]

Dear Fardel and Angela, thanks for the wonderful ideas. I really like the concept of getting on a bus at random and seeing where it goes.
I agree too that it helps if you have a child to disguise your appetite to act childish!
Dancing in the rain sounds like one of those wonderful things that only children do (and all adults should learn to do). It's amazing that adults and children are the same species, they are so different!

Fardel, where did you get a copy of City of Dreams? It's not available on your side of the planet, is it?! It's a rare book. I don't even have a copy myself.

I am writing this on Friday afternoon, and after reading your comments, I feel like I should spend the weekend being really silly.

But what I will really do is work late tonight (required by my boss) and then work tomorrow morning as well.

By mid-day Saturday I hope to find time to start acting childish. You guys start without me!

[Chamin]

Thanks a lot for this post. I am happy that I chose a job that still lets me be a child, most of the time.

The missing part is pocket money :-p, but I did not use to get so much of it anyway.

[Amy]

Lucky am I that I was able to grab a copy of your magazine last week at my friends house. And I've enjoyed reading your column Sir. Kudos!:-)

With regards this article,"Through the eyes of a child", I got only one sentence to say...

Don't ever forget how it feels like to be a kid!:-)

[fardel]

Oops
I forgot to mention Peter Pan, the child who did not want to grow up.
For those of you who want to act like a child without looking like it, you can always join summer or spring camps where they are looking for volunteers to "guide " youngster;
But beware, you should go into intense physical training first.

For everybody's information, dancing in the rain does not require a lot of training;
It can be learned in only two steps
1 Wait for a rain shower to pass,
2 instead of moving IN forward through a door, you take a step backward OUT through the same door, (or better through the window.)
The rest is left to your imagination
As for explaining to your spouse , here is a tip
You forgot your umbrella

Special NOTE of extreme importance to grownups:
You have thought of leaving any electronic devices INSIDE the building

I cannot agree :adults and children are not the same species:
look at pictures when you were a kid.
The only things you have in common with this guy are :
One head ,two arms, two legs and one body ( hopefully at the same place )which bear very little resemblance to what you look like now
The inside is definitely NOT the same

Nury, sorry that I have to tell you that I never stopped acting childish
looks like that Angela could say the same
But please feel free to catch up with us.

I found a few used of your books in my side of the planet;

With internet, my small island is in the center of the world, and goods are only a few days away
I enjoyed , "Hong Kong city of dreams", simple , direct and inviting, and beautiful

A pity that there is no picture of Kai tak, which has been triggering the imagination of all of us, western flyers, (although we have here our own mini Kai Tak here)

I am now in the first third of Kama Sutra of business.
Amazing book, which I would never have heard of , if I did not read columns
I had been doing a lot of reading in the past on "lost " civilization, but it is the first time I hear about Harappa
I knew that Tenochtitlan ( the old city of Mexico ) was a most advanced designed town with a modern water system in its time , but it came long after Harappa.

I am still trying to catch the spirit of the Feng Shui detective, but i am missing some background to understand it fully.

[Rachelle]

I've been an avid reader of your column in The Standard since I've moved to Hong Kong, and have recently subscribed to your blog because I didn't want to miss an article! They're too addictive.

I've never commented before as I'm rather shy. But reading this article definitely made me want to comment! Your comments definitely ring very true to heart. I've just recently grown into this job...or perhaps am still growing. Even now I'm already nostalgic about being a child...it wasn't that long ago but it seems like an eternity!

Hope you get the job, at least part-time ;)

[Kwong]

Dear Nury,

I'm from Canada .... the great land of nowhere, oh, I mean, snowland. Like many others, I am just one of the vivid followers of your blog .... something that I need daily to brighten my gloomy days, especially in the deep winter of the snowland.

I have half of the qualities of what it takes to be a child, that's based at least on what you said in yours.

Can you let me know where I can send my application to, or is there an email address for God?

I hope there should be enough room for us, and anybody who wants it ... and I badly want that job.

Keep up with the wonderful job.

[RVR]

very great I will vote as the best from Vittachi! Truly yours

[Nury]

Wow, what brilliant comments, thank you. It's nice to see that there are lots of us who still have a bit of kiddishness in us!
It's 11 pm and I have just got home from work but I shall go to bed with a warm glow tonight from knowing that there are lots of kidults around.

[?????]

Well, If you've seen Bruce Almighty, there is evidently an email for God.. Or maybe it gets forwarded to Bruce. Hmm.

[Thinking Man]

I know all the above is meant to be a bit of fun but I thought you all might like to know that research scientists reckon that an awareness of God is actually a characteristic of childhood in the majority of societies on earth. This has been confirmed in several studies and Time magazine said that it suggested that humans were "hot-wired to believe in God".

This does not prove that he or she exists, but it does (perhaps) lend weight to the theory that believers in any sort of benevolent unseen force (I prefer to call it the universe rather than God) are happier than non-believers. They are happier because they have retained a key characteristic of childhood.

Of course someone is likely to respond, "this is rubbish, what about the fanatics/ terrorists etc?" But from a scientific (impirical) point of view, they are merely statistical noise. The vast majority of believers are normal people, and there are not enough fanatics to distort the sample (although the media often shows it doesn't understand this). Anyway thats just a few random thoughts from me

[Nury]

Rachelle, welcome to Hong Kong. I'm glad you're fitting into your new job and hope the child in you stays alive and well.

Kwong, my kids have never seen snow, so we dream of one day going to Canada and experiencing it. we have some good friends in Peterboro. Now that the cost of flights is falling, it may be possible one day...

Fardel, I'm flattered that you've tracked down my books from the other side of the planet. But out of all the funny books I've written, it seems strange that you have chosen the two serious ones to read! I only do serious ones occasionally, maybe once every two or three years. Anyway, thanks for the kind words.

I agree with you, the internet is certainly great for people who like books. For years, I've been downloading books into my phone (through mobipocket.com, a French company) so I always have a library in my pocket.

[fardel]

I did not choose the books, bit I did not want to wait
They were the only ones I could find , along with "Only in Hong Kong."
I had to start somewhere;
Obviously the not -so- serious -books are not going to be on the used market so soon;
and the new one are far from here;
But don't you worry, one of these days I shall come to Hong Kong to pick up some , with an autograph
(What is the weight of the complete collection?)

Congratulations for this post , it did attract a lot of funny comments.
I see that you found a reader further West that me
Watch out that snow flakes do not disintegrate through global-laugh -induced-ultra- sonic waves
By the way, it it 10:40 AM, saturday, your time
Weren't you supposed to be on a child's guide tour?

[Nury]

Sad to say, in much of Asia, Saturday is a working day, only Sunday is a holiday. In the city where I live, Saturday was compulsory half-day working for most companies until a few years ago, when businesses started to shift to a five day week. On Saturdays I work half a day, at a radio studio, and usually get away some time between noon and three pm. But all this talk of childhood has made me hungry to misbehave -- so I just sneaked out of the office to buy a Big Mac and french fries!

[fardel]

Whoow
Your city must be very uptight that you " misbehave" with a Burger.
I thought that misbehavior was like eating a lollypop, an icecream cone with lot of Chantilly and colorful vermicelli , or chocolate sauce then with a big chiclet to make big bubbles:
Of course all of this in short pants, with a baseball T shirt and cap or a straw hat, and of course while eating while windowlicking

I wonder how long I would last on a town like this , before being locked up for misbehavior

I remember a trip in South america; there were poor kids selling long balloons in front of a church, in a 500,000 inhabitants town
I bought a dozen balloons, sat down with the kids and made animals and a few things which i gave back to them to sell.
Then I went on.
The same night ,I was invited by unknown family for Christmas celebration (the story I told before).
A lady came in and I was introduced to her :
I know you she said;
It cannot be , I arrived in town this afternoon.
Yes I know him, she said to my new friends,
I saw him, making things with balloons in front of the Cathedral this afternoon

I remember another time , on the airport , where I am supposed to be a serious kind-of supervisor .
An unknown eight-year old kid was walking like a bear in the hall;
I sneaked behind him; and walked in his steps, walking just at his speed and exaggerating his steps;
Everybody started to laugh.
When he turned around to see what happened , all he saw was an old pilot-like figure in his full seriousness;
he resumed his walk.
So did I
when he turned back for the third time I proceeded to my counter to check my passenger.
The poor kid did not see what happened, until another unknown kid went to him to tell him the whole story;
He looked at me like he just saw an oliphant for the first time

I understand now , why my teenage daughter does not want to be seen in public with me;
Maybe it is about time I grow up.

( note : there is no video surveillance in this part of my airport, which is probably why I can still write this stories )

[Nury]

Fardel, don't grow up, you are an inspiration to us all!

Hmm, if a kidult is a kid who grows up too fast what's the word for an adult who is still kid-like?

Probably "idiot". Sigh

[Santox]

Dear Nury,
When I was small, I used to play football with the neighbourhood children often in the rain. We would wallow in the mud like buffalows in the padi field.

On hearing the first thunder, we would fold paper sampans and keep them ready for the coming downpur. As soon as the rain filled the drains, and water gushed freely, we would let go these sampans let them sail along until they reached the moonsoon drains.

Then we would trap tiny black spiders in empty match-boxes under hibuscus bushes.

Thanks for reminding me of the child of the past and the wonderful memories. I could fully understand how your child felt when she wanted a ferry ride to nowhere and went home where she started. Cheers to the child in all of us.

[Nana]

Definitely the best of Vittachi.

[fardel]

It is a immense honor to receive compliments from a great master;
I really appreciate it;
Thank you;
When I come to Hong Kong I shall bring lollypops to share with you in front of HKCEC
Do you prefer strawberry or cherry?

I checked in the Vittachipedia ( The encyclopedia of global humor)

A kidult is an adult who did not loose his/her child's good nature

An idiot , is an adult who is not smarter than a less-than-3 years-old-child, commonly called a "toddler "
A kid who grows up too fast is an adulkid ( finds its origin in the expression :a dull kid), commonly called a "teenager"

For those of you who would like to relax by watching an excellent kidult movie, I would recommend "Amelie" A film from Jean Pierre Jeunet

Nury, does your phone read your books, too?
In which language ?

[mamun sardar]

Nury, i'm a fan over these years and i feel its nice to join a community with u. how do it possible? i'm here from Bangladesh

[Sham]

Dear Nury,

Life through the eyes of a child is "to see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wildflower".

[angela]

Hi Fardel!

Re: "I understand now, why my teenage daughter does not want to be seen in public with me; Maybe it is about time I grow up."

Thanks for giving me a pre-view. I've started to worry about this myself, that when my little girl turns "teen-ager" she would be embarrassed by her mother. Right now we are bestest friends and we pinky-sweared this but I do worry about the future - my future as a kidult specifically. Would she cease to be amazed by my ability to correctly guess the answer to all her riddles? Would she scoff at my valuable origami skills? Would she stop appreciating my talent of blowing a big plastic balloon? Would I go the way of the Santa Clause and Tooth Fairy? I pray when that time comes I would be able to handle the broken heart. Maybe I will watch Amelie again to ease the pain.

But for now, I am proud to say that I just finished Tintin in Tibet and my new favorite book is the Tadpole’s Promise which I read to children at the Library last Saturday.

Yes, there are many ways to (covertly) indulge in one’s kiddishness. I am a volunteer reader at my local Library and I take great pleasure in reading all these fantastic stories as much as I enjoy sharing them with the kids (and I have the perfect excuse to stay at the children’s section the whole morning – I am doing a very serious in-depth research for my very important assignment).

There should still be a space for the Peter Pan in all of us. Maybe this is a simple secret for happiness.

[Bar Crawler]

Now that you're not going to bars anymore, if you have any credit left over with the bartender, do you mind if we use it?

[fardel]

Hi Angela

I do not have the answers.
But I spent a lot of time dealing with teenagers.Be prepared to fall off your cloud .
You should always take a parachute with you: the fall could come announced
But stay who you are; give your daughter your best, without looking at the dark clouds in the ( not so far distance);
Everybody knows that dark clouds always have a lot of rain,sometimes thunder, but sunshine is always behind;
That's what life is about ; kids are not afraid of it, which is why they are happy;
WARNING: if you worry about the future ,you are showing the first symptom of the acute adult-I -tis syndrom.
The daily treatment might prove painful with pains at the level of the ribs, accelerate heartbeat,occasional choking,and tears
You will find it on www.mrjam.typepad.com

[eexin]

"A kid who grows up too fast is an adulkid ( finds its origin in the expression :a dull kid), commonly called a "teenager"."

Err in that case, I'm a kid who grows up too fast.

Angela and Fardel,
Speaking from an adulkid's point of view, I think your children (or maybe their friends) will think you're way cool. Frankly, I think you'll score better being a kidult than an adult.

Nury,
I like LION KING too!! and tarzan and cinderella and beauty & the beast....

[Rika]

Oh well, I have to admit: I love being an adult. I love my credit card; I actually quite like the respect I receive. The older I get the less people there are who can look down on me with an ‘You wait till you get to my age’ attitude; I love the fact that I can decide for myself whether or not I want to have a pet, what I want to eat, where to go in holidays, with whom to spend my life, what career to pursue, what clothes to wear and whether or not I should hit a nail into the wall of the house that I eventually own.

Oh, I wouldn’t want to give up the freedom adulthood is giving me for anything in the world. That now I am the one who can make children’s eyes shine because I am the one with the money to pay for the bus ride to nowhere, makes it worthwhile that at times I am missing the innocent childishness.

And like Nury during his walk with his daughter I still can see through a child’s eyes, remembering and feeling the joy, and occasionally I can be silly, dancing in the street, balancing on the kerbstone … And then I get my credit card out and buy the biggest ice-cream ever!

[Nury]

Rika, you have spotted one of the great advantages of not having children! It's harder to be a child when you actually have children. If you don't have kids, you can behave like a child -- and still have the advantages of having a credit card and staying up late! Best of the both worlds, it seems to me.

Barcrawler -- hmm, now you have really made me think twice.

Mamun sarder, thanks for writing. I hope to visit Bangladesh one day, I hear it's a beautiful country.

[Quentin]

One of the greatthings about the male 'mid-life crisis' is that it gives us an excuse to make that reversion to childhood behavouir. Sometimes the boy-toys get bigger and more expensive, but they're still our toys and we get to go out and play.
What was that famous saying - Youth is wasted on the young. I think not, but if we fail to see how much fun the young are having with their youthful years, then we are doomed a very boring old age.

[Ellen]

I think the financial crash is actually an opportunity for the whole world to make a fresh start. It's cleared the decks of the masculine casino-stock market testerone model of growth and made us look for other values. So let's take inspiration from ourselves as children.

[Rika]

You might be right there. Parents have to be the serious ones...while mad aunty (that's me) easily turns into cool aunty. It's amazing how inhibited kids sometimes get from all this: 'Don't embarrass other people' talk. I had to become a rather old cow to realise that one needs the confidence of old age to behave childish. So maybe parents don't have to be the serious ones...? Just a little story on the side: http://incredible-ladies.com/Column/Rika/Whats_the_worst_to_happen.html

[cc]

err..it is sooo good...i ll join u too!!!!

[Nury]

Rika, I just clicked the link above in your post -- i love the story of your friends starting a dance party in Brazil with no drums or music, just hitting the furniture. What a great idea. And I enjoyed the mental image of you shaking your butt in the middle of London!

[fardel]

Hi Rika

Your story is great;
Finally, whatever you claim to be , you are just like us.
Congratulations
By the Way, we use our credit card,like other adults do.
And we behave like adults too..............sometimes

Being old looking and acting like you did in London certainly triggered something in those children who were restrained by their parents.

They will remember one day, and act like you did , and feel good about it

[fardel]

To make a long story short.
I just got my copies of the Jungle book,(40th anniversay edition), lady and the tramp ,(50 the anniversary edition),Peter Pan (the platinum edition)
Last night was the first time I could finally watch this famous cartoon, Peter Pan in its integrity.
I shall see "Lady and the tramp" tomorrow , for the first time as well

The platinum edition comes with a 2nd DVD detailing the making of this wonderful creation
Sounds childish, right?
Really, is it ?
It is the story of a writer,who did not grow up ( see wikipedia , James Matthew Barrie, for the true story of his life)
It is the story of one of his stories turned into a successful play 1904
It is the story of a farm boy who spent all his savings for a two-hours theater show of a play written by this author: 1913
It is the story of the same farm boy , turned actor in his school
It is the story of this farm boy growing up, while keeping a child's mind:
He became a cartoonist.
It is the story of this cartoonist, who started his own business and worked over twenty years on this project, refining it , changing it,redesigning it , and going back to initial design,when he felt that he was on a wrong track
It is the story of this cartoon ,released in 1953,a universal success from day one
It is the story of this cartoonist creating and running a successful business which became number one worldwide entertainment company, bearing his name;

What brought such a success to this particular story?
A deep love from a child to his mother ?
A story written, for children,which found its roots in this love?
The copyrights of this story ,given to a children hospital ?
The imagination of a farm boy ,or his "daring investment"?
The pursuit of his dream ?
The transformation of a dream into something as strong as a business ?
The fact that this businessman never lost his child's mind , or the fact that he built a powerful business out of a child's mind?
The fact that he spent over twenty years on this project ( and others ), never quitting ?

On top of being entertaining , it is a good story , a story of dreams, imagination, and success,which I wanted to share those of you, slaving through a lifetime of hardship, ripped off by financers , victims of the worldwide crises,or so scared that you give up before trying.
Go back in time, you can!
Remember your childhood!
Remember your dreams !
Go for them!
Don't give up!

For those who do not know: success is a failure turned inside out !

[Thinking woman]

wow fardel you are in a dreamy mood tonight!!

[zÆRo]

Question:
What if I'm an overgrown kid, who wishes to stay a kid?

[angela]

Cora Harvey Armstrong said "Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened."

[Uli Dernbach-Steffl, Germany]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!!!
I have another one:
My mother (now age 64) has always been playing "Klingelmaennchen" (a game in which you press all doorbells in reach and walk on leaving puzzled people on the doorsteps or the intercom) mostly in the evenings along the streets she was walking. It was surely fun for her all the time, but not for me at the time I was a teenager.... I always had to run for it because everybody thought it had been me. And Mum had her laughs at the people and at me!!

[Vince A]

Uli, whoever said Germans don't have a sense of humour? That is so funny.

[Nury]

I agree with Vince, Uli's image of a mother causing havoc and the child being embarrassed is hilarious, should use this in a book or a film

[Jan]

It's known as 'Parent's Revenge'. Even better, I've found, is when you hit the double-whammy with 'Grandparent's Revenge' which is when you're all out together and you get to emabarass two generations in one go.
Feels great!

[Uli Dernbach-Steffl, Germany]

Nury, you're very welcome to use the idea in any way you like! :-))))

[Claudia]

Mr. Jam, I love this. I am a 7th grader in Canada, and you perfectly fit the description I have of the rest of my classmates.

Would you mind switching jobs with me????

[Nancy]

The Magician’s Nephew, i read it again every few years, and Tintin in Tibet as well. I used to take them out from the library, along with other favorite kids books till one of the librarians began questioning me on my reading choices. So then I had kids...perfect excuse for read children's book! ;-)

[Angela]

I like Tintin in Tibet. I bought some Tintin series that I like so I can keep reading again and again :)

[sej]

I have got just... errr.... my son's got just about the entire set. I think he's only missing two or three.

[how grow taller]

I used to take them out from the library, along with other favorite kids books till one of the librarians began questioning me on my reading choices.

[fardel]

Just tell her that you are improving our skills at a foreign language.
Of course , you will be smart enough to speak a different language

[Mahjuja]

I used to like the Toys R' Us jingle,"I don't wanna grow up, I wanna be a kid..." more fervently than the store itself, even though I was a kid then. I still remember it by heart, after almost 20 years! I must have been wise beyond my years. But unfortunately, my mother no longer takes it kindly, her diatribes will usually go along the lines about how I'm not acting my age, etc, etc and that my father is also fooling around instead of setting an example. Wish us luck in our underground anti-adult movement.

[A Child]

Nury, I wonder whther you might have another motive for becoming a Child(the highest honor) once again: you want to fill up that head with some hair, don't you?

[Gucci Shoes]

I really liked this blog, very well prepared and with good topic of discussion.

[Vic Krishnan]

Thanks Nuri...so I am not abnormal for having such thoughts!

[gucci handbag]

It is also a good way, I used to go to sort out the day's agenda, I think this arrangement will do well, I have been doing so, and good results, I think so.

[alvin]

Dear Nury,

thank you very much for this awesome article. this got me a really fresh thinking on the world. perhaps i should start rethinking my perspectives and goals while its still early. cheers

[Jerry]

AMEN, brother! it's time to think like one of us! watch Spongebob for a good demonstration of what to do :)

[Como Crecer de Estatura]

thanks a lot for the info!

you did a great job!!

- Luis

[Grow Taller 4 Idiots Review]

I think the financial crash is actually an opportunity for the whole world to make a fresh start. It's cleared the decks of the masculine casino-stock market testerone model of growth and made us look for other values. So let's take inspiration from ourselves as children.