I have not blogged in over a year, and much has changed. My blogs will continue to be random rants, barely revised comments that refuse to sit inside as thoughts kept to myself. This thought comes after the latest Sports Illustrated issue arrived at my house yesterday, with a smiling Jason Collins on the front. The cover announces, "The Gay Athlete," as if he is the first. Collins claims the Boston bombing was the catalyst for him to step forward. A moment of fear caused a great athlete to surrender his truths, which reminds me of a quote from H. Goddard writing about Henry James's Turn of the Screw. "Fear is like faith: it ultimately creates what at first is only imagined." The more we believe in the unseen, the more it becomes real. This is how tragic leaders have ruled (and are ruling in places like Iran), placing fear in the hearts of their citizens. Fear is still holding some back from accepting others, allowing for the illegality of uniting gay husbands. My students often write about how fear is holding us back from our first rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I only wish you all could spend the day with me in my college classrooms, listening to the conversations of tomorrow's leaders. If you were there you would know that my students have few fears. They aren't worried about misinterpretations of scripture, causing rights and wrongs in matters of the heart. They aren't slamming the sacred Book of Islam when some of the fearful say the religion preaches hate.

My students know better. They know because they research, listen to one another, and expand their minds. If only the rest of us could do the same. If only people took the time to understand each other, to care about where each individual came from. To hear stories. And that's where we lost out. Technology has taken parts of the communication we once had with each other, but it's not all for naught. We have certainly bonded our globe through our monitors and handheld devices. But we have lost ourselves.

Rebecca Costa has an unforgettable editorial which she posted on USA Today after the Newtown tragedy. She claims that "[t]hriving, happy, connected human beings don't use guns to harm others, no matter how plentiful." Her argument stresses the need to fix people before we fix the gun problem. She raises an important point about massacres and the weak-minded. The will to live "is the strongest instinct among living organisms," and we must restore the will to live in Americans. It starts with acceptance and understanding, smiles instead of shuns, allowing children to stay outdoors, running and shouting with friends. It starts in our classrooms and at our dinner tables. It starts when we look each other in the eye and speak from the heart. I believe in this country, as many of our great leaders have and do; I believe in the fundamental need to thrive and prosper as a nation. But most importantly, I believe we will fully succeed as a whole once we lose the reasons for oppressing one another and instead have faith in each other. In turn, we will be able to create what at first was only imagined.

As Seuss says:

Please tell all men
That Peace is Good.
That’s all
That need be understood
In every world
In Your great sky.

(We understand.
Both You and I.)
 
So when Elizabeth Potter of Unity Productions e-mailed me to say, "Lowe's Home Improvement recently pulled its ads from the TLC show 'All-American Muslim' in response to an organization claiming the show 'falsely humanized Muslims in America,'" I got a little upset. To say the least. As Potter states, "This controversy has exposed more Islamophobia in America which falls directly in line with what the My Fellow American project is trying to prevent and overcome in America." 

We could say that all reality TV "falsely humanizes" people, can't we? Do all people from New Jersey have an obsession with hair gel and tanning? Do all overweight people yearn to leave their families in order to be on "The Biggest Loser"? Do all women strive to produce nearly a dozen children in order to have their own show? Do all wealthy couples divorce after just a few months? Clearly, we cannot form opinions about others based on "reality" shows. And why do we need a reality show to teach Americans that Muslims are normal everyday people? Muslims ARE normal people. It's time for us to realize this.

Mid December my children asked me if they could be Jewish.  I said sure, of course, they would just need to convert. My family is already omni-religious. My oldest is baptized Greek Orthodox, my youngest is baptized Methodist, and I'm baptized Lutheran, attending church in my heart and soul--not in a pew. I also read the Qur'an when I need to relax. It's the only book that I've found that is written in verse with words like the breaths we take. In fact, after hearing the plea of a children's editor at an SCBWI conference I created a story for a Muslim character in In Her Skin. Not only do we need more Muslim characters in children's books, but we need more awareness in general. Understanding breeds peace. And it starts with opening a book.

If you want to join the My Fellow American Project for peace, click here:  http://www.myfellowamerican.us/pledge#submitted .
Maybe we can all resolve to extend our arms out to Peace in the new year. It seems so simple, doesn't it?

 Prayer for a Child
-Dr. Seuss

From here on earth,
From my small place
I ask of You
Way out in space:
Please tell all men
In every land
What You and I
Both understand . . .

Please tell all men
That Peace is Good.
That’s all
That need be understood
In every world
In Your great sky.

(We understand.
Both You and I.)

The poem still makes me cry. If. Only.

On our way out of Seussville we bumped into fellow children's book writer pal Sarah Barthel who also received the memo that it was Black Fleece Day.


Upstairs, we found more children's book writers. The Three Silly Chicks had multiplied!!



It's no coincidence that when we pulled away from the museum David Gray was singing "Fugitive" on the radio. It was a simple reminder that whatever happens here stays. It's moments like these that remind me, whether it's world peace or daily enjoyment, we all have to try harder.

SCBWI Member of the Year 2010, Christopher Cheng, shares Australian gifts with Illinois writers!



Fire-roasting some of my favorite Illinois friends...



Huuuuuuh! Girls as boys in the bathroom!



Boys as girls in pajamas!



Sleepover friends!
 

Muscle Beach?



The real Muscle Beach!



Rollerblading Hendrix and California girl (no s)!



Venice Beach!



If I had a pair of scissors...



At least somebody missed his mama.


 

The second time around is better in many instances. Love. Manuscripts. Conferences. You just seem to know how to avoid problems and what to do when they come up. So this year when I was asked to return to the DePaul Summer Writing Conference, I was both honored and extra-prepared.

I avoided one-lane highway closures due to Optimus Prime battles. Instead, I relaxed on a train packed with Cubs Fans--thankful for my Chicago transfanism (Sox-fan-identifying-as-a-Cubs-fan, interchangeable when necessary). And I arrived without sweaty nervousness.

At my teen novel characterization class, students were subject to my past-picking exercise--borrowing flaws from friends and family like outfits. This year's students had a hunger to write for teens--eager to share their work, ready to improve.

I was grateful that B.A. Binns...

...returned to my class. She's also teaching a workshop on writing for teens. You can still catch her at 10:30 this morning! Go, go, go!!!

And James Klise...
 

Luna by Julie Anne Peters, the story of a teenage brother who begins to transition as a girl.


My friend suggests The Testosterone Files by Max Wolf Valerio, but warns that the content is more adult than teen.



And of course mad props to Chaz Bono for sharing his story.



I also suggest websites like the ACLU.org, which helps inform TG teens of their rights (click on the LGBT rights link). Additionally, GLAD.org offers a plethora of TG lawsuits, news, and rights. And always, local support groups at community centers and colleges help create conversations and friendships. Lee Wind also offers the latest LGBT books online, this week's feature, a TG teen in a post-apocalyptic setting. Find Lee at "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?"

No one chooses to be born in the wrong skin--wrapped in layers of a gender they don't identify with. And I'm glad to see an expansion of resources for teens in transition. I only wish I could offer my book In Her Skin, the result of decades of watching my friend struggle in the wrong body. But as many of you know, that's the risk we take as writers in line for traditional publication, investing hearts and years, waiting for the call.
 

I’m back from Springfield, but I feel jipped. I didn’t get to shake hands with a fake Abe or stand next to his waxed body. I didn’t get to stare at history and watch Civil War greatness transpire in condensed museum minutes. But I did witness history of a different kind at the Illinois Reading Council where teachers joined together to fight a great battle—Literacy.

In a battle for attention, our blue MuseWrite booth lost to grey. You can’t compete with rescue greyhounds. But we did have some special visitors—Boomer and Sheila, two IRC VIPs, came by to pose with history’s great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster.

The SCBWI-Illinois booth won praise from all who passed by. Louann Brown created a ridonkulously large clown.

You know I’m deathly afraid of clowns, don’t you?
But I still managed to creep up and steal a picture. Anastasia Ely, SCBWI person of awesome, informed me that both MT Anderson and Jane Yolen stopped by to see the clown. And I missed it?!

When I met MT at the SCBWI Summer Conference last August I swore he’d make the best late-night Denny’s friend. And because I didn’t even get a chance to see him speak—sulk—my MuseWrite friends and I went to Denny’s in honor of MT’s greatness. Or maybe we were just hungry for Moons Over My Hammy.

At our panel, Jen Cullerton Johnson, Michelle Duster, and I challenged teachers to create communities that extend beyond classroom walls. We were thrilled to have so many teachers say they would take our four-week lesson plan to their classrooms. We can reduce our differences by uniting through similarities, and writing can play a big role in creating communities.

At an appetizer gathering in our hotel we met Stacy Baker and Ann Kluesner, two teachers from Peoria who help strengthen their community by offering meals to their students’ families. In one of the poorest areas in the United States with over 95% free or reduced lunch, teachers visit homes with dirt floors and chickens running down stairways in order to provide food for hungry families. Coats, mittens, hats, and clothing are donated from other communities. Their school attendance rate is near-perfect because students look forward to a warm room, food, and a fun learning environment. In a conference of over 3,000, Stacy Baker and Ann Kluesner most definitely won the Battle for Literacy!