The Book of Qualities: Barbara Hood

Posted At : January 20, 2009 1:00 AM
Related Categories: Science & Social Science

Click here for audio.

Taken from The Book of Qualities by J. Ruth Gendler, published by Turquoise Mountain Publications.

Read by Barbara Hood: "In a democracy, each of us has the power to help shape the world around us. But finding our power and the courage to use it doesn't always come easily." Barbara Hood is Communications Counsel for the Alaska Court System, where her duties include advancing law-related education and civic learning in Alaska. Barbara is also a member of the Alaska Legislature's Citizen's Advisory Task Force on Civics Education, which issued recommendations for improving civic learning in the state in February 2008.

In The Book of Qualities, J. Ruth Gendler tells the stories of 74 human attributes. This is the story of Power:

"Power made me a coat. For a long time I kept it in the back of my closet. I didn't like to wear it much but I always took good care of it. When I first started wearing it again, it smelled like mothballs. As I wore it more, it started fitting better, and stopped smelling like mothballs.

I was afraid if I wore the coat too much someone would want to take it or else I would accidentally leave it in the ... dressing room. But it has my name on the label now and it doesn't really fit anyone else. When people ask me where I found such a becoming garment, I tell them about the tailor who knows how to make coats that you grow into. First, you have to find the courage to approach him and ask him to make your coat. Then, you must find the patience inside yourself to wear the coat until it fits."

Comments (0)

Send

Download

Comments

There are no comments for this entry.

[Add Comment]