Don't Stop Me Now

Earworm number 347, courtesy of QUEEN and last night's entertainment on TLC.

The show was called "The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off." I had no idea that I was soon to become a blubbering blob of jello on the couch.

As the show opened, a rather high-pitched voice began introducing the pictures, of a stange-looking boy in a wheelchair. He wore bandages all the way down his arms, covering oddly-shaped stumps at the ends, a constant hat, and a bemused expression on his face. His little voice sounded so sweet. Pre-pubescent even. Then I listened as it was revealed that this sweet little boy was 36 years old, and had been suffering since before birth with a disease I haven't checked the spelling on yet, called EB, which caused his current terminal skin cancer, and he was planning his own funeral.

This show was more than one of those "look at poor me who suffers while you smug innocents look on" types. He narrated his own death. This man suffered, really really suffered, his entire life, from a genetic skin disorder that kept his skin from ' binding' to his body properly. The first tears came while his mum talked about how difficult emotionally it was to try to cuddle him as a newborn, knowing that EVERY TIME she TOUCHED him, his skin would blister horribly, and painfully. Nearly every day, his body was 75% covered in bandages. Horrendous, constant pain. He was born with NO SKIN covering one of his legs from the knee down, presumably from friction in utero.

And Yet, no pity party for Mr Kennedy. All of Alnwick, England, was invited to celebrate life with him. The sense of humor was immense. I laughed mightily as an English Starlet, spokesperson for the UK Charity, DEbRA, started crying whilst talking to him, and after she left to get him his autographed picture, he turned to the camera, grinned mischeviously, made a 'chalk one up for me' sign in the air, and chuckled. He also mentioned, as an aside, that he could see right down her shirt as she had leant down to hug him.

The earworm came, and WILL.NOT. LEAVE. His funeral was completely planned out. He chose his coffin carefully, made sure it was carved with tigers on the side, and an image of a can of Heinz57 beans. Why? So people would look at each other at the funeral and wonder "Why the beans?" He figured they would have something to talk about then.

Near the end, I began sobbing as the camera closed in on his mum, as she was mouthing the words to his chosen funereal soundtrack: Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. His favorite song. She lip-synched along through her tears. And then I could no longer see the screen.

I'm having such a good time. I'm havin' a ball.

List of banned books - why people, why?

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - read this one
   
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - own this one
   
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - read in high school
   
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling- own all of them so far, several copies so Bookworm, hubby and I don't fight over them
   
8. Forever by Judy Blume - read it
   
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - no, but the bookworm did a project on it last year, fifth grade, an assigned book
   
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- read it
    
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker- own it, and the movie, but the book is better
    
19. Sex by Madonna- perused it once at B&N
    
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel-own Clan of the Cave Bear, read the others
    
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle-read it as a kid and re-read it when the bookwork took it out of the library
    
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous-read it
    
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl- read it to the bookworm after she saw the movie
    
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume- read it
    
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood-read it
    
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George-bookworm owns the series
    
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-read it
    
40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee-read it
    
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison-own it
    
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton-read it in grade school
    
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel-also read in grade school
    
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes-assigned book in high school
    
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein-own it, and several others as the bookworm loves them
    
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley-read it
    
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King-own it
    
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl-third grade teacher read a chapter a day to us, and we loved it.....I now own it
    
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest-read it
    
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume-assigned book in grade school
    
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende- read it, and own this and several ofthers, Allende is a fabulous writer
    
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney-bookworm read it
    
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut-read it
    
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding-read in jr high, was assigned but we all loved it
    
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King-own it
    
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King-own it, love the movie, love the TV series with Anthony Michael Hall even more
    
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison-own it
    
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford-huh? banned? COME ON...
    
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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I saw this posted over at Doc Ern's place, and could not believe how many GREAT books have been banned. Some of the other titles are familiar but to be honest, I read so much I am not really sure whether I have read some or not, so I left those blank.

Who decides to ban some of these wonderful books? Have any of these people ever actually read the books they want to ban?

Kid across the street actually told the bookworm that we must not be ' good christians' because we like the Harry Potter series. Oh well, chalk up another parenting failure for that one. Please, people.