Monday, February 26, 2018

ANOTHER problem with mentioning sexual orientation in an elementary assembly

This past fall, I reported an unfortunate circumstance in which a parent complained to an elementary school principal because an author speaker (me) mentioned a person's sexual orientation during a presentation. To be specific, I said Bill Finger's son Fred was gay.

Despite that incident, which (as far as I know) blew over quickly, I've continued to identify Fred as gay in presentations for all kids in grades 3 and up—with virtually no other pushback elsewhere. 

This past week, however, I experienced a different response—one I had not fully considered beforehand. 

After doing three assemblies at a Maryland elementary, as I was about to head out, both the principal and vice principal approached me. They said they knew I was trying to beat traffic but warmly asked if had even a few minutes to meet with a parent who was in the main office.

Before another word was said, I figured this, too, was probably about me saying "gay."

And I was right. 

But in the wrong way.

The father of two of the students had come in because one or possibly both of his girls were upset. Not because I mentioned that someone was gay. 

Because of the way a few students reacted when I mentioned that someone was gay. 

Because he and his husband (the girls' fathers) are gay.

Those few students had expressed disgust. Dishearteningly, this has happened at numerous other schools—and I swiftly and sternly crack down it on every time. I remind them to be respectful. I remind them that we treat people equally, as we wish to be treated. The snickers or snorts screech to a halt.

Of course their intolerance is not innate. It's not what these young people think. It's what certain adults in their lives think and have toxically passed down to them. 

It's secondhand hate.

This father—let's call him Matt—was rightfully distraught (at one point on the verge of tears) that his children were in the room when this happened. (I was not clear if he had seen his girls since the assembly.) I sympathized deeply with his whole family. The principal and vice principal praised how I handled the situation and impressed me by facilitating a conversation between Matt and me.

Matt was not mad at me. Quite the contrary: he was happy that I plainly referred to Fred's sexual orientation like any other fact of life. But he was eviscerated that this put his daughters at risk for emotional anguish among their peers. They do not live in an area with a visible gay community.

This is an especially terrible conflict: Matt simultaneously craves and fears full disclosure. Heterosexuals do not truly know how it feels to have the nature of our love—the core of a human's being—challenged, mocked, loathed. Straight privilege. 

Then Matt asked me a question I was not expecting:

"What should I tell my daughters?"

I am quite sure he already knew, but was fogged in a kind of grief. I said I'm disappointed that we as a society are not there yet but I feel moments like these move us forward. Yes, talking about sexual orientation in mixed company can be difficult because of the small-mindedness of some, but not talking about it is a disservice to all. Of course he already knew that, too.

Matt wondered aloud what if anything schools could do to prevent ignorant reactions like what happened that day. I said I feel a good approach is simply bringing up the subject naturally, without any setup; this normalizes it.

I assured Matt that it was only a small handful of students who reacted insensitively and when I told them that was unacceptable, they went silent. I told Matt that I believe this situation, while hurtful at first, would have a positive effect. His girls heard an adult tell a group of young people that it is perfectly okay (and common) to be gay. Some kids have never heard that before. His kids have never heard that before, in such a setting.

I stammered other words that I hoped would sound supportive. Matt seemed genuinely receptive…and by the end, even somewhat relieved. He thanked me. I thanked him. The vice principal thanked us both. Everyone thanked everyone. 

Matt's family had plans to see Black Panther that night. Speaking of broadening minds…

By the way, the name of one Matt's daughters is Athena.

Same name as Fred's daughter.

4/27/18 addendum: what happened next. (Warning: emotional.)

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Cover reveal: "Thirty Minutes Over Oregon"

In 1997, I saw the New York Times obituary for a man named Nobuo Fujita whose headline called him the "Only Foe to Bomb America."

Ten years later, I finally wrote a picture book manuscript about him. 

Seven years after that, after dozens of rejections and an unconventional experiment, I finally sold the manuscript to a publisher. 

And four years after that, which brings us to this year, Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot's World War II Story is finally coming out. 

Betsy Bird at School Library Journal's Fuse #8 did the cover reveal.

So I am doing the reveal of the reveal:


If you think that image by Melissa Iwai is exhilarating, wait till you see inside...

Betsy is holding off on a full review till closer to the October publication date, but in the meantime, she wrote "Marvelous! Exciting and harrowing, a fascinating portrait of levelheaded thought and kindness."

Thank you, Betsy…and thank you, Nobuo.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Tikal: Mayan ruins turned "Star Wars" Rebel base

On 2/17/18, after a weeklong visit to the American School of Guatemala, I day-tripped from Guatemala City to what some call the historical highlight of Guatemala: the ruins of a Mayan city now called Tikal, part of a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. (How long it remains the highlight remains to be seen. Mere weeks earlier, it was announced that archeologists using LiDAR discovered an immense stretch of ruins—a megalopolis—not far from Tikal.)

My hotel was about 10 minutes from the airport. My (domestic) flight was at 6:30 am. Oddly, the tour company set my pickup for 3:30 am. I asked for leniency but the latest they would agree to was 4 am. Sure enough, there was a slow-moving, 15-person line at check-in, but even so, I was done by 5 a.m. That left 90 minutes to fill…assuming the flight departed on time.


Which, surprise, it didn't. My flight number was 110 but turns out three flights were scheduled to leave GC for Flores (the airport closest to Tikal) at 6:30, out of the same gate but with different (unannounced) flight numbers. Based on factors not clear or explained to us, the airline staff divided up the passengers, and of course my plane was not only last to leave but, for reasons not clear or explained, at least 20 minutes late to leave. 

No matter. I was going to Tikal. My first jungle ruins. 

The flight was under an hour. The drive to Tikal was slightly longer. As often happens on package tours like this, the van made one stop at a shop and suggested we buy a raincoat (it was sunny but in Guatemala, the weather often changes on a quetzale); if it went unused during the tour, we could exchange it for something else on the way back. No one bought one. (It did rain, but only briefly, and not until we were returning to the airport. It also poured the two days before and rain was forecast for the day after. We lucked out.)

The shop tripled as a Tikal visitors' center…

a model of the expansive site

…and a mini-museum about gum production.

chewing gum in its natural, flavorless state; we got to try it

A small tortilla stand next door to the shop:


A charming bakery below a residence across the street:


Once you pass the entrance to Tikal National Park, it's still at 17-kilometer drive through jungle to get to the actual entrance to the ruins. You pass signs warning of various animals, including snakes. I wanted a photo of the snake sign but we were driving too fast. And it ended up being the only snake we saw all day.

Another (scale?) model within the park:


It was warm but not oppressive, and much of the tour was under shade of the canopy. We walked from 10:30 am till lunch at 2:45 p.m. (originally scheduled for 1 pm, but we asked more questions and took more photos than anticipated), with only brief, occasional stops to rest; my total steps for the day topped 15,000 (though that included airport, etc.). Foolishly, I did this on an empty stomach—for some reason I had the opposite of appetite for most of the day. Lunch was at one of several wall-less restaurants within the jungle near the entrance.

Animals spotted: howler and spider monkeys, an exotic-looking male turkey (see below), lots of birds (in trees), armies of marching ants, a couple of coatis (similar to raccoons), and, most jungly, a tarantula. 


Pen for scale, but it did not work because
I did not want to get closer.

Jaguars are present but rarely seen, partly because they're active primarily at dawn and dusk, partly because they typically avoid humans.

Crocodiles are also present.


Oh, some monkeys have a disturbing pastime: pooping on hapless tourists.


The tour guide was almost too knowledgeable. He spoke at length without coming up for air (or questions), but I forced some through and he was happy and able to answer. 

Facts I learned and liked:


  • the site dates back to around 800 BCE 
  • it features six large temples and many smaller structures
  • the site was abandoned around 950 CE
  • the site was buried by the jungle and rediscovered in 1848, though I read that locals never forgot it (but didn't go there because it was remote)
  • Temple 3 is the newest structure in Tikal, built around 810 CE; it's mostly covered by flora
  • life at Tikal revolved almost exclusively around worshipping the gods; we did not hear of any leisure activities
  • the Spanish never reached Tikal but other indigenous factions conquered Tikal (twice, I believe)
  • some structures are still buried by the jungle because excavation is a complex, expensive process
  • if not maintained, the jungle would reclaim the site within 10 years
  • within the next 20 years, the government may stop allowing visitors to climb the temples 


The geekiest fact:

A Rebel Base shown in Star Wars: A New Hope was shot at Tikal (on Temple 4, which is the biggest, and which we climbed via wooden stairs but could not photograph due to the jungle around it). In the scene, you can see (from closest to farther) Temples 3, 2, and 1.


My awkward, fourth-wall-breaking recreation:


I was a bit surprised that the gift shops at Tikal don't take advantage of that (or, if they did, I didn't notice in my passing glance). If they marketed this, even sold Rebel helmets so people could recreate the pose from the movie (as I awkwardly did, helmetless), I bet they'd make a killing. But then, this is Tikal. As beloved as Star Wars is, does a breathtaking ancient civilization need a sci-fi movie to boost its draw?

Selective glimpses

An "apartment" (really just a small room) in the royal residence complex:


A bed for a couple, with a smaller bed (the ledge above) for a baby; they were softened with leaves:


A throne; to approach the ruler sitting here, people would have to climb stairs, kneeling on each one, and to leave, they descended the stairs…while still facing the ruler:


A ballcourt for a sport that was (as with most else) really about appeasing the gods:


Temples and other haunting and breathtaking structures:











Walking these grounds gave me an old familiar feeling. Until just before lunch, I didn't crave food…but all day I was hungry for the impossible chance to see the past in the past. To be at Tikal 1,000 years ago, at its peak, pulsating with color (the temples were painted reds and perhaps other shades) and teeming with people. 

Those people would, I imagine, have lived most of their lives in fear, but today Tikal seems at peace. If ghosts are there, they were as hard to detect as the jaguars, perhaps captivated into silence by Tikal's beauty, as I often was.

Though something I saw just before leaving may have been a colorful message from the beyond…

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

"The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra" in Guatemala

On 2/10/18, I flew to Guatemala, which didn't take as long as I was expecting. (Probably because I was comparing it to my last international work flight, to Vietnam.) This was only my second trip to Central America, first time being Costa Rica in 2013 (for a vacation, not to work). 

My book The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra got to Guatemala before me. I went to spend a week speaking to all ages at the American School of Guatemala in Guatemala City, courtesy of the supremely nice librarian Brandon O'Neill, who had several of my books.



Let's zoom in on that partially obscured sign between us.


Before exiting the Guatemala City airport, everyone has to push a button on a small console that looks like a prop from a Cold War doomsday movie. It's attached to a stoplight without the yellow. If the green lights up, you proceed out. If red, you've been arbitrarily selected for inspection. I got green. This guy didn't. 


According to the guide/archeologist professor (no, not Indiana Jones) who took me around the cobblestoned city of Antigua for a few hours, Guatemala is the wealthiest country in Central America. According to strangers on the internet, it's not. No matter—both Antigua and Guatemala City (where I was based) felt clean and safe. However, feels can be deceiving, at least if you're to believe the pickled Texan in my hotel elevator who told me "Don't go out after midnight. Someone will shove a gun in your face and rob you."

Needless to say, I did not go out after midnight. Also because my daily school pickups were between 6:40 and 7 am.

My first talk each day started between 7:45 and 8 am. The school was only 15 minutes by car from my hotel (Biltmore) in the more well-off Zone 10, but because roads are typically one- or two-lane there, one accident can back up hundreds, so the school wanted to get me on the early side. (In the end, none of my five morning commutes took more than 20 minutes.)

The school, as with so many I've had the privilege to visit around the world, was picturesque and meticulously maintained. The jungle gym looked like a beehive.


The school teaches half the day in Spanish, half in English—but I couldn't adhere to that split. I started my talk with "buenos dias," followed by "That's all of my Spanish." The kids laughed, in both languages.


Day 1, presentation 1 was to an auditorium full of preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders. Five minutes in, the room went dark—but it wasn't a full outage. Weirdly, the microphone still worked… The kids managed to not riot and power was restored within a few minutes.

Because my books skew older, at any given school visit, I typically see preschool only once (if I see them at all) and for no more than 20 minutes. But here, in a first, I spent most of the first two days almost exclusively with that age range. Monday in particular required additional stamina—one 30-minute assembly, one hourlong professional development workshop, and in between, nine classes of chicos! 

The city is in the shadow of three volcanoes, one of which is active. I woke up every day to a hotel room view of one.


But the more frequent danger here is earthquakes. The last big one was in 1976 and killed 23,000. In 1773, the country suffered a catastrophic earthquake and several aftershocks whose effects can still be seen today at the Santiago Cathedral in Antigua.


Other views of the grounds:



These kids were happily exploring. 
I assume their parents were nearby.

Two preschool teachers asked me if I know comic book writer Tom King. I said not personally but he's one of the current A-listers, so I know his work. Turns out they are both cousins of his wife! I was less stunned to meet people in Guatemala who are connected to Tom King as I was to meet two American cousins who work at the same school in Guatemala.

More sights around Guatemala City

A statue/art installation that reminded me of "The Awakening" sculpture at the National Harbor in DC:


Another dramatically posed statue:



How the check came at one restaurant:


More sights around Antigua

Hill of the Cross (with volcano in the background):



Le Merced church:


Saint Catalina Arch:


A market (with Hill of the Cross in the distant background):


A side street:


Adios and gracias. (Okay, so "buenos dias" wasn't really all of my Spanish…)

Thursday, February 8, 2018

This is how you fan

A kind fellow named Danny has tweeted compliments a number of times about Batman & Bill and my work in general. It's not every month someone custom-produces a T-shirt with art from one of your books:


Even I don't have a Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman T-shirt. (I do, however, have some Bill Finger ones. As do others. Including Danny.)

Thank you again, Danny. Keep up that positive spirit!

By the way, happy 104th birthday, Bill!