“This small white pill is what I munch

at breakfast and right after lunch.

I take the pill that’s kelly green

before each meal and in between.

These loganberry-colored pills

I take for early morning chills.

I take the pill with zebra stripes

to cure my early evening gripes.

These orange-tinted ones, of course,

I take to cure my charley horse.

I take three blues at half past eight

to slow my exhalation rate.

On alternate nights at nine p.m.

I swallow pinkies. Four of them.

The reds, which make my eyebrows strong,

I eat like popcorn all day long.

The speckled browns are what I keep

beside my bed to help me sleep.

This long flat one is what I take

if I should die before I wake.”

Dr. Suess, “You’re Only Old Once!”

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University. Geisel published his first children’s book, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”, in 1937, after 27 publishers rejected it. Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books before his death on September 24, 1991. His acclimations include being a winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors.

“You’re Only Old Once!” was written shortly after Geisel had suffered through a series of illnesses, during which he spent a considerable amount of time in hospital waiting rooms. To pass the time and bring some humor into the situation, he began sketching images of hospital machines and scenes of medical procedures. “You’re Only Old Once” was Seuss’s first adult book since “The Seven Lady Godivas” was published in 1939. The book reached Number One on the New York Times Best Sellers List, and remained on the list for over 60 weeks.

So for anyone sitting in a waiting room today or being strung through a series of tests, put a little humor into your day. In the words of the great Dr. Seuss, “You’re in pretty good shape for the shape you are in!”