What on Earth Have I Done?: Stories, Observations, and Affirmations

What On Earth Have I Done? is yet another fun book written by Robert Fulghum. Some folks may find his books "easy reads and simple writing" but I think his views on life are very thought inspiring.

Robert Fulghum continues to be a light in the dark. His comedic style of writing, while still making a point, is nothing short of uplifting. I would highly recommend this and all of his titles.

Once again Fulghum has demonstrated his innate ability to observe life as it unfolds. I love reading his books because he could relate to the ordinary and make it funny. I particularly like the first chapter on Mother Questions when he mentioned, "Most of the time a kid doesn't think about what he's doing or why. That is the privilege of childhood." Then he mentioned about the perks of seniority in chapter 22 as he gorged on sweets in the aftermath of Halloween, "I do not eat candy around them because their mother is around. I take the candy surplus, as a favor to their parents, and eat it alone whenever I want." Classic Fulghum.

Robert Fulghum has long been one of my favorite authors . . . ever since he came out with ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN, I've made it a point to get everything he has written. They each contain essays that look at everyday situations in a way that will delight you and, also, make you think . . . his latest, WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I DONE? is no exception. Fulghum begins by telling of an experience he had when he heard a mother asking a variation of the book's title question of her son: "Billy, what on Earth have you done?" . . . he then realized that his mother had asked the same question, and he then asked his own children, who no doubt have asked their kids. Yet as he finds out, the answer is never easy and almost always surprising . . . in one of the best passages of the book, he describes an encounter he had with a particular store's employee . . . when something was not ready when promised, he didn't get upset; rather, he played a game to see if the person could come up with a really creative excuse as to why this happened. This playfulness is described via several other encounters that Fulghum has as he moves among Seattle, Utah and Crete . . . for example: * There's a tailor shop on Queen Anne Avenue. Sign in the window says ALTERATIONS AND REPAIRS FOR MEN AND WOMEN. The tailor is standing in the doorway. I stop. "I'd like to get altered and repaired," I say. She looks at me cautiously. Goes inside. Closes the door. Not a player. I also liked this other approach he describes: * A friend of mine simply waves and smiles at people he doesn't know. More often than not, they wave and smile back. Or ask, "Do I know you?" and he responds, "No, but you could." As to what it (life) all means, Fulghum perhaps sums it up best with this tidbit: * The old man looked mildly outraged and fell into high-gear Greek again with his son. The son was apologetic. "Pardon me, but my father says that it is a lie that Americans have everything. You have no sheep, no goats, no trees, no oil, no vines, no wine, not even chickens. He asks, 'What kind of life is that?' He says, 'No wonder you don't sing or dance or recite poetry very often.' He is dismayed." If you'd like to become less dismayed, buy WHAT ON EARTH HAVE I DONE? for the upcoming holiday season . . . it will make an ideal gift for just about anybody on your list . . . yet make sure you treat yourself, too, with your very own copy.

I've long been a fan of Fulghum's work, and I can't believe that the other reviewer here would only rate this one a "one-star" effort. This book is vintage Fulghum - essays on a huge number of topics, most of which were profound, funny and touching. This one's worth the purchase if only for Fulghum's idea of "converstaion lifeboats" - brilliant. Or the update to the story of the mirror. Fulghum, as usual, shines light into darkened places, and makes the lives of his readers a little better than he found them. That's 5 stars for me.