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Children's Book Inspires Kids To Focus On Their Abilities

Since this author could no longer rely on physical abilities, his mind became his greatest asset

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By Cheryl  Bentley | The Suncoast News

Published: September 27, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Bob Hicks warns he might have to take breaks to rest his voice. But his mind evidently ignores his body. It romps throughout his speaking, relishing the conversation about his life.

Hicks seems to have forgotten about breaks.

He has advancing scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, a neuromuscular skeletal impairment from the encephalomyelitis he suffered when he was 15.

The disease is an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that damages myelin, the protective covering of nerves. In Hicks case, it led to weakness and difficulty coordinating voluntary muscle movements, such as walking.

His doctors told him the virus was transmitted through a mosquito bite.

In measured, cogent phrases, he speaks in a deep voice for two hours straight about both a past of learning and teaching and a present filled with a new endeavor in the form of a children's book he has written.

First book

Hicks and his wife Betty recently created R. Z. Enterprises of Florida to publish Hicks' first book, "Tommie Turtle's Secret," a variation on the fable of the tortoise and hare.

In Hicks' rhyming story, the drama of winners and losers gives way to a tale with themes of kindness and dealing with such childhood issues as bragging and teasing.

Tommie wins the race through brainpower, but he makes an agreement with Hoppy Bunny never to tell if Hoppy stops his ceaseless boasting.

Ever the educator, the former college instructor adds questions and commentary at the end of the book to test comprehension and stimulate critical thinking.

Hicks notes Tommy wins the race by focusing on the abilities he has, rather than those he lacks.

That is a skill Hicks learned from his illness.

Before the encephalomyelitis struck, the teenaged Hicks growing up in Ionia, Michigan was an average student but a crack trumpet player.

"The first-chair trumpet player in the Grand Rapids Symphony told my band director that I had the fastest triple tonguing that he had ever heard," he remembers.

Budding musician

The budding musician dreamed of being another Ray Anthony, the bandleader and trumpeter.

The dream ended with the encephalomyelitis.

He spent four months in a hospital unable to walk.

Hicks' life took a new direction. He could no longer rely on physical abilities. His mind became his greatest asset.

Since the encephalomyelitis, Hicks has appreciated mobility in any form. At various times, he has used aids from wheelchairs to canes to help him walk, depending on the severity of his condition. At one point, he was able to walk without a cane for about 10 years.

These days, the 72-year-old turns to either a walker or power scooter to get about.

He credits his mobility to prayer.

Faith began at 14

His faith began at 14 when he says he was "saved," which, he says, "is accepting and believing in Jesus Christ that comes to you as spirit."

It has been strengthened through what he calls "coincidences."

Although they have sometimes shaken up his life, Hicks has learned to listen to them. "I love coincidences," he says.

He believes coincidences kicked in when he was all set to become a tenured professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He had racked up merit raises and good evaluations.

His wife Betty had also gotten a job teaching home economics nearby for the next school year.

Hicks' dream fell through when he was not rehired because his evaluator said he had missed too much work from illness.

Betty's job also did not come through.

Rejected offer

Hicks rejected the teachers union offer of suing the administration for discriminating against him because of his physical condition.

To him, the upheaval in his life was a message. "I saw it as a sign I was not where I was supposed to be," he says.

By that time, Hicks had already graduated with honors from Michigan State University and had earned a master's degree in speech from the University of Michigan. "I realized the one thing I still had working was my voice," he explains.

He quickly got another job as a teaching assistant and was able to chalk up a second master's degree in speech communication at another location of the University of Hawaii, an achievement that probably would not have been open to him had he stayed at Hilo.

Hicks eventually landed another job teaching communications at Windward Community College in Kaneohe, Hawaii. The college is part of the University of Hawaii system.

The school attracted a diverse student population whose average age was 25.

He stayed for 17 years.

"I loved it," he remembers.

Written about
One of Hicks' former students, Lono Enso, has written about Hicks in "Campus Chronicles," published by Windward Community College in 2007.

Enso uses the term haole, the word Hawaiians call nonPolynesians.

"This haole guy, Bob Hicks who graduated from that Big Ten school in Michigan, truly had the warrior spirit. He had an uncanny ability to calmly instill confidence in anybody to get up in front of a class and give a three-minute speech. ... Lesson learned: We all have disabilities, some visible and some invisible, but no matter what they are, if you have the right spirit, you can succeed in whatever you choose."

Hicks taught his students how to learn, he says. He had learned that as a junior studying for his undergraduate degree.

To help himself remember, he started recording information to make a three-minute sleep-learning tape.

He quickly observed he didn't need the tape. By the time he got around to record it, he had already learned the necessary material by merely organizing and preparing the information.

Learn to learn

Anyone can learn to learn, says Hicks. "It's a skill performance, not something you're good at."

He made his students active participants in their learning. "I did not like the game of Guess What I'm Suppose to Learn," he says. "I told them exactly what they needed to learn."

When his body could no longer endure the rigors of teaching, the Hicks moved to Florida in 1989 to be near Betty's mother in Dunedin. They now live in New Port Richey.

The inspiration for the Turtle book came when he was watching Betty try to capture a little green frog with a glass.

Hicks remembered all the animals such as Bandit, an orphaned baby raccoon who became a family pet, he had encountered while growing up on his grandfather's farm in Michigan.

He was flooded with inspiration to write about animals, he says.

But as any writer knows, inspiration must be accompanied by editing and rewriting.

More revisions

When shown one of Hicks' poems, a critic asked him how many times he had revised it.

Hicks replied he had rewritten it about 15 times.

"When you get it up to 50, it will be good," the critic responded.

He made it up to 50 when writing "Tommie Turtle's Secret," Hicks notes.

The book contains large, colorful pictures in acrylic by Ruthi Rolseth. A Tarpon Springs resident, Rolseth recently passed away. Both the Hicks become tearful when talking about her.

A DVD and CD of the book are now in the works.

A collection of his poems was awarded "Best Submission of Children's Writing" at the 2005 Florida Christian Writers Conference.

Although often weak physically, Hicks is content with his life.

"I think my life is planned out to accomplish certain things, and I am working on that track now," he says.

The book can be ordered by calling 727-842-8314 or visiting the Rhyme Time href=http://www.rhymetimebob.com> Web site or href=http://www.amazon.com> Amazon.com.

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