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Children's Book Has A Hidden Moral

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 14, 2007

TRINITY - Tommie Turtle has a secret. And Mr. Bob knows just what it is.

So can anyone who drops by for a book signing Saturday.

Mr. Bob is local author Robert Z. Hicks, a retired university professor whose paralyzing illness at 15 left him to focus on what still worked - his brain - rather than on what didn't.

The plot of his first children's book, 'Tommie Turtle's Secret,' reads at first glance like an update on Aesop's 'The Tortoise and the Hare' fable: Tommie outwits his opponent, the speedy bunny, to finish first. This tale, however, has a twist: Tommie, who swam across the lake rather than going around it, says he won't tell anyone how he won if the bunny promises to be nice to others.

'Tommie Turtle's Secret' began as one of a set of poems awarded 'Best Submission for Children's Writing' at the 2005 Florida Christian Writer's Conference, according to Hicks' Web site, www.rhyme timebob.com.

Encouraged by the accolade, Hicks decided to use his poetry to help children improve their verbal skills and to appreciate 'the power of words.' The New Port Richey resident started a publishing company, R.Z. Enterprises of Florida, to market the book, which is illustrated by Ruthi Rolseth.

She and her husband, Scott, have entertained and taught children in the Tampa Bay area for about 25 years with their Happy Faces ministry-business, which includes face painting by her alter ego, Sunflower the Clown.

Hicks, meanwhile, 'hopes his life story will be a testimony that challenges and trials are gifts that God entrusts to us to make us stronger and better, and to prepare us for a purpose in life,' his Web site states.

A mosquito bite radically reshaped Hicks' life when he was 15. It was July 1950 and he was camping with other Boy Scouts from Michigan at Philmont ranch in New Mexico. On his last day there, Hicks climbed a fence to get away from a grazing buffalo and watched the mosquito tap into his flesh.

'Back in school that September, Bob played First Chair trumpet in the Ionia High School marching band, and music became the center of his activities and his plans for his future,' Hicks wrote in an autobiographical release. 'Bob's gift for music earned him medals at state music festivals, and he imagined becoming a professional musician, or a band director.'

Then one day at home he lost his balance and fell. Within days he couldn't walk. Doctors in the small towns nearby couldn't determine the cause, so his aunt took him to the University of Chicago Clinics.

There, a spinal tap showed he had encephalitis, an acute brain inflammation that sometimes results in neurological damage or death.

Almost completely paralyzed, Hicks set about developing his mental abilities. He earned three degrees: a bachelor of science at Michigan State University and master's degrees in speech communication at the University of Michigan and the University of Hawaii, where he taught for 24 years, his Web site says.

His inspiration to write came by chance, too, after watching his wife, Betty, chase a green tree frog around the living room, trying to capture it under a paper cup. He set about creating rhymes based on his memories of birds and other critters he encountered while growing up on his grandfather's farm.

Mr. Bob and Betty also pursue another home-based business as network marketers for a manufacturer of herbal health, skin care and household products.

IF YOU GO

Robert Z. Hicks will introduce his children's book, 'Tommie Turtle's Secret,' at a book signing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Let's Eat, 1072 State Road 54, Suite 105, in Trinity. The rhyming picture storybook, illustrated by Ruthi Rolseth, is for ages 3 to 8. Hardcover, full color and 40 pages, Tommie's tale costs $16.95. For details, go to www.

rhymetimebob.com.

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