It makes us and others happy when we say and do nice things like a rose rather than say and do sharp things like a thorne.

Susan Taylor Shupe is the mother of 7 and the grandmother of 20. She has read to them and to their classmates countless times. She is a member of the Assistance League and is the co-chair of the I Love to Read program in North San Diego County, which provides books as incentives for underprivileged children to improve their reading skills.