Bookin' it
"Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. "
-Sir Francis Bacon
(My senior quote from Smiths Station High School yearbook.)
A large truck pulled up once a week and parked in the street knowledge and adventure to our house. Working full time and with 7 kids in the house Momma deserved an escape, but sure didn't seem to have much time for it.
in front of our house at Crestview Drive in Columbus. Momma would disappear inside for several minutes and come back out with books in her hand. She was a reader from early on despite having only a 6th-grade education. Each week the bookmobile from the Bradley Public Library delivered
The Library at Harris County Junior High was a mysterious place. Outside was a broken concrete bench, "The Barber Bench", that was broken throughout my 4 years of junior high. Ms. Barber taught us how to use a dictionary and the Periodic Guide to Periodicals for research. There were lots of books on the shelves, but we never knew we could check them out. I picked up The Four Minute Mile by Roger Bannister one day, and she called to me across the library, "what do you think you are doing with that book young man?" Ms. Barber seemed to hoard the books in preparation for the end times. Our English teachers never mentioned that we should read, could check out a book or took us to the library. She was a funny lady (ha ha funny), and never did get that bench fixed.
Harris County High School had a library. I was stuck there with Diana and Tony as a study hall. Librarian? I honestly can't remember if there was a librarian or not. Nobody ever talked to us when we reported there for study hall. Tony and I flirted with Diana but never really did any studying. They were both a year or two ahead of me, but they treated me nicely. Nobody ever came in the library while we were in there for study hall. Nobody asked for a pass.
Reading became a refuge and escape for me during my 1 year, 9 months and 27 days as an enlisted sailor in San Diego. The Naval Training Center had a library, but the librarian seemed to love her books too much to let anyone borrow them. I soon discovered Walden Books at Fashion Valley Mall and devoured books by Stephen King, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Patricia A. McKillip. Later during my college years, I read between classes at Auburn and during study breaks for final exams. Reading was an escape and a reprieve from studying.
The right bottom pocket of my "green bag" (Navy flight suit) always held a paperback book. I had a special friend in a used book store who fed me John D. McDonald, Agatha Christie, Louis Lamour and Robert Ludlum books in an endless stream. Down time between TransAtlantic and TransPacific flights was filled with mystery and gunslinging.
All of this has taught me that reading really is fundamental. Reading took me to places I could not physically travel. Books brought characters to life that made me laugh, cry and wonder why. Reading taught me to persevere, consider how my actions affect others, and that humans never run out on of ways to hurt and harm each other. Through reading, I learned to read better and write better.
Momma was the best-traveled person I have ever known. She knew the power of books early on thanks to the bookmobile. Reading is not a gene, but a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. I love to read ... and write. Thanks, Mama, your legacy lives in me and through me.
-Sir Francis Bacon
(My senior quote from Smiths Station High School yearbook.)
A large truck pulled up once a week and parked in the street knowledge and adventure to our house. Working full time and with 7 kids in the house Momma deserved an escape, but sure didn't seem to have much time for it.
The Library at Harris County Junior High was a mysterious place. Outside was a broken concrete bench, "The Barber Bench", that was broken throughout my 4 years of junior high. Ms. Barber taught us how to use a dictionary and the Periodic Guide to Periodicals for research. There were lots of books on the shelves, but we never knew we could check them out. I picked up The Four Minute Mile by Roger Bannister one day, and she called to me across the library, "what do you think you are doing with that book young man?" Ms. Barber seemed to hoard the books in preparation for the end times. Our English teachers never mentioned that we should read, could check out a book or took us to the library. She was a funny lady (ha ha funny), and never did get that bench fixed.
Harris County High School had a library. I was stuck there with Diana and Tony as a study hall. Librarian? I honestly can't remember if there was a librarian or not. Nobody ever talked to us when we reported there for study hall. Tony and I flirted with Diana but never really did any studying. They were both a year or two ahead of me, but they treated me nicely. Nobody ever came in the library while we were in there for study hall. Nobody asked for a pass.
Reading became a refuge and escape for me during my 1 year, 9 months and 27 days as an enlisted sailor in San Diego. The Naval Training Center had a library, but the librarian seemed to love her books too much to let anyone borrow them. I soon discovered Walden Books at Fashion Valley Mall and devoured books by Stephen King, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Patricia A. McKillip. Later during my college years, I read between classes at Auburn and during study breaks for final exams. Reading was an escape and a reprieve from studying.
The right bottom pocket of my "green bag" (Navy flight suit) always held a paperback book. I had a special friend in a used book store who fed me John D. McDonald, Agatha Christie, Louis Lamour and Robert Ludlum books in an endless stream. Down time between TransAtlantic and TransPacific flights was filled with mystery and gunslinging.
All of this has taught me that reading really is fundamental. Reading took me to places I could not physically travel. Books brought characters to life that made me laugh, cry and wonder why. Reading taught me to persevere, consider how my actions affect others, and that humans never run out on of ways to hurt and harm each other. Through reading, I learned to read better and write better.
Momma was the best-traveled person I have ever known. She knew the power of books early on thanks to the bookmobile. Reading is not a gene, but a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. I love to read ... and write. Thanks, Mama, your legacy lives in me and through me.
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