Okay, so my parents weren't always the most... well, parental. But today, On this Thanksgiving Eve I want to take a moment to be thankful for a small thing that changed my life.
When I was about 4, a door to door salesmen came calling. ( I know, I know-- this is the set up to a horror movie or a porn, but I promise, not this time)
He was selling books. Big, hard cover kids books with colorful illustrations. They weren't baby books with one or two words per page... NO. These were classics, real books with lots of words. I remember The Ugly Duckling being a particular favorite. At four I couldn't read. But these books were extra special. They had cassette tapes that went with them. In my memory I can still hear the crisp *bing* that indicated that it was time to turn the page.
My parents didn't really read to me. In their defense they both worked and blah blah blah... These books with tapes really changed everything for me. They taught me to read. They taught me to love books.
We moved a lot when I was a kid, and I have no idea when those books, tapes and the My Little Pony cassette player that served them tangibly disappeared from my life-- but in the most real way, they never did. In a life full of mad dashes across the continent and an every changing cast of characters (Tonight the part of Dad will be played by....) books were a constant. If my copy of Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe got left behind in one of our rushed moves...it was okay. Where ever we were going would have a library and in that library would be my book. The page number might be different, the cover might have changed, but fundamentally the book would be there, a trusted friend.
Okay, enough being maudlin. Today I am thankful for door to door salesman, the Ugly Duckling, and most especially books.
4 comments:
Thats good, your blog is cool, i like it. Thanks for the efforts my friend.
Thanks for reading.
Nice little story. Thanks for sharing. I tweeted it =)
Thanks. :D
Post a Comment