The mail is usually the same: bills, catalogs, money requests, and assorted junk mail. How boring. Then one day a while ago, the mail was exciting! I had received an actual greeting card from an old teaching colleague. It had a stamp and had been sent through “snail mail.” I love cards and greetings that come through “snail mail.” An e-invite, an e-thank you note or an e-birthday greeting are ok, but not as wonderful or as enjoyable as the real thing. You probably realize by now that I am old and somewhat stuck in my ways. Anyway, Carolyn H. from Caledonia – thanks for making my day!
Not too long ago there were magical books in the library that contained all of the knowledge in the world. Usually they came in sets of many volumes organized by alphabetical order. They were called encyclopedias. Then there was a book that was soooooo thick and heavy that it needed its own stand. This book contained all of the known words in the English language, their pronunciation , history of the words, and their meaning or meanings. This was called a dictionary. There were also books that held maps of counties, cities, states, and countries all over the world. They were called atlases. Now we have Wikipedia, Google, and Siri for directions on how to get someplace. Time changes everything; sometimes not for the better!
I love books, particularly hard cover books that have gilded edges and ribbon book markers. I love the smell and feel of the paper. Kindle does not feel the same in my hands. Books, of course, can be purchased at book stores (that I love because they are filled with my people) or they can be ordered online. My favorite place to get books is the public library because they are FREE! Just when I felt like I was losing my sanity, the Houston Public Library opened with conditions. I started ordering books from the library and picked them up from a table just outside the door. Life was good again. Thank you Liz and Beth! I love paper. The paper in magazines and newspapers. Just holding the magazine or newspaper gives me pleasure. I still have paper recipe cards in wooden and metal boxes. Science has proven that people receive more joy from face-to-face meetings than telephone calls and more joy from telephone conversations than text messages. I understand the convenience and efficiency of a text message to inform people of time and place and date for meetings. As a retired person with a phone plan I have the time and money to talk to family and friends until I go hoarse. I also send letters and cards.
I read about 3-5 books a week. I am a fast reader and many of my choices are “brain candy,” not math or science books. I also read nonfiction books but only about people or subjects that interest me. Because of my love affair with paper and books, my goal has been to some day write a book. For now I am happy to write this column!
A few days ago I got a call from Karla N. from Houston telling me about a book that her 98-year-old mother just got published, The Twists of Fate. You can buy it on Amazon in book form or on Kindle. The author’s name is Ellinor Ask. She got her inspiration from a book about the mythology and history of ancient Greece. A former son-in-law gave her that book a long time ago. What an inspiration for all of us author-wannabees.
For the time being I will just type a recipe for you to try.
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