I am sorry, Readers, but I am going to subject you to a long, round about introduction to a posting about reading. It was inspired by two recent posts by bloggers that I have come to appreciated immensely. I can’t recommend their blogs highly enough. They are great people who have great stories to tell and tell them wonderfully. The postings that inspired this long post are Finding Strength to Stand Again http://findingstrengthtostandagain.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/hitting-my-head-on-glass-ceilings/
and Bended Spoon
How many of you remember the old tv commercial that ran regularly during major league baseball games? There would be a scene of a famous relief pitcher warming up, supposedly getting ready to go into the game. An off-screen announcer would say, “How do you spell Relief?” The camera would close in on the pitcher and he would say, “I spell it “R O L A I D S!”
How do you spell Relief? My wife spells it R E A D I N G !
I have been a voracious reader since I was a young kid. I recognize that there are ar least three types of reading. They are recreational, informational and work related reading. Recreational reading Is the act of reading to relax or escape. Informational reading is the act of reading to gain information or knowledge about a topic of interest not directly related to your work. Work related reading is the act of reading of material directly related to your work.
My wife and I are both aged-challenged. (We’re both eligible for Medicare this year. Please don’t tell her, I’ve told you how old she is.) We’ve been married for over 40 years and have known each other for almost 60 years. For all of those years, we’ve been readers, Although I must admit our reading habits are very different. My wife has always been a recreational and informational reader. She has always had two or three books in which she deeply engaged. Much of her recreational reading has included authors like Janette Oke, Terri Blackstock, Ted Dekker, or Frank Peretti. She also enjoys biographies and autobiographies. Her tastes in informational reading have centered on inspiration books like “Fear Not Tomorrow, God is Already There” by Ruth Graham or “Purpose Drive Life” by Rick Warren.
I have always been a voracious reader, but generally, “it had to have a purpose.” Since I have been in higher education all of my adult life, I have always owned a large collection of books. While I was in high school, my parents bought me the entire set of “Great Books of the Western World.” I set still have those classics, along with all the required readings from my college literature courses. I never sold a college text book or required reading after a course was over. Most of my other books are work related. Although I have some informational books that you would find in the “How –to” or Religious sections of Barnes and Noble. The How to Books were bought to help me with my latest DIY project. The religious books were to help me with a theme for the latest adult Sunday School lesson or a sermon that I was preparing. To borrow a phrase from Rick Warren and use it out of his context, my reading has almost always been “purpose driven.”
For years, my wife would chide me with the comment, “Why don’t you read something for fun?” I would reply, “I don’t have time for that.” Her response was “Try it, you may find that you like it.” My response back to her was, “The time that I want to dedicate to fun is better spent antiquing, exercising or doing DIY projects like remodeling rooms, insulating and putting vinyl siding on our old house, adding a deck, or enclosing our back porch.
Occasionally, I would watch sporting events like basketball, baseball or automotive races on television. My wife and I also both like to watch new segments of “This Old House” or “Antiques Road Show.” We would take this last passion one step further by trying to find unexplored antique shops and digging through them for undiscovered treasures. Those things were fun. Fortunately for me, my wife also suffered from the DIY and antiquing viruses. We spent many weekends together trying to satisfy the cravings that those bugs would cause. If we were not at home working on the latest DIY project, we would be on a road trip to find one more of those unexplored antique shops.
On a Saturday when we didn’t have a pressing DIY project hanging over our heads we would get up early, and tell our college-age daughters that we were going for a ride. The girls would glance at each other, and one would say, “We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” Many times they were right. After finding an unexplored antique shop and digging through it until closing time, we would find a nice restaurant and a cute inn or motel and spend the night.
On each of these trips, I did most of the driving and my wife would pass the time in the car reading one more fascinating chapter of her latest engrossing novel or biography. Every once in awhile she would stop reading and say to me, “You really should read this book, you would really enjoy it.” I would pause for a moment then in all seriousness say, “I can’t right now, I’m driving.” My wife would sigh and say, ”I didn’t mean right at this moment. What about this coming week?” I would respond by saying “I have some work that must get done this coming week and all my reading will have to center on that job.” She would sign again and go back to her reading. I guess she almost figured out that I was a lost cause, until she came up with a brilliant idea. She went to the local library and checked out some audio books, so on our next road trip, we both listened to someone read those books to us. Using this technique, we read Mitch Album’s “Tuesdays with Morrie” and several John Gresham novels, including “The Client” and “The Rain Maker” plus a number of cat mysteries. I must admit the audio books did help to make the miles go more smoothly. Although I can’t remember the titles or the authors, other than Album and Gresham, I do remember most of the story-lines and I will also admit that this was a fun way to read.
All of this changed for us on March 16, 2009. For those of you who are unfamiliar with my story check back to some of my early postings. On that date I had what appeared to be a stroke. However, it wasn’t a stroke, a blood vessel in a benign tumor attached to my brain exploded (surgeon’s word) and the tumor imploded (again surgeon’s word) creating all the symptoms of a stroke. After the removal of the remains of a dead tumor, I have battled balance issues, fatique, aphasia, epilepsy and most recently Parkinson’s disease. I took a medically induced break from my life as an academic administrator, first on disability and now officially on retirement. Supposedly that should give me more time to read. I will tell that part of the story in Relief Through Reading, Parts II through V. In these posts, I will also share how Finding Strength and Bended Spoons have inspired me to expand my reading list somewhat, read more and write about it.
As indicated above on March 16, 2009, I was introduced to a new phase in my life that supoosedly should give me more time for reading, but I must admit that old habits die hard. It has taken me two years to get to the point where I can pick me a book and almost read it just for fun. However, instead of throwing open my reading list to many more recreational reading books, I have taken up more informational reading. I have dropped the DIY readings and picked up readings about neurological dysfunctions, such as “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” by Oliver Sacks and ‘ My Stroke of Insight” by Jill Taylor, and higher education like Charles Murrays’ “Real Education” or Mike Rose’s “Lives on the Boundary.”. The neuologiacl books are helping me understand what I am going through and what I can expect ahead of me. The higher education books are keeping me in touch with the academy. The next three books on my reading list are “Awakenings” by Sacks, “Always Looking Up” by Michael J. Fox, and “Reading in the Brain” by Stanislas Dehaene.
I am so glad that you can sit long enough to keep interest in reading my posts! 🙂 That is quite a compliment!
I thought “My Stroke of Insight” was a great book. Jill Taylor did a wonderful job explaining what the stroke is like from the inside. Your future reading lists looks quite interesting, also.
Thank you for the nod in my direction. It is an honor to receive such a compliment from you. Thank you so very much! I hope you are thawing out and the warmer spring temperatures are finding their way to your home.
Tara
Tara
It is a pleasure to read you posts. I find them inspiring and challenging.
I concur with your assessment of Jill Taylor’s book. ALthough my traumatic brain incident wasn’t techically a stroke, it had all the signs of a stroke. It fooled the doctors until they did the MRI and Cat Scan. I have also been left with all the after maths of a stroke: balance issues, fatique, aphasia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s. Reading Taylor’s book I found myself reliving those weeks and months after the tbi. Doctor after doctor and therapist after therapist encouraged me to write about my experiences, because they kept saying there are so few that could tell the story of what it was like to go through the storm and weather it. Dr. Sachs as a trained observer can report what he sees and that can be helpful. But individuals like Taylor and you provide a completely different perspective. The title of your blog says it all: “Finding the strength to stand again.” I pass along the encouragement to you that was given to me. Keep writing.
Your glass ceiling post was wonderful. You really don’t know what it is like until you hit one. In some recent reading about experiential learning, I was reminded of a Mark Twainism: “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”
I must admit that recently I have hit a glass ceiling due to age and disability, both supposedly protected by law. You can legislate rules, but compliance must come from the heart.
I take your compliment as an honor. Thank you.
PS: We haven’t thawed out completely yet, although for two days last week we could actually see our lawn (It was in the 50s for three days!). It’s snowed covered again and it is likely to stay that way for another two weeks. Enjoy your warm weather. Ours is coming. According to the calendar, spring is only three weeks away.
By Baylis
Known each other for 60 years and married for 40 years?! Wow! That alone is something I deeply respect! I am tempted to ask what’s the secret but is there really a secret or it all boils down to what matters to each of the couple? Your interest in reading, DIY, and treasure hunting seems to be a blessing to the marriage. A non-reader will never understand that it’s not laziness to lie down and read; that things of value are stored in the mind; that it is never a waste of time. My short way of saying that I enjoy reading too! And I enjoy DIY too! And I enjoy treasure hunting too (meaning it’s got to be really cheap and I adore it)!
Religious books for Adult Sunday School or sermon – you were a pastor? The kind of books you are reading indicates what an intelligent person you are! Now that you mentioned the different type of readers then I’m like your wifey — recreational and informational reader. I read stories and novels prior to marriage and thereafter it’s mostly informational — parenting, marriage, finances, and most specially spiritual. I may be a reader but I think I still know so little because my mind can only (maybe choose to) absorb only simple matters. I got a headache if it’s something profound! 🙂
Speaking of profoundness, you will observe in my posts how simple my mind works and how quirky I am at times (if not most of the times). Though I am honored and humbled by your presence, I’m wondering why you want to read those little simple and sometimes silly thoughts when you have so much in you. Okay, I’ll admit it — I sometimes feel uneasy and scared with all of you knowledgeable people around me! 🙂 There are spiritual warriors, company director, lawyer, and other high profile beings in there. Them reading my thoughts and what I feel, that’s quite scary huh. And you joined them? Oh my God! Just to let you know I do not even master my grammar and my word knowledge is limited.
Did I say already that I am honored to meet you? No? Well, I am honored! And I plan to learn so much from you! Thank you for the blessing that you are and may God bless you and your lovely wifey! I don’t know how to say long and beautiful prayer but rest assured that as simple as they seem it’s from the heart.
🙂
Rea,
The honor is mine. In your “simple” (your word) and “quirky” (again, your word) posts you shown more insight into the human mind and spirit than most of those NY TImes Best Seller List authors with all of their fancy offices and booked -up appointment schedules.
A bunch of letters after one’s name doesn’t make one intelligent or wise. How one uses one’s knowledge is the true measure of wisdom. Two of the most intelligent and wise individuals that I have met in reading are the two main characters in Emma Donogue’s book “Room.” Jack is a five-year boy who has never been outside his 11×11 prison. Ma is a 25-year girl who was abducted by a monster when she was a teenager, and had to grow up, give birth to and raise a young child with no outside help at all. Ma and Jack didn’t have book learning or even “street knowledge.” They had each other to cling to and the God-given institnct to survive, and bloom where they were planted. Ma may not have had book learning, but she knew that Jack need the will to carry on and she was going to do evrythin she had to do to make sure he would have it.
the secret to knowing each other for more than 60 years together and not starting World War III is that God is the director in charge of this movie. Sure there have been bumps. MOre than 40 years ago, when we vowed to love each other in sickness or in health, neither of us really knew what that meant.I know I didn’t have anything like the past three years in my life in mind. But we each made a commitment to each other and to God. Commitment doesn’t mean when it is convenient, or if it doesn’t cost me too much. It means no matter what. Love is not an emotion. It is an act of the will. What kind of a person walks away from a commitment?
You ask if I was a pastor? Not officially. I have been in Christian higher education for more than 40 years. Since I could teach and loved teaching, adult Sunday School duties would often fall to me. I didn’t mind that because over the years, I have found that in preparting to teach, the teacher is usually the one who learns the most in a class. Teaching adults led to pulpit supply assignments when our pastor or other local pastors were unable to lead services. From those assignments, one church “licensed” me to preach. That meant that I could lead any service and do anything in the church except weddings since that by state law was reserved for an ordained individual. I was ordained as an elder, but not as a pastor.
In terms of prayer, God has assured us if begin to approach him in prayer, he will understand what we intend to say and will finish those prayers for us.
In terms of your grammar or word knowledge, the last two years have taught me that what we know is relevant even if what we want to say is not perfectly clear or correct. Because of my aphasia, and my inability to concentrate on proofreading, I have mangled many words and sentences. I have written many paragraphs that would have received failing grades in a composition class. The experience has led me to some writing techniques that I am sharing with anyone who will listen (college teachers to K-12 mentors). Is that ironic, dangerous, or what? A mathematician spouting forth on how to write. This will be the subject of an upcoming post on this blog. Now all I have to do is follow my own suggestions.
Thanks for your posts and keep on writing.
And you are a mathematician too? I have so much to look forward to in your posts and learn from them. Thank you so much Baylis for the gift of appreciation and encouragement!
God bless you 🙂
Hi how are you? Looking forward to Part 2!
I am sharing with you the Versatile Blooger Award 🙂
http://bendedspoon.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/oh-oh-oh-i-am-versatile/