Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

Of the three r's, (reading writing and arithmetic), reading was always my favorite. One of my first memories is sitting in the children's section of Hamilton, Ohio's Lane Public Library and looking at books wishing I could read the words on them.

My mother was and continues to be an avid reader and her love of reading was instilled into me at a very early age. When I finally began to learn how to read, I never wanted to stop. During the summer, the Lane Public Library had a summer reading fair and the "bookmobile" would come to various neighborhoods and the kids go borrow the books they wanted to read for the week and the next week return them and exchange for new ones. The child that read the most books over the summer holiday would be honored by having their name put on the summer reading banner.


I am sure that I have read thousands of books. From Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" to Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and every genre in between. I have many favorite books I have read and some I care not to read again. Like movies, some you can read over and over and others, once is enough. Some of my favorites are... "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote; "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell; and "The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice. But my very first book was read in the floor of the children's section of Hamilton, Ohio's Lane Public Library, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter. The memory is so fresh and vivid in my mind, just like it was yesterday. Some of my best memories as a child came from reading and that library.


Things have changed quite a bit since then. The Lane Public Library is still there and the main building is on the Ohio Historic Registry of Historic Buildings, but it has seen some changes since then. It also has several branches throughout Butler County. Now most kids have never opened a book other than their school text books and if they read it is off the Internet or from magazines. The neighborhood library is almost a thing of the past. And I have not seen a "bookmobile" in decades. It is unfortunate that reading has taken a back seat to video games and the computer. So next time you need some quiet time, or just need to "get away" from the every day world, grab a book.

Remember Being 16?

My youngest son, Adam is 16 and on Wednesday, Feb. 10 he will be 17. Due to his battle last year with Hodgkins, he was unable to get his driver's license. So this year he is taking driving school and will soon be an official licensed driver. I don't understand why this is making me feel so old, as all my other kids went through this right of passage and I didn't really get this emotional. Maybe it is due to the last year seeing Adam fight cancer and now this is just another mark to say he did it. Or maybe it is just the fact that it is just another sign that yes, I really am getting old.

Pondering these things takes me back to when I was 16. Do you remember when you were 16? Everyone was getting the driver's permit and taking out mom or dad's car to learn how to drive and to move into one of the first steps of adulthood. My friends were driving Chevy Malibu's or Pontiac Grand Prix, or even a couple of trucks.

As for me...I was learing to drive in this.

A fishbowl with wheels. An AMC Pacer. It was a beauty, 75% glass and 25% metal and rubber.

So Adam, when you think you've got it bad and you have to drive your mom's old Taurus take a look at what I had to drive...

Back in the Day

Sometime back in 2003 I had a blog, entitled, surprisingly enough, Reality Check. But the service that I was using completely shut down and I lost a year of my blog. So I began my blogging life on Blogger in October of 2004. Wow, almost six years ago.

Much has transpired since then. Some of my kids got married, some of my kids had kids, making me a grandfather, lost old friends, met new ones, found a new job, dropped that one and found another, sickness, fun times, graduations, anniversaries and birthdays and so much more.

Now I am heading into my 7th year of blogging, and as you can see from the lack of postings it is not what it used to be. But then again, neither am I. I am heading into my 50th year, and finding out the joys of aging, whether it is graceful or not, I am not sure but regardless it is happening. To all of us actually, not just me.

I say all of this to let you know that yes, I am going to continue to blog, as I enjoy it, and I enjoy looking back and seeing what I was doing a few years back. It is a journal of sorts to share with you, but also to share with myself. But I need to add some new life to my blog, as Facebook and Twitter have taken over. So as I enter my 50th year I also want to take a look back over the last 50 years and share some of the things I've seen, as I continue to tell about the things that are my current reality. So come and share 2010 with me as well as the years before as I saw them...

Last Chapter of 2009

We are coming to the close of another year and with it the close of another chapter of our lives. This was my 49th year and during this year many things took place and changes were made in our lives that will effect us from now on. My son Adam's battle raged on in 2009 and finally by December a reprieve has come as his tumors have shrunk, are not active and in remission. We had loss with the death of an uncle unexpectedly at 59, and DJ's grandfather at the age of 70. We had wedding engagements, Anniversaries and new babies, as my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July and Dan became an Uncle with the birth of his Nephew, Jayden in August. We also had breakups as my daughter moved back home with her two girls to start off on her own again after 7 years. Health issues continued to rear its ugly head as my diabetes continued to spiral out of control, and finally became controllable only to find out that I may be in the early stages of Andropause...yes that is male menopause and its real, as well as my own scare with skin cancers. We grew a year older and in some cases a wiser. We laughed, we cried and we loved.

Yes many things transpired in 2009, some of them joyous and good, others were not. But, through it all it has taught us that life is so precious, and that family and love are the most important things in this life. If we have those in order everything else will fall into place!

So as we close on 2009, I say thank you and look forward to what 2010 my bring. Who knows maybe I'll get that HDTV this year.... (hint hint).

What Sells?

There is just SO much wrong with this old advertisement! Can you believe it? It would be funny if it wasn't a real ad.

Fall

Yes, I'm back. No the Facebook bandwagon didn't totally take over my body and being and make me some kind of blog-less creature. Almost, but not completely. Yes, I still 'facebook" on a daily basis and keep in touch with all my FB Buddies, but since 2004, this has been my outlet and it continues to be.

Anyway, tell me welcome back and get on with it...

Fall is here in the Queen City. Festivals, harvest parties, and the colors. I love the colors of fall more than any other season. Along with those activties and colors, comes the Haunted Houses. DJ's family are huge haunted house people, and the first of many visits will begin tonight.

So you say welcome back, and I say Welcome Fall!

Where you Been??

Over at facebook, come look me up, and be my friend!

www.facebook.com/mwyatt1960