THOUGHTS

April 13, 2020

A reprint from 2013

Little Laura said one day, "Mom, I'm turning into someone who just reads chapter books, but I don't want to be that kind of person!"  You should never outgrow picture books.  Her auntie Laura is reading her family, "Old Yeller."  On the way to her Auntie Robin's where the black lab Meagan was waiting, Gracie said, "I can't wait to see Old Blacker, then go back home to see Old Browner, her chocolate lab.

The author of "Old Yeller" and "Savage Sam," Fred Gipson, used to stay for extended visits in the house my great-great grandfather built in Georgetown, Texas."  We were able to visit that home which is now a bed and breakfast and can imagine him sitting there writing his wonderful books.  A fun, but lesser known book by him is "Hound Dog Man," which I can envision taking place there.

"Give someone a fish, feed them for a day;

teach them to fish, feed them for life."

The same concept is true with books: 

if you teach someone the love of reading, they will become lifelong learners.

"When you...discover something that nourishes your soul, 

brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life." 

 Jean Bolen

"She did not need much, wanted very little, a kind word,

sincerity, fresh air, a garden, kisses, books to read..."

Starra Neely Blade

"People who know and love the same books as you have the road map to your soul."

"I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library."

Jorge Luis Borges

"Fill your house with stacks of books,
in all the crannies and all the nooks."

Dr. Seuss

"In the beginning was the Word..."

John 1:1

So perhaps books are a building block of creation and potentially have a touch of the divine.

After all, God wrote a best seller, the Bible.