This is very off topic, but it is so good that I encourage anybody to read
use and pass along.

This was writen by former Packer Marv Flemming.

 

The Joy of Reading
Some time ago, I was talking at a school assembly in Wisconsin.  One of the
teachers asked me to  write something about reading so the students could be
motivated to read.  It was so well received, for some time it was hanging in
the Wisconsin State Capitol.  Here it is:

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, reading wasn’t my first priority. I
was busy trying to be the one that jumped the highest, ran the fastest and
made more baskets and touchdowns than anyone. I wanted to be the strongest
kid around.

I discovered reading and how it could really help you in life. I learned
that the better paying jobs were given to people who read well. After taking
classes in how to read, I learned that reading was a wonderful thing, and I
really enjoyed it. Learning how to read gave me the knowledge and confidence
to ask and answer a lot questions. I always wanted to be a better person,
and do the right thing. This new found love of reading helped point me in
the right direction.

Reading has made me the person I am today. I have been to the moon before
the astronauts have.  I have climbed Mount Everest more often than Sir
Edmund Hillary.  I have been swimming and talking with the Dolphins.  I have
trekked across the Antarctica through the blinding snows.  I have been
humbled by Mother Teresa’s ministering in the slums of Calcutta.  I have
soared with the American Bald Eagles in the high heavens. I have fought in
many wars and battles and still survived death. And I have relaxed on a
riverboat churning along the lazy Mississippi River.

I have experienced so much more than the average man or woman in my travels
across the world, yet I don’t even have jet lag. It doesn’t cost me but
pennies to go. I don’t need a passport, I only need my library card. My mind
and my ability to read, open all the doors I choose to open. The only
limitation I have is me. I go to wherever my dreams take me. Where will your
dreams take you?

I’ll leave you with this thought. The great Author Mark Twain once said, A
person that doesn’t read has no great advantage over a person who can’t
read�.

 

 

Howard Kaufman MSW LCSW