Strokes

This morning, giddy in anticipation of my Sunday routine of reading two newspapers, i Tweeted and Facebooked:

I read. Therefore I am.

Somehow i knew i was risking offending peeps who don't consider themselves readers. But, hell, free speech, right?

I haven't always been reading. I took quite a hiatus before last year. I don't even dare calculate the sizable gap.

Sure enough, a friend from high school commented, "I have three kids. Therefore I have NO time to read."

Lady, it is true. I have too much time on my hands. Reading is all i've got going. It was not an arrogant compliment to self as you may have seen it. And gee whiz. This is not personal. I'm not implying "if you don't read, your existence is questionable."

And we do read. If you go online, sort through your mail, catch an ad that drives by...

I read everything. Even paper placemats that they put on trays at fast food joints. It's sort of a sickness.

Somehow when we hear reading as a hobby we tend to think avid. Homer, Dumas, Dante... No! Nutritional labels and catalogs you never ordered count! It's all about receiving information, cuz you want to. You want those brain cells stimulated. You want to learn. Yes, even "useless information".

If i lose the fervor to learn i cease to live. That's all i'm saying.