Lost in a book

I’ve rediscovered my love of reading.  Once again, I feel like that little kid sitting on the floor of her pink bedroom.   My long and sometimes ashy brown legs would be stretched way out against the light green carpet.   I was lost in a book.

I remember this intensely pleasurable reading taking place during the summer of my childhood.  My mother, a school teacher, would be home with us during the long summer months.  As soon as we mentioned that we were bored, Ma would say Bored?  Ok.  Go get your things.  We’re going to the library.  Her tone suggested that we were in some sort of trouble.  I loved to read so I was always a little confused by this parental display.  She piled her 3 kids into the back of the green Chevy Nova and off we went. 

The authors of my childhood were Beverly Cleary, Maya Angelou and Judy Blume.  Not too long after that I discovered James Baldwin.  I don’t remember my mother scrutinizing my stack of books which is why I could slip in James Baldwin at a fairly young age.  At that time children were really children.  This was before cable and the only source of corruption was the Brady Bunch, Threes Company and Fat Albert.  Even if my mother saw me reading James Baldwin she probably thought I was trying to learn about my black history.   

Somewhere along the way I lost my love of reading.  It probably started with all of the volumes of required reading for college and graduate school.  This was followed by jobs that required more reading.  When I got home in the evenings, the last thing I wanted to do was deal with more words.   But I kept reading anyway.  There were moments that I enjoyed but it felt a lot like laundry.  The main difference is that I could remember a time when I loved reading and that memory buoyed me along from book to book. 

It made no sense for me to approach a book like a kid trying to get through a plate full of peas. So I stopped trying.  I would read what I wanted and when I wanted.  I would read an article here and a blog there.  Sometimes I would read parts of books with no goal of completion.  This went on for a few years. 

Last May, I was with my walking buddy Arlene and we decided to visit a new library we noticed passed on our way to Arabia Mountain.  We casually walked around the library marveling at the architecture.  Eventually we got to the books to check out their selection.  Suddenly I had this urge to read which took me by surprise.   I ended up choosing Jonah’s Gourd Vine by Zorah Neale Hurston which was first published in 1934.  I loved the wonderfully flawed main character of preacher John Pearson.  The dialect was challenging and delightful.

I then turned to my own bookshelf for the next selection, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.   I savored every word.  When I finished the last chapter, I declared once again that Baldwin is the best.  Now, I’m reading Anne Lamott’s book – Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.  She has some very practical suggestions that I find quite helpful.  I’m amused by her use of lavish sarcasm.

I continue to read as I can.  I take my time.   I lay across my bed with only a night lamp on and sometimes I burn a candle.  And the sensation is the same as it was a long, long time ago.   

Rediscovering Reading at the Stonecrest Library, Lithonia, GA

TGIF (Thank God It's Fall)

Fall is my favorite season. I like everything about the Fall. The colors, the coolness and the start of the holiday season. My favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, is in the Fall. It is the one holiday where nobody really wants anything from anybody other than their love, friendship and maybe their food.

I enjoy walking in the Fall. I like the chill in the air and the crunchy sound of leaves beneath my feet. There’s this wonderful woodsy smell in the air that shows up in the Fall. I expect the alluring sweetness of the Spring vegetation. Yet, I’m still surprised that its Fall decay also provides a welcoming and pleasant aroma.

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air. - Nathaniel Hawthorne 

One of my favorite walking places is Arabia Mountain. I mean walking in a Henry David Thoreau kind of way. The trail goes on forever behind neighborhoods, into woods, alongside streams and amidst wildflowers. I’ve gone there with my walking buddy Arlene. We talk, we walk and pause to admire a flower, leaf or tree. I’m not one to walk trails alone mostly for safety reasons.  Besides, I tend to get creeped out rather easily. Alone, any of nature’s sounds trigger a sensation that something is after me -  like a Freddy Krueger or a crazed wild boar frothing at the mouth.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. - Henry David Thoreau 

I like the sense of transition that Fall brings. As children, my mother would send us on several trips to the basement to retrieve our Fall and Winter clothing. My mother would also take down her light and summery yellow and white kitchen curtains. I remember watching their whimsical movements against the air when the windows were open. In the Fall, their brown and white replacements were sturdy and protective against that same air.  In my own way, I do the same. I move clothes from one bedroom to another. I place a Fall wreath on the front door and just below, two planters full of mums.

Autumn - the reprieve from Summer. - Mike Garofalo

I like that things are coming to a close. I’m grateful for the seasons of life. We need things to begin. We need things to end.  And Fall is that reminder.  Thank God for the Fall.

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile. - William Cullen Bryant 

Arabia Mountain Trail - Fall 2010

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. - Stanley Horowitz 

Stone Mountain Park

Almost a week ago, I visited Stone Mountain Park.  I've been to this park too many times to count. Each time I experience something new, either because of the activity, season of the year, or the person with me.  Even when walking alone, I see something new.  This time I went with my neighbor Cedric.  I've come to know him from our chats from our respective driveways.  He was a great walking companion and I had a hard time keeping up with him. While walking, I saw this beautiful dogwood tree.

I have a variety of photos from my visits to Stone Mountain Park.  I love this Fall photo as it reminds me of the northeast.  The northeast has the most vibrant Fall season in the country.  Atlanta might just have the most beautiful Spring.

Another photo which is more consistent with the muted colors that you tend to see down here in Georgia during the Fall.  Still, beautiful in its own way. 

Stone Mountain is the largest piece of exposed granite in the world. 

I remember this day very clearly.  It was unseasonably cold and rainy and I was there with my primary walking buddy Arlene.  Our walks are great.  We talk about everything while we move around the mountain which is 5 miles.  On this particular day, we kept saying that the weather would clear up but it never did.  Every now and then the sun would break through but then it would start raining.   Ignorance isn't always bliss. I also brought along You Know Who (AKA Brandi), my canine companion.   

A view of the mountain from the dashboard of my car.  That was when I used to have an annual parking pass which is now $35 for the year.  A one day parking pass is $10 so it is beneficial to buy the annual pass if you plan to come often.  Now, I park outside of the mountain at one of the free parking lots as part of the PATH Foundation biking and walking trails.  The trail leads right into the park.
 

Last December, Arlene and I walked around the park looking at all of the holiday decorations.  She took this picture and thought I should send it to someone I was dating.  She said it was a cute hint for a date idea but I was getting tired of his shenanigans. 

Another photo of the dogwood tree.  You can see walkers to the left of the tree. 

A view from behind as I leave the park.  Visit http://pathfoundation.org/ to learn about the 160 miles of trails that the Path Foundation has successfully developed throughout Georgia in the last twenty years.   

The view in front of me.  Visit  http://www.stonemountainpark.com/ to learn more about the park.