12/13/18

I have been in love with vocabulary since I was a
small child. There was no food as delicious nor as
delectable as a glorious world crawling 'round my
tongue! I was most fortunate in that mine was a
family of reading . . . literature most sublime! We
were read to ever single evening. (Didn't get my
first TV until I had been married 10 years!) It wasn't
long before the nightly reading and sharing didn't
fill my soul; simply had to read on my own. I suppose,
looking back, it was rather an addiction. I went on
to be founder of the book a day club and was quite
delighted when my own children fell prey to the
addiction . . . I grew up in a delightful, bucolic setting
if we can call the outskirts of my small town that. My
family was impoverished and frankly, didn't possess
the wherewithal to constantly feed my appetite. Thank
God, as the result was a life-long love affair with the
local library. You know the contagion is arduous when
the librarians know you by your first name and you're
only a babe in the woods, as it were. Some books I
couldn't bear to return and I would re-new them as often
as allowed . . . from there I would simply cling to the
books and only return them a year later on free day.
Even now, I can recall the beleaguered looks on the face
of the lady at the desk when she realized she was letting
go of a keeper. I suppose the true epiphany for me was
realizing I could actually purchase my own faves and
never, ever have to return them. I remember keeping a
plethora of books on the floor by my bed because they
wouldn't fit on the night stand. Even now, my own adult
bedside, every comfy chair in the living room, noons and
crannies . . . all assailed by a pile or two. Last I counted,
my own library consisted of over 8,000 books . . .
classics, fiction and non fiction, religious, spiritual,
Pagan, children's, even cook books . . . me thinks there
is no cure. And, let me say this, the electronic device I
use to read in bed at night, simply isn't the same. It
lacks the feel, the scent, the essence of mystery when
cracking the spine . . . Lord help me!

out of heavens tomes
the gift of the written word
crawling round my brain

She was fascinated with words. To her, words were things of beauty, 
each like a magical powder or potion that could be combined with other 
words to create powerful spells. ~Dean Koontz