Reading Do's and Don'ts

I am a prolific reader, a writer, a published author; so it stands to reason that I would promote reading. And I do. I encourage both children and adults to read. I promote reading silently; I promote reading out loud. I promote reading newspapers, magazines, articles, books, pamphlets, tracts, and so forth. I'll shout it from the mountain tops in a Seuss like form. Read in the city, the bathroom, the park. Read in the morning or after it's dark. Read to your self or to your best friend. As long as you read again and again.

But rhyming aside, I would like to say there are some reading related instances that I've seen which cause me to pause or even to cringe; and one of those things I witnessed this morning. As I was driving home from dropping my daughter off at school, I saw a man reading a newspaper at a red light. So what's wrong with that you might ask? Well, normally I would say nothing if it was not for the fact that the man continued to read as the light turned green and he made a left hand turn. Not only did he read his paper as he turned the corner, he glanced quickly at the road in front of him and then back at his newspaper for several seconds.

I used to think people who talked on their cell phones while driving were one of society's greatest menaces; but after seeing "Newspaper Man" reading while driving, I now relegate that offense to a distant second. Reading is indeed a wonderful thing, taking us to far off places that we might never know of otherwise, increasing our knowledge of the world around us, giving us a break from realities and problems that might otherwise overwhelm us. But, reading should never, never cause us to be a danger to ourselves or others around us. So my advice to "Newspaper Man" is to either get up a few minutes early so you have time to read the paper, or wait until you get to wherever you are going. Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!