Me Me Monday #73

73. I am an avid reader

Just to clear things up to readers of the blog - the selection for last week was made completely at random, just as was done here today. And it was done on short notice - I tend to be a bit of a stream writer - not exactly in the vein of Kerouac, because I would certainly not want to claim to be in that class, but it amounts to much the same thing. I picked the topic and I simply started writing, without much editing or forethought to the topic at hand. After the blog entry was finished in almost complete draft form, I then revisited the topic and edited a few spots here and there - so any thoughts or phrases that were there were primarily from the original train of thought, wherever it might have come from. Given the nature of the original topic, well... it is only natural that related thoughts would come into focus. It wasn't through a concerted effort to make any particular points that this happened, it just more or less did.

And to clarify Kerouac, he did actually revise The Road a number of times prior to publication. Now, that disclaimer wastefully written, on with the topic at hand, which is

73. I am an avid reader

Yep. Admittedly true. I am what I would guess could be considered an avid reader. I read during free moments here and there - I hate to sit idly by. When I am not actively DOING something, I'd much rather be reading then simply sucking air and/or watching the idiot box. This is not to say I don't watch ANY TV, but I watch it sparingly, on my terms, and on my time. Yes, I own far too many DVD's and DVD sets as a result...

I have been known to be reading as many as 5 or 6 different books at the same time. And, no, they are not all of the same genre. At one point this summer past, I was re-reading a Robert Jordan fantasy title, reading the latest Harry Potter book and The Essential Kabbalah (Q'Balah, Qaballah, or however the hell you want to spell it - it amounts to much the same thing), reading The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, gazing through several issues of Car Craft and Rolling Stone magazine, a novel by some author whose name escapes me at this moment - which indicates to me that it wasn't really all THAT memorable... which is, indeed, the case, and re-reading a collection of HP Lovecraft's work.

Many people look at me like I am nuts when I tell them that I do this on a regular basis. The most common issue is keeping track of each book separately and my place in them. I don't know - it was never really a problem for me. Then again, could this be a sign that I am not entirely well upstairs? Could I be suffering from some version of multiple personality disorder? Several people would agree with you on this tip... who knows - could be true, but I'd never admit to it... and neither would I... nor I... nor me over here.

On the other hand - I do wonder sometimes if I am simply ADD. Of course, ADD seems to be the latest new craze in the medical world for dealing with unruly, bored kids. Parents suddenly abound that have children diagnosed with ADD. Don't get me wrong, I think that it may indeed be a real situation FOR SOME. But I think most kids are simply bored because our school systems have been so damn watered down that they are continually bored and simply look to get into trouble. I know I did my first few years of school until my 3rd grade teacher decided to assign me extra work to do. Problem solved for me, at least.

Which then leads me to think about the school system - it isn't the teacher's faults, but our standards have been so far lowered that more and more kids are simply bored. Why do we do this? Because we couldn't possibly leave poor Johnny behind - we MUST lower the standards for the lowest achieving kid. No, let's not keep the standard and help Johnny do better - let's simply lower the standards so our numbers LOOK better. That's no solution people. The Greatest Common Denominator factor we are applying here is simply making our kids shine less brightly. Now, don't jump all over for me on this - I think Johnny should indeed be helped, but making it easier for him is NOT the solution.

Now, do you see how I ramble on? Started with being an avid reader to going and bashing our crappy educational system. Here in Virginia they rate education on a system called S.O.L. - the Standards Of Learning. Teachers no longer teach kids knowledge in schools here - oh no, they don't have the time to - they have to concentrate on teaching the kids how to pass the SOL tests. Of course, we ALL know what SOL really stands for, now don't we?

For those NOT in the know - SOL = Shit Outta Luck.

Have a great day everyone - READ MORE. It's good for yer brain!