Reading = Breathing

Photo of boy reading that we use to promote our bookstore...

When the young woman came into my bookstore yesterday, I greeted her, and knowing it was her first time in the store, asked what kind of books she liked.  “Journals,” she said.

Assuming that she was looking for a book she could write a journal in, I answered, “We only sell old books…I tell people a new book in our store is about my age, and I’ll be 50 in July!”

She laughed, and explained that she was actually looking for stories from other people’s journals…now we were getting somewhere!

I checked our database, and made some suggestions.  As I showed them to her, she revealed a stunning fact to me: she loved books, but had a lot of difficulty with reading, writing, and spelling.

As she told me her story, I choked back tears: she was dyslexic as a child, and no one in the school system caught it.  She was also left-handed, and the teachers used to try to make her use her right hand (and actually punished her for using her left one!).  She never told her parents what was happening.  She talked about having trouble with a job she’d had at WalMart where she had to match barcodes to items…she couldn’t do it!  It hurt to hear her describe herself as “lazy.”

The woman then pulled a laminated placemat out of her bag and showed it to me…it had the alphabet on it, with dotted lines and arrows showing how to trace over them…I’d bought similar mats for my children when they were learning to print at age 3 or so.  I was almost speechless…this woman was about 30!

She expressed an interest in history: “I wonder if Cleopatra ever wrote about her life?”  Pointing to Samuel Pepys’ Diary, she asked who he was: “I see this book a lot.”  I told her the limited amount I knew about Pepys.  The woman also liked royalty, referring to Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth.  “I looked all over Coles for a biography of the Queen, and they didn’t have it!” she said.

I spent the next half hour scanning the shelves, looking for books which would be relatively easy to read, and interesting but not too juvenile.  It was tough!  She was enthusiastic about the thick boys’ historical fiction books I showed her by G.A. Henty: “Now that’s a book,” she’d say, hefting them in her hand.  She liked the colourful bindings too.

Eventually, she settled on Eric Williams’ The Wooden Horse: it was historical (the true story of a daring escape from a German prison camp during World War II) and written in fairly straightforward short words.  I mentioned that I’d seen the movie when I was a kid, and never forgotten it.  We also had the followup book, The Tunnel.  As she was paying for the book, I asked if she was getting help with improving her literacy.

“No,” she answered.  I urged her to go to the Saint John Learning Exchange, which is right around the corner from our store, and provides free literacy training.  I have a couple of friends who work there.

“It’s free, they’re really nice, and they will help you,” I said emphatically.  The woman thanked me as she left.  I hope she goes to see them.  Sadly, she is one of many people who have literacy issues in our country.

After she was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking about the things I wouldn’t have in my life if I couldn’t read and write: my children (I met Kaylee and Anna’s father in college while studying Broadcast Journalism, and Hope’s father while ghostwriting a book for him and another guy); Jim (we met on Plenty of Fish three years ago); the bookstore I co-own with my dad; the Book Club I belong to; and this blog, which has been one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve ever had!  I think of the thousands of books I’ve read over nearly 50 years, and all the things I’ve learned from them!  I would be a totally different person if I hadn’t learned to read and write!

How would your life have been different if you hadn’t learned to read?

‘Salt’y Tears…The Jolie Bids Adieu…

This is the final installment in a 3-part series chronicling The Jolie‘s visit to Saint John, New Brunswick.  I would like to thank my friend, Omawarisan, for his crazy idea ingenius plan that seems to have brought so much joy to my readers…this series was also incredibly fun to write!  Thanks again to Jim for driving all over town and putting up with rude stares as he photographically recorded The Jolie’s tour (he did all the touristy shots and labelled them too – he’s a lover, not a speller!).

If you haven’t read the first two parts, please take a few minutes and catch up…read quickly…The Jolie is anxious to be on her way!

Part 1

Part 2

Here’s the disclaimer (again):  This piece is purely for entertainment purposes and has no basis in fact (all Saint John tourist information is correct).  Any resemblance to living people (except my family) is coincidental. 

We left off Part 2 with The Jolie terrorizing exploring the Saint John City Market.  The Jolie did have an unpleasant encounter with the proprietor of one of the local fishmongers…for fun, I told her that “swimming with the lobsters” was a tradition in New Brunswick, kind of like swimming with the dolphins (a total lie!).  Well, The Jolie was bound and determined she was going to do it!  When she saw the lobster tank at the Market, she demanded to speak to the Manager.  The guy came out from behind the counter, and extended his hand to The Jolie…she ignored it. “I want to swim with the lobsters!  I came a long way to do that!”  The manager calmly explained that she might have some germs on her that could make the live lobsters ill.  “Do you think I don’t shower?” The Jolie asked indignantly.  While assuring her that everyone has germs, even movie stars, he offered to pack up a couple of big lobsters for her to take home.  The Jolie grudgingly agreed, “Well, I suppose…they probably taste better than Cambodian cockroaches.  Can you send the lobsters to Nunavut?  That’s where I’m headed after this.”  The manager wrote down the address, and promised to ship the crustaceans to the Far North right away.

Our next stop was King’s Square, which is across the street from the Market’s Charlotte St. entrance.  Until the mid-19th century, the Square was pretty primitive…people came to draw water from public wells, to view criminals in the pillory, or to celebrate special occasions with an ox roast.  The militia used it for training, and the butchers in town slaughtered their cattle there.  In 1844, city officials decided to make the Square more like an English country garden…a plan was made that included paths coming out from a central octagon, shrubbery, trees, and flowers.  Some work was started, but destroyed in the Great Fire of 1877.  The majority of the development at the Square was completed after that (in fact, most of the oldest buildings in the Uptown date to 1878).  The current bandstand was built in 1908 (restored in 1987), a memorial to King Edward VII.  The Jolie posed in front of it:

The Jolie and the King's Square Bandstand...the trees lining the paths were planted in the late 1880's...

The Jolie got a lot of stares from passersby as we walked through the Square…Saint Johners weren’t being their usual friendly selves:

The Jolie didn't get the attention she expected...

I overheard the following conversation between two old biddies:

“Imagine…goin’ out in the middle of winter in a tank top!  How come she’s not wearing a coat?” the first asked her companion.

The answer: “Maybe her money keeps her warm…she sure doesn’t have any body fat!”

Body fat must have been on The Jolie’s mind too, because the minute we arrived at our bookstore, Dave Shoots, Bookseller, she jumped on the scale to see if she’d gained any weight from the Timbits she’d eaten!

The Jolie tips the scales...

The Jolie proudly declared herself “weightless” (kind of like her performance in “Beyond Borders”).  At least her upcoming trip to Nunavut won’t cost much…maybe I should buy her a “fanny pack.”

While she was in the bookstore, The Jolie was photographed with a “local boy” who left Saint John and got famous (sadly, that’s usually how it happens!):

The Jolie and Stompin' Tom Connors...Prince Edward Island claims him, but he was born in Saint John...

Other famous people with Saint John roots include: film mogul Louis B. Mayer (born in Russia, but grew up here), actor Donald Sutherland (Kiefer’s dad, for you young whippersnappers!), actor Walter Pidgeon, and inventor Dr. Abraham Gesner (kerosene).  The infamous Benedict Arnold spent six years in Saint John after the American Revolution, but Saint Johners don’t like to talk about it!

The Jolie explored the bookshelves looking for reading material:

The Jolie checks out our fiction...

“Where’s your Danielle Steele section?” The Jolie demanded.

“Down the street, at the bookstore we don’t own,” I replied.

“What kind of bookstore is this?” she whined.

I smiled.  “A discerning one.”

The Jolie then asked to borrow a dictionary…I think she needed to look something up…

The Jolie consults a dictionary...

After returning the dictionary to its place, the Jolie headed for the children’s section…she wanted to send some books home for the Nanny to read to the kids.  I found her absorbed a few minutes later:

"Now I know my ABC's...next time won't you sing with me!"

Soon, I declared it was time to get packed up for the next leg of The Jolie’s tour.  She allowed me to wrap her in bubble wrap, and only whimpered a little when I put the packing tape over her mouth…for the first time since she arrived, The Jolie was speechless!

“Good luck in Nunavut, Dear!  Don’t let the door hit you in the arse on the way out!”

*No action figures were harmed in the writing of this piece (I left airholes in the box).  The Jolie will next appear in Iqaluit, Nunavut in I’ll Have Nunavut.  I hope she’s not allergic to cats!