I've made a cup of coffee and it's a good time to write my blog. It's not like anyone is reading it. Well, 1 friend reads it regularly. Thanks, I do appreciate the loyalty. But, in the end, I guess I did not start this with dreams of becoming a world read Blogger. It would be nice but, not a realistic expectation. Who wants to read the ramblings of a broken down old Sailor, anyway?
So, here I am. What to do at this hour of the day. It's pretty blustery outside. That's another thing I like about the Fall. I do wish that the weather would decide what it wants to do. Yesterday it was in the 60's all day. Today is predicted to be more of the same but, it was in the 90's Monday. Strange weather. Does this signal a mild winter? I'll have to read about that.
Reading. This brings us to the main subject of this morning's ramblings. I get a lot of news and information from the internet. I enjoy using my computer and since I pay good money for the internet service, I believe I should use it as much as possible. However, there is a newer trend in the news business on line that is beginning to bother me. I enjoy reading my news. If I want to watch the news, I can durn on a 24 hour a day news channel. There are several to choose from.
What I am talking about is the habit of the news services to post a headline on my home page and when I click on the link to read the story, I get a video with no accompanying written article! Now I have to put my headphones on and turn up the volume. I don't want to do that. I want to read.
Has the public gotten so lazy that we need all of our news to be in the form of video? Maybe this is why only 1 or 2 people have read my last 2 blog entries. I should produce video!
My parents spent a lot of money to teach me to read. Private schools. Tutors, remedial reading classes, yes I did all of those. It was a chore for me to learn how to read. I did eventually master the craft and I love to read. One of the reason I carry my Tablet with me all the time is so that I always have something to read. I have several books on the Tab.
When I served aboard ships, I was known as "Book Bob". I always had 3 books going. One I was reading. Oe in my pocket in case I finished the first one. Finally, I had a book under my pillow. I spent my free time on the ship in the library. Every ship I was ever on had some sort of library. On the smallest ship, it was a few shelves of paperbacks, tucked away in the crew's lounge. On the larger ships, it was a vast compartment with shelves and shelves of books. Usually, the Chaplain's office was some place near or in the library, if the ship was large enough to have a Chaplain.
The nice thing about Navy Chaplains is, they are educated people. Since I enjoy reading and was kind of a fixture in the libraries, the various Chaplains would visit with me and we would talk about books and literature. Some young Sailors would ask me how I knew all this "stuff". I would laugh and just say "Reading is Fundamental". Just like the old commercials.
But, I fear that those days are fading somewhat. Now, it is the style to get news and information via video. There are some instances where I think getting information via video is a great idea. When learning a new task, it's great to have a demonstration you can watch to clarify what you may have read. Car repair comes to mind. Cooking or other task oriented activities lend themselves well to instruction augmented by video. But, reading is still a part of the learning process.
When we get everything via video, we foster a society of illiterates. If this trend continues, we can cut reading out of school curriculums. Think of the money we could save there!
Technology is a wonderful thing. We have to ensure that we use it wisely. I guess if you really want your news in video form, as an adult, that's fine. I still believe that children should be given every opportunity to read. The only way to become proficient at reading is to read. Read constantly.
My daughter and her husband read all the time and they are fostering a love of reading in their daughter. One of the night time rituals my little granddaughter has is to zip up the stairs to her room and get the kindle off the chair that is in there, so that her Momma and Daddy can read to her before bed. My granddaughter loves it! This is how a love of reading starts. Each of my children remembers when I would read to them at bed time. It was a time of closeness that none of us will forget.
The Los Angeles School district spent an ungodly amount of money to put iPads in the public schools. The theory being, that children respond to technology and since the iPads could be updated easily, it would be less expensive in the long run for the school system. There's only one problem. The kids were more tech savvy than the schools. The children spend more time playing video games on the school owned iPads then they do reading their school work! I guess that's the law of unanticipated consequences in action. I read about that once.
So, if you find yourself up in the middle of the night, instead of turning on the television or watching Netflix or YouTube, I suggest you snuggle up on the couch with your Kindle or other device and read something. Better yet, grab a book and read it. There is still something satisfying about the sound and feel of a real paper page turning.
Until next time...
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