“Reading is important in many ways.”
Ever since I learned to read simple texts in first grade or earlier, I have found it a lot of fun and, of course, educational.
Although there were more engaged readers in the elementary school classes, the number of books read was generally considerable.
Each classroom had its own library and selection of books, with the Cowboy Sam series obviously having this preference until they were all read.
Flannel-style “Braves” tokens were awarded for reading a certain number of books during the school year. They were presented each spring at the class reunion program and remain in memory folders of those great early years.
There was also a summer reading program at the library where books were checked out each week and reported on at the next meeting. At the end of the program, awards were again given out and these too were added to the personal collection.
During the 17 years of school, books were required reading in most classes. Some of them are still in the ranch library today.
For decades, most of the reading material has been newspapers and magazines. Each publication is skimmed and then read for several days, even weeks, until most of the information has been examined in detail.
The ranch library has several dozen books, mostly gifts and some purchased. All have been reviewed and most have been read at least once, if not more than once.
It seems like there’s always something interesting and informative that you missed the first time you read it. Much like reading cowboy stories in elementary school, it’s fun to re-read certain books.
For some reason, a Christian bookseller began sending out information about books he was promoting. Attached to the email was an offer to receive a free copy of the book to read.
These were always accepted and the book was soon delivered by mail. The books are all Christian in nature and contain profound information that is often difficult to understand.
Despite several serious attempts to read the books, I ended up putting more than one aside to reread later.
However, most of the Give Me books have already been read, reports written and sent to the advertising company. The primary school reports have also been publicly printed and posted on websites. There are still several books that will be read in the next few weeks.
As a reminder: 2 Maccabees 2:25: “We want to please and benefit those who read it.”
Frank J. Buchman is an Alta Vista rancher who has been a lifelong newspaper writer, national agricultural journalist and marketing consultant. He writes a weekly column sharing A Cowboy’s Faith.
