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=========================== {SFTH} *Comic Relief* 4/12/01 =========================== If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism, so feel free to Just joined us and want to see all the past stories we've run? ============================================ COMIC RELIEF By Heather Goldsmith
Everyone should have a hobby and reading is right up there, in my opinion, with higher callings. So, when I tried to interest him in reading other, better, books, the reception was more than chilly. He was stubborn, I figured. I also learned it took him more than a week to finish one comic. At first I thought he liked to savour the story, to make it last. Then he made a startling confession to me. He couldn't read. He liked the comics because he could figure out the story by studying the pictures and from the few words he did know. As I'd grown up with books and reading, this news shocked me. A grown adult without the reading skills I simply took for granted, how could it happen? How could his family have ignored, what I considered, a basic human need? The story behind his illiteracy is too long to share here. It's enough to say he'd survived by his own ingenuity and the generosity of strangers. Once I knew this, I made comic book buying a weekly priority. I reckoned he should have plenty of comic material to read. That was fine with him, as long as I made sure it was the Phantom. The Phantom comic collection grew. I stacked them on bench tops, in the reading room, on his bedside table, anywhere he could get his hands on them. And he did. Whenever I read a book, he'd pick up a Phantom and immerse himself in the simple story. I was glad. It was a companionable activity and he was reading something. Soon he was reading Phantoms at a faster pace. He also began reading his bible, no, more than reading it. He began to study it, learn it and discover truth in it. Humour, hope and a dash of love have inspired my husband to learn to read as an adult. Although my children probably have a higher reading level, as far as education goes, than my husband, he's an adequate reader these days. The number of Phantom comics strewn about the house ensured my family became fans of the purple-suited hero. I'll admit to finally lowering my intellectual pride and reading a Phantom comic one day. I was pleasantly surprised, this wasn't simply kids stuff. I laughed in delight as I turned the pages. The Phantom held the basic ingredients to what makes reading so enjoyable in the first place. It was rollicking good fun. Heather Goldsmith © 2000 Send Heather an e-mail and let her know what you thought of her story! _______________________ Heather Goldsmith lives in Western Australia and loves to read and write. She spends the rest of her time looking after her husband and two kids. She's been published in a couple of Aussie magazines with short stories, writes for Suite101 in the topic Parents' Guide To Reading For Kids and The Write Life web site, and is currently working on a novel. ============================================ What a wonderful time I had reading of your camping trip. It took me back in time to when we went camping with our children. I'm 82 now. Only can go camping in my memories. We lived in Penna. then, now we live in Arizona. ============================================ Thought For The Day: "You may give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." Verse for the Day: "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, Kid's Thought For The Day: "The best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma's lap."
"You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the
"When you are behind, don't give up; when you are ahead, don't let up."
"No two persons ever read the same book." ============================================= I know you always post people who need prayers in the SFTH letters you send out daily... Could you post a note for people to pray for my friend's little cousin, Austin. She just found our he is in the hospital and has leukemia. I know that my friend and her family would greatly appreciate any prayers for this little guy... Thanks... ============================================= =================================================== "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies! AOL Users click here: Video Imagery AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a Straight From the Heart Member send a BLANK E-MAIL Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best Give it a day or two to be processed... then try not to think of all the great AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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