Books are really mankind’s best friend, along with dogs
I have always loved books. I remember when I was in the first grade at Good Shepherd in Desoto Mo. I was a small school with just three class rooms. The first room was for the first and second grades, the second room, third and fourth grades and the third were fifth through the seventh grades. My first day at school is still imprinted strongly on my mind, as if it were yesterday. Yet as my older brother Robert told me, not all memories are true, which I agree with. However, the first day of school is truly a turning point in anyone’s life. I won’t go into the first day ‘happenings’, for the day past and I got through it like the little man I was. I will say that it involved me falling in dog droppings and trying not to draw attention to myself when recess was over, when everyone was asking where the odor came from. I guess I spent 30 minutes rubbing my backsides in the grass trying to get rid of it…..well it was a failure. But I will not go into it, on how I wish I could have shrunk to the size of an ant and crawled out of the room, or how relieved I was when no one guessed it was me….except the teacher who kept looking at me and trying to suppress a smile…..I am thankful that she did not point me out…..but I will not go into that either, it would be too boring.
One thing I will say however is on that first day, the second graders were crowded around a bookcase reading the ‘Wizard of Oz’. I looked over their shoulder and was filled with a deep longing to be able to read the words that went along with the beautiful pictures presented for the young ones to see. I decided then that I would learn to read as soon as I could and really got into reading the all- time beloved classic,: “See Spot Run. See Spot get the ball. See spot bite the mailman.” Was not great literature, nor was it the ‘Wizard of Oz’, but I was a brave lad and got through it. By the end of the year, I was reading the Wizard and truly loving the story and especially how it made my imagination come alive. Though, I really did not apply myself with anything else in school. I think I was rebellious but did not know it, I was just a bad egg with an attitude that I kept to myself.
My love of books got me through grade school, high school, and when in the Navy reading was a deep source of joy as well as learning and deepening my thirst to understand life, people, and our/my craziness. The journey is still going on; I am still thirsty, and very thankful that I do love books.
One of the blessings of getting older is that I now have books that I read over and over again, just for the pleasure of it. Some have to do with my inner journey and my relationship with God. Then there are tomes for trying to understand others as well as myself. Then there are the books that I just love to read. C.S. Lewis’s syfy trilogy, especially the last one in the series “The Hideous Strength” is a book that I have read so many times that I can open it up on any page and know where I am at. I just love to read it; it is like an old friend. The same goes for other works of fiction. Not always sure why I love some books so much, but I have learned that I can’t figure much out, so I just enjoy them.
Between the covers of a book is a whole universe of thought, wisdom, adventure and stories that can touch my heart just the way music does. “The Shack’ is one such book that I have come to love and reread, and in the reading, I get some healing at such a depth that I do not understand it at all…..which makes it that much better.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
