Good advice that I heard well

Our oldest son, Andrew, was born in November 1988.
I was one proud daddy, and I didn't care who knew about it.

If you've lived long enough and paid attention well enough you've bumped into those people who said something that really stuck with you. This advice, unwanted perhaps, maybe from a stranger, caused you to pause almost like bumping your head causes you to pause. But, you hear it, you process it, and it sticks with you - for a lifetime.

Andrew was born on a cold, cold November morning - a Tuesday morning. Vicki came home from Northside Hospital, in Atlanta, on Thursday morning. Her mama came to stay with us for a few days, and I took advantage of that help to get out and be the proud papa.

That led me to the Forsyth County Courthouse, in Cumming, GA, my hometown, where I went to the tax commissioner's office for a bit of business. The late Bobby Gilbert was tax commissioner at the time, and he congratulated me on being a daddy, and then just randomly said, "Don't ever refuse to read a book to your children." (Bobby served as tax commissioner for more than 28 years and died in 2006).

Those words cut through all the euphoria that I was feeling. I heard them loud and clear. It wasn't like Bobby Gilbert and I were great friends, or that he was someone I went to for wisdom and advice. Something moved in him to randomly say that to a brand-new daddy who happened into his office on that Friday morning. Thank you, Bobby.

Because I am a writer, I am also a lifelong reader. (Or maybe I'm a writer because I love to read). And, I love to read. I read a lot of American history. I read a lot of American biographies - not contemporary biographies, but about iconic people from yesterday - like Walt Disney or Clyde Barrow or Teddy Rosevelt. I do read some fiction, but not a lot. I do not read politics or opinions about current events. Despite my work in vocational ministry, I rarely ever read anything theological or of a self-help nature. I lean on Scripture and trusted commentaries for all of that. Yes, I do read The Bible.

I am a reader because my parents were readers. Especially as an adult, I can't ever remember my daddy without a book in his hands and yes Louis L'amour westerns count. My mama, too, even today recommends books for me and Vicki to read. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my grandparents and parents reading to us, and of mama taking us regularly to the public library. I write in my books (Brookwood Road and Elm Street) about spending summer afternoons at the library - mama would just drop me off and pick me up several hours later.

Shoot, reading was such a part of my everyday life that in the second grade Lynn Raines (now McClure) and I had a friendly competition to see who could read the most library books in a week.

So, it wasn't a big leap for me - and for Vicki - to read to our boys. But, that's not the advice that Bobby gave me. The advice was "Don't ever refuse to read a book to your children," meaning don't ever be "too busy" to read, to teach, to sit quietly with your children.

Bobby  Gilbert

I can tell you that there were evenings when I didn't want to read a bedtime story. There were rainy Sunday afternoons when I preferred a nap over being approached by a little boy or four carrying a storybook. Every time I started to balk, I heard Bobby Gilbert in my head. And, I'm thankful for him and for those words spoken that afternoon.

Today, I'm pretty confident that our four grown boys are each reading a book of some kind as part of their daily exercise.

Read. Read a lot. Read what interests you. Read to the next generation.
Those who don't read forget how to learn and those who aren't learning are slowly dying even if they are still living.

www.scottdvaughan.com