The Hungry Mind

I was six years old the day I started school. I remember what I wore that day, a red wool pleated skirt, white blouse and red sweater with mickey mouse on it. I also had a yellow outfit with Donald Duck.

The first grade we learned our ABC's and numbers. The second grade we were introduced to Alice and Jerry and a dog named Spot in our first reader. As soon as I learned to read I knew I had found my niche.

The more I learned the more I read. Soon I was checking books out of the library. I would usually read two before due date on first one. I read Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Ladd a Dog, Lassie, Black Beauty, The Wild Stallion, Thunderhead, and several other horse books. Then I went to romance novels from the library and Little Women. Then Silas Marner, Beowoulf, The Albetross, Poe. I graduated to westerns, Luke Short, Max Brand, Zane Gray, Louis Le Amour, and several western novelists I can't remember. I read all the Tarzan books, Doc Savage, Ellery Queen stories, Charlie Chan stories and several other detective stories, western romances, historical romances, stories of the highlands, the vikings, Beau Geste, the norse people, greek mythology, all of those, the Roman myths. I read about King Arthur and his knights, I read about magic, space travel, time travel, Jules Verne novels. I read about dragons and knights, and dragons on other worlds. I read about indians, most of the spanish bit saga. I read about fantasys, the far out stuff. Even Stephen King. My dad use to say I could read a book, listen to tv and the radio and tell you what was happening on all three. I never sat up to read, I lay across the chair with my feet propped up. It was more comfortable that way and I still read that way. All my life I have been a reader. I always wanted to be an artist and paint beautiful pictures and for a while I drew pictures but my kids came along and I got out of that. I still read all kinds of books. My husband hated for me to read so I read while he was gone.

Maybe I have a creative side that needed an outlet so I designed T-shirts for a while. If I got an idea in the night I would have to get up and put it on a shirt because I couldn't sleep until I did. I would try to take pictures of things I saw to keep the image with me and show others what I had seen. The best I had enlarged and hung on my walls.

Then a couple of years ago I started writing, thanks to the encouragement of a friend. Now I try to paint pictures with words. Some say I do a pretty good job of it I hope I do. Its my goal to let people see what I see. The beauty of nature the feeling I have inside sometimes. Maybe the way I see things. I hope I have been able to do this and to let people see inside me, to know me. I still read but I have to read now between classes. Computer books aren't as much fun to read as adventure stories.

hugs, neon_sapphire