Drop Everything and Read

I have always liked my dad and wanted to be like him. So, when I was growing up and he had his video camera surgically attached to his shoulder, I took the cue and had a book surgically attached to my arms and would carry it around whenever - wherever - I went. In the car, to the dentist's office, to the grocery store. I had reading material with me at all times in case of emergency (boring adults, pesky siblings, 5 minutes to spare with nothing to do - ah! the origin of my current "must be scheduled at all times" dilemma!).

Anyway, I love it when I see kids doing that - reading - now days. Most of the time I see kids with the phones or game things ignoring the world; but somehow it seems more noble and "real" when it's a book that secrets them away from reality. It always makes my heart warm and fuzzy when I go to the grocery store and see some kid dragging behind her mom through the shopping aisles reading a Nancy Drew book, someone sitting in the dentist office reading the latest Twilight, or sitting in class waiting for things to get started and reading whatever it is they've brought with them. It's a bit of a relief -- kids DO still read for their own pleasure. Some parents out there are doing something right!

So imagine how fun it was last weekend at the symphony. Here's the scenario: I wasn't playing since I'd opted to do some theatre instead (the latest in my series of stage management: an entertaining history play written and directed by a friend -- Article on 8 STARS OF GOLD; Review of 8 STARS OF GOLD). So I was able to spend a Sunday afternoon at the symphony actually watching the performance, a rare treat! A friend and I sat in our seats, all ready for the pre-concert talk and - low and behold - a woman and two kids sat down in front of us up there in the balcony. Now I knew I was taking a chance on the balcony on the pay as you can Sunday matinee show -- well, I knew I was taking my chances on being annoyed by kids by coming to the matinee at all, but it was a risk I was willing to take (and the only show I could go given the theatre schedule I seem to find myself in more and more these days). But these girls looked nice enough. And then it happened: As the conductor was explaining the beauty of this Brahms requiem, one of the girls pulled out her free reading she had brought for the occassion.

CAT FANCY MAGAZINE.

Let's just say the next 30 minutes were highly entertaining - and not because of all the really interesting things I was learning about Brahms. Those 30 minutes were the best part of my weekend because of Cat Fancy magazine. The glossy pages these girls were engrossed in were sucking me in, too. How could it not with headlines like "Cats Bring Nations Together"? Another intriguing article was about flying with your cat - complete with a lovely posed picture of a cat in a pilot outfit. And then there was the article about healing massage for your cat or something like that. But THE BEST part of those 30 minutes was when the two girls finished reading Cat Fancy, they reached under their seat for the next piece of reading material - another magazine. This one was dedicated to other small pet creatures and featured a hamster on the cover.

When I was younger, I had some generous relatives who would always give us kids a gift subscription to something like National Geographic Kids or something like that -- I really enjoyed getting something in the mail, and it was fun to read. I hope Ethan, Eli, and Hank are ready for their upcoming subscriptions to Cat Fancy.