So I walked into my favorite eatery today with a Bob Woodward publication tucked beneath my arm. As I set the book down and began to slide onto the barstool of my choice, my friend Jen, the hostess, walks up picks up the book and asks: "Trying to impress the ladies (by) making them think your smart?". I laughed the comment off mostly cause I love Jen to death and nothing could be further from the truth. It was simply a good read and as is the case with me, once I get into a good page turner, it goes everywhere with me until I complete it. But her comment got me thinking about the power and the message the presence of a simple book can convey.
You could see a guy a pushing a grocery cart filled with aluminum cans, clouds of dirt and dust repelling off his tattered clothing and think to yourself "Sheesh. Poor guy. What a life." But you take the same guy, and replace the grocery cart with a book, and all of a sudden you have a guy who has simply decided to take a most asthetic, soap-free approach to life. And there's nothing wrong with that!
And it doesn't even have to be a book of a serious matter. You could be walking across the street, thumbing through the pages of Dr. Seuss' immortal "Cat in the Hat" after purchasing it for your nephew as a birthday gift and someone from a distance will recognize you and think to themselves, "Man! Check out the brain on Joel!" It's "Cat in the Hat" for crying out loud, but more importantly, it's a book. And it just made me look like somewhat of an intellect.
Let's face it: Book = Smart.
And the more books you have, the smarter you're presumed to be. And there is no one who has benefited more from this simple fact, than I.
I have lot's of books. I love to read. But, personally, I'm as dumb as a bag of lint. By no means am I intentionally trying to confuse the reader with misleading contradictions. I do love to read. However, I also love beer and staying up late and leading a lifestyle that makes it difficult for my brain housing group to retain a lot of the education and information I'm suppose to absorb from the pages of all these books.
