When I saw the subject title of the program on the display stand, I stopped and read, "The Reader". It brought back memories of the process through which I had learned to love to read. Next, I thought of the vast richness that reading adds to the lives of most avid readers. Then, suddenly, a long ago memory came stealing to the fore front of my thoughts and those words took on a whole new meaning.
I was four years old; it was 1950. Back then most children did not see the inside of a classroom until they were six, and not a whole lot were taught letters at home. I don’t remember wanting to be read to on a regular basis or being curious about what a book said, except one.
One of my sisters was in the third grade. She didn’t care a lot about reading, but she brought her reading book home when she had an assignment. One evening, I picked up her book and began looking at the small drawings that were at the top or bottom of some of the pages. When I came to a story called “Tar Baby”, I was totally fascinated by the pictures of the little black sticky doll and the rabbit that got stuck to it.
I asked my sister what the title said; then, I wanted to know what the story was about. I kept staring at the pages and asking questions; for the first time in my life, I wished I could read. My sister was growing impatient with me and that only increased when I started begging her to read the story to me. At first she refused, but I kept begging. Finally, Mama told her to read the story to me. She begrudgingly began to do so. I only felt bad about her having to do something she didn’t want to for a few seconds; I was too fascinated by the story.
Many years later, about the time the grandchildren began to come a long, I found an old school reader a lot like the one I remembered and it contained a story about Tar Baby. The pictures were a bit different but it still brought back memories of that day long ago and a dear departed sister that read to me. The name of the book is “The Open Door”; it was published in the 1920s. Mine is still on my book shelf, awaiting the arrival of the great grandchildren.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
Read more articles by Sylvia Brown or search for articles on the same topic or others.
