New Skill

I was chatting with my brother today and recognized that I have learned a new skill. Something that most people I suppose come by naturally, but which has eluded me for literally decades. I can put down a book!

Okay, I see more puzzled looks than leaps for joy meeting that particular claim, though those who know me well will certainly understand. The first time I ditched high school thirty years ago was the day after I discovered James Clavell. My normal practice of reading books in one sitting was not really prepared for Shogun. When my mom came to wake me up for school I had a few hundred pages left. When I should have been catching the bus I was down to a couple hundred so I called her at work and told her I missed it (true enough) and that I didn't feel too good anyway (also true, I was really tired). I finished it around ten and went to sleep.

As a responsible adult (okay, there are people who are banned from commenting on that, you know who you are) I learned when to not start a book...basically any time I would have to go to work before I had time to finish it. On my submarine I would alternate my between watch time; stand a watch, read a book, stand a watch, sleep. The seemingly obvious idea of reading half a book and getting some sleep between each watch was completely lost on me.

So today I suddenly realized that I'm in the third book of this pentology that I've been reading...forever I think. It's really good, but somehow I have managed to make reading in my hammock chair in the evening a near daily event, instead of a marathon. Good thing Jack isn't an old dog or I'd be trying to teach him a new trick. Apparently it is possible.