So after months of avoiding web posts, and an even longer period of not contributing to them, I've decided, ironically, to write about reading, or as I like to call it...something I like to do but do everyday at work all day long and no longer have a desire to do but still get nagged by my wife to do because she is afraid I am becoming illiterate and my mind is turning to mush. *deep breath*

Back in college I read everyday.  I read textbook literature and thought myself incredibly clever when I could pull out a Shakespeare or 1984 (that would be by George Orwell he says with an annoyingly smug smirk) quote.  I read The New Yorker to feed my budding liberalist tendencies.  I read trade paperbacks to complement the other two.

In law school I read case law...case law..and...well case law.  I read the same case multiple times, I highlighted, cross-referenced, analyzed, and memorized case law.  Literature was the first thing to go.  When I had to be able to recognize specific phrases that Justice O'Connor inserted into an opinion so she could cite to it 5-10 years later as precedence, I just didn't have the time or energy to devote to comparing 1984 with Utopia.  Or maybe I just couldn't find any practicality in it anymore (sad, I know).  I still read trade paperbacks, but after three years there were times (far too many) where I despised the written word.

After graduation was the bar exam...enough said.

Since we moved to Buffalo I've tried to reintroduce books into my free time (free time...HA!).  It's been relatively unsuccessful until just recently.  Partially at my suggestion, and partially because my mother has no idea what to get my father for his birthday, she bought him an Amazon Kindle.  For those who don't know, a Kindle is a table size electronic device that you read from.  Utilizing a liquid ink technology (I think Amazon made that up to sell more), it looks like you're reading off of real paper.  So...as it's not yet my dad's birthday, I've got to take it for a test run.  And it is VERY cool.

The first day, I used it's wireless connectivity to download 1984.  Since then I've browsed online blogs and have wirelessly subscribed to The New Yorker.  It's small, portable, and it let's me switch seamlessly from a novel, to a magazine, to today's issue of Slate.  So far I've read more in the last week than I have in the last six months.  Unfortunately I have to give it back in two weeks, and they're far too pricey for me to own one.

I just hope this newfound desire for literature outlasts my need to have it readily accessible.

Last night, we went to an event at our church called Heritage.  It's a chance for the church to get together in the evening, have a potluck dinner, and sing some old school hymns.  They do it ever few months and I wasn't here for the last one.  I think it is a great idea, seeing as we don't normally sing hymns at our church.

The best thing about this event was the people.  Pat and I were not the youngest people there as some of the young families came and brought their kids.  There were also a lot of older people we hadn't really gotten a chance to meet.  Members of another church came to visit and we got to know them a little bit.  This gathering was apparently a lot smaller than October's, but I liked the small family feel to it.

Singing hymns was so much fun.  Mrs. Walker, the pianist, was amazing!  She can play any hymn in any key without the hymnal - and she does it with flair!  As we sang, Pat and I would share jokes and stories about the songs.  We giggled over "Lead on O Kinky Turtle" (actually titled "Lead on O King Eternal" - Thanks Auntie B!).  Pat told me he always thinks of Norm Lautzenheiser leading songs when he hears "How Great Thou Art" and I told him about how I think of John Sears leading songs when I hear "Search Me, O God."  The best part was when someone else requested singing "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" and I told Pat how my mom used to roll her eyes at me when I'd request that song on Sunday nights.  It's not very fun to play, but very fun to sing.  Mrs. Walker even took it down a few keys so everyone could hit the high notes at the end.

There was something special about remembering and honoring the traditions of our past.  To step back to a time with such rich history that shaped my childhood and unifies the generations.  To be part of a group that no matter what church we all came from, everyone sings the hymns the same way and knows the first and last verses to every song.