So, I think I must be growing up right along side my wife...
I am reading (er, rather listening) to my first ever non-fiction book.
I recently purchased the audiobook version of The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman (wiki bio here). I have found the book to be nothing short of extraordinary so far.
"Why," you might ask, "have you all of the sudden grown a strange and rather potent desire to read non-fiction, historical, and/or classic literature?" I will tell you why.
Because my Dad is a genius.
"What in the world do you mean by that, Chris?" You are now asking...It's honestly rather simple. Let me connect my seemingly disconnected thoughts.
For years, my father has been telling me to be careful about who I spend my time with, to be careful what movies I watch, to be careful what music I listen to, and to be careful with what I watch on tv.
Again, "why?" right? His favorite example of why I needed to be careful was the "like" phenomenon. We've all experienced this. The "Valley Girl" Syndrome, if you will. I got to college and all of the sudden people everywhere were using this 4-letter word to fill in for our collective lack of phonetic forethought.
"I, like, really, like, love, like, the like, beer, like, at the, like Dixie Chicken...Like, it's the best."
...or...
"I was like...and then she was like...and then he like butted in and was like..."
"But, Chris, my friends and I aren't nearly that bad. We aren't the blonde bimbos on tv who talk like that."
I dare you to count how many times your friends say, "like" the next time you talk on the phone. You will be sick to your stomach."
(I personally hate it when I use that word. That wretched, four-letter word. I swear my Dad thinks that I use it all of the time. The fact of the matter is that I know he counts how many times I use it in a sentence when we're talking, and so I start to like get nervous when we're like talking because I know he's like counting how many like times I say like. That's, however, neither here nor like there.)
The reason why it matters - the reason why my dad is a genius for counseling me to watch those things - is because we learn to speak, think, and write based on the examples that we are surrounded by. We are surrounded by our acquaintances and friends who watch "Real World", "The Bachelor", or a rambling Paula Abdul on "American Idol." Whether we realize it or not, the things that we watch, read, and listen to program our vocabulary, moral compass, and thought patterns. If you hang around people who say "like" all the time, you are going to say "like." Period.
So I have begun to listen to The Guns of August. I listen because I want to speak more intelligently. I listen because I want to be a more educated person. I listen because it was JFK's favorite book. I listen because it occasionally intimidates me with words that I have to go look up afterward.
I will read and listen to Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, John Adams, and Clive Lewis because they were truly great men and truly great writers.
In summary: I love to write, I love to encourage people, and I love to defend my world view. I am committed to doing all of these at a higher level than I am currently able to. I'm going to begin my quest by reading about and listening to people who are smarter than I am. (Feel free to insert the, "That shouldn't be hard to find." joke here...)
Love you, Dad. You're still teaching me whether you realize it or not.
The Younger Mr. Hill
