My son asked me the other night who and what the "abominable snowman" was. I told him the story briefly… then remembered an article I had read a week or so ago about some new developments in the hunt for the elusive snowman. I found the article, after a long search, and gave it to my son, who said he didn't want to read it… I had told him enough. What is it with kids today, that they refuse to read? They want the capsule-comment… the condensation of everything and seem content to know just enough about anything to satisfy their curiosity. Any deeper search for knowledge is to them a waste of time. I might add, after considerable trouble back-and-forth, I made my boy sit down and read the whole article. No one today however seems to want to acquire knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone. We spend our precious hours plunked in front of a TV screen, watching the same old faces work out the same old plot, week in, week out, and if there are books on the shelf, they usually go untouched. This is resulting in some very broad backsides and some very narrow minds. I feel it is a parent’s obligation to insist that his child reads books. Sure there are great TV shows… great movies… great sporting events… but there are also great books, which have lost their sacred fight for their share of our youths’ attention. In my home, we have no condensed versions… no capsule comments… no inadequate reviews of books. I want my children to read the whole book and read it they will, or the old man will know why. It amazes me how reluctant we are to pay six bucks for a good book… but how readily will pay the same price for a bottle of scotch… and believe me, I like good scotch as much as the next guy. Parents… let's take the comic books away from the kids before they pass out of their teens. Let them get next to some of the great books that you can buy for as little as six bits. I think once they get the taste of a good book, they'll be amazed at what they've been missing.
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