Since I started reading as a child I have probably averaged two books a week. They have been my constant companions practically my entire life. I have explored genres and made quite a few friends along the way. I have been entertained, educated and enlightened. I've laughed at the sheer joy of discovery and cried at the loss of a beloved character.
Through it all I became the man I am today.
The very first book I remember reading was a story called Beautiful Joe. It was the story of an ugly mutt that changed the life of a little boy. I was that boy. I can honestly say it awakened a lifelong thirst for the written word.
Since then I have traveled to space with Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein and Arthur Clarke. I laughed my ass of at Frederick Brown and soared into the heart of a star with Samuel R. Delaney. Larry Niven made me understand that aliens could be just like us and Clifford Simak made the fantastic believable. James Blish taught me that mankind will endure.
Sometimes I became involved in lives and locales that were so much larger than life they needed to be revisited time and again by their creators. Sherlock Holmes, The 87th Precinct, Doc Savage, Lucas Davenport, Philip Marlow, Dave Robicheaux, Chaingang, and Fu Manchu. I've been to Shangri-La, and Titan. Gaslit London and New Orleans. Ringworld and the deep south.
I have traveled in time to the Roman Empire, Arthur's Camelot, and Civil War America. I've fought bloody battles and have made love to simple farm girls. I have explored the furthest reaches of the dark continent and have been to Krypton and back.
I have been there at the founding of civilizations and have knelt at the Cross. I walked with Saul on the road to Damascus and have been transformed. I have survived the Roman games and have presided over them. I built bridges against impossible odds and died at the hands of a lover.
And I grew up. My tastes have changes and my thinking has matured. But I have never lost my sense of wonder at the beauty of a mutt named Joe.
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