I love to read. That is one of my favorite pastimes. I read watching TV. I read when I go to bed, nearly every night, before going to sleep. I literally read everything I can get my hands on. Often I'm reading two or three books at a time. Nothing has affected me as much as reading.
My love for books began at an early age. Each day, Miss Oma, my fourth grade teacher, had each of us, one at a time, stand beside our desk and read out loud a page or two to the entire class. She never let our classmates make fun of us if we read slowly or mispronounced a word. In that classroom was the first "large" library I came into contact with. I read every book in it that year -- all 45 of them! I especially loved reading of princes and princesses that "lived happily ever after."
The first book I owned was a gift from my mother. When I was about 12, she gave me "Jane Eyre" for Christmas. I still have that book and read it often, with as much pleasure as the first time I read it. It's worn, but I wouldn't get rid of it for the world.
I love curling up with a good novel. Nicolas Sparks and John Grisham are two of my favorites. I've read every book they've written.
One of my greatest pleasures is the opportunity to become friends with authors. I've met many of them through the years.
I hate wasting my time with "bad" books -- or stories with "fluff" -- so I love it when someone else has read a book and recommends it to me. Books have changed my life, and I've loaned them to others.
Needless to say, I don't like short emails or text messaging much. When I email, I write a long letter -- a lost art in this age.
A few years back, I judged students' essays and stories, sponsored by KUAF. I was appalled that many high school students could not spell or use words correctly. And the penmanship! Do they not teach this in schools anymore?
A love of reading led to writing. As the written word influenced my life so drastically, I wanted to encourage and teach others through writing. I began writing "Life in the Ozarks" newspaper columns in 1998 for the now defunct Rogers Hometown News. When I began my column, I wondered if I could ever have enough material for the twice-a-month columns. But I am finding I never run out of stories about my past.
Now I'm writing, "Looking Back," a monthly column for the Westside Eagle Observer. I've been so blessed with people coming up to me from all over, telling me how much they love reading about my past, and identifying with it.
I once wrote, "As I drew forth the good times through my memoirs, I began to see delight and wonder of those years I had thought of as a happy childhood. And more amazing, I began experiencing a healing through reliving my past."
Reading and writing really do change lives.
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Editor's note: Marie Wiggin Putman lives in Little Flock. A native of Benton County, she writes a monthly column for the Westside Eagle Observer. She and her late husband, Jerry, were members of the Pea Ridge Historical Society.
Editorial on 03/19/2014