In 1995, when phones were attached to walls and the internet was young, reading was much greater fun than watching television. During the course of my early education, I was an avid reader. I didn’t have a tablet or an iPhone. I read books. Remember that? My school had a competition between students who read the most books within a certain time period. My rival, Derrick Dendy, was always rising higher to the top as I trailed close behind. Very close behind. Today would have been Derrick’s 35th birthday. One could not deny that he was the fastest reader in the fifth grade. He always read thick, detailed, tiny print books. I have to admit that I read a lot of books, but did not hold a candle to Derrick Dendy. He had his nose stuck so far into his books; I am quite surprised they didn’t swallow him. He was relentless. I imagine he read books in his sleep. Those are my excuses for not ever catching up to him, not for lack of trying. After a while, I referred to him as “Reader One,” since I was always “Reader One2,” NOT “Reader Two.” Years later, I looked him up and found out about his critical heart disease. I sent him a message to ask him how many books he had read that summer, and he said, “Six.” “UGH!” I thought, having only read five. I know he is in an enormous library I plan to visit in my future, smiling down at me, having forever achieved the status of “Reader One.”
Happy birthday, old friend.
–SJB