Forgotten pleasures

Over the last sixteen years or so, I have embarked on  a summer golf journey with some of my friends. The core of the group has been doing the summer trip for 35 years, so I am a relative newcomer. I enjoy the time with the guys for a week of golf, fun and relaxation.

Over the years the size of the group and the membership of the group has varied from 12 to about 18 men and the issues discussed, debated and solved have changed over the years. None of the issues we discuss resolve around current politics, religion, or other pressing issues in the news.  We talk about old friends,  family, new friends, relationships, how our golf game went that day and the latest books we have read. The day to day politic of life is swept away in a river of  fun and friendship.

After five days of golf,  it takes a while for me to recover and I do not want to think about playing golf again for some time. When we are golfing, my mind is focused on the latest challenges on the course. Also while I am on the course I focus on being with good friends, trying to do better than I did on the hole prior. I also find myself enjoying the wind, sun and scenery.

Every year after returning from the trip, I busied myself catching up on my reading--not the readings I had to do for the university courses or the school courses I taught,  but reading for pleasure. Because of the golf trip, and the discussions of good books,  I rediscovered my forgotten pleasure and love of reading that I had as a teenager.

When I was a pre-teen and young teen, we lived out of town, and we only came to town once a week to get groceries and other supplies, but we always stopped at the regional library.  I remember the excitement and anticipation I had as I searched out the books that would take me to new adventures and to new worlds. I always loaded up with books, (Science Fiction and mysteries were my reading pleasure of the day) and I remember the excitement of opening the book and staying up late to finish the latest chapter/or book.

Reading for pleasure was a highlight of my life for many years, but as I grew older I focused on  reading for work. Reading for work became my focus and I lost the pleasure that reading once brought to me. I had forgotten how much pleasure I found in opening a book and being caught up in the drama, comedy or romance, created by the author. Once I retired the week of escape with my golf buddies, also lead me back to a love I had forgotten. Reading is now something I do every day and something I enjoy just as much as when I was a teenager. Every three weeks or so, I go to my local library and load up on books. Retirement has allowed me to recapture my love of reading.

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