It's the end of an era

Last night I saw a commercial, there were a lot of children with all kinds of different electronic gadgets, they were in a school auditorium and expounding on all the things their gadgets could do, and how important they were for learning, and keeping in touch with family and friends, too, I suppose.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for every and anything that can keep our children interested in education and on the same level as students all those around the world.  And, I'm aware there are a lot of educational applications that teach even the youngest child their A,B,C's and 1,2,3'.  That's a very good thing, especially for a single parent, or parents that are too busy to help out with that.

Here's the thing....

I remember when my girls were little, they had their favorite books, the hand held kind, that I read to them over, over, and over again.  Bonnie liked "Are You My Mother?"  Karen liked "Little Black Sambo"  Those two books went through a lot, and I would not take back one single second of sitting with them and reading those stories for all the money in the world.  Precious time, precious time.

This morning I thought about Bookmarks...you know, those long, thin, beautifully decorated things you put between the pages of a book so you can open it to the exact spot you stopped reading.  The day is coming when no one is going to have to use them...because...there will be no books.  Electronic books will take over, and in a few generation no one will know the smell of an old book that has sat musty, dusty, on a library shelf.  They won't find a curled down corner, or a favorite passage underlined, or handwritten messages in the border of a particular page.  But, most of all they will not know what a bookmark is, or why they were ever needed.

I love books, I have hundreds...ask anybody.  I collect bookmarks...I don't have hundreds, but I do have a coffee mug full of them standing on end, waiting for me to choose one.  When I'm done with a book I put that particular mark back in the mug, and pull out a different one for the next book I read.  I've got my collection as gifts, freebies from charities, and even some I've picked up at check-out in stores like Dalton's, Barnes & Noble, or Powell's Books.

Can you imagine?  Powell's Books...a distant memory?  God forbid.

And so it is today I honor the humble bookmark, whether a little slip of paper, one lovingly hand embroidered, or one from my favorite charity.  Their job is humble, nothing splashy about it at all.  Yet, when I tuck one in for the night it has the most important job in my world.

Oh, I just had a great idea...I have to go.