Remedial Reading Room A30

Books.

I fell in love with books early on.

I was ten before I could read.

Dyslexia was not a condition people understood 35 years ago.

I will never forget my reading teacher. Her patience, her voice. The way her thumb and pinkie finger held the book up for me to see the pictures while she read. I loved her for not making me struggle with sounding out the words, but instead, read aloud until I memorized the book. She told me that I would never be able to learn to read, or spell like the other children. That I would have to memorize every word I came across. And so...I did just that. Learning to read was bitter sweet, while opening up a beautiful world filled with adventures, it closed a precious door engulfed in patience and understanding.

Not a day goes by when I am not reading or writing, or looking back into Remedial Reading Room A30 to peek in on Mrs. Schwartz. I wonder how old she would be now? As a child, everyone seemed ancient, and tall! Our perception of the world is muffled, stunted almost, by our innocence. Mrs. Schwartz understood the importance of a child's innocence, and the beauty of learning to read for readings' sake.

I was on the phone with a friend earlier, and we were discussing our love for books, and how we consider them our friends. I immediately began recommending a book I thought he would enjoy, and he did the same. My heart warmed and I was once again transported back to the days when I would sit in my garden and read while Mrs. Schwartz sat beside me listening attentively.

Books and the magic they hold are not always in the typed words, between the bound pages, but more often, in the memories of what was going on while I read. Thank you Mrs. Schwartz, how ever old you are.