A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it or explore a dangerous idea without fearing it will go off in your face. It is one of the few sources left where information is served up without the silent black noise of a headline or the hullabaloo of a commercial. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy. Edward P. Morgan
I loved the Reader’s Digest magazine. “An article a day of lasting interest.” I read it at home from cover to cover from the time I was a little kid. Then in the 7th grade, each student got an issue every month to study in one of our classes at school. Plus, I learned a lot of vocabulary by taking the word test every month. It used to have 20 words in the quiz. As the years went by, that dwindled to 18, then maybe 15. Then a few years ago, the Reader's Digest quietly went out of my life. I still miss it and think often when I am in certain situations how my perception of something, or a nugget of information was gleaned by those articles I read lo, those many years ago!
In several of their monthly features, the Reader's Digest advertised that they would pay for the first submission of a published item. I had read the above quote in an issue of Ball Corporation's glossy company magazine, which came to my husband as their employee. I love books, so the quote resonated with me. I promptly sent it to the Reader’s Digest for their monthly feature “Points to Ponder”. Anyway, I thought it was an exceptional point of view. Apparently so did the RD editors.
Imagine my surprise when I received the following correspondence in the mail a few weeks later:
We’re
pleased to enclose our check for $35 in appreciation to you for sending us the
attached item, scheduled to appear on page 220 of the February [1979 Reader’s]
Digest.
Catherine Conklin
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