‘Nothing is ever as easy as it looks,’ he says.
‘But you’re making it harder on yourself. Let’s try something less taxing.’
He gives me a look that says he’s going to throw another tantrum unless I stop patronising him. Which won’t help with the reading.
‘Here,’ I say, pushing another book his way. One that’s a bit more appropriate for his level of literacy. He stops me.
‘It’s a children’s book.’
‘If you had to learn how to walk, would you start with running marathons?’
‘I am not a child.’
‘You won’t learn to read by starting with Shakespeare.’
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‘You won’t learn to read by starting with Shakespeare.’…. Gosh, this line is just so spot on in so many ways! Great story! 🙂
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Thank you! It came out of nowhere and I knew I had to use it 🙂
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Great story and good point. You have to start easy before you can go big, like with most anything you are learning how to do.
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Yes, baby steps first. Thanks, Amanda! (btw, do you prefer Amanda or Mandi? I’ve been meaning to ask for a while…)
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You can call me either Sonya. People usually call me Amanda in real life but because of my blog name I don’t mind Mandi either. Whatever you like. Have a great weekend Sonya!
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I’ll stick with Amanda, then – it’s one of my favourite names. Have a great weekend yourself!
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Oh wow, thank you Sonya.
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‘You won’t learn to read by starting with Shakespeare.’ – but you’ll learn some fantastically creative insults and bawdy comments! 🙂
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Oh, I’m not saying he shouldn’t read Shakespeare. Just, maybe, get to grips with the basics first…
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😀 You’re right 🙂
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I think there’s more to the story — like why he would seemingly get offended at the offer of a child’s book…..love it! I’m so jumping in on this prompt, thank you!
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I think you’re right, there is more to it… Glad you’re jumping in 🙂
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That last line is so true. I had to start off with some really fluffy writing and have finally, at the ripe old age of 36, gotten to the point where I can read things like Shakespeare without breaking my brain 😉 And I agree with the above, reading it well can teach you how to really let someone have it… and 9 times out of 10 they have no idea what you said.
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Right, I shall make Shakespearean insults the subject of a future story :D.
Took me years to get Shakespeare without having the Cliff Notes handy, as well.
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Interesting story; very well written. It makes me want to know more. Is he a child? A grown man with the mind of a child. At the same time, his responses are those of an older person , teen or grown-up, so why the reading difficulty? Hummmm… Thanks for a story that makes me think.
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Thank you – glad I made you think 🙂
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Wonderful story, Sonya! I can imagine how embarrassed he must be to start reading from a child’s book but it certainly is the truth – that is how you learn to read!
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Thank you 🙂
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I’ve taught some adult literacy classes, and the comment about where to start is so apt in that situation. The hard part for adults is that there aren’t a lot of books that they’d be interested in at an intro level. They’re insulted to have to read kids books, which is understandable. Sorry for the rambling–your piece just sent me down memory lane for a moment!
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Don’t apologise, I always want to hear if one of my stories has triggered a reaction. And it’s good to know that I didn’t get it totally wrong. Thank you 🙂
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One small step at a time. That’s what it takes to learn anything new. Your story is wonderful!
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Exactly. Thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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Talk about shooting for the stars!!! Enoyed!
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Thank you, Roger!
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