Everyday Canvas

Books and Influence and a Plane Flight

For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" 

Prompt: "Books are the bees which carry the pollen from one mind to another."
James Russell Lowe
Use this quote in your Blog entry today.

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I would probably start this entry by saying, “Watch what you are reading for you may be getting influenced by it,” but who knows what’s in a book unless one reads it? Even in our day when we find introductions, excerpts, and reviews of books online, there may still be things left out.

Still, it is up to us to heed or not what it is we are reading, if we are careful, especially in this day and age when fake news abounds everywhere, no matter whose side we may be on.

Then, from the positive point of view, reading books is the most effective way of learning something and expanding our minds, which means the books have an impact on the way we see things. I think ignorance can cost us more than we can ever imagine.

Some books entertain; others give us a deepened view of the human psyche; and still others raise our cultural intelligence. A caveat here: not all books will do that. We need to be on the alert with what we read and to what we expose our minds. After all, we are social animals and we are influenced in a good or bad way with what we put ourselves in contact with.

Since we are human beings, we usually have zero understanding of the intrinsic values and we are influence by contextual clues that hide in what we read. As in everything, with books too, the wisdom in choosing and the external influences that may affect our choices are things we must be careful with.

As the quote says, books are like bees carrying pollen, and some of that pollen can give us allergies and make us sick.

For: "Space Blog Group" 

Prompt: Write about a conversation you had with a person on a plane or on a train.

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I can’t recall any one conversation on a plane, (I usually fly or used to, considering the constrictions of these times), and in the past, I had many conversations with other travelers but a big bulk of it was just chit-chat, nothing to recall. Usually, the person sitting next to me started that chitchat complaining or commenting about something like the service or the entertainment system.

Also, I always had a book with me even before e-readers surfaced. I am neither interested in the in-flight entertainment system nor in any movies.

Yet, one unusual event comes to mind, which happened probably more than 25 years ago. We were being flown by the company that hired my husband, and they graciously put us in first class.

On the take-off, sitting next to my right, of all people, was Paul Simon. Of course, I recognized him, but I only smiled and nodded and he returned the same compliment to me. That was it between us, but the hostess, as soon as we took flight, went undeniably nuts. She was so excited and was so full of the praise of the man that, I bet, she made him absolutely uncomfortable. Then, she said to me, “Isn’t he the most wonderful, the most talented? You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course,” I said. My husband just looked and didn't say anything. I bet he, too, was uncomfortable, inside his mind siding with Paul Simon. I would say more in the composer's defense, but I was worried that she might poison my drink or something. So, I smiled a fake smile and shut up.

When we landed in Atlanta, the singer left the plane to continue on to wherever he was going and we stayed inside until we reached the West Palm Beach airport.

Now, I am a big fan of Paul Simon, and Sounds of Silence is my all-time favorite song, but although singers and artists appreciate the applause when they are on stage, they mostly like to be left alone in a private situation. I guess some people just can’t leave the famous and the gifted alone while they are living their personal lives

How did I recognize Paul Simon? When we were first sitting down, I first saw the loafers he wore, like the ones he usually wore on stage. I said to myself, “I know those shoes.”

Funny, isn’t it!