For the Love of Learning.

I remember the moment when I decided to attain more knowledge.

It was in 2009 during my San Diego to Maine bicycle tour. (Have I ever mentioned I wrote an award winning book about that journey?) Anyway, I was in the midst of an enthusiastic Happy Hour with old friends, Jean and Big Al. We were at the Great Dane brewpub in Madison, WI. I made mention that my route would take me through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.Then I asked two pertinent questions. “Why is the UP part of Michigan when it’s clearly attached to Wisconsin? Were you Cheeseheads eating bratwurst and drinking Miller Lites when they moved the state boundary?” Big Al looked at me and simply stated, “The Toledo War of 1835.” To this I had an intelligent response, “Huh?” 

Big Al who looks and acts like a college professor began the history lesson. “The state of Ohio and the territory of Michigan laid claims to Toledo. Both wanted its western port on Lake Erie. There wasn’t much of a war between the militias. More bluster than bloodshed. Finally the Feds stepped in to settle the matter. The Michigan Territory relinquished its claims to Toledo in exchange for the Upper Peninsula. Wisconsin wasn’t even a territory until 1836. That’s why the UP is part of Michigan.” 

I sat back, took a sip of IPA and reacted accordingly. “OK...” What I was really thinking was this. “ Damn! I want to be smart like Big Al. I want to learn more stuff!” Reading was the answer. Al was a librarian and research wiz at the University of Wisconsin. He knows a lot more than the Dewey Decimal System.

Luckily I’ve always been a reader. For twenty years I lived across the street from the Fort Collins Library. There I was on a first name basis with the librarians. Lack of reading wasn’t my problem, absorbing and storing information was. I streamlined my goals. No need to bother with subjects I had no interest in. IE: mechanics, theoretical sciences and technology. I’d call them what they are to me, Magic, and leave it at that. I’d concentrate on non-fiction topics I had an affinity towards: US/World history, geography, travel, sports and true stories of survival and exploration. 

“I’m BUSY. I don’t have time to read!” Is the usual answer I get when I ask folks what they’ve read lately. I had plenty of time to read when I was living in a Van down by the river for 6.5 years. 

https://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2020/06/barley-van-was-only.html

When I gave up the Wandering Wondering full time lifestyle in August 2019, I still found time to read. That is when I wasn’t volunteering, going to movies, concerts, classes, sports events, camping, hiking and brewpub happy hours. Since Covid, most of those fun sociable events haven’t happened in nearly a year. I miss them. With all that additional time, I’m back in solitary confinement and reading at a 3 books/10 day pace. As usual I’m looking for answers to America’s and the World’s ongoing problems. The books were informative yet distressing. It wasn’t light reading.

For example:

Reads pertaining to the recent 45 Administration:

Strongmen

Demagogue 

The Soul of America the Battle for our Better Angels

14 Mile: Building the Border Wall

The Fifth Risk

Spying on the South

On the experiences of Black Americans:

Caste: the origins of our discontent 

The Warmth of Other Suns

Rising Tide

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice

Life of a Klansman

Overground Railroad

Ali: a Life

The Pandemic of 1918-1919:

The Great Influenza

The plight of so called “Illegal Aliens.”:

Undocumented Americans 

American Greed and income inequality; 

Wilderness Billionaires

Nickel and Dimed

On America’s impact on other countries:

The Imperial Cruise

How to Hide an Empire

The Nine Lives of Pakistan

The Quiet Americans 

On Redemption: 

Rising Above the Hatred

Unfollow

The Broken Road

There’s lots of hard core knowledge in the above book list. The information isn’t always pretty and at times upsettimg. It’s far removed from Alternative Facts and Fake News. By looking at our past, maybe we can strive for a better future. “History doesn’t repeat itself; People do.”

On a lighter note: Now I’m looking forward to the post-Covid day when I can participate in another enthusiastic Happy Hour. I’d rather entertain my fellow revelers with anecdotes about the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton or the most litigated river in the world, AKA the Colorado. AND if anyone wonders out loud, “Why is the UP part of Michigan and not Wisconsin?” I now have the answer. 

Thanks Big Al for motivating me to take learning more seriously.

Cheers! (It’s not a crime to be an Egghead! Yet!) 

Jeff

Last photo: Here’s that Gold Medal Award winning book. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Find it on Amazon.