by Louis Borgenicht
My trainer, whom I work with once a week, calls me a recreational overachiever. Initially I thought it was because it seemed to him that I simply did too much to avoid doing something constructive, but when I asked him what he meant, he suggested that with all of my recreational pursuits there was a common theme.
I play tennis twice a week, golf once or twice, fly fish, ride my road bike, and nap. His contention is that I am not at all competitive; I simply enjoy them. I do not need to win, never keep score in golf, enjoy the moment when I am fishing, don’t care if someone passes me on the bike, and wallow in the pleasure of a short nap.
All of which may explain why my reading suffers. So the other day I stopped in at The King’s English for a little therapy from Jan and Anne. I parked in the 15 minute slot across the street. I figured that I could only afford a short session rather than the de rigueur 50-minute therapeutic hour.
“I need some therapy,” I said making eye contact only with Anne. Jan and I have a long-standing sardonic relationship.
They both laughed though.
“I am currently reading a month old issue of The New Yorker and have a ten inch stack of the New York Times Magazine. Plus about fifty articles I have saved on my Mac, not to mention the book, People Who Eat Darkness, on my bed stand.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I feel guilty about not devoting as much time to reading as I do to anything else,” I said.
Anne said, “Get rid of your New York TImes Magazines. Just toss them out.”
“But there might be really interesting articles in them,” I said, feeling a sense of expectation. I live my life through the phrase “but what if?” My glass is usually half full.
Jan simply watched the evolving conversation but I knew what she would have had to say.
The meter maid had not come by to to ticket me for overtime parking but I was getting nervous that my session was nearly over.
I knew that I would have a hard time tossing out something as august as the New York TImes Magazine.
I turned to both Anne and Jan and said, “I think I need to program my time better. You know maybe give up a golf game.” I knew I would not be able to do it.
Then Jan said, “Yeah, maybe you will have time to read Anna Karenina.”
I looked at my smart phone; my fifteen minutes was up. Thank god.