Easter plus one

"Many a man lives a burden to the earth, but a good book is the precious lifeblood of a master- spirit embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life." John Milton in 1644 ought to have known even though he spent over twenty years of his productive life blind. If a blind man sees the truth why must sighted souls choose to remain in the dark? On the first day of risen life, why can’t most Americans ( and all God’s begotten children) choose to spend at least one hour of a day reading- just the same amount of time Jesus’ disciples couldn’t spend with Him the night before He died? Two hundred years later, in 1849, an avid linguist, reader and writer, Henry David Thoreau, still echoed the enlightened refrain that, "It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak, and another to listen." Why do so few listen? During this the season of a March madness to the final four, we few, we happy few who seek a life ‘beyond life,’ continue to hope that other sports fans will join us players off the court at a game of solitaire called reading.