Most people would agree that reading matters, at least in theory. American’s literacy rate is slipping at an alarming rate and the governmental response is to impose more testing. We now know 14 percent of the adult population that isn’t in school can’t read. Of those who can read around 21 percent read under a 5th grade level, which means they can’t read a newspaper or basic work related instruction. Some high school graduates can’t even read their diploma. There are 19 percent of high school students who can’t read. I met one of those students my first year of teaching.

The student in my ninth-grade class I suspected who couldn’t read was a very large boy that the football coach wanted on the team. The coach brokered a deal with me to get the kid eligible to play. I agreed to work with Hansel, tutoring him to reach at least D level. Because of size, he’d always been passed through school never really learning anything. Once I figured out he couldn’t read, and I did give him several chances, even handing him sports related magazines he wanted to read, only to have him ask other students to read it to him.

I called in his parents to suggest an intensive reading course after school. Good deal, right? No. They hit the roof, pulled him out of my class, and had him placed in another teacher’s class who didn’t care if he could read or not. He wasn’t my first non-reader at the high school level. Most of the non-readers resorted in acting out, pretending to be sick, going to the bathroom, or feigning sleep to get out of reading. Others simply skipped school.

So why does reading matter? It will help you get a job when you get out of school. The benefits of reading start much earlier. My mother taught me to read when I was four, which is common with writers. Once exposed to the world of reading, imagination took flight.

Reading allows children to self-entertain. They tend to be less bored. It also increases their ability to focus and remember. When my daughter started school, her teacher asked every parent if they had books in the home. A nearby neighbor told the teacher they didn’t have a single book in the home, which was probably true, but they did have a television as big as a small movie theatre screen. Eventually, I had my daughter quit playing with the girl because she tended to be a bully. Reading teaches empathy, which that girl appeared not to have.

Reading calms us down and makes us less irritable, which might explain the magazines in the various waiting rooms. As an entertainment option, reading is cheap. It usually takes me two weeks to finish a book reading a little bit a night. Compare that to seeing several movies or going to a theme park.

If you read while working out, you’ll exercise longer. (I can listen to audio books while on the treadmill, but I haven’t mastered the paperback.) Reading introduces you to new concepts and enlarges your vocabulary. It helps keep your brain agile. The list goes on and on.

I’ve switched to working with the very young children and I noticed with readers, they’re more confident, happier, and more willing to assist other students. Still, very few of my students are now readers despite the government mandating reading at a younger age. Instead, they want to play games on the iPad on pretend to talk on the cellphone.

I’ve even heard kids mimic their parents by saying, “Don’t bother me I’m on the phone.” When I ask the students what they do after school, the responses vary from attending an older sibling’s sports practice or game, attending gymnastics or karate, grabbing a fast food dinner, playing on the computer, or watching television. The lack of being read to or reading is obvious. Parents will even sign their child’s reading log when they haven’t read. Yeah, kids will rat out their parents every time.

The United States doesn’t even break into the top twenty-five literacy rate. Poorer countries such as Cuba and Poland have much higher literacy rates. Pay attention Department of Education and parents, reading must matter. You have to make time for it and value it. It improves every aspect of your life including public and social interaction.

Readers make better employees, more thoughtful spouses, and empathetic friends. When things get bad, a reader can vanish into a book as opposed to a drug-induced stupor. There is no downside to reading.
​
In Ray Bradbury’s iconic novel, Fahrenheit 451, the citizens couldn’t read and there were no books. Instead, the government fed them disinformation via a huge screen in their living quarters. Creative, independent thinking was forbidden. The Fahrenheit 451 hero learned books matter. It makes sense that reading should too.

 In the glamour age of air travel, which was around the 1940’s, people dressed up in their Sunday best to travel. There was plenty of leg room, delicious full course meals, not so many transfers and everyone smiled and was nice to each other.

My first flight was courtesy of the army more than thirty years ago. I remember the airline had plenty of staff because at least two or three of the members came and sat with the newly enlisted personnel and talked with us. The refreshments never stopped. The seats were very comfy too, but that could have been because I was thirty pounds lighter then, too.

Back in the eighties, I flew international and it was rather glamorous. Flying wasn’t cheap compared to the average wage and those who flew international got top notch service. Once again, no issue about seat width and you could recline without starting a war.

After 911 and the invention of the TSA, I was pulled out of the security line. First time it happened, I was traveling to a funeral for the day. It happened five more times. Later, I was told by a former TSA agent that they must pull so many people out of line per hour. They prefer women because they tend to be less hostile.

While waiting for my flight, I noticed people were asked to give up their seat along with more people flying standby. The plane door closes thirty minutes before the flight departure, which leaves those who sprinted through the airport very disappointed. Once I was even bumped from a flight.

Bumped is the wrong word since they cancelled the flight. My only option was to fly standby the next day. An airline employee informed me if I got there early enough that I’d get a seat. At the gate, I nervously checked in and explained I was flying standby. An employee informed me that as soon I was seated in the plane, the late arriving person who originally had that seat was out of luck. Once seated, I could not be removed from the plane.

 The climate of flying has changed in the last thirty years. The biggest changes include the…passengers and baggage fees. There is always a half dozen people in coach who mistakenly consider the flight is just for them. They have oversized bags they cram in the overhead bins taking up all the room. They also stay on their phones delaying takeoff. Other patrons, especially those in the rear of the plane, seldom receive service since these demanding people insist on perks such as free alcoholic drinks. No surprise, the formerly friendly stewards appeared both weary and aggravated.

 Because people know there isn’t going to be enough bin room, there is aggression at the gate to get on earlier. The smaller seats force people to share more body contact with strangers than they had with their spouse in the last six months.What surprised me the most was how nasty people were to their fellow passengers.

On a flight to Germany, our plane sat on the tarmac for thirty minutes, not allowing us to disembark and make the transfer in an efficient manner. The eight of ran through the airport to reach the departing plane. The larger seats were three across, but the man on the aisle seat was still unhappy we made the plane and didn’t hesitate to say so several times and attempted to block our entry to our seats until called on it by the surrounding passengers.

As for the United incident with the doctor being pulled off board, it’s inexcusable, but it reminds me of our flight from India. When we flew United from the US, we were treated very well. When I asked for water, the attendant snuck me an entire liter of water. On the way back from India, we were probably the only non-Indians aboard, except for the crew. We were served a spicy meal as soon as we were aloft. When I asked for water, I was told there was none. Even though, I saw an attendant walk by with liters of water.

Since we had paid to upgrade we were served first. Plenty of people requested water after us with no luck. The flight to the United States ran about 1400 for the cheapest seat and yet no one could get water. Because Indian security was twice as tight as ours, any water bought at the airport was taken away. As soon as the trays were cleared, the attendants all vanished into the upper crew cabin.

I have no issue with the crew sleeping part of the 15-hour flight, but not all at once. If they slept, they managed to do it for thirteen hours only re-appearing to get people ready for landing. When I expressed my disappointment about the flight to United, their response was these things happen. I often wonder if the treatment we received was because the overwhelming of majority of passengers were Indian. Unlike Americans, they almost never make a fuss.

Has the climate changed for air travel? It has, but both ways too. Plenty of passengers are so rude that one Jet Blue steward bailed even before the plane took off. There are less attendants to do the work. Yes, the seats have gotten narrower and closer together. Attendants may not be smiling as much because they never know when a passenger might go ballistic when they must enforce a rule to charge for use of a germy blanket.

Now, I’ve had several wonderful flights on Delta, American Airlines, and Southwest. Some of the best flights have been on tiny puddle jumper planes with one attendant. I will continue to fly because it is still faster than driving. How about you?
 
Here's a slideshow was flying used to be like. Sigh.