A birthday burger:
I gave my husband a choice for dinner on his birthday: his favorite home cooked meal or hamburgers at Paint Creek Tavern. I know he can’t resist a good burger. I got out of cooking.
We were seated next to table of four exceptionally loud dudes. Bros having a night out. Yakking at the top of their lungs, howling, and chugging beer. I have a habit of watching people (more like staring, actually, trying to figure out what makes them tick and if I can use it in my fiction), and I’ve learned to be careful (aka sneaky). I allowed myself a quick look at them. One guy was laughing so heartily I saw his tonsils. I was embarrassed for him. I immediately looked away.
I do it every night!
Their raucousness didn’t bother us, though. We were in a tavern, after all, and at least they weren’t talking trash. Don and I tuned them out. During a lull in our equally shouted conversation, though, I overheard one guy say, “…I never even read a novel until I was forty. All I ever read were technical books. How-to stuff. Then I started reading novels… I read slow, man, slow as fuck. But I read for a half an hour every night until I get sleepy. It’s great.” He repeated this several times–“Not until I was forty!” “Every night!” “A novel!”– as he and his buddies talked about reading for work versus pleasure.
I smiled. A reader expounding on the virtues of fiction. What could be better? It made me warm and fuzzy inside. As did the burgers, perfectly seared, covered with melted cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce and Paint Creek Tavern’s special sauce.
Bedtime reading
Over the past couple of years, with the nutty political climate and COVID, I got in the habit of turning away from the TV and putting down my cell phone before bed. I shimmy into my nightgown and spend a half hour reading. I keep a stack of novels, memoirs, and poetry books within reach at my bed table.
My quality of sleep has improved. Of course, it would. Why else do we read to our children before bed? Reading is relaxing. It’s escapism. It takes us away from the daily grind and tedious little worries, such as who has the nuclear codes. According to Healthline, reading for half an hour could provide just as much stress relief as doing yoga or watching comedy videos for the same amount of time. Reading improves brain function; a study in Neurology found that people who read before bed had better memory and cognitive function than those who didn’t. Reading also boosts critical thinking skills. I’ll take it.
Anyway, I loved that the bro in the tavern didn’t hesitate to shout to everyone within earshot that he likes reading books. And that his buddies didn’t scoff at him.
Lest you think I’m judging beer drinkers, my husband had a beer that evening.
Guess what I gave to my favorite beer-drinking dude for his birthday?
A novel.
Thank you for visiting!
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security