Dear Writers,

My Mom, Maxine Henning Erdoiza, 1920-1998

I learned to read in part from reading all of the jokes in Reader’s Digest magazines my mom used to hoard. To this day, I’m not sure why she kept every copy she got of that magazine, but stacks of them lived in the cupboards of a little trailor that sat behind our house, and I spent many hours out there reading. Eventually, I graduated from jokes to stories, and I can tell you that the very first short story I read was an excerpt based on true events: Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog written by Buddy’s human companion Morris Frank. For me, it’s the best story ever written, because it had a dog in it and it also made me fall in love with stories. When I was about eight years old, my mom bought me a book that was a collection of stories published in Reader’s Digest. Thanks again, Mom, and I should send the editors a Christmas card.

So, have you seen the latest film version of Les Misérables that opened on Christmas Day? No worries if you haven’t: here’s a summary I will never forget from Reader’s Digest magazine: Continue reading →