The Best Gifts

My dad's birthday is today. He has been gone for almost 3 years, and it's hard to believe that so much time has passed. Some days it seems like his passing was very recent, while other days it seems like it has been a long time.

 

I dedicated my first novel to my dad, Joe Hirase, because he was an incredible reader. He taught me, through example, that reading is one of the best ways to spend time. I've never felt guilty about taking time to read, even when there were several other things to do. Every day, he read the newspaper from the beginning all the way to the end before diving into a book.

 

He loved Westerns the most, and when I worked at B. Dalton Bookseller, I filled his library. He his second love was mysteries, then thrillers, then historical novels, and then whatever else was available. If I look at his books that we still have, they are falling apart. Most of them are held together by rubber bands because he read them several times.

 

My dad enjoyed reading his books, then sharing them with others. He kept the ones he wanted to read again, but all the others he boxed up and took them to the assisted living center where my grandmother had lived. Every time he went, the staff would make an announcement to the residents that “Joe brought more books”, and then they would tell us how much they appreciated his donations.

 

I have a hard time parting with books. But my dad love to share, so maybe I should go through my bookshelf, and see what I too could share. Books are the best gifts!