Table Topics
by Angela Brown
© 2005
Trust me, I'm the
Dad. You'll thank me later," was his only explanation when my father
announced our new Table Topics rule. The rule: You must learn something new
each day, to share at dinner before the food reaches you, or you don't get
to eat.
And when you grow up in a house with 19 kids, there's no running to the
encyclopedia on short notice to find a new fact or snippet of interesting
information. All the food would be gone when you returned.
The rule turned into a game as we kids showed up for supper with small
notepads and pencils to take notes on the various table topics presented
each night at dinner.
That was twenty years ago, but the habit to learn something daily remains.
In the information age, there's no excuse for lack of learning.
Most major metropolitan cities offer library cards free or a minimal charge
of a dollar or two.
With a library card, you have access to literally thousands of books, some
out of date and some out of print. There are volumes of how-to books that
take you from amateur to expert in just a few simple steps.
There are research books that cost hundreds of dollars if you were to buy
them, and available too are reference catalogs and directories obtainable
only through subscription.
From my home computer I can tap into my city library's website and access
their online resource information which include but are not limited to,
magazine articles from every major magazine in the country. You'll also
find inside statistics for companies listed with all the players in the
company, their address, phone, website, credit rating, annual reports and
more.
Imagine all this for the price of a free library card.
And many of the
public libraries in the last decade have added virtual libraries for those
who still don't have home computers. You can reserve time at the virtual
library where you can physically go and use their computers to type
reports, search the Internet and print documents for a few pennies a page.
Some libraries even have computer consultants on hand who answer your
questions (without charge) about software or computer programs you're using
in the virtual library.
Continued
Angela Oberer © 2008, Oberer is the author of the "Be Well Series". You can send your questions and
comments to her at:
Angela@WordsofWellness.com
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because when you're well...everyone wins!