Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction?

Yesterday we got a box from Amazon.com with two items. The first is the BBC series "All Creatures Great and Small" on DVD (series 1). The second is Greatness: Reagan, Churchill, and the Making of Extraordinary Leaders. I started reading the latter last night, and so far so good.

It occured to me while I was reading that this is probably one of the first non-fiction books I've purchased in my life. I've read and listened to quite a few over the last few years, but they've always been borrowed or gifts. A quick browse through my bookcase would show how rare non-fiction is in my collection.

It also occurred to me that I seem to be semi-obsessed with greatness. I'm more ambitious than I'm probably willing to admit. I would love to be someone great. Which is probably one reason why this morning (kids up way too early) was so frustrating. I simply lack the discipline to overcome even small things, so why should I harbor any dreams of greatness? As my family will likely attest, the only time "great" is likely to be used in conjuction with my name would be to say "Thom is a great big pain in the butt."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ah, but you see, just because history doesn't talk about how many times those "great" men were grouchy with their kids doesn't mean they didn't act that way sometimes. Even the "greats" were very human.

Still, we keep trying, and hopefully our kids remember more good times than bad.