Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
search menu
The news from Broad Ripple
Brought to you by The Broad Ripple Gazette
(Delivering the news since 2004, every two weeks)
Subscribe to Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
Brought to you by:
Howald Heating & Air Drumstick Dash Kenney Insurance

Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2020 11 05arrowColumn

back button return to index button next button
Poetic Thoughts - book/gifts - by C.W. Pruitt II
posted: Nov. 05, 2020

Poetic Thoughts header

book/gifts
For me, one of the benefits of being an avid reader, is all of the books I have received over the years. My parents did a great job of keeping me in books that kept me reading. For Christmas, birthdays, or just for the heck of it, Mom and Dad gave me books. When I was nine I received Baseball's Greatest Moments. I read and re-read that book and attempted to memorize my favorite stories from it.
In college I had a roommate for awhile who was consistently as broke as a joke. He was a History major and knew that I liked Malcolm X. He came back to the dorm one day with Malcolm X's Speeches At Harvard. I was touched and impressed by the gift, but was reluctant to accept it. I felt that he should have spent the money on himself. He insisted I keep it. He was sure that I would tell him about the content of the speeches. And I did. Later he bought me Malcolm X's Final Speeches. I cannot recall ever receiving such outstanding gifts from someone with such limited resources.
When Andrew "Flip" Van Winkle visited me fifteen years ago in Cleveland, he came bearing books from the far-off land of Indianapolis. Included among them were biographies of Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois. These books made my tenure in Cleveland far more gratifying.
Over the last few years Kyle Andrews has bestowed many wonderful book/gifts upon me. Kyle used to be a book dealer, so he is advanced at acquiring books. Yet still it is mesmerizing what he brings me. Last year he gave me The Scrapbook History of Baseball. This book simply contains photocopied articles from newspapers from 1876-1974. These are a treasure trove of baseball articles and stat boxes.
Last year I wrote an article which compared Nikki Giovanni's writing style to Kyle's. Little did I know that that would score me an autographed copy of Nikki Giovanni's Cotton Candy On A Rainy Day. Now, I have been very grateful for all of the book/gifts over the years, but I would like to say, "Kyle, you remind me of Paul Lawrence Dunbar (turn-of-the-century African-American poet from Dayton, Ohio). Yes, Kyle, you remind me totally of Paul Lawrence Dunbar."



cw@broadripplegazette.com
back button return to index button next button
Brought to you by:
Angie Mercer Insurance RandomRipplings.com Broad Ripple State Farm
Brought to you by:
Drumstick Dash EverythingBroadRipple.com