LMAO at you, 'Spaw!

YES! wildlone, my father and mother raised us on Kipling. As I did my children; they even named a cat of ours Bagheera. Even as an adult, when I would call my dad about a "life" problem, he would always tell me, still does for that matter, to go read some Kipling, there are always answers in Kipling. Either that or he will just reel off a long quote of Kipling for me.

He and his dad used to converse only in quotes while working mornings on their ranch in Colorado. I always knew my granddad had a fantastic memory and was well-read, but only recently has dad told me about those mornings when strains of Kipling, Scott, Wordsworth, Badger Clark, R.W. Service, Virgil, Homer, Longfellow, and others filled the air. I think as he gets older and closer to passing over (he's 82), he's thinking more and more about his parents, esp. his dad and what an extraordinary upbringing he had and what an incredible man his father was.

My mother had much the same, although more strict and formal upbringing. Her mother was a school "marm", while her father owned the general store and had the first lending library (his own private collection) in New Castle, Colorado. I still have his mid-1800's four volume dictionary set with marblised paper on the frontispieces and edges.

My life would be so empty without good literature. Thanks Mom and Dad. Thanks for asking wildlone.

katlaughing