A 4th grade reading assignment begat a heated argument with a
girl with glasses who I knew was smarter than me but wrong on
the issue [so much has changed] of the greatest president; And
heated argument begat trip [50 yards] to Citrus Grove’s oval
library; And Citrus Grove library begat some biography which had
a picture of Lincoln swinging an ax; And some biography begat an
exact memorization of the Gettysburg Address; And exact
memorization of the Gettysburg Address begat an abililty to give
a largely accurate rendition [Abe might say it didn't stay
learnt]; And accurate rendition begat an ability to know someone
was reciting the Gettysburg Address once I heard it. And garage
sales with books begat a pilgrimage to the Miami-Dade Public
Library’s spectacular annual book sale [coming up now]; and
annual pilgrimage begat William Safire’s Freedom; and Safire
begat Garry Wills’ Lincoln at Gettysburg; And great buys at book
sales begat a desire to never pay retail prices for books I was
not reading cover to cover