Any kid who reads a lot develops a huge vocabulary. Both of my kids (50F and 45F) were reading before they were five. I blame TV limited to “The Electric Company,” “Sesame Street,” and “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” Mom and Dad were frequently witnessed reading. We also had a rigorously enforced rule, such that if you were reading, and NOT supposed to be doing something else, no one was allowed to bother you. IOW, chores first, then reading.
I got off the hook for a gift as I do EVERY year, by purchasing a one-pound box of dark chocolate Meltaways, filled with more dark chocolate from a local candy shop. There is always a bit of room in the box, so I ask the clerk to FILL the box with more of the same and charge me for the entire package. I always get a kiss from my wife as she begins to purr. Has always worked, every year, even when I was overseas in the USAF, for the past 59 years.
Math never made sense to me, and I barely passed my courses in elementary school and high school. When I got out of the USAF, and went back to school, I had to take an introductory college arithmetic course. It was as if a flashcube went off in my head. It ALL made perfect sense. I went on to take two years of calculus (I, 2, and 3, and differential equations). I hardly ever use that knowledge, except when a complicated process has to be learned, and I can make a cartoon video of it in my head.
My wife and I have been hiding on the living room couch in front of the TV for four years. We burn through series on several subscription services. We have come to favor foreign cop shows, which we believe are head and shoulders better than American “copaganda” shows. However, I have come to like “Law and Order SVU” and loathe “Chicago PD.”
I remember Uncle Walter from when Kennedy was shot in Dallas. I was in my HS History class when the news came in over the loudspeaker.