Ah, Books.

Weirdly — I remember that day in every detail,

The thin brown book packaging (I don’t know what it was called – you know the one that we used to use to wrap our text-books in Elementary School :D). The huge smile on my face when I receive it, the smile of a tired father just get back from work. My muddied hands – just get back from the field playing with other kids. “the happy birthday” greetings, and my mom was smiling in the corner.

How I immediately open that packaging with huge curiosity.

That packaging wrap a lot of Donald-duck, Bobo and mix of
magazines, one I remember the most amongst others is a manually bundled pack of Donald-duck comic magazine – those are second hands (I concur probably bought from pasar Cikapundung – one famous for second hand books) – we were not really what you call well off back then – but things were simpler.

I didn’t remember whether I say thank you to my father back then, I probably just run to my room with those mags and voraciously read everything to the last letter. You know — kids.

That gift, It opened a whole different world and perspective for me, It introduce me to reading — and I learn a lot.

Amongst others — How donald always go to Timbuktu to escape from things, How bad-ass Paman Gober (Scrooge Mcduck) get his initial wealth from gold mining. Kwak, Kwik, Kwek, Lang-Ling-Lung, Goofy, Miki, Mini, Clarabela, Nirmala, Oki, Bona, Rongrong, paman Janggut and so many others.

For me that was the greatest gifts ever. The greaaaatest! 😂

Many years later when the well off-ness kind of improved, I remember I receive a NES gaming console, a 286 PC and many other things after that – but I cannot remember details of those days as clear as the day I receive that brown package full of old magazines.

So yeah parents – introduce your children to the joy of reading 🙂

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/growing-surrounded-books-may-bolster-skills-later-life-180970523/?no-ist

book childhood interest memories reading