A good book deserves more than one reading

People in my age bracket were brought up readers. We didn't have the internet to amuse us. Hell, lot of the time we didn't have TVs either. It was either the radio, a record player, play outside or go to the library and get a book. I did the latter a lot. I read the Hardy Boys and Chip Hilton. I read other stuff,too. But I liked the adventures of those guys so much I often re-read the books. That tendency to re-read old classics had stayed with me today. So it is that I have been re-reading "Travels with Charley", John Steinbeck's opus about a 1960 three-month trip around the country with his dog. It's a wonderful tale -- the type that makes you want to buy a trailer and take off on a similar jaunt. A while back, a reporter in Pittsburgh wrote an article indicating he thought Steinbeck's book is a fraud. The guy insists a lot of things Steinbeck wrote about either didn't happen or were greatly exaggerated. He may be right. But it doesn't matter. It is still great journalism ... and great journalism should always be honored.