I'm A Ghost Hunter

    A crusty old house covered in vines, with dangling shutters, on the bayou attracts those guys who are real-life ghostbusters. They have technological devices that can detect wandering spirits from another realm and people who claim not to believe in ghosts are watching from the edge of their couch. Most people would call it a load of crap because we know ghosts are not real. Dead people cease to exist, and the living are only concerned with other living things. 

    As a writer in a generation that has abandoned reading as a hobby, I feel like one of those ghost hunters, hanging around hallow shacks with outdated tech. I'm looking for signs of life that no longer exist. A few people tune in but quickly lose interest because the dead are no longer interesting. Libraries are like those abandoned houses, full of homeless people who make strange noises and scare people away. It's really a shame because the spirits of the authors are in their books, collecting dust on the shelves and waiting to engage with the expectant reader. They are the words that built empires, incited revolution, inspired scientific discovery, and taught us everything we know as a civilization. 

    Most people I talk to nowadays think Homer originated from The Simpsons, Sophocles is an STD, Aristotle is a clothing brand. I write for people who don't read anymore, so am I doing anything at all. I'm a ghost hunter. I'd make videos, but I have a face for radio and a voice for silent films. It's disheartening because I'm going extinct, but I fear most for the indifference of youth towards the great literary minds of the past. Heaven, forbid the day when people don't know who Shakespeare, Dickens, or Mark Twain are. What can be done?

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

– George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.

    If we learned anything from history, which we know about because of firsthand books, then we should be afraid of repeating the atrocities our descendants had committed in the past. Read and learn from the experiences of those who lived before and had more time in the day without being plugged into their phone or VR headset. Pick up a book instead and smell the ink pressed against the pages. Get lost in conversation with the brilliant minds that shaped our understanding of the world and our place in it. Reading a book for just 30 minutes, creates new neuropathways in your brain that increase your cognitive function, mental health, and overall intelligence. It's good for your heart as well because it lowers your blood pressure and regulates your breathing so more oxygen flows to your brain. 

    I guess I don't really hunt ghosts; I talk to them when I open a book, and they inspire me to be a better person. That's why I write. Every piece of my writing is a little piece of my spirit wandering around and other ghost hunters can interact with it, even after I've traveled to the great beyond. Writing helps me organize the mess of thoughts, feelings, and ideas into meaning. Hopefully, other people can learn from my experience and become better as a result. Either by proving me wrong or avoiding my mistakes. There is something magical about being transported to another world by opening a book, and a person is never the same when they return. Learn to talk with ghosts and discover the hidden mysteries of the universe. Then write about it so the world can learn from you.