An Earned Advantage

I'm sitting at my dining room table reading an article. My wife is leaning on the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in her hands. It's Saturday. We have the day off. There is a man crawling around our attic installing a new central air conditioner.

I share my thoughts on the article with my wife and she tells me I am a smart cookie. I'm not sure I agree. I have an advantage over many people, though. I know how to read. I earned that advantage. It's not like being born tall and good-looking. I don't have those unearned advantages. My parents made sure I can read. That I enjoy reading and devote significant time to it, may be something I earned, or may be something I was born with.

Because I am a man who will look for any advantage he can get, I tell my wife that the only real proof of my intelligence is that I married her. She smiles, walks over and kisses me. I steal her coffee. What do you know about that? I am smart!

I never finished high school. I got my GED at 24 and took some classes at the community college. No degree. But I read every day. I read books, magazines, newspapers, anything I can get my hands on. This has been my advantage. I learned what I wanted to learn, what I felt would be useful; not what a college administrator wanted me to learn. I'm better for it. And... no debt!

If you're taking the time to read this, you may share that same earned advantage. In which case, good for you, and thanks for stopping by!

Adolfo Jimenez is an author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here.