“Comic Books! That’s my recollection of the very first things I ever read. There were, “the Phantom”, “Mandrake”, “Superman”, and the Cowboy comics. If there was something earlier than these, I do not recall. We traded comic books with neighbors and when they were all exausted we returned them to the store for discounts on other used ones.

If you read my history, you’d think I was Huck Finn himself. We read by candle light and then by kerosene lamps. I remember how exciting it was when we graduated to a gasoline generator and were able to read by the electric light provided by this marvelous power.

One of my early favorites was Louis L’Amour. There’s always a Super Cowboy and a beautiful woman in every story.

In my High School days I fell under the influence of one Elsie Wortley; an American woman who taught English literature with such power and passion that she is ever present whenever I write. The errors you see in my “stuff” constantly reminds me of the few times I wish I had given my complete attention. She said, “Aaron, words are like the strokes of a paint brush. They can be arranged, shuffled, and rearranged in a myriad of different ways, each time creating a different way of looking at something. They are at your beck and command. You have a gift, be wise in your use of them.

Wisdom is still a principle of pursuit and a continuing aspiration.

Aloha!

Aaron T. Watene
PapaNui The Storyteller