Good day Thomas Jefferson Hour, podcast listeners and a happy new year to all of you.

Indeed, welcome everyone and we wanted to take advantage of Jefferson's prime holiday, January 1st, thinking about a whole new year of programs,

to start on a really strong note, David, and this comes about because you recently read a work of fiction.

I did. And it kind of struck you. Well it had been a long time because as you know there's no way I can keep up with you and your

knowledge of Jefferson but it's a subject that just fascinates me and it it

satisfies my lust for non-fiction for history and there are so many books to read

that I'm embarrassed that the amount that I haven't read but you know I I hadn't been reading I'd kind of

taking a little break and I thought you know what read something fun just get back

into the groove oh I understand it and I did and I did and it it was a very character-driven piece of work and it just, it's sort of reminded me how profitable it can be to read fiction and, know empathize with the characters and it just you

know it was great so I had a lot of fun and I I mentioned it to you and you

said you should talk to Jefferson about that because Because it's such an important subject.

For me, I think all three of us are the same in this one regard that we prefer non-fiction on the whole,

and I have so much that I have to read on Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt and American Indian cultures and North Dakota and conservation issues and so on and then all the characters that I do from John Wesley Powell to J Robert Oppenheimer that I have so much that you can't believe how much time you must devote to study.

I try. You're just so lucky because you have the, you know, you complain about, and in the program you do, you talk about and in the program you do you talk about what a slow

reader you are but your brain retains it and you can dig up stuff from 20 years

ago I so envy that I just want to say this much about brains.

Because I want to do a reality check with you. Okay everybody we have he has your

attention. No, right? So go ahead. I have reached the point in my life David where when I'm in a

grocery store I can't park my cart and go to another aisle because I'm not sure where

that cart is and I sometimes spend 10 or 15 minutes looking for my cart.

Well that's a pretty good image but the one I like and I've heard from neighbors of yours

is how you go on these long walks and with a book in hand and pretty soon you'll be off the path

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