In this blog I had originally intended to share some real ghost stories that others had shared with me, but I didn't get any responses. So, I decided to write on another topic instead.
I've seen the picture below a few times on various social media. Every time that I see it I'm saddened by what it says. 

Have we as a people lost something by losing the joy of reading. I don't know how many times I hear this from people, "I'm not a reader."
I can honestly say that I am a reader and it's not because I'm a writer. I enjoyed reading long before I ever thought about being a writer. For as long as I can remember I've loved to read. I was and still am fascinated by the worlds found within the pages of a book. As a child I would get lost in the writings of C.S. Lewis. Middle-earth was a real place in my imagination long before it ever graced the screen. As I grew older I found heroes like Jack Ryan and John Clark and I fell in love alongside the characters of Nicholas Sparks.
These days I ride atop dragons with Eragon, sit strapped in on the command deck alongside Honor Harrington and live the life of the immortal PICA named Merlyn Athrawes on the planet Safehold.
I ask you this, are you a reader? Have you felt the joy of losing yourself within the pages of a story? If you have then share it with others. Don't let these statistics stand.

About this time last year I told you a true ghost story. My brother had told me it years ago. If you missed it the first time, here it is. 

Years ago my brother served aboard the USS James K. Polk.  For those of you that don’t know the James K. Polk was a ballistic missile submarine of the United States Navy.  She was converted from a ballistic missile submarine to a slow attack submarine.  This conversion included the removal of her missiles and the adding of dry deck shelter to her deck.  To make a long story short all the changes made her into a platform to be used by US Navy SEALs.  If any of you've seen the movie Act of Valor the submarine in that movie is the USS Kamehameha. She also under went the same conversion. (I was wrong about this part. The submarine used in the movie was one of the Ohio class boats that had a similar conversion done to them.) Below are some pictures of the James K. Polk before and after the conversion. The James K. Polk was decommissioned in 1999 and the boat was scrapped, all except for the sail.  The sail is presently on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico.