I have been reading alot lately and reading directly influences my writing. I want to glean insights from my reading. Currently I'm involved in a book called "The Help". It is written from the perspective of the colored help that was popular in Mississippi during the 60's. It seems to me that much has changed since then, but again that's from the perspective of a white woman. It is hard for me these days to read something or see something, and remain unaffected. I seem to empathize with the slightest of provocations, and while this makes me more teary than I'd like to be, I find myself grateful to feel emotional about the things that are at the core of mine or other's very being.