LITERACY FOR LIFE: Writing a new life for himself

This is the final story in a six-week Literacy for Life series aimed at bringing attention to the importance of literacy in the community.

As Vernon Barnes looks around at the shelves full of books in the State Library & Archives, he sees opportunity where once he only saw failure.

"I'll eventually read them all," he said.

Three months ago, the 62-year-old read his first book after studying more than a year with his tutor Jan Whitemore, director of Carson City Literacy Volunteers.

"This is the way I do things," Barnes explained. "I never quit anything I do. Until I learn it all, I'm not quitting."

Barnes never learned to read in elementary school, and his teachers, unable to diagnose him with dyslexia and dysgraphia, just continued to pass him.

"When I went to school, they didn't know what dyslexia was or what my problem was," he said. "They didn't want to deal with me."

His failing grades made him ineligible to play football once he got to high school so he dropped out in the ninth grade.

His parents, he said, were too busy working two jobs each to dedicate much time to his reading problems.

So he moved forward with his life.

He followed his father's footsteps into a career as a diesel mechanic, where he memorized instructions rather than reading them.

He went on to serve seven years in the military, working as a motor sergeant during the Vietnam War.

He also found a passion for bowling and excelled at the sport, competing in the Professional Bowlers Association for eight years.

In a way, it was bowling that inspired him to finally learn to read. After retiring at 50 from his mechanic career, Barnes started coaching high school students. His Carson High School bowling team has been undefeated for nine years.

In order to become a United States Bowling Congress certified coach, he had to attend a four-day class and take a test.

At the bronze level, his instructor was able to help him through and he passed. However, at the more difficult silver level, his inability to read and write made passing impossible.

He made up his mind that it was time.

"I wanted to learn to read and write," he said. "I wasn't going to give up."

He had heard about the literacy volunteers at the State Library & Archives, so he sought their help.

His notebook tells the story of his progress. The first day, he practiced writing his vowels. Consonants came next. Then words and sentences. Finally, in the back, is a little story about a cat.

He also is tasked with homework, learning how to write his letters in lower case, and his latest obstacle: Contractions.

"This looks stupid," he said, gesturing to a page of contractions. "Some things do not make sense to me."

And they're not the only stumbling blocks.

"'Would' to me is w-o-o-d," he said. "That's how I would spell it, but I'm learning the right way. It's crazy."

He read his first book, a biography of Babe Ruth, about three months ago. He selects his books - he's read 10 of them - from a special section of the State Library that offers about 500 titles of classic novels, but written at a lower reading level.

"Lots of people have heard of these classics," said Whitemore. "Now they're able to read them without all the hard words."

Books are color coded by degree of difficulty. Barnes can now read all the books designated in yellow, red and orange. He read "Frankenstein" and is in the middle of "Dracula."

He aspires to read at the blue and green levels, with selections like, "To Kill and Mockingbird" and "Tortilla Flat." Then on to the rest of the library.

Barnes credits his confidence in going back to the classroom to his recent dedication to his health. In the past two years, he said, he's lost nearly 150 pounds from his once 360-pound frame.

"I got my self-esteem back," he said.

The same dedication he shows in going to the gym every day, he uses in his literacy efforts.

"I'm trying to reclaim my life again," he said. "There's a lot of things I'm doing in my life to turn it around and make it what it's supposed to be."

He said he gleans inspiration from his students, and encourages them to dedicate themselves to their studies.

And he's doing the same. His next goal is to pass his silver-level certification in bowling instruction.

"I might be old, but I'm not done learning," he said.