Johnny Gilchrist held a steady job for 28 years, raised a family on Long Island, N.Y., and sent one child to college–even though he was barely able to read. For decades, while Gilchrist was working full-time at a warehouse, there was no chance to improve. But when he retired he found himself with time on his hands, so he vowed to master the skill that had eluded him since he was a child. "It's hard, when you're 60 years old, to tell people you can't read as good as a second-grade kid," Gilchrist says. One day he took his two grandchildren to the Roosevelt Public Library to play computer games. He couldn't read notices on the bulletin board, but a friendly staff member there answered his questions. That's how he learned about services offered by Literacy Nassau, a ProLiteracy America affiliate. Now, Gilchrist can read stories in News for You, the weekly newspaper published by New Readers Press. When he dines at a restaurant he can read the menu. He can pay bills online, and he can read his daughter's e-mails. She loves that part, because she often sends him his babysitting schedule that way. Someday Gilchrist would like to earn his GED. Meanwhile, he wants to learn to write his own e-mail messages so he can answer his daughter's e-mails without picking up the phone. If another person is thinking about going back to school to learn to read and write as an adult, here is what Gilchrist would advise: "Join a program as fast as possible. Go out and seek help. It's there." You can hear more about Johnny by going to: www.proliteracy.org/students/profiles_j-gilchrist.asp