“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.”
Today we have hit 50°. If this weren’t February, I’d be talking about spring. No layering today, it is a straight up flannel shirt day. I have to get dog food so I’m adding the dump to my errand list. My car is already filled except for the heavy box of used litter upstairs I’m leaving for another trip, no room.
When I was growing up, Saturday was my sacrosanct day. It was a day to wander or go to the movies or just stay at home to watch Saturday TV and then read the day away. Sometimes I went to the library. I’d take as many books as the librarian would let me, so many they’d fill my bike basket. They were my week’s entertainment. In my wanderings I always felt safe even if I was by myself. I’d ride around my town then sometimes pedal to one of the next towns. I was gone until late afternoon. My mother never worried.
We had an encyclopedia. It was the one from the supermarket, a new book a week. I’d take a book and open it at random then read where I landed. I learned about odd things and old things and spectacular things. I read about countries I dreamed of visiting. I learned about the world. I always thought of those books as my private library.
During the early days of Peace Corps, volunteers were given book lockers. They were made of cardboard and opened in the middle. On each side of the locker were two shelves filled with paperbacks. I was lucky enough to be given one by a volunteer who had completed service and was going home. Books were sacred. They were passed along or traded. With no TV or radio or newspaper, reading was one of the great joys. I spend afternoons sitting in my living room devouring my book. I carried one with me when I traveled. The long ride to go south went quickly when I read. That book locker was amazing. It had The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. There was the Daphne du Maurier novel, My Cousin Rachel, which I probably would never have read otherwise. I read every book. I also traded them for different books. My book locker was never empty.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
February 10, 2024 at 7:38 pm
Hi Kat,
This morning I got up early to go to the dentist. Yesterday, one of my crowns came out while eating lunch. Luckily, it didn’t cost me anything for them to cement it back in place. I go back to my dentist in the old neighborhood. The drive started in the drizzle and returned home in steady rain which continued most of the day. We never got higher than 60°. Last year the high was 31° today.
We also had the grocery store version of the Encyclopedia. My father hated the idea that elementary school teachers would sell, “The World Book”, during the summer vacation to make extra money. He then thought that they would require their students to look up articles in The World Book during the school year. I used the grocery store version for my assignments and the teachers didn’t seem to care. My father always thought that people such as public school teachers would use their position to earn extra money. He was a product of the Great Depression which slanted a lot of his opinions.
February 11, 2024 at 12:12 am
Hi Bob,
I was at the dentist last week for a cleaning. I go every three months. My dentist since 1971 retired and sold his practice to two dentists, both of which I like.
It is still 45°, and it is midnight. Snow, though, is predicted for the whole day Tuesday. We should only get and inch or two but north of us will get harder hit, 8 or more inches.
My teachers warned us about copying from the encyclopedia. Most of them said we’d get an F if we did. When I taught ninth grade English, I told them the same thing. I always caught a few. I did know one teacher who sold The World Book. I don’t know what kind of a salesman he was. Many of the teachers with families got second jobs and worked all summer.