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The Curse of Summer Vacations
The reality of summer never fit with my fantasies.
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Packhorse Librarians
Librarians have always been my heroes. They preserve and impart knowledge and literacy. They inspire curiosity. At a time when “intellectual” seems to have become a dirty word, they are keepers of the flame. Call me a geek if you want to. I think librarians rock. Recently, I was thrilled to discover something about the…
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My Book is in a Library!!!
Ever since my mother told me, at age 4, that when you go into a library you can go anywhere in the entire universe, I’ve always gotten butterflies when passing through the doors of a library. For some people, it takes love at first sight or at the very least a trip to Disney World…
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Support Libraries. Support Reading. And Do Me a Solid.
At a time in our history when ignorance seems to be winning, when public education is under threat, and when people are increasingly afraid of fake news but seemingly unwilling to take steps to find reliable sources of information, it is extremely important that we support our public libraries. Libraries are under constant threat of…
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I Was a Book-Nosed Girl
To say I had a dysfunctional childhood would be putting it mildly. Purely to save myself, I spent a great deal of time dissociating from my daily reality. In fact, I really can’t recall much from ages 11 through 13. I can say that I watched Mr. Rogers until an embarrassing age. He was the…
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Virtual Influence
I just got a flu shot. I usually wait until I see it marked on my calendar on October 1, but one of my friends in the virtual world of Second Life mentioned they were already available. No time like the present. As I got into my car and drove to the pharmacy and then…
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What Are You Leaving Behind?
Somewhere in America, God only knows where, there are about 50 boxes of books that belong to me. They were left to me in my sister’s will. I’m sure she meant well. She knew how I love to read. But the last thing I need is her hoard of books. If anything, as much as…
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Wisdom Compiled
For many years now, decades, actually, I’ve been keeping a quote book. I’ve always been an avid reader, and now and then I’d come across something very wise or funny or informative in a book and I’d swear to myself that I’d remember it, but it was usually out of my head by the next…
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Contemplating Trees
Today is Arbor Day. I bet a distressingly small number of people are even aware of that. It is a day to plant trees and appreciate those trees that already exist. Today I’m thinking about the forest and our relationship to it. Many rears ago, I used to vacation in Pisgah National Forest in North…