I love libraries like people love summer nights, ice cream, and chocolate. Yes, y’all; it’s deep. Walking into a library for me is almost as comforting as walking into your favorite auntie’s house – you know where the best snacks are…you want to grab a comfy chair and relax type of comfort. I’m that person with the overflowing bookshelf and books all over the house…the one who walks into the library and takes a deep breath in order to take in the smell of old books…the one who takes selfies at the library and is actually convinced that that’s “cool”. Now to be clear, I love libraries. Not book stores. Book stores are wonderful, and I enjoy them, but I squeal with delight at the thought of going to the library. It all started when I was 4 years old.
My mom took my brother and I to the library often. We went to the various summer events there from ventriloquist shows, story times, and magician’s performances. Then one day, everything changed. My mama stumbled upon a 2 or 3 year old girl sitting in the aisle between stacks reading aloud…not a book that she memorized, but just reading the actual words themselves! Well, that did it. My mother was not one to let her child be outdone. Right then and there she decided that I would learn how to read before I started kindergarten. To that lil’ kid who ruined my summer nights, thank you.
Now, I can’t give the kid that much smoke. This turned out to be a good thing! So, I guess that “thank you” should have a tone of at least a little bit of gratitude.
Anywho, Mommy borrowed the Hooked on Phonics set from one of her mom-friends and set about teaching me how to read. When the time finally came for me to read “for real for real” without assistance, my mama was not to be played with. We had been practicing reading this book about a rabbit with pink eyes. That’s all I remember. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of that book…it’s like I purposely pushed it out of my brain. And then I had stage fright. Y’all, I kid you not, I told this woman that I couldn’t read; that I was a child and how could she expect me to read? “Of course I could read,” she insisted and to help me remember that I could read I was given two options: read the book or face discipline. Now, I’ve always been a talker…trying to talk my way out of things. Somehow, I convinced that lady to let me eat a leftover slice of cake from a wedding we’d just attended and then I’d read the book about the inebriated-looking rabbit. Somehow, grace was extended to me, and this is one of the first prayers I remember praying in my life. I needed God to work a miracle! To this day, I still say that wedding cake saved my life, bless God! And the rest as they say is history.
Now, what does this have to do with my love of libraries? Well, after I learned how to read, I could actually go to the library and checkout books myself. Not only did this remarkable place offer great programming, but I learned that I could check out magazines, search the Internet, sort through old periodicals, read the daily newspaper, listen to audiobooks and CD’s, and later learned that I could even checkout movies! Beyond that, I thought that librarians were some of the coolest and kindest people in the world. They seemed to be able to tell you how to find ANYTHING!
I have eavesdropped on many a conversation in the library (and one of those conversations helped me pass my high school physics class with flying colors) and lost track of time as I read children’s books to a lady’s daughter as she looked for jobs and places to live in the newspaper at the library (ooo chile that was a long time ago!). With so many wonderful experiences and opportunities to satiate my curious mind, it’s no wonder I love the library. Beyond this, no matter where I travel, I know that if I can find the library, I can find a place that feels like home.