Rebel Without a Library Card

Bruni Plaza in Laredo, Texas. Location of the Main Branch of the Laredo Public Library.



The library can be seen in the background. It was a beautiful place for a library.

A couple of days ago good ol' Doc Ed talked about water conservation and preservation to an eager audience at the Memorial Branch Library on the west side of town. I really enjoy my library shows because I love libraries. That love developed during my middle school years.

When I was in middle school there was a brief time where I'd skip out of my afternoon classes. It wasn't as if I had someplace to go and hang out with friends when I left the campus. I was on my own. Part of my problem was boredom with school and the cliques that were so common and divisive. You know the story. It wasn't fun. Sure, a lot of my friends were going through the same thing but for some reason it finally got to the point where I needed a little vacation from that reality. Not the best choice perhaps but it seemed like a good idea at the time to my adolescent brain.

But during this period of truancy I'd spend my time at the public library. Some people go fishing ; I learned all about the Dewey Decimal System. The library became my natural habitat. The librarians wouldn't ask any questions when I'd walk in in the middle of a school day. Before I started skipping out of school I don't recall ever spending much time at the library. I was a bit of a reader before that, though, because I read comic books but after my hookey career began I was hooked on reading books.

I'd spend hours reading these great books by Ray Bradbury and Asimov. I think that was the first time I read "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell. I also discovered A. Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" and "Professor Challenger". There were so many art books too. I'd sit in and read book after book. I felt comfortable there. That library was like a sanctuary for me, I guess.

I still frequent libraries now more than ever though not as a shelter, rather as a place to inspire the imagination. It's also a place I eagerly share with my wife and kids. We even have a mini-library at home. Libraries. I love them. But, remember kids don't play hookey or you could become a rabid bibliophile like me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria