Well, now it's warm but cloudy. Perfect reading weather really. A person could sit outside on a nice lawn chair or bench and just spend the whole day flipping through page after page of romance, thriller, sci-fi, western, or maybe all three. Sometimes I think about when I was a child and used to spend all my hours sitting at the long wooden table at the tiny library my mother worked at. She'd keep the front glass door propped open and a mild breeze would wander in. A front shop window showed people walking by, cars moving past, life in motion, country life, small town 1970's. I'd sit there all day reading whatever I could find, then maybe take a break to swat at some flies (that was my duty). If I could beg a quarter off Mom, I'd walk across the street to the soda dispenser that held frosty glass bottles of RC Cola, Grape Crush, Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola. It was good stuff.
Drinking in gulps, I would look around at the shops with their western storefronts; hardware, drug, bank, post office, grocery, American Legion. I knew every inch of that street, and all the people. I knew the spinning peppermint sign in front of the barbershop next door, and the bumpy metal steps that led up to the drugstore. I knew the wavy, lead glass and its peeling white paint. I knew the sound of the train just behind that chugged by with long breathy wails. I knew the dust and the heat and the men on the corner in their suits. And it knew me. It must. It camped inside my soul and still remains.
It must have been great to be so much a part of a community, but also somewhat restricting. It's those sort of towns/villages where everyone knows everyone else's business.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I think about it with fondness, but also with a sort of sinking-suffocation. I go every once in a while, but the thing is, you know, that I was a child then. The world was a certain way and I was a certain way. Neither of us exist anymore. You can't every really go back, save memory.
ReplyDeleteI love London for its anonymity. I miss the friendliness of people back home... sometimes!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got your book! :)
Amy so glad you're enjoying your book. I love the way you've written this post and can just imagine the library and all the things going on around it! We've had sunshine here today too . I've had quite a busy day all in all - defrosted the freezer, washed two cars and planted a row of broad beans out in the garden and done the rest of the housework. Taking time out now for a nice long relaxing read - lovely xxxx
ReplyDeleteGlad you got the book. Thanks for the shout out.
ReplyDeleteYou painted such a nice picture from your childhood.
Congratulations on your book wins. Your childhood was so vividly painted that it came alive to my eyes.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I'm hosting Roland D Yeomans today, who self-published his book THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS and is sharing his journey with us as well as a four book giveaway!