Jimmy Espy: My pal, the library

I took my daughter to the local library for the first time last week. She was one happy little girl.

Rowan loves to read and has a big pile of books at home. All the usual suspects are there: “Goodnight Moon,” Dr. Seuss, “The DaVinci Code.” Her dad loves to read, too, and I have an even bigger pile of books.

But the really big pile of books at the Dalton-Whitfield Public Library dazzled her.

We spent about an hour there and though she was disappointed to find out she wasn’t quite old enough to get her own library card, she was happy when I offered to check out several books for her.

Rowan chose “Tough Boris,” a beautifully illustrated book about a rascally pirate and his parrot, and “Some Things are Scary,” which features illustrations by the great Jules Feiffer.

My daughter likes to be scared — at least a little — and the library is a great place to find a chilling tale or two.

Back in the day — a good four decades or so — I spent more than a few afternoons at my hometown library dipping my toes in some pretty spooky waters.

My favorite writer was Ray Bradbury. “The Martian Chronicles” fascinated me. “Fahrenheit 451” shocked me. But best of all was “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” which fascinated, shocked AND scared me. It still does. It’s one of the few books I re-read.

A big part of the joy I experienced as a young reader was because of the public library. I had books at home but there was something alluring about wandering the library aisles, tracing my thumb across the spines of books as I looked for titles or authors who fired my imagination.

History. Science fiction. Sports. Science. Mysteries.

The great Bradbury, 89 and still going strong, writes beautifully about books and libraries, though in “Something Wicked” he also shows what a scary place a library can be.

I remember two of the librarians from my youth. Mrs. Pless and Mrs. Floyd. As a very small kid I was a little intimidated by them — they were known to “Shuush” me on occasion. But as I grew older, I figured out how helpful and generous they were.

They knew I was a “serious reader” and treated me with a level of respect beyond my years.

While rainy Saturdays were a disappointment to most kids my age, I looked at them as an opportunity to head to the library. I’d pester my mom into driving me there and dumping me out.

“Come back at the end of the day,” was what I usually told her. That, or “I’ll walk home later when it quits raining.”

Then I’d plunge into the treasure chest.

Some days I would hook up with Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett or Kit Carson and ride West.

Or, I would head for the science fiction section and blast off into Outer Space.

(The first science fiction book I read was written by the late Andre Norton. Decades later I met her at her home in Murfreesboro and told her that. She smiled warmly, and I like to think that comment meant something to her. She died a few months later.)

The library was my home away from home, and I hope that one day my daughter shares that appreciation — assuming libraries still exist in our increasingly high-tech, computer-dominated future.

Which brings me back to the here and now ... the Friends of the Dalton-Whitfield Public Library group is having a public book sale next Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The bargains will be unbeatable, with many items going for less than a dollar.

Of course there will be stacks of books for sale, but also music and movies.

Proceeds go to the library.

It’s a worthy cause.

The support you show the library today may well send some goofy kid (like yours truly) hurtling up to Mars.

Or even farther.

Jimmy Espy is executive editor of North Georgia Newspaper Group. Also, you can visit him at Espysoutpost.blog spot.com

Jimmy Espy

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