Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let It Rain

 

The rain is falling heavily, creating patterns in the pools on the sidewalks. The grass has a fresh green look to it. Sitting inside the quiet cocoon of the library, I’m warm, dry and comfortable. A pile of “new” books sits in front of me.

    It’s Monday morning, the day of the Queens funeral. Up early to watch the solemn ceremony and then off to a doctor’s office for a routine check-up, the hours without sleep haven’t caught up with me yet. The rain had commenced right as I had arrived at the doctor’s office, of course! There are still damp spots on my pants.

    A short distance away is one of my favorite spots, The Cooper-Siegel Community Library. The lot is filled this morning but inside, other than a few laughs and giggles from the children’s room, all is quiet, as it always is. An empty table beside a window provided a home base for my visit.

    Though I check out the books on display as I come in, the used bookshelf is still my first stop. This library always has a splendid selection of books for sale, the majority of them for under a dollar.

    Carefully perusing the volumes, I select a few and start a pile on the librarian’s desk. A book of memoirs, The River Quickens, signed by its author starts the pile. This is soon followed by a barely read library book about Victorian England’s fight against filth titled, Dirty Old London. I’ll probably be the 3^rd or 4^th person to read it…if not the first!

    A hardback Readers Digest edition of Lost Horizon was added, replacing the paperback edition I had just picked up moments earlier. Fifty cents as compared to twenty-five, I can handle that. Once it is read, it will be re-donated back to the library to allow someone else to purchase it.

    An old book (1922) on the Elements of Plane Trigonometry joined the pile simply because it looked nice and it was in good shape. Not bad for a quarter. Lastly, my most expensive purchase, (75 cents) was a new, unread copy of The Writing of the Gods. A hardback, published last year, telling about the de-coding of the Rosetta stone.

    I purchased my books, adding a small amount to the library’s coffers and returned to my table. The rain was still falling; I’ll stay here, inside and dry until it lets up a bit. There is a cup of coffee sitting in the cup holder in the car, I can hear it calling to me! But until the rain slows down, I’ll be content to read a bit longer. I’m always happy here.