Visiting Some Bookstores!!

 

 

         I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday and arrived a bit early. They had requested that I show up only 5 minutes before my appointment. So, with some extra time on my hands, I stopped at the local Barnes and Noble Bookstore to do a quick run through.

          The door was open and the books inside were calling to me. Before I went in, I read the posted notes hanging beside it. They requested that all customers keep a six foot distance from one another and that all customers wear a mask while in the store. I could handle that!

          Inside it pretty much looked the same as the last time I had been there. There were a few carts scattered around with signs asking the patrons to put the books they weren’t going to buy on them. They would disinfect them before returning them to the shelves. I felt a bit self conscious. Was I able to turn a book over to read the back or to pick it up to check on the price and if I did, was I suppose to put it on the cart? I ended up basically walking around with my hands in my pockets. The two or three books I touched I put right back down since I only flipped them over. I hope I didn’t overstep any of the new book protocol. I walked around and looked at the titles, soaking it all in. Then I left to go to the doctor’s appointment.

          After my doctor visit, I stopped at Half Price Books and took a quick look around that store. They also asked that their customers wear a mask and avoid getting too close to each other. Sterilized baskets were standing by the door for our use. A woman came over and asked me to try to limit only one person in any area at the same time. I asked if they had the newest Stephen King book, “If It Bleeds” and she guided me over to a shelf and handed me one of the books. “We just put these out.” She said. I took it and then walked around a bit, stopping to check out the collectable shelves.

It was such a nice feeling reading the various bindings stacked side by side. They had a lot of leather bound books; you know the type, gold lettering, raised bands on the spine, gold edges on the pages and usually a green or red satin ribbon.  I believe they were all Easton Press collections. Their prices were over my spending level. I like having books in good shape that I can read without any fear of marring the fine craftsmanship or creasing a page. (Heaven forbid!) I like to pull a favorite book off the shelf and re-read it every so often. The books on these shelves are not for that, they are for display. Seeing nothing that excited me, I went up to the cashier, (standing behind a sheet of Plexiglas) and bought my book.

          It was such a good feeling to bring a new book home. I have been reading books that were stacked on my “to read” pile and books downloaded for free on my Kindle but now I had a book I wanted to read, one I have been looking forward to reading! When I got home, I took the cover off of it, (to protect it from damage) and opened up to the first page, (ohh, nice crisp pages, sharp edges and the smell of a NEW book!)…and got lost in another reality. Oh what a great feeling!  Excuse me now, I can’t be writing this, I have a book I that needs read!

          On Saturday, two days later, Ann Marie and I returned for a bit longer visit. We both came out with some new books (to us) to add to our collections. I bought a book by Larry McMurty called “Books, A Memoir” (2009) and a book called “Historical Voyage, A Pictorial Review of the Beaver Valley” put out by the Beaver County Times.(2004) There are a couple pictures of Ann Maries family in it.

          I always enjoy books about local history and of course, books about books…it goes without saying! Now, the question is, do I finish the Stephen King book first and then go on to Larry McMurty, or should I mix em up a bit? Yup, I think I’ll do a little of each of them! Spread the wealth. 

 

          You can’t imagine how much I have been looking forward to going back to bookstores. After we left, we drove up to a nursery to get some shrubs for AMB’s house. As we were driving through the countryside and the fresh air it felt as if everything in the world was right. Well…..it felt like it even though we knew better. Getting back into the bookstores is one good thing and I’ll take ANY good thing I can get!

Alongside the Stream

 

                It was a Monday, the shopping had been done and the groceries all put away. The dishes had been washed and were stacked in the drainer. My lunch had been made, the dog fed and walked and now I was on my way to work.

                I stopped at a shaded spot beside a stream and took my notebook and pen and went down to soak in some of the quiet.

                A tree stood alongside the stream with a log wedged against it. The log had been there for a couple years now. I’ve used it as a seat in the past. The tree was wrapped with debris from the last bought of high water. A board was held tight against it with a variety of sticks, weeds, paper and plastic and what looked like straw.

                The straw was wound around the tree. It looked like a bird’s nest, a bumper protecting the trunk. Tight and solid, the high waters have a way of weaving things together.

                A black winged dragonfly landed on a branch, its neon body attracting my attention. Its wings are small compared to the length of its body. They are translucent, like lace, I can see right through them when they are spread.

                I heard a splash in the stream and slowly turned my head. A young deer was standing in the water not 15 feet away. He started, startled by the movement. We looked at each other, neither one moving. Thirty seconds, seeming like minutes, past by and then he slowly backed away, turned and ran up the hill.

                I continued writing and soon heard some snorts. Turning slowly I saw his mother watching me. Standing a bit further away she watched for awhile and then with a final snort, turned and ran after her fawn.

                Beside the stream I was soothed by the sounds of the water flowing over its rocky bed. Tall stems of purple phlox were growing out of the log I was standing beside. The dragon flies showed no fear, chasing each other like children in a playground.

                I could fall asleep here if I had the time, instead I just soaked up the quiet, the solitude and all the peacefulness that nature offered me. Relaxed, I watched as the pollen slowly fell from the trees, dropping through beams of sunlight before gently dropping into the stream below, and all was well!

Mental Health Day

 

 

 

 

                “I have a strong desire to go away, to somewhere where I’ll be alone. It doesn’t have to be for a long time, just a few hours perhaps. Away from any distractions, no pressing requirements, maybe to a lake or a hilltop where I can watch the world revolve.

                I know that if I do this, I won’t be satisfied. I’ll be bored and the time will drag. If I bring paper and pens, nothing will get written. Mostly, I’ll just feel sorry for myself. It has happened before.

                Photo trips, backpacking or camping, I’ll wonder why I’m there. What was my need to come? The answer I was looking for won’t be there.

                I know I should ignore this desire, remove it from my thoughts!

                Instead it gains importance, it requires fulfillment. I should know better but instead I start mentally scanning my maps, thinking about where, where would the perfect place be…”

                It got the best of me, I couldn’t resist. The next day, I took a mental relaxation day from work and after lunch (and a few chores around the house) I got in the car and headed north. My idea was to go and see some countryside, drive through some farmland, find a place to stop and relax and enjoy the scenery.

                On the drive I got tangled up in the commercialism of the North Hills. Store after store, fast food joints and car dealer after car dealer. Then there are the doctors and their offices. They all became a blur, I had to get away. This isn't what I wanted!

                By the time I got to Wexford, I was ready to pull what little hair I have, out! I didn’t want to do it but I jumped on RT79 and increased my speed, leaving all this clutter behind.  In another 15 minutes I was in Portersville and driving past farms and fields.

                A lot of this area was strip mined and is now nicely reforested. The trees are still young but the land is looking much better than it did in the 70’s. I can remember driving up to Moraine State Park and looking at the manmade hills along RT79, so obvious in those days. You can still see the hand of man on the hills and valleys, but it looks rather nice now days.

                My first stop was at a lookout called Cleland Rock, a rarely visited part of McConnells Mill State Park. It overlooks the valley that Slippery Rock Creek flows. Two large Turkey Vultures met me when I pulled up, they were gracious enough to fly away and leave me alone with the view. Perhaps in the fall or the winter I might have been able to see the stream but today the trees hid it nicely.  I sat for a while and wrote a little bit before leaving to go further north. I had gotten an idea.

                A year or so ago on a nice snowy day, Ann Marie and I had attempted to visit an old stone blast furnace. Called the Wilroy Furnace, it is situated just below a campground. We had stopped at the office to inquire if we could go down and photograph the furnace. The lady we talked to was elderly and seemed very protective of the site. She told us that it would be too dangerous to go to it when there was snow and ice on the ground. “Perhaps some other time.”

 The campground now looked deserted.  The grass was well over a foot high. The office windows were dirty and the patio had leaves and dirt blown into its corners. I walked around the office, looking up at the upstairs windows but I saw nothing. There was no car to be seen. The pool was filled with greenish water and weeds climbed up the fence. The place looked abandoned.

                I followed a slight path through the overgrown grass that led down the hill. Large branches from the trees lay in the grass.  At the bottom of the slope was a wide flat area. Some rusted picnic tables were scattered around, the wood on them was broken and laying half off their supports. The wood was covered with leaves and had mold and moss growing on it.

 

                The hillside dropped off dramatically behind the tables and there below them was the furnace.  Looking like a pyramid or an ancient temple it sat at the bottom of the hill. Long grass and a few saplings were growing out of the cracks. It has 3 setbacks, each about 10-12 inches wide.  There were no fallen stones, the three arches were in pristine shape. A pond of stagnant water was situated in front of the furnace, possibly a result of flooding from the stream. The stream could be seen 30-40 yards away.

                At one time, when it was in operation a bridge would have been built from where the picnic tables were over to the top of the furnace. This bridge, called a charging bridge, was used to fuel the furnace and to add the ingredients used to make the iron. The molten iron was removed from the furnace through one of the arches at the bottom. It would flow out through paths cut in the dirt and allowed to cool into ingots, called pigs. These would then be shipped to other places which would re-form them into usable products.

                Someone had been doing some pruning in the past couple months. Several trees had been cut down and there were a few piles of brush around the front of the furnace. It was almost as if the furnace had been put on display. I took some shots from various spots around the furnace and then left.

 

                I drove over to the opposite side of the stream. There are a lot of paths that fishermen use on this side.  I came to a spot where the furnace could be seen easily. The last time I had been here, I could just barely see it through the trees and weeds.

                I can’t help but wonder who owns it now. It is on the National Register of Historical Places. I wonder if it is on the campground property. I saw a couple stakes with pink ribbons on them, maybe it’s being sold or maybe it is being taken over by the state. I can only hope that it will continue to be protected. There is no graffiti on it except for a couple chiseled names, from the 1800’s!

                According to Myron Sharp and William Thomas who wrote a book titled “A Guide to the Old Stone Blast Furnaces in Western Pennsylvania” , the furnace was built around 1854 and went out of blast before 1877.  So, approximately 20 years of service, not bad.  Most furnaces went out of blast because of a lack of iron ore or trees. The trees were used to fuel the furnaces and once they were gone, that spelled the end of the furnace. The town surrounding it usually disappeared soon after, leaving only the stone furnaces and maybe some walls or channels to give any evidence that a community once thrived there.

                Happy with the experience of visiting the furnace site, I pointed my car south and started back towards home. I was thinking about the furnace as I drove along RT19, past farms and meadows. Many of these fields were the product of the strip mining that used to be here. They have changed a lot since the 70’s when I first started coming up here.  A lot has changed as the years go by. I see it every time I go on a trip. I’ll pass an old farm and maybe stop and take a picture of the barn, the ivy growing out of the top of the silo, and think what a nice photogenic scene it is. The next time I go by, a neighborhood of cookie cutter homes has risen in its place.

                I saw it again on this very trip. Coming into Evans City, (I left RT19 in Zelienople to avoid the commercialism ahead) I saw a farm I had always wanted to visit. A bulldozer sat on top of what was left of the barn and the house had all the windows boarded up. Soon it will be a cleared spot of land, probably with a for sale sign posted beside the road.  Another cookie cutter community with some sort of cute name will have taken its place.

                On my drive I passed ten or twenty new neighborhoods, the signs usually from the same developing company. I drove past a field that had been remolded by bulldozers, fresh asphalt roads were being laid across it. The land is just waiting for the throng of carpenters to descend on it to bring another instant neighborhood to life. I know people need a place to live but I hate to see the farms of Pennsylvania disappear because of it. According to an article in Time Magazine, the nation has lost 12,000 farms in the year between 2017 and 2018. Sadly there is more profit in the land than the products the farm grows. Like the iron furnaces, the farms are slowly disappearing also.

                Returning home, I felt refreshed. The Mental Health Day had helped. I got lots of fresh air, looked out over some nice wooded hills, walked through a cool stream and took some nice pictures of old, forgotten industry. Yeah, I did a little bit of bitchin’ and moanin’ on the way but really, it helped. I’m refreshed and ready for whatever the world wants to throw at me next!

Minor Telescope Adjustments and Some Lunar Observing

 

 

           Setting up my telescope a few evenings ago, I attempted to align the finder scope with no luck. Two of the six adjustment screws had been broken off. This scope is an eight inch Meade reflector, about 35 years old.  I bought it a few years after I joined the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh.  It has treated me quite well over the years. It has been taken to various places for occultations, eclipses and star parties.  Over the years the plastic had become brittle and once that happens, all it takes is a small bump and the bolt shears off.  Sometime during transportation between home and observing sites they had broken.

                I checked my various containers of bolts and couldn’t find anything that could be used in their place. They were made of plastic to protect the optical tube of the finder scope. It would be a shame to mar the white finish.  A visit to a local hardware store took care of the problem. I needed ¼-20 screws, 1 inch long. A fairly standard item except when you are looking for plastic hardware. Luckily, the store had just 6 of them in stock. I also bought 6 plastic nuts to lock the screws in place once it had been aligned.

                The screws and the nuts sat in their plastic bags for about a week before I had the time to tackle the project. It wasn’t difficult, believe me!

                A pair of pliers removed the two broken screws and some twisting with my fingers removed the other four. They had spread a bit near the ends because of being pressed against the tube for 3 or 4 decades but with a little elbow grease, they came right out. I gave the mount a once over with a rag, removing most of the dust. I gathered the various parts and took them outside along with the mount.

                Setting the tube level with the ground, I put the finder scope in place and roughly aligned it to the edges of the holder. Then I tipped the scope up a bit and found a telephone pole about an 1/8 mile away. Using a wide eyepiece and then narrowing it down with smaller eyepieces, I centered the scope on one of the arms of the telephone pole. A ceramic insulator provided the perfect target.

I lined up the finder by adjusting the six screws, going back and forth to make sure I was still centered on the insulator. Once I had it lined up I moved the scope and aimed through the finder at a near-by chimney. Then I checked the scope and it was pointed right where I had aimed it. Success!

                The scope then sat in the front yard waiting for dusk. I had already taken a quick look at the moon and was looking forward to seeing it in a dark sky. It is half lit and there will be lots of mountain peaks hanging above the darkness of the valleys on the terminator.

                I went out as the sky was darkening and did some lunar observing. The moon was high in the sky, half illuminated. There were a few clouds drifting by but all in all, the seeing was great.  The clouds disappeared as the night cooled down. The view of the moon was rock steady, I could see lots of details. I kept returning to the southern end of the terminator. There are lots of craters there, many more than the northern end.

                The way the sun was sitting the craters appeared to be hanging in space. It looked as if part of the moon had cracked off and had left a jagged edge. It also reminded me of lace, all those fine little craters, edged with black shadows. In places beams of sunlight illuminated the floors of the craters. It is amazing how many craters there are in this section of the moon!

                I noticed a straight line crossing one of the mares and realized that it was a feature I hadn’t seen in a long, long time. It is called the Straight Wall, an appropriate name if I say so myself. It actually isn’t a wall or a cliff, it is a slight rise in the surface and when the sun is in the right position, it looks like a shadow of a cliff. It is 68 miles long, about the same distance as between  Glenshaw and Johnstown! The crater beside it is named Brit, it is 11 miles across. (Picture was taken with a 1.25 Barlow attached to my camera. 8” f6 reflector, 1600 ISO @ 1/125 sc.)

  I lucked out and saw two passes of the International Space Station. For the first one I was inside and glanced at my clock and saw it was time for it to pass overhead. I ran (?) outside and looked up and there it was! Lucky!!  Later I happened to look at my watch and then checked the paper I had written the times of its passes on…and saw it was time once again. I went up to the street and there it was, just skimming the trees to the west. I watched as it drifted into the earth’s shadow.  It was nice and bright both times, hard to miss. Once again…lucky!

                There were a couple parties down the street from me and cars and trucks kept shining their lights on me so I came in for awhile. My community has a real light pollution problem! (Thank heavens that is its’ worst problem!)

                So, I’ll be heading out again around 3:30. Hopefully the neighbors light will be off by then. The moon should be out of the sky and Jupiter and Saturn will have taken its place. Time for a quick snooze!

                My luck ran out, I came outside and saw Jupiter and Saturn just before a large white mass of clouds covered them over. The views of the moon will have hold me until the next time. I brought the scope inside and jumped back into the nice warm bed and returned to my dreams!

Picture was hand held through the telescope 1/60 sc.

 

Driving To Mosgrove

 

 

The day started for me with fog. Looking out my window, the world was grey.  I stumbled into the bathroom and started working on waking up. Later, as the coffee pot surrendered its' first cup to me, I saw that the clouds were lifting. By the time I made it out to the car, I could make out bits of blue in the sky. The day was definitely shaping up.

The night before I had assembled my essential tools and had set them beside the door, ready for the morning get away. I had my camera gear, the battery was charged. I had my test kit and glucose tablets. My GPS and a list of geocaches were sitting on the pile along with my pocket knife, a bandana, a hiking staff and a backpack to carry everything. Even more important were the other essentials. I had a mask, some hand sanitizer and a pair of latex gloves, just in case.

It used to be that these weren’t needed, in fact it has only been in the last couple months of the pandemic that anyone would even think of wearing a mask. It was extremely rare to see anyone wearing one other than in a hospital or someone with health problems. Now, sadly, the tables have turned, it is the unmasked person who is the rarity. When going into a store the unmasked people are looked at as threats or as uncaring. All stores now have signs on their entrances stating that you HAVE to have a mask to enter the store.  In the good old days, the only reason to bring gloves along on a geocaching trip was to keep your fingers clean when poking around in guard rails or old stumps. They usually were made of leather, not latex. They weren’t used as a preventative method for sure!

I was on my way to meet Frank and we were going to take a ride in search of photos and geocaches.  We’ve knick-named these trips our “photo-expeditions”. We both find geocaching a fun way to spend a few hours and most of the time, the game ends up taking us to spots where pictures can be taken.  It shows us the wonders of our local geography, taking us on back roads and to places we never may have found otherwise. We were starting out a bit later than normal, we often see the sunrise as we’re driving across the state. Today the sun was high in the morning sky when I met up with Frank.

Driving north on Rt28, following the Alleghany River off to my right, I watched as the sun illuminated sections of the communities below the highway. Bits of fog were still clinging in the valleys and to the trees on the tops of the hills on either side of the river. It certainly was starting to look good!

Holy Guardian Angel Church

Our first stop was a church located off the side of Rt28. I have passed this old brick structure numerous times in the past and have always wondered about its’ history and had wanted to visit it.  It is located near Slate Lick, PA. Built in the 1870’s it was the first Roman Catholic Church in the area. It is supposedly built with bricks that were fired on site. The bell tower was once much taller but during a storm it was knocked down. The church is no longer used except on Christmas Eve. We found the cache hidden there and roamed around a bit, taking pictures and looking at the cemetery.

Our next cache provided a small problem to us. We were within a half mile, only to find orange signs and piles of asphalt blocking our way. It was no big deal, it only gave us a site to return to on another day. If these minor obstacles bothered us we would be continuously in bad spirits. There is more to this case, we had passed the road we wanted to take and took a long roundabout way of returning to it, only to find the blockade. What can you do but laugh?

We returned to the river and followed it north. The two lane road passed cottages, campsites and lots of young trees, cliffs and wildflowers. A bike trail paralleled the river and the road. Before long we could see the railroad bridge spanning the river, our destination.

The hotel, viewed from the RR bridge

What had brought us here was a picture we had seen on Facebook. Someone had asked if an old hotel in Mosgrove, The Bridgeview Hotel, was still standing. It got us thinking. It gave us something to do during our quarantine. We did some research and consulted some maps and figured out where it had been located. We were hoping to find an old abandoned building. The railroad on the bridge had been used to bring guests.  A station was located at the end of the bridge, above the hotel. The picture had been taken from the bridge. The railroad tracks seen in the bottom left corner of the picture is where the bike trail is now located.

The railroad bridge was built in 1899, 121 years ago! It is still being used by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad. Much as I would have loved to see a train crossing it, it never happened while we were there. We visited a couple spots with railroad tracks but since it was a holiday weekend, there was no train traffic to be seen.

Frank and the “old hotel”

The hotel looked quite different than the picture. Due to a fire in 1914, the third floor and the Victorian look is now gone. If we hadn’t seen the old picture we would have never thought it as a hotel. It is now a private residence.

Our travels then took us along a dirt road with steep, high drop-offs. The road opened up into a wide valley with Pine Creek decoratively cutting through it. Private property signs were everywhere but that didn’t stop us from taking some shots from the road and the bridge. The stream here was wide and from the bridge crossing we had a nice view of McAuley Falls, a small drop in the stream caused by large rocks. I imagine it would be a great spot to fish, if you were allowed! Both this place and the location of the hotel led to disappointments since we couldn’t find the caches that had been hidden there. It’s all part of the game though, some caches are hidden better than others!

Moving on, we crossed the countryside on a road that followed the hilltops. We had lots of views of distant rolling hills, farms and woods. I have said it before and I’ll say it again…Pennsylvania sure is a beautiful state! I love driving on roads such as these, the road twisting back and forth, disappearing as you come to a steep drop only to reappear a minute later, as you crest the dip. They remind me of roller coaster tracks, inviting you to go faster than is really safe.

We stopped at a couple more spots before we ended up in Pine Furnace, PA. There are no buildings here other than an old cement phone booth beside the railroad tracks. At one time there were plenty of buildings, when the furnace was active and producing iron. Hidden in the woods beside the road is a high stone wall that once supported a charging bridge. Workers would cross this bridge and dump the ingredients used to make iron into the top of the furnace. The furnace was built in 1845 by Mr. Brown and Mr. Mosgrove from Kittanning. Could this be the person that the community of Mosgrove, PA was named after? The furnace was re-built in 1865 when the stack was enlarged to 40 foot. It might have been then that this wall was built. In its best days the furnace produced 50 to 60 tons of iron a week. The furnace went out of blast in 1879 when the local iron ore ran out. The remains of the furnace itself consists of a pile of rubble, the wall is the only visible part of the complex that remains.

Charging wall on the hill, furnace remains behind the center tree

I find it fascinating that these stone structures are still here after over 150 years!  I have searched out lots of them and of the ones still standing, the stonework is usually still true and plumb. A lot of these old furnaces have been destroyed by roadwork, construction and scavengers using the stones for walls and barn and building foundations. Nature has also destroyed a lot of them, roots and water can be very destructive over time! I always am amazed when I find a new one!

Our last cache of the day was here, a short drive down the railroad line from the furnace. (On a road!) The cache brought us to a nice little stream flowing over some rocks. Evergreen trees stood around this small waterfall, a broad beam of sunlight broke though the foliage to illuminate it and the wildflowers.  This was a wonderful place to end our journey and to start the return trip.

During our drive, we encountered many different sights and locations. Flowers were out all over the place and often the smells of them was enchanting. I love smelling Honeysuckle, its’ sweet smell brightens everything! The weather co-operated, giving us both sunshine and dark stormy looking clouds. The only rain we encountered was a few drips on the windshield as we drove home. Hopefully we both got some nice photographs, even if we didn't, it was still a great day. The time spent with a good friend always makes for a good day! All in all, I’d have to say the day was another complete success! (Even if we didn’t find all our caches!)





Booksellers

     I was reading a book titled A Passion For Books, a collection of essays and stories about, you guessed it, Books! In a piece written by William Targ called The Collector was this paragraph. I thought it bears repeating.  It came from his 1975 memoir called Indecent Pleasures.



     William Targ was a book editor known for publishing Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. He opened his own bookstore when he was 22. After he retired from the publisher that printed the book, he opened his own publishing/printing company. It was a one man operation that was committed to fine quality printing.  He lived into his 90's.

     This paragraph describes some people I know and consider friends. I think you'll agree with his thoughts...

     "A book collector has friends everywhere. The bookseller from whom you buy books is, more frequently than not, your friend. There is a bond between you that transcends the commercial transaction. For you've established something (call it rapport) between you that is personal, almost spiritual if you will, He understands your interests and your needs and the compulsion which brings you to him. (And let it be freely admitted, his magnet is as compelling to the bibliophile as the bar is to the boozer.) The bookseller becomes inextricably identified with you, your library, your intellectual life."

     With that, I have to say, I really miss visiting my favorite bookstore and talking with my favorite bookseller! I will be so glad when the world opens up again and the stores open their doors to allow us in!

My Library

 

Spending time at home during this period of self quarantine, masks and social distancing, I have been doing a lot of reading. In fact rather than doing the jobs that need done around the house, I tend to find myself getting lost in other worlds, the various worlds inside my books.

                I have been doing a lot of reading on my Kindle. This is mostly because of the ease of getting new books. Unfortunately, the Kindle does not fulfill all of my personal reading requirements. I have a need, a desire, a craving for books that are printed on paper. Hard backs with nice covers or paperbacks with the pages bent from previous readings. I was just thinking yesterday as I read my Kindle, that I never lost my place in a printed book by accidentally swiping my finger across the page! In these trying times, Kindles can easily get on my nerves!

                Call me old fashioned, or afraid of technology, for that matter, call me anything you want. I know what I am. I am a bibliophile! I love books. I love the feel, the smell and the heft of a book.  To be able to page through it and stop at spots that interest me is important, especially when looking to buy a book! I like that I can see how far I’ve progressed by the location of my book mark. I don’t need to rely on a sliding bar or a percentage listed at the bottom of the page.

                Because of this love, I have a nice collection of books that I enjoyed reading. Being a firm believer of libraries, I make use of their marvelous collections and when I find a really good book, I’ll look to buy myself a copy. I pick up a lot of books at estate and garage sales. Bookstores also add a lot of books to my collection.

                The vast majority of my collection are pre-owned editions. They far outnumber my newly purchased books. Needless to say, there are a lot of books in my home. Some of them have been with me for over 6 decades. There are a lot of them that are older than I am, having been printed a half century or more before I arrived on this planet.

                A friend and I were discussing the order we keep our books in. He was thinking about making a list of all his books.  I don’t have a list but I can usually find a book I need within a minute or two. They are ordered in a semi-organized way.

                Let me take you on a brief tour of what I call my Personal Library. Like most libraries there is an assortment of both fiction and non-fiction. I believe the non-fiction slightly outnumbers the fiction in the collection. There is also more than one room in my library, the books are distributed around the house.

                We’ll take a look at what I like to call the reading room. There is a large table sitting in front of two windows giving me a view of the woods behind the house. They also provide light for reading during the daylight hours. The table is large enough to hold my laptop or typewriter and still have lots of space for reference materials.  The table also comes in handy when I am matting or framing pictures. Every library needs a big table.

                Sitting at the table, to the left are shelves filled with books on Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. The subjects are varied, from early iron furnaces, canals, railroads, atlas’s, travelogues to architecture and sculptures.  Beside this set of shelves is one filled with reference books. Dictionaries, (I love dictionaries!) Thesaurus’s, books on quotations, birds, word origins and other subjects that might help me properly state something or to help me understand things.

                Unlike most of the books in the collection, I can honestly say that none of the books on this shelf has been read through, cover to cover. Almost all of them have been used, many of them numerous times!

                On the other side of the room is a set of shelves holding books about writing. Below them are books on Machining, both old and new. I have books about machinery powered by belts up to modern manufacturing procedures. Below that is a shelf filled with assorted papers I wrote and photos I took. The majority of these will never be seen by anyone but me. (That and the person who cleans it all up after I pass on to the great library in the sky) Looking at these piles I think that one of the sad things about computers is that the things I write now, are hardly ever printed. It is all saved on a hard drive and memory sticks, susceptible to being wiped out or lost at any time.

                Below this shelf are a couple boxes of photographs waiting to be framed.  Beside them are an assortment of old school books and instruction manuals. From steam locomotive upkeep to geography and mathematics, they are old and interesting to page through. I love to see how things used to be and how some things never change!

                Beside this shelf is a smaller one containing mostly poetry.  These shelves I’m happy to say, are all in alphabetical order by authors name.  I can’t say that about any of the others!

                Behind me is another shelf which has on top of it, one of my “To read” piles. The height of the pile varies but recently it has been dropping since no new books are coming in. Whenever I finish a book from one of these piles, it gets put on a proper shelf or in a box for donation to a library for their book sales.

                The top shelf has books on architecture and archeology with a few books on exploring tossed in. Below them are books on maps and books that have maps in them. ( Treasure Island for example ) There are also a collection of atlas’s covering the earth, space and even the human body. Some writing materials for letters and cards populate the shelf below along with some overflow books. Below them are some oversized books.

               This is just one room. Books on books, travel, astronomy, religion, camping, hiking, cooking and fiction are spread out though other rooms.  There is a shelf of signed books and a collection of my first blog. (The only printed copy! Oh, this will be worth a fortune some day!  HA)

                The room I described to you is just a part of my library. As you can see, I live in my library! My love of books could be considered by some as an excess, but as any bibliophile knows, there can never be too many!

                I do periodically clean out the collection, passing the unwanted or unneeded volumes on to a library for them to re-sell during their book sales. I am anxiously waiting for the re-opening of the libraries and bookstores. I am not a big fan of on-line book shopping, too much of my buying experience involves touch and browsing. The act of browsing is exciting, I never know what might show up. I never know when that special book will jump out into my hands!

                We just went from Red to Yellow conditions here in Alleghany County. I’ve got my fingers crossed that some of the bookstores will be re-opening. I have a strong desire to acquire some new books!

                In the meanwhile, I have recently started a new book. It is a hardback with a nice cover, titled "The Years Best Fantasy and Horror". (from 1995) Hopefully this should keep me occupied for a couple days.

                Oh yeah, I almost forget about those chores that need done…



May Morning

 

May Morning

 

Woken from deep sound sleep

By rolling thunder

Borne by fragrance laden

Breezes, from storms far away.

 

The aroma of coffee

Brewing in the kitchen

Mingles with the scents

Of fresh blooming lilacs.

 

The curtains billow

Near a wooden chair,

A book on its' seat

Lightly sprinkled with rain.

 

 

  Phil Breidenbach   (5.14.18)



The Good Old Days

The Good Old Days            

                Preparing to enter work, I tied my face mask on, positioning it to avoid fogging my glasses, picked up my lunch box and headed into the building. In the lobby, I was directed to stand on a star where I was scanned to make sure my temperature wasn’t too high. Passing that test, I was allowed to enter the plant.

                The company has always been strict when it comes to safety. You have to wear steel toed shoes and safety glasses are a necessity. Gloves are also required for the workers. So when the state mandated masks for employees, we never flinched. The temperature scans fell in right behind the masks. (Would this be next? “Ok, everyone line up to get your GPS tracker. It will only hurt a little bit.)

                There have been a lot of changes in the last month or two. I think that the biggest thing people miss is socializing. It is tough staying at home. We miss being able to talk with someone face to face, being able to hug a friend or loved one and not having to worry about any consequences.

                I just heard about a study, (I don’t know who did it or even if it’s true or not, but I tend to imagine it is.) saying that a lot of senior citizens have been going to the grocery stores a couple times a week,  even though they didn’t need any groceries. It was mostly for the human contact, seeing other people. It doesn’t matter whether you know them or not, it’s other human beings!

                There are plenty of things I miss. Remember how nice it was to sit down at a table and have a waiter take your order, place it in front of you and ask if there was anything else you’d like? How about getting a haircut, I never thought I’d miss those! Being able to leave the house on a whim, not planning or calling ahead before you leave. Going somewhere without worrying if the place is open or not, those were the days!

                I really miss sitting down with Ann Marie and playing a couple games of Scrabble. Drinking a cup of coffee together and talking about the day. Sitting outside together under the tree or watching television together…in the same house!

                One of the things we both miss is visiting bookstores and libraries. The day the libraries closed is burned in my brain. We had gone to see if our favorite vegetable stand had reopened yet and on the way back, decided to check our e-mails. We pulled into a library and the parking lot was empty. A notice was posted on the door saying all the libraries in the commonwealth were closed as of March 13^th. Friday the 13^th! We drove to a couple different libraries and they all were closed. That was the day the “virus” hit home. Not long afterwards, the stores all shut down. Our supply of paper reading materials was shut off!

                   I'm really looking forward to being able to go inside bookstores again. To roam through the shelves, scan the titles, pulling out books that look interesting and paging through them. To be able to feel the texture of the pages, thick, thin, slick or rough is something I hold dear.  Reading a paragraph or two before deciding if it should come home with me or if it should be returned to the shelf, it’s part of the bookstore experience. I know we will have to wear our masks to enter the stores. That won’t be a problem! If they really want me to, I’ll even wear gloves. (Preferably cotton ones)

                So many of the stores we frequent are smaller shops and I worry about their surviving this nasty time in our history. The public doesn’t have as much spare cash as they did a few months ago, their unessential spending will have decreased a bit. (Some of us consider books an essential need, they are vital to life!) The shops have bills which need paid, rents which need taken care of. I hope and pray that bookstores won’t become a thing of the past.  I worry about this! The thought of it sends chills down my spine.  I don’t want to do my book buying on-line! To me, so much of the experience of buying a book is tactile, smelling, feeling and paging through them prior to buying. There is also the contact with the booksellers! Discussing authors, recent reads, new books, scuttlebutt about the book industry, they are my friends and I’d miss seeing them. Bookstores are community meeting places, places where ideas and stories are passed around.

                Yes, a lot of things have changed and will be changing. Hopefully we will all be able to deal with them and to change along with them.

                I can’t help but wonder, how is it possible that “The Good Old Days” were only a couple months ago?

                                                                                                                (5.2.2020)

Biblio-Trip

Biblio-Trip

August 2018

                I often wonder about this disease I have. It is an almost uncontrollable desire for books. It is a passion. It is a habit that I haven’t been able to break. It is an addiction. I just need my reading material.

                Books about Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. Books dealing with machinery and machining. Maps, atlases, astronomy, writing and poetry to name just a few of my interests. Then there are the fiction books…

                I am always on the lookout for another book to add to my collection. Older books, ones signed by their authors, there are so many subjects that interest me! Lately I have been going to estate sales which expose me to shelves full of books. Usually they are “best sellers”, worn children’s books and lots of religious material. But…every so often I find a book that strikes a chord.

               Book sellers get to these sales early and have pillaged the shelves before I get there. They aren’t collectors, these books will be on-line the next day. This makes it even more fun when I find a book I want!

                The fun of the hunt along with the low prices are a couple of the things which drive me. There are so many books I’ve heard about, read the reviews on but just haven’t gotten to read yet. Finding one of these can be breath taking! Well, kind of.



                Last Saturday, Ann Marie and I took a road trip to the outskirts of Carlisle, PA. to visit Canaday’s Book Barn.  We have visited it a few times before. Unfortunately, it will soon be closing. We were both extremely sad to hear about its approaching demise. The store is truly unique, it is located inside a barn. We had to visit it one more time before it’s gone forever, plus, they were having a big sale!

                You would never know what is inside if you didn’t read the sign beside the door. The barn is typical of the farm buildings in the eastern sections of Pennsylvania. Constructed of yellow painted wood and stone, it is topped with a red metal roof making it a very picturesque building. The front, facing the main road, gives no hint to its purpose except for a small sandwich board sitting in the yard. In the back is a gravel parking lot and the entrance.

             The door is in an alcove in the center of the building. Walking inside, you are greeted with shelves. In front of you, an isleway continues into the distance. On the right a beautiful glass covered set of shelves holds books on display along with artwork and maps. To the left are more shelves, all filled with books. All are nice and clean, no dust, no cobwebs. A balcony sits off to the right, the stairs are rough but varnished and polished, like the rest of the woodwork in the building. Under the balcony is an open office and the checkout counter. More shelves share this low, dim area along with a couch. The wooden beams give it a comfortable look, similar to a den. There are a couple sets of thin drawers beside the shelves populating this area. In them are more maps and hand colored drawings and illustrations. Some are already matted, ready to be framed and hung on your walls.

                At one time, the shelves in this room were decorated with world globes and bookends and the rear wall was covered with framed pictures. These have since gone on to new homes. For the most part, the shelves are all fine quality, looking as if they once graced a prestigious library. Nicer books are kept behind glass, the rest sit on shelf after shelf.

                Entering the store for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. You have no idea which way to turn, where to look first. It is best to just slowly walk around and familiarize yourself. Let your fingers run along the shelves, read the titles, absorb the ambiance, smell the old book smell. Enjoy yourself, soak in the wonder of all these books. After you have walked around a bit, once you have an idea of where things are located, go back and re-find the treasures you saw as you were orientating yourself.

                Ted, the owner is a very personable man. If he isn’t overwhelmed with customers, he is happy to talk books or local history. Since he is selling his stock at 70% off, his customers have increased. Too bad they didn’t frequent the store before he decided to close. Even though Ted was busy, we still had a nice discussion with him. Oh, just thinking about this store closing makes me sad, this delightful store should be visited by every bibliophile!

                Wandering around the store, I picked up a few books I had seen on previous visits. Yes, I brought them home with me this time. I bought a few autographed books, some old machining manuals, a couple travelogues and a random assortment of other books which caught my eye.

                   I had three topographical maps from the early 1900’s in my selections but when I saw my final total, I reluctantly put them back. Naturally, not long after we left, I started wishing that I would’ve bought them. “Oh, when will I ever learn? Get when the getting is good!” 

                The two of us returned with a nice collection of booty and we agreed that the trip was both fun and successful. There is nothing like a road trip to a bookstore!

                I originally thought that we would be gone for only seven or eight hours but the sun was setting behind the hills of Etna as we rolled back into town. I rarely take a direct route to any place we are going to. Our journeys usually involve “short” side trips, refreshment breaks and photo stops. On this trip, we also ended up spending a couple hours inside the bookstore.

                It was about 11 hours and 380 miles after I left home that I pulled up in front of my house. I was excited about looking through my new purchases and more than ready to collapse into my bed!

                Yes, my addiction had gotten the best of me once again. I bought too many books, but you know what? Other than the fact that I left the topo maps behind, I really don’t regret it at all!

(I went back a couple weeks later with a couple friends and purchased the maps among other things!)

 

                                Bibliophile-         n.            a lover of books

                                                                                A book collector

                                `Biblio-trip           v.            a journey or voyage to aquire books