Anaheim Central Library ~ Corner of Harbor and Broadway.
When I was young, I used to love to walk everywhere. Even as a teenager, I was never excited about getting my drivers license and first used car; I much prefered to get somewhere, didn't even have to be anywhere specific, on foot. Often I would be compelled to leave whatever I was in the middle of doing at home and walk for blocks around my 'hood. That would become too dangerous for me as the city and circumstances in my life changed, and I was mindful of knowing when to stay off the streets for my own safety.
When I lived in Corona del Mar, walking was simply about getting to and from the beach and for maintaining my size three physique. And even though I enjoyed my power-walks along the shore, walking became synonymous with exercising. This was compounded by the overall all-for-show culture in that city by the sea. No one seemed to ever walk without wanting to make some sort of statement. The majority of the time, that statement was spelled out J-U-I-C-Y on some woman's velor ass.
So you can imagine my delight after moving to Anaheim of discovering the small-town vibe there is in strolling through the historic district and downtown promenade (which is being revitalized in a classic 1940s Americana-style) as I leisurely make my way to the much-loved neighborhood library whose facade has not changed much from 1964.
It's kind of funny now, considering how much I enjoy spending time at the library, that I once had a very unfavorable impression of the place. Before Anaheim became my adopted hometown, I used to drive up and down Harbor Boulevard a million times a month, rolling right past the library. Glancing over at it, I would think it was a rundown hangout for the neighborhood riff-raff. Just recalling that asinine assumption cracks me up! If, by chance, that had been true about the patrons in the past, it is certainly not the case these days.
Every time I step into the library, I'm greeted by a diversity of readers of all colors, ages, lifestyles — from the familiar faces of the homeless patrons to city politicians — we're all on the same page at the public library. And because the library gives so much to the community, I've been returning the favor by donating whatever reading material I come across that I don't want to keep for myself. Which means I recently gifted the library with my entire brand new collection of Sookie Stackhouse books.
The book catalogue of the combined city libraries is A-MAZ-ING! (Newport Beach may boast about their multi-million dollar library facilities, but they never seem to have the books I was searching for!). With each visit to the central library, I come across more new craft books. The fun thing I've been doing for the last year is putting about half a dozen knitting, crocheting and sewing books on hold at a time, sight unseen. I've been lucky with winning the jackpot more times than not! Those other times I've waited until the cloak of night to return the books in the dropbox. It's the winners that I will soon start reviewing here on the blog! For the love of all that is good and holy, I will also warn you of the ones that really suck and would make you embarrassed to be seen with.
Long Live the Real Books!
Long Live the Public Library!
Long Live the Librarian!
Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.
~ Walter Cronkite
