When you change the way you look at things, you look at different things.

Tonight I attended an achievement ceremony for SB 618 as a United Through Reading representative. The ceremony honored offenders who've successfully completed a reentry program. The aim of the program is to break the cycle of repeat offenders, and instead help offenders successfully transition back into society.

One of the program participants gave a speech that included the title of this posting. The speaker recently completed a degree in Underwater Welding, which I'm sure will afford him some interesting viewpoints. But really, bridge and boat welding or not, everything he sees from this point forward will be different.

The Bidding Will Start at...

(Hopefully, this empty lot will soon be our new central library.)

For some people, it's action movies. For me, my thrills come from city council meetings. I attended today's session to support getting an updated construction bid for a new central library. The ninety-minute session was a nail biter, with Carl Demaio asking tough questions of whether library funds could be instead be used to pay down the Petco Park debt, and Tony Young wanting to ensure that local construction companies get the work. In the end, the council voted 6-2 in favor of keeping the library project moving.

During the public comment session, it was humbling to hear people speak. There was SDPL Foundation's Chair Judith Harris, the Friends of the SDPL's President John McAllister, and a former Executive Officer from the New York Public Library--people who've dedicated a good portion of their lives to libraries. And then there were students from a local charter school, one of whom said she didn't want to be in college by the time the new library was built. This construction bid is no guarantee that the library will be built. But, least for today, the hard work of these people has not been in vain.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

I saw Sherman Alexie speak about this book at the 2007 LA Times Festival of Books. His talk was funny, outrageous, and sobering. But it wasn't until I was talking with Emma from the San Diego Library Foundation , and she mentioned Alexie having appeared at this year's San Diego Children's Book Festival, that I remembered this book.

With its combination of pathos, humor, and self-deprecation, it is classic Alexie. It's the story of a young Spokane Indian who wants to get off the reservation, and seems to be largely based on his life. The protagonist is a cartoonist, and mixed in with the text are humors comics that comment on the story. Sorta like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The book is marketed as for young adults, but it exists in that cross-over section. The part that hit me, as a thirty-year-old, was when the protagonist finds his mother's name written in his geometry book. Not only does he realize that his tribe teaches with thirty-year-0ld books, but that if he doesn't get off the reservation now, he will be there the rest of his life, and so will his kids.

Julian Library

Julian Branch County Library
Visiting Time: 1:00-1:30 PM
Did I get lost on my way? No. Bryan drove. And we had Marc's Magellan.
Book Checked out: None. Just browsing today.

Book Selection: 3 bookmarks
Seating: 3 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 3 bookmarks
Total: 13 bookmarks

So I've visited all thirty-six city libraries in thirty-six days, and I thought I was done. But I simply enjoyed myself too much to stay away. Today, I combined a trip to Julian with my first San Diego County Library.

Julian's library is about a half-mile out from the main street, which is a great way to work up an appetite for pie. I looked around the library with Bryan and some friends but didn't check out a book (although if I'd signed up for a county library card, I could've). But I would've felt too bad returning the book to a city branch, and having the Circuit truck it all the way back to Julian. There are plenty of books in my city to keep me busy.

I spoke with the Assistant Branch Manager, Patty, who told me the library opened in 2004, on land donated from the high school, which sits next door. Previously, the library had resided in a one-room house in town on 4th Street. There is a lot of local art showcased throughout the library, in the form of murals, sculpture, and framed art. In case you were wondering, the library does indeed have a full section about local history, Apple Days, and cookbooks.

Patty told me that she started at this library 12 years ago as a volunteer, and in time moved into her current position. Here's her local tip: Soups n' Such is the best place in town to eat. And here's my tourist tip: while the pies is Julian are awesome, the ones down the road, in Santa Ysabel, are just a good and don't have a line. And Marc and Veronika's tip: the rosemary and olive oil bread at Dudley's can't be beat.

Photos:

One half of a gate that divides the foyer from the main library.

Cozy and cabin-like, no?

Children's area mural painted by a local artist.

Magazine Love

The new Poets & Writers arrived in today's mail. Quarterly issues simply aren't enough.

Also in my mailbox was an issue of Smithsonian, my lapsed subscription to which I recently renewed. I have missed this magazine, and its presence in my home is not unlike the comfort that comes from having one's mom over for a visit.

I took to heart this passage from David Lamb's article about recently deceased Vietnam photographer, Hugh Van Es:

"I've searched for an answer why I stayed all those years," says George Esper, an AP reporter who spent nearly a decade in Vietnam. "What I keep coming back to was a young nurse from upstate New York.... She was tending the badly wounded. Some died in her arms. And I said, 'Wow. What a woman! Why are you here?' and she said, 'Because I've never felt so worthwhile in my life.' That's how I felt, too."

I met a friend for lunch today. She is struggling to enter the job market after earning a graduate degree. Lately, the rejections have been getting to her. Which, as a writer, I understand. But my friend feels that she is meant to be a therapist, and so can only continue her job search. Writing doesn't involve helping the ill--either on a battlefield or in a medical office--but this doesn't lessen my compulsion to do it.

San Diego Public Library--Vote Next Week!

(Good looking building, huh? Some think it's so good looking that it deserves to be built.)

Sometimes, I'm disappointed that I don't live in a more "hip" city. San Diego doesn't have a thriving arts community. It doesn't have fabulous theatre shows seven nights a week. Writers on book tour only pass through our fine city sporadically. None of our waiters are really actors. And you can't even drink on the beach anymore.

But it doesn't have to be this way. We San Diegans can change our city. Building a new central library--which will not only better support the thirty-five branches, but create a cultural center for arts programs--can be a significant step.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the proposed new central library. Its erection will NOT divert monies from the fire department, from Parks and Rec, or other services. If we build this new library, $80 million will come from the city's downtown redevelopment agency. $20 million will from a library construction state grant. Because this library is also going to house a new high school, another $20 million will come from school bonds. There are also significant philanthropical funds.

If you support a new downtown library, you can let your council member know with a quick email. There's even a handy webpage to help you find your council member.

You can find out more information about the new central library on this page of the Library Foundation's website.

"The Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers

I know Carson McCullers is a weird writer. I listened to The Ballad of the Sad Cafe on audio tape in high school, and was sufficiently apoplectic. So I don't know why it surprises me that I found The Member of the Wedding strange as well. Maybe it was that Sad Cafe was weird in a good way, but Wedding was just weird.

Sometimes I get really annoyed with books, because I want them to be better. I'm like the crazy soccer mom screaming at her kid to "pick it up!" I know stories can do better.