I Had To Make One, Too

Growing up, my heart's desire was to be a librarian. From the time I learned to read, I would rather do that than anything else. I went through books like wildfire. I read all of the Bobbsey Twins, Cherry Ames, Nancy Drew, all of those series books. My parents subscribed to Reader's Digest Condensed Books, and I read every selection in every volume that we received.

. . . .

When I got to junior high school, I worked at the school library during a "club" period. The woman who was the librarian, Mrs. Capaldi, took an interest in me, and invited me to become a library volunteer after school. Sue, Bob and I were the library nerds, and we had a wonderful time one afternoon each week reshelving books and writing out the overdue notices. It was one of the happiest times I can remember.

. . . .

For reasons I never understood, this activity was unacceptable to my parents. I was forbidden to work in the library, and because I couldn't stand to have this joy taken away from me, I lied. That year the junior high started an intramural girls' basketball program that played after school. I told my mother I was going to join and this met with her approval.

. . . .

For weeks it worked without a hitch. There was no interest at home in whether my team won or lost, so it never got complicated. I just had to say I was going to be late because my basketball team was playing. And that was how I got to continue in the library. In time, of course, I was found out -- a friend's mother stopped into the library and innocently mentioned having seen me there. The principal was contacted, and I came straight home after school each day thereafter.

. . . .

Mrs. Capaldi had intimated that since we were such good volunteers, Sue, Bob, and I might be soon moving on to increased responsibilities -- perhaps even including making cards for the catalog. I don't know whether Sue and Bob ever got to do that.

. . . .

I hadn't thought about the school library in many, many years. But when blogs recently started sporting these wonderful catalog cards, I remembered, and decided it really, really was time I got to make one.