| NEXT TRIP, “BOOK” YOURSELF INTO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Tom Hillegass We all love to fantasize about dream destinations from Aruba to Zanzibar, but in reality over 80% of us spend our vacations seeing the USA in our Chevrolet (or SUV). And where do we seek respite after a grueling day viewing the purple mountain’s majesty? In a nearby all-American town, of course. Next time you roll into a strange town for R&R (resting and regrouping), make the main public library your first stop. Head downtown and cruise around the courthouse or city hall where you will see the international library sign directing you to the library. (show international library sign) Here you are always welcome, so step right in. As your eyes adjust to the perpetual semi-dusk the cool, quiet world of the library works wonders on your travel-frazzled nerves. And here are lots of other things you can do there to ease your travels: Use a CLEAN, safe, public restroom – a rare and wonderful thing for a stranger in town. First things first! Use a pay phone in a QUIET location. – Hey, we don’t all have no-roaming cellular, but all public libraries have pay phones. Why? Because they often have “residual kids” left at closing time who need to phone home to be picked up. Check your e-mail, send e-mail – Most libraries now have public internet access. Sign up as soon as you get there as you might have to wait a bit. You need an e-mail service that functions as a web page to do this. There are lots of these, mostly free, like Yahoo, Juno and Hotmail. (Now you can even get your e-mail without a computer over any phone; register at www.888telsurf.com before you go - it’s free and it really works!) Find out what happened here – Libraries always have a big section on local history. Peruse the stacks under Dewey Decimal 970. Find out what’s happening here – Check the free tabloids and fliers just inside the front door. Also, see the local newspaper for what movies are showing in town. Find out what attractions are in the area – The travel guide section of the library (Dewey Decimal 917.) is always top-heavy with local and regional guide information. (after all, the more sales taxes you leave in the county the bigger the library budget!) Plan your travels for the next few days – Use the Internet to find attractions and accommodations in the next places on your itinerary (try switchboard.com or bigbook.com) then call ahead for reservations on that quiet library pay phone. (Surely the biggest and/or best SOMETHING in America is just down the road!) Read a good newspaper – After a week or two of the Town Crier and Gazette, a big-city newspaper that covers more than neighborhood fender-benders and bake sales is a real treat. Look up phone numbers you forgot to bring with you – No excuse now for not calling Cousin Martha while in Memphis; look up her number in the library telephone books. Get cool (if warm); get warm (if cool); stay dry (if raining) – A library is like a cave; same temperature year round (but drier). Rest your weary tootsies – Libraries always have great, comfy chairs in their reading room. Take off your shoes when the librarian isn’t looking. Fill your water bottle with cool, clean water – How can you be sure that expensive bottle of “Brook Lynne Springs” water you carry wasn’t bottled from the tap in Brooklyn, NY? Library water is always pure (mostly), cool and free. Get recommendations on where to eat in town - Ask the librarians, they eat too. Wash your hands, comb your hair, check your makeup – Do your bit to beautify the USA. Make copies – Libraries always have copying machines and for a dime you can copy a page-full of restaurant recommendations from one of those excellent Frommer’s travel guides. Borrow books on tape - Okay, you can’t do this at the library - but you can at Cracker Barrel restaurants. You buy a book on tape at any of over 400 locations and return it at any other location and get your purchase price less a $3.00 charge refunded. So hit the local library whenever you travel and you’ll come away convinced that thrifty old Ben (Franklin, that is) must have had the budget traveler in mind when he chartered the first free library in Philadelphia in 1731. SIDE BAR: Here are just a few of the libraries at which the author has found nurture and knowledge in his many travels: (all are downtown, main libraries) Tucson, Arizona- A modern, multi-story downtown library with all the amenities and free public parking in the basement. Address: 101 N. Stone Avenue.. Clearwater, Florida – A travel brochure location - overlooking a park fringed with palm trees and the brilliant blue waters of Clearwater Harbor. Address: 100 N. Osceola Ave. Kerrville, Texas – A library in the round. Walk around out the back and down the bluff to a fine swimming hole in the Guadalupe River. Address: 505 Water Street. Montpelier, Vermont – This IS your father’s (or grandfather’s) library; with a forest of dark wood trim, a spectacular skylight and a mezzanine with railings and book stacks above the main room. Address: 135 Main Street |