Judging Libraries and other Fun Pastimes

Sorry its been a few days since my last post. A lot has happened. Next week I'll be driving up to New Jersey for my Grandma's memorial service. She died Tuesday night, peacefully. I want to say more in her memory, but I don't feel ready, nor do I think this is where I want to say it. Right now, I just want to play cribbage with my family and remember her. I love you Pink Grandma.

Am at the Elkton Central Branch of the Cecil County Public Library system. Its lovely here and there is good wireless. Also, I found some great DVDs. They have the later seasons of As Time Goes By and seasons 1 and 2 of Doctor Who! (They don't have the original Doctor Who, but I won't fault them for that.) I also found some books. I have a system whereby I like to 'judge' libraries. It is completely arbitrary, and doesn't really mean much about the library, except by my own standards. Also, its fun, and I get to feel indignant when the library doesn't meet my criteria. So I test how many and which novels by Tolkien, Dostoevsky, and Dickens (and which translations, for Dostoevsky) the library has. I got my Cecil County Library card at the Cecilton Branch, which is one room, and very small. Found a few books there and then drove about 30 minutes to this branch, which is larger and quite snazzy.

Let's see if I can remember what the Cecilton Library had...

Results:

The Cecilton Library had no Tolkien in the adult or YA sections. Its possible they may have The Hobbit in the children's section, but I didn't check. They only had Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky. An interesting pick, perhaps because it is so short it won't take up too much of their limited space? By Dickens, they had only A Christmas Carol. Now, I said this was one room, so I was only really miffed by the lack of Tolkien. I am hoping some lucky soul has it all checked out.

The Elkton Branch did much better, although there is room for improvement in the Dostoevsky category. They have numerous copies of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales, as well as The Book of Lost Tales 1 and 2 and a few other books of short stories. I am impressed. As for Dostoevsky, they only have Crime and Punishment and Notes from Underground. They do have my favorite translation of Crime and Punishment, though, so extra points for that. There were about two shelves of Dickens, so they pass with flying colors in that category as well.

That was fun.

The longer I am at the farm, the more I absorb about the people here and how they interact. I'm learning names pretty well, and I've been able to have actual conversations with a number of people. I'm really enjoying getting to know Hannah better. I have to say, I prejudged and Samantha rightly corrected me (by the way, the other lovely intern is named Samantha!). Hannah does like Hannah Montana, as well as High School Musical and is very pleased with her binder decals. This is a relief. I was disappointed to discover that she's not really a Jonas Brothers fan. Decided not to tell her I am Kevin Jonas, as that might make our friendship slightly strained. (Shoutout to my JoBros from Severance 127, Nick and Joe! I miss you, roomies).

Anyway, there is too much that goes on at the farm for me to ever keep up. Ronald had a doctor's appointment last week and apparently has the lungs of a 160-year old. Or something like that. Its painful to listen to him cough and hack. There isn't much you can do for lungs that artificially aged.

I felt so useful the other day, because I was able to help Josephine transfer a document to her thumb drive. More importantly, our exchange allowed me to introduce myself again. We were able to have a conversation, and I offered my future computer services if ever she needs them. I think its just exciting when I get to interact with anyone at the farm. Tim, the night monitor (something like that) who lives in the Ryland House with his wife and adorable young daughter has also been very helpful. Turns out he is a baseball fan, so we bantered a little, as he is a Phillies fan, and I am not. To my chagrin, the Mets dropped the ball, quite literally, in the 9th inning last night in the Subway series. Took a little teasing for that one... However, the Red Sox beat the Phillies in the 12th inning, so I got to hit back at Tim for that one, as I enjoy supporting the Sox when the Mets let me down.

I mentioned my young friend Hannah earlier. We've been able to have a few more conversations lately, so I'm getting to know her better. I like her a lot. Last night when we were talking she mentioned she wants to go to college in Florida and be a doctor. How cool is that? I do not have the chutzpah to make it to med school, let alone through med school. I hope she gets there. She was also telling me about some serious high school social issues. Apparently, some girls are threatening to 'jump' her friend. Ack. Personally, I would be completely lost and overwhelmed if someone wanted to jump my friend. The frankness with which this pleasant young woman told me about the numerous other issues she has come across throughout high school was slightly disturbing. Thanks Southold High School, for being so tame and sheltered. I wish I could pick her up and take her away somewhere so she could study and graduate and go be a pre-med without having to worry about kids teasing her and getting revenge and protecting her dignity in front of other kids fighting to preserve their own self-image. High School is a tough world. Maybe that's why she likes High School Musical so much? j

Its 4:30, and I don't want to miss dinner. Off to go check out my books with my brand new library card! Maybe tomorrow I'll make it to the beach.