We have two dogs at home. One is old and the other is in the throes of her midlife crisis. That said, neither act their age. They still bound around the yard, can walk/hunt tirelessly, and are more than willing to perform for the low fee of one small dog treat.
Unfortunately, they don’t know the classic trick of rolling over.
Over the years, spectators to our household dog show have wondered aloud–but can they roll over? Well yes, they can. Just not on demand, and usually to scratch their backs against the carpet. As if rolling over is the only worthy trick in the book.
Let’s face it, we sometimes get hung up on the classics. We judge everything that is to come by the merits of the old: from stories told around the dinner table (back in my day…), to art (not my kids’ kindergarten hand-print turkeys), to television shows (I Love Lucy, anyone?).
And I agree. Things become classics because they set a standard. And these standards reflect society and culture during a snapshot in time. There is tremendous value in that.
Two things have come together for the library in the past week that are exciting and new, despite having roots in the old.
For starters, someone requested a book club for reading the classics. While book clubs are not new to the library–we have two established book clubs already–the focus and time of this one is. For the first time, we will host a noon hour book club with the intent of reading through some of those “must read before you die” book lists.
If you are interested in reading and discussing classic literature over your lunch break, please give us a call, stop by the library, or attend our introductory meeting at 12:00pm on Thursday, July 18. There we will figure out the details, like when we will meet, what we should call ourselves, and how the reading and discussions will take place.
Also new is the booking of classical guitarist and composer, Kevin Sherwin for spring 2020. Kevin played for the library and the school almost two years ago. His music is amazing, his passion for his craft is a delight to watch, and it’s just plain wonderful to have all the arts represented in our programming.
What I love about Kevin (besides the aforementioned talent) is that his street creds are phenomenal, and still he is willing to stop by our tiny town of 4,000. He graduated from Yale, studied at Julliard, and has performed at Regent Hall in London. In short, Kevin’s musical journey is steeped in the high standards of the music profession.
My dogs may never learn to read “Moby Dick” or play Tchaikovsky, but they can still learn how to roll over. If I’m willing to teach them. You, too, can enjoy the classics at the library, because we are never too old to expose ourselves to something new.
happy reading~ jody
