Grandpa Funder!

 

One of the most popular events at our local libraries is the storytimes and crafts for children. Waycross/Ware County Public Library has Story Time for older children on Tuesdays at 4 PM and Toddler Time for the pre-K set on Wednesdays at 10 AM.

Pierce County also has a Story/Craft time on Mondays at 4 PM. This one is special to me because I have occasionally read a story. I hope to be there today to read The Silly Book by Stu Hemple. As a semi-retired community theatre hamwich, there is nothing I like better.

Recently, the parents who attend Story Time and/or Toddler Time with their children were horrified to find out that the library has not yet been properly funded and may have to close down at the end of June.

So, be prepared. These parents vote. They've got buttons, and they're prepared to make their voices heard. Local politicians and Christian Nationalist churches don't know what they have awoken.

They've got buttons that say Moms for Funding Libraries. And there are buttons for other family members. As you can see at the start of this post, I am proud to have a Grandpas for Funding Libraries button.  

And, yes, I am now officially a Grandpa more than ever! I have one Grandchild, a granddaughter, Retta, who is 25 months old today. She is way up in the Catskills Mountains of New York. We make video calls to her at least once a week. This Grandpa has been able to read her some stories, but mostly we just hobnob and watch her play.

Yesterday, however, was extra special. She called me Grandpa for the first time!

So, now it's super official! I am GRANDPA! Woohoo!

Special note: Grandpa Funder, along with many others, is ready to take on the so-called Daddy Defunder, the Ware County Commission Chairman.

The superheroes are ready to take on the supervillains.

Huzzah!

Libby Lets You Listen Too!

 

There's more to Libby than just ebooks and magazines!

Some, like me, prefer physical books, while others prefer to read books on a Kindle or other device.

Another group of people prefers audiobooks.  

Everyone has a different way of learning and absorbing information. Whether it's reading for pleasure or learning something you didn't know in history, how to build something, or positive affirmations, your learning style may be to use your auditory skills.

About the only time I can listen to audio is when I'm driving (preferably a routine route) or walking/mowing. Even then, I prefer podcasts or nonfiction.

Others prefer audiobooks. They are easier for them to concentrate on and read than the written word.

And as we know, LIBRARIES ARE FOR EVERYONE, and waalaa, oops there it is!

Get the latest audio fiction! Libby tells you how long it is and describes the book. This particular one offers seven hours of audio enjoyment.

Like nonfiction? There's this three-hour gem!

And, yes, libraries are for Christians too, including this 5 hour devotional. Seriously, it's better to find the stuff you want to read/listen to than trying to tell everyone else what they CAN'T read/listen to,

Although I don't spend much time with audiobooks, I would like to become a voice artist and record them. I have the voice and acting skills; I just don't have the technical skills. If anyone could ever help with that, I would be very grateful.

Anyhoo, this is another excellent service of your local library.

Now is the time to let the defunders know how much you love and appreciate your library!

When It Says Libby, Libby, Libby at Your Library, Library, Library!

 

I love to read physical books. I love the feel and the smell. I love to know how far I've got to go, to flip back with ease, and to experience the joy of a fun and clever bookmark.

But not everybody is exactly like me.

  Some prefer e-readers. They find it easier to hold, and the size of the print can be adjusted to whatever you want.

And your public library knows this.  

Which is why they offer the wonderful service of Libby...free of charge! It gives you access to hundreds of books and magazines, all available to lend.  

Like Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens?

You can read the ebook on your favorite online device!

Like magazines like National Geographic?

It's available! Along with many other magazines!

How about books and stuff for Young Adults and children?

Oh, yowza! Libby has got them!

How about Graphic Novels?

Oh, yaz! You better believe Libby's has them.

I could go on and on, for whatever interest or taste you have!

And it's all courtesy of your PUBLIC LIBRARY!

Don't let them defund the local libraries. Support them. Make sure civic leaders and others know you have the library's back.

LIBRARIES ARE FOR EVERYONE!

The Joy of Reading

 

I can't imagine life without reading.

And as much as I love reading the written word, that joy can extend itself to braille and audio for those who are blind or have limited eyesight. Even for those with perfect vision, their learning skills and preferred medium may be audio.

I started early. My mother taught me to read before I entered Kindergarten. I was reading information the teacher was writing that she didn't even intend for us - that caused some embarrassment.

By third grade, I was reading out loud to students during the reading time. The teacher learned that the class preferred me to her and that I could hold their attention better. So I read a book about Pocahontas and John Smith, and yes, it was the sanitized fictional version.

I skipped most children's books. The closest I came was the Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting and the Bobbsey Twins (a girl I liked was reading them, and it gave us a point in common).

By 4, I was reading and collecting comic books. By 8, I was reading science fiction magazines, including serialized novels like Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

By late elementary I was reading all kinds of things, including books that were being weeded out at the Junior High Library  One of those books was Mein Kempf by Adolph Hitler  And that's how I became a Nazi...NOT  I thought Hitler was insane and a dangerous jackass. You see, sometimes you have to trust the moral and ethical basis you give a young adult is strong enough to guide them through a free society.

By early high school, I had discovered dystopian novels like 1984 and Brave New World, and those influenced me. Like Hitler, I realized how off-course we could get when authoritarian forces took hold.

As I grew up, a cornucopia of books opened up to me, from Lord of the Rings to The Game of Thrones, from Stephen King to Sara Pinbrough, from John Steinbeck to Colson Whitehead,  from Joseph Heller to Margaret Atwood, from Philip K Dick to Harry Turtledove.

I usually have 25 to 60 books on cue to read. I have a random number program to determine what I read next. And even if it takes a while, they all get read.

I have a lot of books, but only a fraction of what I've ever had. Over the years, I've given away enough books to fill a library the size of Pierce County's.

As my intense desire to own books has diminished, I have tried to slowly read more books from the public library. I'm up to two or three a month, including the Murder They Read Book Club that I am in (at the public library, naturally).

Books are only one of the important public services the library provides, But it's important to me, and it means so much to those who find $30 to purchase a book out of reach. It provides that great joy of reading to so many, and it helps fulfill one of the main missions of our public schools and libraries - to help provide an educated populace capable of critical thinking and contributing to the foundational strength of our democracy.*

Today, your public library needs your love and support. Make sure everyone you meet knows that you support the local library and that they need to urge local government boards to STOP holding up support and fund the library TODAY.

The situation in the Okefenokee Library Region is dire. If local support is not secured, they could be shutting their doors on June 30th. No more library for avid readers like myself or for those who are using the library for so many other important, special things.**

Reading is a joy. Reading is fundamental. Reading keeps us free.

Support freedom. Support the need for open public spaces. Support your local library.

And ensure that it exists tomorrow.

*constitutional republic, representative democracy, yada yada. God, I hate having to keep repeating this.

**to be addressed in future blog articles. The Strait Line is now wholly devoted to supporting the public library until the current funding crisis is over.

Public Spaces Under Siege

 

It is hard to marshall my thoughts in this dark and scary time.

I took so much for granted about the greatness and stability of American Democracy.*

I thought the great civil rights battles of sixty to fifty years ago were a sign that the moral arc of the universe was finally bending the right way.

I was wrong.

The battle is never over. The forces that would pull us back are constantly with us. If we don't fight back, they will overwhelm us and drag us back to a time when DEI doesn't stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion but instead discrimination, exclusion, and intolerance.

What a beautiful, inclusive, and loving statement the above mural is. And how sick and twisted are the challenges to it.

The concept of open public libraries is essential to the preservation of democracy. As our founding fathers advocated, a functioning democracy is dependent on an educated and informed populace. We must develop critical thinkers, not automatons ready to follow whatever authoritarian bully comes around.

Democracy is stronger when knowledge is available. A community is stronger whenever everyone is served, regardless of income or station.  

Marginalized communities and individuals need to know they have a welcoming, safe space to go to. There are so many places where they are made to feel uncomfortable and unwanted. Public spaces, including the library and our schools, should not be one of them.

If your ideas are strong enough, they should be able to survive and thrive in an open marketplace of ideas. As a devout Christian, I do not fear this marketplace. I thrive in it. Because I know how strong and loving my faith is.

But if you really can't stand openness, then stop attacking public spaces and create your own private spaces that only allow your own indoctrination to shine through. Start your own private schools. Put a private library in your church or your beer-putsch-style political halls. Just don't come running to the state for your funding. Because they are obligated to serve EVERYONE, not just YOU.

This is not my last message on this subject. I will come back to it again and again. I would love for my blog to be about the eclipse, funny family experiences, pets, theatre, my Granddaughter, or even railing about Trump.

But that's not the time we live in. We must come to the defense of public spaces.

I'm open to suggestions. Anything. Let me know. Yes, I'm an introvert who has a hard time putting myself out. But this is too important.

Let's figure out what to do. If you love the library, now is the time to defend it.

*constitutional republic, representative democracy...whatever, it's all the same thing.  If you're snarling about my using the word democracy, you're part of the problem, not the solution.

Georgia Shoots for a Partial Eclipse

 

It's an omen!

Well, not really. It's an astrological event. symbolic of ... science.

It's not the Rapture, a theological construct less than 200 years old.

It's not a sign of the end times. It's something that has been set to happen at this time because, based on the movement of the sun and the moon and the earth, this is a scientific inevitability.

If it was truly supernatural in origin, you would hear the scientists say, "Oh, no! This wasn't supposed to happen right now! It defies the known orbits and movements of these celestial bodies!"

And...no one is saying that.

So, sorry. It briefly darkens the Ark Museum. It might pass over a couple of towns named Nineveh. No one is being raptured off the planet.

It is no more God-led than the recent earthquake centered near Trump's New Jersey golf course.

Will I be looking up at the eclipse when it passes this afternoon? No, mostly because I don't have the right equipment to do it. I have seen eclipses before and have not been particularly overwhelmed by them.  

From what I read, the eclipse in South Georgia will be about 70%. That may be enough to confuse some animals, but I'm not sure what we'll see without the right equipment. The best time estimate for peak coverage is around 3 PM.

I'll be home. I'll look to see if the yard gets any darker. Mostly if I see something, it will be via television.

I definitely will not look directly at it. I'm not stupid. I'm not Donald Trump.

Mystery Numbers

 

I'm not sure where they're coming from.

Last month was more typical. I received 1,046 views on my blog, The Strait Line.  

This month, so far, I have 8,688 views. I don't know why this month is substantially higher than last month. To date, I have 6 new posts in Mach, which is the same as in February. 

I know what it is not. It's not FaceBook because I get little to no response there. Facebook shows my Strait Line posts to few. Maybe because the blog is from rival Google. Maybe because it wants me to pay advertising money to show it to more people. I can't do that. My blog doesn't make money. I was lifetime banished from advertising more than a decade ago. 

I can see views made to individual blog posts, but I don't see anything explaining this month's numbers. Sometimes, my stories get reposted to more popular sites, but I don't know where.

It's probably some bot thing. I don't know. I'm trying not to get too depressed.

---------------------------

Speaking of not trying to get depressed, I bought Mega Million lottery tickets. The jackpot was $1.1 billion, and I figured if I was going to lose, I might as well lose big.

Which, of course, I did. The odds are such that wasting a lot of money on the lottery is really stupid.

Oh, well. Never said I was a genius.

--------------------------

There seems to be some joy in Biden's improvement in poll numbers in swing states.

But it's nothing more than a statistical tie for many of those.

Given what a lousy candidate and horrible person the Orange Conman is, I don't understand why anyone is supporting him anywhere.

But they are,  And now he's hawking "patriotic" bibles. I'm surprised they're not combusting at his touch.

-------------------------

On a happier note, we are counting down the days (roughly 60) until we can see our Granddaughter again! We could see my oldest son in roughly two weeks, and my youngest son is coming home for Easter!

So, that's all good!

-------------------------

Have a good week!

T. M. Strait