The Bookmobile Cometh

As a kid I loved going to the library. I still do, for that matter, but the Internet has become my library and for an information sponge like myself it's like living in a library!

To be honest I don't recall whether Riverside had a library or not. I don't have any memories of a library other than the branch library in Shreveport where I checked out books every week and even participated in a summer reading club. I remember a library at Youree Drive Junior High, but not Riverside.

I do remember the Bookmobile!

The Bookmobile came to school every few weeks and we were allotted some time to go inside and check out books. My passion was (and still is) Science Fiction and in a few months I had exhausted the offerings in the Kid's Section and had crept over into the Adult Section.

The Adult Section of the Bookmobile was roped off. You weren't supposed to go past the rope. But the SciFi shelf was near the floor and I found that I could sit on the floor in the Kid's Section but read the SciFi titles in the Adult Section. It didn't take me long to realize that with a little stealth I could whisk a book off of the Adult SciFi shelf and check it out big as you please.

It was through the Bookmobile that I was introduced to the great science fiction of the 50's: Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Bova, Simak, Bradbury, Verne and Wells.

I read the Invisible Man and War of the Worlds, Mysterious Island, Dog, I Robot and many adventures about Mars.

Then came the fateful day. It comes to all who skulk in the shadows. Eventually.

I got caught.

Red Planet Handed.

While sneaking another book off the shelf I suddenly noticed a pair of feet. The Librarian. I dropped the book in shock and, panicked, I looked for a way out, but the aisles were filled with kids and the Librarian was blocking the exit at the front. I was trapped.

Then the Librarian knelt down and asked me a couple of questions. Did I enjoy reading? Why did I like science fiction? What's wrong with the fiction books in the Kid's Section? I told her that I really loved reading and that science fiction really interested me and I had my own telescope and everything, and that there was nothing wrong with the books in the Kid's Section only I had read them all.

The Librarian smiled and asked me to stand up. Shaking, I complied. OK, I thought, here it comes, another trip to the Principal's Office.

But, no! The Librarian unhooked the rope and told me to step into the Adult Section. It was OK. I was invited. In fact, she had some other books I might be interested in. Then she introduced me to some of her personal friends: Dickens, Bronte, Hemingway, Williams, London, Twain, Conrad and others.

I learned that it could be just as engaging floating down the Mississippi River on a raft as it was rocketing to the moon. I discovered biographies and spent months reading about Washington, Franklin, Boone, Crockett, Bell, Watt and many others.

So, maybe Riverside didn't have a library, but those adults who supported education provided us with opportunity and encouragement to stretch our wings as far as we could.

To the unknown Librarian on the Bookmobile, thank you! You helped to develop in me a lifelong love of learning that continues to this day.