I got my love of walking from my mother. Rain or shine, she would walk me to and from elementary school, and though I groaned mightily at the time, it seeped into my being, and now many of my lunch breaks have been spent choosing a direction and seeing how far my feet can take me. I enjoy noticing all the details I miss when I drive or bike, and new things will come into focus. I may not remember the names of the streets I walked through, but I’ll remember how the fog wraps around me in the morning, the way the smells change as the sun rises, and how each bird’s song hints at a new secret. When I walk to work in the morning and back home in the evening, I feel uniquely grounded on this land and humbled at my place within it.

I find reading can also be like this. Sometimes I crave a good, looonnnng read, something that might take me months to finish. When I discovered how much I enjoyed James Baldwin’s writing (by reading “The Fire Next Time,” a collection of excellent essays that I finished in one sleepless night), I spent the following year reading all the Baldwin fiction, poetry and essays I could get my hands on. Soaking in his thoughts built on that first positive experience, and led me to something deeper and more permanent. Though it has been several years since then, I find my thoughts returning to quotes and ideas in Baldwin’s books more clearly than some of the things I read only a month or two ago (and hardly a day goes by without my remembering a haunting line from my favorite Baldwin poem).

And to widen the lens a little further, I find this can be true of all creative works. Returning for a long look at a favorite piece of art brings fresh discoveries. Rewatching a much-loved movie puts a new layer on what I loved the first time. This feels like wisdom that we all know, but from time to time, we may need a reminder: it is good to slow down and pay attention to what is around us.

If springtime has put you in the mood for a walk, I invite you to join us! A new adult program called Footnotes: A Library Walking Group, has started each Monday at 10 a.m. We gather just outside the library entrance and enjoy a stroll together. More information about this new program is available on the library’s calendar of events. And, as always, if you are looking for a deep dive to read or to watch, we have some fantastic choices at the library! We’ll see you soon!

Anthony Morris

-Assistant Director

-Walkabout Enthusiast

-Old Snarley-Yow