NO! When I was a kid I'd go to Mariners when my Gran was taking care of me (the one next to the firehouse on 19th was my regular place). I think I still owe them for a book or two that I managed to lose for a few decades.
I used to get so much work done at the library back in Douglas ("on Douglas"? Douglas is the island as well as the town). There was no diner near where I was living, and so the library was a godsend. And the collection was small but decent, and you could ILL from U Alaska libraries. And the view out their big bay window was astonishing.
It was wonderful, and the lack of wireless there (altho they probably have it now-- this was 2003) meant I would actually work on things instead of reading ALDaily stuff.
We need to all live in the Charlie Brown world. With no worries, big heads, and parental figures which mumble incoherently. God I miss childhood, thank you for sharing your's with us.
For me, it was where I discovered poetry and science fiction and then science, a little later than many of my friends, admittedly. It was a safe place. I understand that the world changes and things evolve or die off as the case may be, but keeping a hold on my past is important to me.
But the Mariner's Library was a touchstone. It was a viceral and empirical proof and reminder that I really did live in that time and place, and even if I couldn't go back there, I could at least see it, and look at the path that lead away from there to where I am now.
As I have said before in other places, I can be prone to absolutely grotesque fits of hellishly nostalgic introspection, complete with 80s power chords and soft focus montages... But perhaps there is nothing wrong a little bit of idealization of one's past, at least those parts that still resonate with us today.
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When I was a kid I'd go to Mariners when my Gran was taking care of me (the one next to the firehouse on 19th was my regular place).
I think I still owe them for a book or two that I managed to lose for a few decades.
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Douglas"? Douglas is the island as well as the town). There was no diner near where I was living, and so the library was a godsend. And the collection was small but decent, and you could ILL from U Alaska libraries. And the view out their big bay window was astonishing.
It was wonderful, and the lack of wireless there (altho they probably have it now-- this was 2003) meant I would actually work on things instead of reading ALDaily stuff.
I miss places. Stupid brain.
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But the Mariner's Library was a touchstone. It was a viceral and empirical proof and reminder that I really did live in that time and place, and even if I couldn't go back there, I could at least see it, and look at the path that lead away from there to where I am now.
As I have said before in other places, I can be prone to absolutely grotesque fits of hellishly nostalgic introspection, complete with 80s power chords and soft focus montages... But perhaps there is nothing wrong a little bit of idealization of one's past, at least those parts that still resonate with us today.
mojo sends
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