The Wonderful Gift of An Early Fall

DUKES FANS: Gift of an Early Fall Week The weather last week was a wonderful relief from the intense weather we have had for so much of this summer. It seemed as if we either had extreme heat and humidity, or we had torrential rains. Few people were out of the house on those days, and most of those that were out were generally not in very good moods. We grumbled, turned up the AC, moaned about climate change, and missed the summers of our youth. It has been a rough summer weatherwise. But last week was different. The temperatures were in the normal range-mid 70’s to low 80’s. The humidity was low for the whole week, and there were nice, easy breezes accompanying us when we were waking. The sun was out, and the sky put on marvelous shows of thick and curvy clouds seeming to dance in the bright skies. It was wonderful. Wednesday of last week I was looking for a book I had read several years ago, and I went online to see which Free Library branches had it. There were two copies available for circulation, one at a library near me and one at the Central Library Main Branch of the Free Library in Center City. I suddenly realized that, somehow, I had been to the Main Branch only once or twice this year, and not at all this summer. So I decided to do that, and I am so glad that I did. I trained into Center City and walked from City Hall to the library on 19th street, going most of the way along the Ben Franklin Parkway, a route I have taken literally thousands of times in my life. It was glorious: folks of all ages were out strolling, and many of them were friendly, smiling, saying, “Hi,” and waving. I walked The Parkway past the library down to 22nd Street, reveling in the beautiful weather and the vibes. There were tourists in front of The Barnes Foundation, The Academy of Natural Sciences and The Franklin Institute. There were folks sitting and eating lunch and playing with kids in Logan Circle. And as I walked, I had that wonderful downtown experience of seeing people from a variety of ethnic groups and nationalities and hearing a variety of languages being spoken freely and loudly. It was a great walk. And then I went into the library itself. I have always thought of libraries as sacred places. The 52nd and Sansom Branch and the Haverford Avenue Branch were places that I went to as a kid, and the librarians were so helpful. They answered my questions, helped me find books, and in a very real way, helped me become the ever-curious and questioning person that I am today. And when I went to junior high at Masterman and discovered that I only had to walk a few blocks to get to the Main Branch, that was all taken to a whole other level. It was truly wondrous and magical. Frist off, I loved the design of the building. It was both grand and welcoming at the same time. And I loved the size of the place: the rooms, the stairs, the high ceilings. It was clear that this was a place of honor and significance; a cathedral to learning and to the possibilities it could help bring into being. I spent some time in some of my favorite sections of the building: the Social Science and History Department, the Main Lending Room, where I found the book I was looking for, and the Music Listening Room. The Listening Room was where I spent hours as a high schooler listening to tons of records I could not afford to buy. It is where I heard Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins, Miles Davis, and The Alan Lomax Southern Folk Heritage Series, among many, many more. The room has changed over the years, of course; there are now videos, CDs, DVDs, and cassettes in addition to LP’s. And you can now borrow instruments! There were guitars to borrow, of course, but there were also violins, tablas, steel drums, kalimbas, mandolins, and ukuleles all available for folks who maybe wanted to play an instrument but could not afford to buy one. It was wonderful and powerful being back in that room and seeing how it is continuing to find ways to engage people in learning and growing. I will go back to the Main Branch in a week or two. There is an amazing celebration of the life and works of James Baldwin outside the Social Science & History Department, and he is one of my favorite authors and thinkers. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, this exhibit examines how his ideas and messages are having an impact on political, cultural, and literary life today. I did not have time to fully explore it last week, but I will be back before it leaves at the end of September. It was wonderful being back in a place that has given so much to me and provided me with so much in the way of curiosity, questions, amazement, and wonder. And it was all made possible last week by the unexpected gift of an early fall. (The history of the Main Branch of the library is intriguing. Here is a link to a site that looks at some of that: https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/feature/75th/history/ )