Category Archives: Uncategorized

Getting our stack on

Posted on by

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My grandfather never went to the gym in his life. When he’d see some high school age runner passing his house, training for their upcoming sport season, or maybe just out for a fitness run, he’d say, “they don’t have enough work to do.” For my grandfather, work never had an off-season.

Despite Opa’s views on work and sports, my uncles all played sports and several of them, including my Uncle Bob, were quite gifted. My Uncle Rhinie played for the vaunted semi-pro Worumbo Indians and in the Army, he was talented enough to play at a level where he caught Rex Barney and was a teammate of former National League batting champ, Harry Walker during WWII.

Wood and the cutting, splitting, and burning of it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I spent time in the woods working alongside my Opa, my father, and my uncle, beginning at a very young age. Continue reading →

Project Compass-Day 1 (pre-breakfast)

Posted on by

I’m at the Project Compass National Convening. It sounds important, sort of like the convening that took place for the first Continental Congress, back in 1774. There are librarians and library-type people from all 50 states. I met a bunch of them last night at the meet and greet that we had. Then, I went out with a colleague from Maine and had some awesome Ethiopian food about a block from our hotel (Sheraton National).

Looking out my window, which faces Washington, DC, I can see the lights of America’s seat of power, and recognize the Capitol dome and the Washington Monument. It’s killing me to be so close and know that I won’t have time to sneak off and spend an afternoon seeing a few of the amazing sites.

We’re here to do some work. The agenda’s ambitious and it’s obvious that we’re going to talk about the role that libraries occupy in our nation’s economic recovery. Anyone that works at a library, or partners with one, knows the increase in people seeking career services that have been flocking to libraries during this economic downturn. Continue reading →