Reading Is FUN-damental!

We took the boys to the Downtown Nashville Public Library. They started out fairly skeptical of the whole enterprise. There was baseball practice and Vanderbilt football on the agenda for later in the day. Was it really responsible of us as parents to risk tampering with the delicate balance of the Universe like that? Demands were made. Deadlines for returning home were agreed to. Bribes were not offered, but kept in reserve just in case. A spirit of adventure gripped the lads, and off to the Bookatorium we went.

Certain downtown landmarks were pointed out. The boys immediately recognized the billboard of Jeremy Duffer on Church St. Even at their young ages, they are wise enough to see something innately creepy about a grown man who works at a Dungeons and Dragons store. We pointed out the building where Uncle XXXX used to have an apartment. The question from 8 was, "Did he live there when he was arrested?" The reference is to an unfortunate downtown drinking incident, which if he did live there at the time, he would not have been arrested.

The first thing the boys noticed when we entered the library, is that it is much bigger than the one at school. The second thing they noticed, is that there is plenty to do other than look at boring old books.

The thrill of riding the plastic whatever was sadly short-lived.

There were rows of computers nearby that were certainly far more alluring than the plastic whatever.

As was to be expected, this was a short-lived distraction as well. Despite the kid-friendly graphics, the computers were mostly of an educational nature with a little electronic card catalog action thrown on for good measure.

Without any other nearby shiny objects to compete for their attentions, the boys were soon able to find books that appealed to them.


One of the mission objectives was to find a suitable book for Mrs. S to read to the Third Grade Class. This offering on the right was immediately vetoed.

The boys soon started a search for books that conformed to the mission objective, as well as piqued their personal interests.

After what seemed like hours of searching and winnowing down the possible books, we were able to settle on 40 or so books that the boys wanted to read. They wildly varied in subject from Tiger Sharks to Great White Sharks. The wide spectrum of interests outside of sharks were also evident. Hence the dozen books about baseball and football. We also picked up the biographies of Sammy Sosa and Michael Vick just to mix it up a bit.

Before we left, we checked out the library's Drifting Along The Nile exhibit.

I found it to be extremely interesting, with cool postcards, photos, stereo-optic geegaws and those old stickers they used to put on luggage, back when you could take a gun on a plane and no one cared.

Children, sad to say, aren't nearly as impressed with a bunch of dumb old photos and boring Egyptian stuff as parents tend to be. So we made our way out the building. But, not before a rhubarb erupted about why 11 got a bookmark and 8 didn't. Once that crisis was resolved, we headed for home. I should have known this dispute was a portent of things to come.

Once the football game was watched and the baseball skills were practiced, it was time to settle in for a while. One of the books was cracked open. I believe it was about sharks. Once that was perused, boredom set in. The boys began to rough-house. It may have been about wedgies, or it may have been about bookmarks. I don't remember. But, I do know this:



It is all fun and games...













...until someone gets hurt.