Wednesday, August 08, 2007

One Historical Document - The Cow Tail Switch

I woke up late from a dream about an alien invasion, after getting the kiddo off to his first day of school and then falling back to sleep (seriously, I'm absolutely exhausted from helping to save the last of humanity with . . . water pistols; dreams are so interesting). So, my Lesley Castle review still hasn't been started and, instead, I'm posting a photo of an historical document - the first library sale book I ever bought, a reject from my hometown's public library, which I purchased for a dime when I was around 9 or 10 years old. The Cow Tail Switch is an excellent book of West African folk tales with black-and-white illustrations. I read and reread that book for years and still have a fondness for folk tales. It might be due for a reread.

More later, I hope. The first week of school is always rather wild.

20 comments:

  1. Isn't the first day of school fun? They bring home about thirteen zillion papers for you to fill out and sign by tomorrow. Gah! If they'd told me that was part of the deal, I might have rethought the whole having kids business. :P

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  2. I know. I could do without all the paperwork. At least they bring out the deputies to patrol the school zone, the first day. The parking lot situation is always hell on wheels. Hahaha.

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  3. I hope it goes well. I am not looking forward to it with my little guy but we need to work on Potty Training. Well I hope here soon.

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  4. Krista,

    I don't envy you the potty training. Obviously, we're way the heck past that and I couldn't be happier. :)

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  5. So, was the dream a dream or a premonition?! Should I fire up my tazer gun?

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  6. What fun! And what an interesting book. I can't say that I've ever read any West African folktales.

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  7. Les,

    I hope it was a dream! It was a wild one. My husband thinks it's really funny that we finally figured out how to repel the aliens with squirt guns. LOL

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  8. Andi,

    I doubt I would have read any if I hadn't happened across that book for a dime! If I can locate it, my next historical document post will be a photo of my fairy tale book. You'll love that one. It's in pieces, but there's no way I'll ever part with it.

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  9. What a cool little book! It looks like it would smell good. Strange comment, I know, but it looks like one of those good old library books that have that old book smell...maybe I just need sleep :p

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  10. Anonymous10:30 PM

    It's the first week of school??? No wonder people keep saying the summer is over.

    I remember how horrified I was when I realized the library sold off their books! I must've been around 11 and I was looking for this ancient book I read every couple of years.

    Wonder how squirt guns would work on terrorists?

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  11. Chris,

    I think you need sleep. Just kidding. I didn't sniff it, but my sinuses aren't working too well, this week. I know what you mean. I love the smell of a library or bookstore - paper has a really distinctive scent. I think big art books on high-quality paper are my favorites for smell.

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  12. That's fun, especially that you still have it. I can't believe they start school already? What happened to starting in September?

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  13. Carrie,

    Yep, school started today. I prefer the old-fashioned Memorial Day-Labor Day schedule because it allows for a longer summer swim season, myself. I just figure in a hot climate, summer should be wrapped around the pool. Apparently, school officials disagree.

    I can see why you might have been horrified. There are times I look at the rejects and think, "Well, why are they getting rid of that?" They have more air space than books in our library.

    If we can get terrorists to melt, we've got it made. :)

    Nat,

    I keep everything, unfortunately. At my age, it's getting to be a problem.

    It's always been August, here, but school used to start much later in August. They just keep moving it back. They're apparently trying to go to year-round schooling, slowly. I think our school officials need to have their heads examined. Forget worrying about that - just focus on getting more than 2/3 of the kids to graduate, for crying out loud. Sorry, soapbox issue. :)

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  14. Anonymous5:34 AM

    This reminds me of my first-ever yard-sale purchase when I was a child---a somewhat tattered yellow cloth-covered hardback detailing the adventures of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Ahh the fond memories. :)

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  15. What a darling little book! It's amazing how libraries get rid of all these books as though they're packing paper. I've also bagged a few treasures from my university library sale quite recently.

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  16. Heather,

    Do you still have that book? Just curious. ;)

    Emz,

    It is surprising, isn't it? Especially if they're in decent shape. I suppose it has something to do with how often they're checked out, but I'd prefer to have a library crammed with all sorts of titles that people seldom borrow than a few popular titles that are checked out repeatedly - which is what ours seems to carry.

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  17. Interesting. I only ever started in August, and the end of August at that, when I lived in Manitoba and they started early in anticipation of snow days cutting into the year.

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  18. Anonymous9:14 AM

    bookfool---I'm not actually sure whether I still have it. I certainly hope that I do, but I know I got slightly over-enthusiastic about passing on my books when we had to move from NH to MD. I imagine it's around here somewhere, though; I can't believe I would have gotten rid of that one!

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  19. Nat,

    It gets earlier every year, here. Obviously, we don't have to worry about snow days, but I do think they should worry about the heat.

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  20. Heather,

    I hope you didn't part with it! But, I understand that moving fervor. It's one reason I wish we moved, now and then. It's too easy to settle and let the possessions grow to the point that they're a burden.

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