Favorite Place

A grade school friend sent me this photo of one of our favorite places. This is the "Neighborhood House" in the town where I grew up. It hosted the public library, a community room with a stage, two bowling lanes in the basement -- back then, you could play for an hour for fifty cents, setting your own pins. It's where Girl Scouts met and all sorts of activitiess took place.

Since it was built in 1923, there was no air conditioning, but I recall the big windows open in the spring and summer and a gentle breeze coming in, no matter how hot it was. There was also this huge grandfather's clock and it was such a quiet place that you could hear the clock ticking.

The place needed renovation, but I expected it to be sensitive. I remember my shock when I walked in for the first time after the renovation and the place had been butchered. I never set foot in the place again.

This is one of the places where I developed my love of reading and I have many fond memories of browsing the shelves.