So my younger brother and I had the privilege of growing up with parents that were self-employed, small-business owners. This meant that they worked very long hours and didn’t take very many vacation days away from work. Besides the annual “Fourth of July” trip up north to Mackinac Island and one random trip to Disney World with family friends during the 4th grade, my brother and I never knew the meaning of “Spring Break” until our late teen/early 20′s years. And in all likelihood, SB had an entirely different meaning at that age!
When “Christmas Break,” “Mid-Winter Break, & “Spring Break,” rolled around each school year, my mom would drive us to the public library, where we would spend hours picking out our leisure reading for the week.
Yes, we were geeks, what can I say? I think I read and re-read both of these series at least 3x over, if not more:
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My brother was more into “The Goosebumps,” and “The Boxcar Children,” books. But, between all of our favorites, I think both of us read everything at least once. Yes – my younger brother read “THE BSC” and “THE SWEET VALLEY HIGH” books. (Sorry to put you on blast brudder, but I LOVE YOU! 
)
All jokes aside, I recently learned that the library that we had both loved and cherished as children, and even in our teen years [as the after school "tell mom/dad we're studying, but really we're socializing with our friends" hangout], was being shut down due to lack of city funds.
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The residents of Troy voted ‘no’ on a tax of $174 per household to keep the library open. It is a public, government library and therefore, can’t charge its users to stay open. They also can’t take volunteers for some reason or other. Regardless, the official closing date has just been announced for June 30, 2011.
It breaks my heart to think that so many kids growing up in my hometown will not have the resources that I loved when I was a child. Don’t get me wrong – I am an avid e-Reader/Kindle user, but there’s nothing like the smell and touch of a REAL book in your hands. The suspenseful turning of the page as you eagerly wait to read what happens next to your favorite characters, is a sensation that can’t be replaced by any innovative tool or gadget.
I know there are a few petitions going around and a few fundraising opportunities in the next few months. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some sort of solution will keep it from closing this coming summer.
– What are some of your favorite childhood books? Have you had to say goodbye to a big part of your childhood memories?
