Day2, March 2, 2024
Today, I’m celebrating National Read Across America and Europe Day. I have expanded this holiday to include Europe. Reading has always played a significant role in my life. It’s funny because I had nothing to read at first but the Bible and the second-class textbooks that we received from caucasian schools when I entered school at five years of age. I discovered we had a library when I was eight, but it was too far away, and we didn’t have a car.
The Wallace Branch Library was built to serve African Americans in 1935. It was located in downtown Augusta in the Augusta section known as the “Colored Section” on Gwinnett Street. That has all changed. The street has been renamed Lucy Craft Laney Boulevard, and the library is now a part of Augusta’s history and is in the historical section of town. To say that I loved that library is an understatement. I remember my parents driving my sisters, brother, and me to the library and leaving us there while they went shopping after we finally got a car. I could stay in that library all day long and never get tired. By the time my parents picked us up, I had loaded myself with books I chose to read. Robert Louis Stevenson, Frank Yerby, and poetry by James Weldon Johnson were among the books I chose, although some of Johnson’s poetry was forbidden in the South.
Therefore, I am a huge promoter of people learning to read and disciplining themselves to read at least four books yearly. I am thankful that I can read today in English and German and a simple, straightforward book in Italian. To read gives me a warm glow within.
This morning, the sun was shining so brightly that I let it entice me to get out and take a mini walk. It is still shining, and I look forward to returning to my office sometime next week or the week after.
I have been working in my dining room because of the extreme energy prices. The prices shot up higher than we expected after Russia attacked Ukraine. I am smiling because my sisters and friends in the United States ask me how I deal with the fluctuating situation with the energy. I usually answer them with a simple sentence: I trust God, and with Him, I got this.
Have a lovely day today. I hope you celebrate today by reading a book you love. It doesn’t matter whether it is a print book or an ebook. Just read! Let yourself drown in a story that makes you feel good. That is what I will do this evening.
Take care.
Shalom shalom,
Pat Garcia
Hi, Pat! Such an enjoyable piece. So, now I have questions. Why did they change the name of Gwinnett street to Lucy Craft Lane Blvd? And, how does working in your dining room save on your energy bill, as opposed to you working in your office? Your life in Germany so intrigues me!
Thanks for sharing this awesome piece!
Hi, Nonnie,
Thank you for stopping by.
That changed the name from Gwinnett Street to Lucy Craft Lane Blvd, because she was the first African American Educator in Augusta, Georgia. She paved the way for education for blacks in Augusta.
There is a big difference between working in my living room or working in my office. My living room and dining room are open. There is no wall separating them and there is a lot of glass.
My office is in my basement, there are tiny windows that let light in. When I work in my office, it is warmer. I can turn my heater on one or two and my office is warm.
I save lots of money because I don’t have to have the heaters on in my dining room and living room. In fact, I am very seldom on the first floor of my home, when I am in my office.
Also, because of our energy prices, I have learned to sleep like most Germans. We sleep cold, which means we do not have heat on in our bedrooms at night.
Have a lovely evening,
Shalom shalom my dear.
Pat, I left a comment before but am told my comment “is in moderation for approval” whatever that means. I did read and love your post and learning so much about you and your life in the South. What a history we as a country had there! I am so impressed that you read in three languages – that is two more than me! It is evident that you will always triumph over any challenge and you are an inspiration!
Hi, Maura Beth,
Thank you so much for coming by. In Moderation for approval means that you won’t see your comment until I approve it.
I hope that I live out my complete purpose for life. Nothing is easy in this world. There is a challenge to everything. So I am very thankful for the strength within me and my faith that gives me purpose.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
I’ve always loved reading, but libraries always overwhelmed me. There were just too many to choose from, and I worried I would make the wrong choice. Now, I buy from Amazon where the book choices are endless! Lol!
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
Pat, I grew up down the street from a library which was next to the school and playground. During the summer heat, I’d go inside and sit at a table flipping through books and marveling at the pictures. I guess that’s how I got my start…
Dear Pat, you are amazing.
I’m impressed that you speak German and Italian, but I’m in AWE that you also read in those languages. Thank you for sharing your early experiences with the Wallace Branch Library. Since we didn’t have television while we lived in Europe, I would also spend a lot of time in the library and go home with stacks of books. Military libraries were well-stocked, and discrimination was not allowed. We were sheltered from the racial storms of those times because we lived in Europe and attended fully-integrated American schools overseas. My heart aches knowing what many of my friends have had to deal with.
It’s interesting that you had a Bible when you first entered school. Like you, I’ve read it through many times and find treasures each time I read the same pages. I look forward to tomorrow’s post. Keep writing!
Blessings,
Patty
Pat,
I totally agree with the importance of reading. When I was young, I loved reading stories, especially science fiction. Later, I became a big fan of James Clavell. His books were always long, but full of fascinating tales. Most were set in the Far East. Now that I’m writing, my time for reading is more limited. Still, reading is fundamental to a successful life. Wishing you all the best!
Pat, I was a ferocious reader as a child. I didn’t live near a library either. We had something at school but I don’t remember much about it. My father used to bring home stacks of comic books in a box. I was so excited at the prospect of spending my time getting into the ones I loved. My all time favorite storybook was “The Night Before Christmas.”
This is beautiful, Pat. I’m so glad you mentioned the fact that the library you grew up in was in the “colored” section. So many people have forgotten that portion of history, and, today in the United States, there are people who would like to erase that part of our history. My good friend, musician/writer, and soon-to-be-published author Reggie Harris (his memoir comes out next month) participates in the Living Legacy Project. He takes people on bus tours to the south, where they replicate the journey(s) of Civil Rights leaders and workers on Freedom Rides and walks across the Edmund Pettis bridge. I wish the powers that be would rename that bridge for John Lewis! Edmund Pettis was a renowned racist! I am going to forward you post today to Reggie. He will be very interested.
There was a time, during slavery, when it was illegal for Black people to even learn how to read. Reading is power, so slave owners worried that it would give slaves power if they learned how to read.
Hope you have the warm glow of reading today.
Good Evening, Wanda,
Yes, I remember people telling me they couldn’t read. In fact, I didn’t know my grandmother couldn’t write and read until several years after I had moved to Europe. She wrote me a letter and I called my mother and told her that I could not read my grandmother’s letter and my mom told me on the phone that she couldn’t write and read. I treasured that letter and in the process of moving to a new apartment I misplaced it and never found it. My grandmother always wanted me to excel and I had found out why. I was the first of my daddy’s kids and in his family to get a college education. And my daddy was around.
Thank you so much for dropping by and sharing that with me.
Take care and have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
Thanks for alerting me to National Read Across America Day, Pat! With the onslaught of social media, reading has fallen by the wayside. Days like today are important.
Good Evening, Linda,
You are so right; recognition for such days as the National Read Across America Day are important.
Thank you so much for dropping by.
Have a lovely day.
Shalom shalom
Our church is sponsoring an initiative called Cover to Cover, reading the Bible in 100 days. That’s a challenge because the Bible is composed of over 1000 pages. I’m keeping up though, just barely. And my novel-reading has been definitely curtailed, for a good reason, of course. Last year I read 59 books; this year the total will look a lot slimmer.
I love the fact that your parents valued reading and drove their children to the library. 😀
I also admire your ability to read and write in German–and also some in Italian. (English too, of course.) Wow, Pat!
Good Evening, Marian,
Education was very important to my parents. Enjoy reading through the Bible. I have done that several times and still do. It is always amazing to read verses in the Bible that I have read time and time again and then suddenly they stick out, and the verse or verses open my eyes, and I see new light, new vision, or new meaning.
Yes, I do enjoy having the ability to read German and some Italian. In fact, if would brush up my French, I could read in that language also. As a child I never would have thought that, but God saw it and I am truly thankful.
Thank you so much for dropping by.
Have a lovely Sunday.
Shalom shalom
Libraries are magical places!