A New Office? And it’s filled with old yellow friends and beautiful photographs?

I’m sitting in the public library. Writing. Figured I’d try out the free stuff until my bank account looks nice and shiny again. I chose the table with the cushiony chairs, tucked away in the back of the library. The guy next to me is using an actual Sony Walkman-circa early 1990s. Fabulous.

I decided to clear my mind and do a little brainstorm before I started my “article” writing for the “content farm” that is now funding this little walkabout, and just wrote a little self-appreciating dribble about finding a voice with my blog and a groove in my writing. Blah, blah, blah.

I paused, and as if some little voice was calling my name, I stared up at the bookshelves on my right. And there sat my favorite yellow magazine flooding the towering shelves next to my new “office.” I landed in National Geographic heaven. Shelves of the beautiful yellow binding sat next to actual hard back VOLUMES of old Nat Geos. I believe I just found my happy place.

Ahhhh, my old friends.

And, much to my surprise, the remaining wall of magazines is filled with Lapidary Journal and Rock and Gem- my new creative endeavor. What are the odds that my new “office” would have such profound and appropriate publications, right at my fingertips. Beckoning, calling, singing my name! Telling me to come spend some time with them and find the inspiration that I know lives within their pages, showing me the dreams I aspire towards. And for free? And they have wireless? Stop. Its just too much!

Tax dollars actually serving a wonderful purpose? I know you might be thinking, “hey, rocket scientist, the library has always been there and it is always free! Extract your head from your arse and get with the program!” But for someone who cherishes her shots of espresso amidst the warm glow of a community gathering spot, where conversation, music and the blast of the cappuccino machine are the symphony that creates the magical prose that pour from my fingertips (insert sarcastic chuckle here) the library is rarely my ideal office. When I think of the library, I am immediately transported back to my days at primary school being read to and learning the Dewey Decimal system. I think of suppressed voices, serious studying and musty book smells- not this oasis of inspiration filled with my trusty old friend, Nat Geo.

So, maybe we should learn to embrace the free. The libraries, the community centers and the town halls, where entertainment is free of charge and accessible to everyone. Maybe we should step away from the shiny Starbucks on the corner (or 1890s outpost turned espresso joint) every so often and see what the local and state government has provided for its citizens. And while I would love to pontificate the merits of public services just a little longer, I can no longer resist the urge to peruse the beckoning volumes of my trusty old yellow friend.

Author’s note:
In contrary to what I just wrote- while trying to publish this article, I discovered that the wireless network at the library is configured for about 5 people at a time. Seriously? Is it that difficult to get a resource structured for people to use properly. I guess I must head back to my 1890s outpost for internet work. Sigh. In leau of internet access, I did spend some time with a volume of Nat Geos from 1948. Once article was devoted to a photographer conducting a 2 year photographic survey of India in an ambulance converted to a photography studio. Fabulous!