Of course my summer has been a little bit more than that (cat wrangling being the newest trend that is both vexing and aDORable at the same time) though there's nothing I can compare it to unless I reach way, way back to non-working school days, lolling and watching too much TV, minus the cigarettes and unshattered dreams, of course. I am deep in the middle of planning Leg 2 but was late starting so it's a bit unnerving, even if previous planning experience makes it a bit easier. Leg 2, by the way, is going to be Epic. Perhaps more Epic than I'd imagined when it was all just a 2D idea. I knew I'd be going to Devil's Tower in Wyoming (HELLO, MOTHERSHIP) but who knew there would be so much else to explore out west and north? Well, everyone, I'm sure, but not me. I mean, have you seen Idaho? They've got stuff there. Rolling hills and other SUPER pretty shit. Like.
I mentioned my brain is completely lineless at this point, yes? Like a smooth river rock. You could skip it across a pond, probably.
Anyway, the plan is to launch in mid September and go through the end of October, possibly longer depending on fitting in all the sights and managing the finances required. While this blog sleeps now, it'll be revving up in earnest again soon. I will be traveling through Colorado, Utah, and California, though different parts of those states this time, then onward to new places in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, N and S Dakota and through Nebraska (with one planned stop) before getting back to Wichita in time to participate in holidays like a Person (not to say anxiety ridden alcoholics aren't people...they are...it just doesn't feel that way when you are living it, ya know? Especially when you can't go home because you have a massive panic attack before your flight and then are kind of relieved anyway because you'll get to spend the holiday soaked in liquor and pretending to be sad about it and honestly feeling like shit about being a shit so you dump more alcohol on that which solves everything for about five minutes). I haven't had a holiday with my family in years, so this will be FUN. Clean, wholesome, non-haunted FUN!
I am currently hanging out at the Alford Branch Library (more on this later) which is located in the far southwest part of the city, not far from the airport and about 12 miles from where I am staying. It is the newest of all the Wichita branch libraries and has a rather ingenious design that tips its hat to the library's namesake, Lionel Alford, a Boeing executive and community leader. It's wear worn at this point, but still in pretty good shape considering it's about 14 years old, and I couldn't help but fell an empathetic twinge when I realized it would soon be outflanked by the new main branch under construction downtown. Check out the link--it looks like it is going to be freaking amazing and I cannot wait to see it.
I've visited 7 of 8 Wichita branches now...and time is running out on the last one, but it's the humdinger, if you will, the Endgame Boss, the Last Bastion, the MFER to end all MFERs. The Main Branch. What's truly SAD and WRONG (to use our president's favorite bigboy words) is how much I love this library, and yet how much I've built up my nerves about going in and spending real time there. The architecture is DIVINE, especially if you dig harsh, cruel lines and blackhearted but efficient construction. People either hate it with all the powers harnessed in the fires of Mordor...or they want to live in it and call it Babylove. There are two kinds of people, amiright? Both sick...but special.
The new library won't open until 2018, but there's no news on when they will start emptying out the old main branch, or even what they plan to do with it. The proximity of the two structures would suggest that the older building will either be torn down (a very Wichita thing to do) or will be repurposed (fingers crossed). They can't both be libraries serving the same public...one clean and shiny and new and the other a doomed relic, someone's idea of a futuristic bunker where Logan is forever on the run, perhaps. OMG, just writing this is making me want to GO THERE, and fuck the fear, just GO. OMG OMG. I have to see it, I have to document it. I have to smell how it smells (yes, it has its own smell unlike any other smell in the world) and I have to bask in the weird, filtered light and delight in the quirk and color of it because it is so special to me, very beloved.
(I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library I will not cry in the Alford Library)
The website for the new "Advanced Learning" Central Library answers the question (But what about the current building?) in a clipped and detached way: "The current Central Library building is the property of the City of Wichita. The City Council will make the decision on the future of the building." It housed your Damn Books for 50 years but go on, girl, be that way. Seeing some of the decisions made by this city in the past, I'd advise getting out to see the old building before they destroy it completely, especially if you're into sexy brutalism.
As for me, it will be my opportunity to face old ghosts and end a lifelong relationship on a positive note, rather than the ugly memory of one incident that spoiled the place and cast all other memories under a shadow of yellow feelings and avoidance. I will be writing about my Wichita area library experiences in future posts, with a little more (and less) specificity than on my travels, first because it is Wichita, my hometown, and I know these neighborhoods and people well. But I'm also using these libraries as a True Patron, not just passing through, but checking books & DVDs out, making interlibrary requests, etc. So that will change my approach a bit as well. I also plan to visit some libraries in outlying towns, some of which look pretty freaking fancy from my preliminary research...it will be a fairly all-inclusive kind of trip and I hope to do justice by them all.
When I arrived at the Alford Library, I tried looking for the latest information on the Houston libraries I visited during Leg 1 of my adventures, but there is no specific news as yet. It's even difficult to get information on specific neighborhoods, but I would imagine that is to be expected in the chaos of Hurricane Harvey. The websites report that all branches are closed (as are all YMCA facilities) but there is no news on the conditions of the libraries, whether they made it through okay or if there is any sort of structural or water damage to one or some.
We don't watch the news in my mother's home (she hates it with a passion) so I was only vaguely aware that there was a hurricane going on in the first place, and last night was the first I realized it was as serious as it is. I was making my plans, drafting out different routes and places to visit, tracking miles and time along the way, and marveling at timing and how you just never know when these life changing events will occur. One of the mornings in Houston, my AirBNB host hung out in the kitchen and talked about historical Houston hurricanes and flooding and how it had been x many years since the last incident. He even had a book that documented the devastation the last time around (pretty sure it was Ike). He ventured that global warming made the specter of similar weather events (and worse and worse) all the more likely. Just those few months ago, neither of us were thinking that the specter would be now. I hope he is OK. I hope everyone is OK, healthy, fed, dry, and safe.
A darling little girl (about 9 or 10, missing two front teef and sporting the biggest glasses) was walking into the library at the same as me, and she smiled bright and starry eyed and said "I Loovvve your shirt." And I thanked her and checked my peripherals because I'd forgotten what I was wearing and I swear to God without even a conscious thought (it's one of my last pieces of clean laundry, honest). It wasn't until I was in the bathroom that it struck me. Houston solidarity.
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| Yes, this is my face. Yes, you can land a space shuttle on my forehead. Yes. I pick up extraterrestrial signals on my radio dish sized forehead. Yes, you are jealous as HELL. (PS. I love you, Houston, And your people, and your grackles, and your food, and your pretty, pretty libraries, and especially your NASA. MUCH LOVE and please take care.) |
