Carnegie libraries visited: Dixon, Woodland, Sacramento, Lincoln Dayse sober: 271 Not every day on an adventure is adventurous. When Kelly and I spent those seven weeks hiking along the Continental Divide in 1980, most days held hours of walking along mountain trails, or bushwacking through forests, or tromping down logging roads, in ways that allowed quiet contemplation, sweat, sore feet, and only moments of wonder. A few days I do recall vividly without a prompt: traversing

Carnegie libraries visited: Okolona and Houston, Mississippi Days sober: 245 Alabama (“We defend our rights” is the state motto) gave me a little gift this morning. When turning off my iPhone last night, I inadvertently put it in SOS mode. The SOS mode disables the cellular service I needed to use my maps and apps. To turn SOS off, I thought I needed a wifi connection, so I drove back to the Ben May Library because I knew that the library would have one. Libraries are good th

Carnegie libraries visited: Rockland, Massachusetts Days sober: 484 One more time. Hit the alarm. Squirm into my clothes – should I buy another car before an extensive trip, I’ll get one in which I can sit upright in my sleeping quarters – and pop open the back hatch. Slide out. Walk into the hotel to pee and splash water on my face and, if I remember to bring my toothbrush, scrub my teeth. Click another daily pledge on my I Am Sober app. Read my daily meditation. Check my co

Carnegie libraries visited: The Frances Perkins Branch Library, Worcester and Marlborough, Massachusetts Days sober: 483 Goldfinger retains heat fairly well, which I am thankful for because a hard frost had fallen. Lying on my back, I wriggle into my pants, pull on my socks, shirt, down vest, and hat and then stroll into the lobby, as if I were a valued patron, to warm up. I wasn’t in a hurry to lift off, as the Frances Perkins Branch Library, in Worcester, didn’t open until

Carnegie libraries visited: Enfield, Connecticut; Springfield Forest Park, Central, and Indian Orchard, Massachusetts Days sober: 482 I warmed up with coffee at Southdown Coffee before going forth. While there I took my daily sobriety pledge on my app, which gives my reasons for abstaining from alcohol: “For my health, for my family…”, and checked out the daily recovery reflection “This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for a lifetime.” Truth. Before 9 I arrived

Carnegie libraries visited: Northport, New York Days sober: 481 The day was library heavy, but Carnegie light: only one on my route, a counter-clockwise loop around Long Island. After a chilly night, I was glad to warm up with a cup of joe at Socially Good Coffee. I was delighted to see a poster for Patchogue’s Sober October Popup Bottle Shop and Networking Mixer, where I could have a complimentary Espresso Martini mocktail if I had stayed two more nights. Tempting as it was,

Carnegie libraries visited: Perth Amboy and Elizabeth, New Jersey; St. George, Stapleton, Fort Hamilton, Williamsburg, Bushwick, DeKalb, Macon, Bedford, and Patchogue, New York. Days sober: 480 If I don’t record the events of the day immediately, they slip away amazingly fast. It’s been more than two weeks since I made the drive from Avon to Patchogue, and I only remember fragments of the day. It was one of those days: I took pictures of 16 libraries, including about a dozen

Carnegie libraries visited: Ridley Park, Delaware; Paschalville, South Philadelphia, Wyoming, Lehigh, McPherson Square, Richmond, Tacony, all in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Belmar and Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Days sober: 479 So many different Americas were on my route today, from sea to shining sea: Cape May, New Jersey to Avon-by-the Sea, New Jersey.  Cape May is one of the nation’s oldest beach vacation destinations, and it is said that it has more Victorian homes than a

Carnegie libraries visited: none. Days sober: 477 My library tour was interrupted for two months because, as I’ve often heard in recovery meetings, “life got lifey.” I was disappointed, and also relieved that I have the serenity to accept those things I cannot change. I had hoped to make one continuous loop through the 48 states, backtracking the least amount possible, so when I finally use a Sharpie to draw my route on a US map I could – at least in principle – do so without

Carnegie libraries visited: New Haven Fairhaven, West Haven, Derby, Norwalk, and South Norwalk, Connecticut; Mount Vernon, New York Days sober: 417 I wasn't having much luck finding information about women and libraries while traveling throughout New England. (When I returned home and explored the archives, I had much better luck.) The older libraries – and there were lots of libraries in the northeast built before Carnegie, although they were primarily by subscription and th

Carnegie libraries visited: none Days sober: 416 This barely counts as a library travel day, except that I travelled and visited a library. I didn’t travel much, as Paul, his son, and I drove from Narragansett to Newport and back, for a grand total of 30 miles. The library we visited was the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, and what a library it is. It claims to be – and who am I to doubt this claim? –  “ America’s first purpose-built library  (1747), and the oldest

Carnegie libraries visited: None Days sober: 415 Last night, Paul was most solicitous. When we were in graduate school in Wisconsin, if we went out it typically involved a search for beer to drink and women to flirt. He was taking me out to watch a college football game – I don’t remember which, and it doesn’t matter – and our first stop was unacceptable to him, and not because it lacked either suds or senoras: “It’s too much of a bar.” Paul knew that I was sober and he wante

Carnegie libraries visited: none. Days sober: 414 Jen approached Paul and me while we were standing in line to get some coffee. I didn’t remember her; she remembered us. When Paul and I left the Noah Webster public library, he had asked three librarians at a reference desk whether we could leave our backpacks on a nearby desk while we walked around downtown. The librarians looked at us like “What?” They were definitely not in the business of watching patrons’ stuff, although

Carnegie libraries visited: Taunton, Dighton, and Edgartown, Massachusetts Days sober: 413 I keep my frequently updated itinerary on Google sheets. For each day, I list the Carnegie libraries I plan to visit and the miles from the starting point to each stop cumulatively through the end of the day. I try to stop at most libraries along the way, even if  they are not included on my itinerary. While cruising down the road, I would quickly and I hope not too dangerously hit the

Carnegie libraries visited: Leominster, Clinton, Marlborough, Hudson, Somerville East, Somerville Central, Somerville West, Revere, Chelsea, Rockland, Massachusetts Days sober: 412 The alcoholics sitting in the VFW meeting hall in Manchester were facing away from the bottle-lined bar behind them. One or two of the participants were actually sitting on barstools. Force of habit? The room was ringed with banners with slogans for recovery: “Keep It Simple.” “Take It Easy” “One D

Carnegie libraries visited: Vinalhaven, Rockland, Lewiston, and Auburn, Maine; Rochester and Dover, New Hampshire. Days sober: 411 It’s going to be a ferry nice week. Ha. I’m taking one from Rockland to Vinalhaven this morning, and on Thursday another out to Martha’s Vineyard. It would have been helpful if I had paid more attention to the schedule today instead of thinking about the future. I believed that I would take the 8.45 a.m. to Vinalhaven and then catch the next one b

Carnegie libraries visited: Fort Fairfield, Houlton, Old Towne, Pittsfield, Madison, Waterville, and Oakland, Maine Days sober: 410 My loins are girded with coffee and Grape Nuts. After ten days off the trail, I plan to make up for lost time today. Rather than dropping destinations from the itinerary – which would have been the wise choice – I just plan to drive faster, longer, and farther. My plan is to drive some ~500 miles, visit seven Carnegie libraries, and have a picnic

Carnegie libraries visited: Caribou, Maine Days sober: 399 The Tim Horton’s in Caribou was popping at 10 this morning. Eleven guys, at tables of 4-4-3. Nine were wearing t-shirts; an equal number were in baseball caps. Lots of talking shit; lots of laughter. By 10.15 the restaurant was empty except for me. They all went to work, and I should be going too.  As I’m walking into the Carnegie library in Caribou, a guy crossing the street towards me says “Hey, what are you doing?”

Carnegie libraries visited: Rumford, Madison, Guilford, Milo, and Presque Isle, Maine Days sober: 398 My head hurts, my feet stink, and I don’t love Jesus is the title of the Jimmy Buffett tune, and it aptly describes my morning, except for the Jesus part. I shouldn’t complain. When I popped open Goldfinger’s hatch, I’m greeted by the rippling waters of the Androscoggin. My itinerary calls for over 300 miles today, mainly on rural roads through Maine’s many villages, so after

Carnegie libraries visited: Littleton, Whitefield, and Berlin, New Hampshire Days sober: 397 I was up, sniffly and early, as I had a 10.30 appointment with Profile Subaru in Conway, New Hampshire. That town had been added to my itinerary at the suggestion of my sister Gretchen, who told me it was well worth seeing. Along the way through northern New Hampshire were other libraries Littleton (in 1988, the American Library Association  selected Littleton as having the #1 small l