Carnegie libraries visited: Fletcher Free Library in Burlington and Morristown, Vermont Days sober: 396 Each time I go off the road for a few days it becomes harder to get back on it. On July 15 my friend Ian, who lives in Addison, Vermont, and I flew to Arkansas for my father’s memorial service. We returned to the “Freedom and Unity” (two concepts that don’t always work well together) state on Saturday night. By Sunday morning, Ian had Covid. I thought about leaving then, as

Carnegie libraries visited: Ticonderoga, New York Days sober: 388 I slept in Brendan’s bedroom last night, left unchanged from when he lived there. You see, Wayne and I are members of the club that no parent wants to join; the “club” for parents who have lost a child. The bedroom of Wayne’s son was lined with trophies and posters; a bathrobe hung on the door, and photographic equipment was in their original boxes. After leaving Albany I drove north towards Lake Champlain, whe

Carnegie libraries visited: Gloversville and Amsterdam, New York Days sober: 387 There are no parking meters on the town square in Johnstown. It does have a statue of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leader of the women's rights movement in the United States. The statue portrays Stanton reading a book, not one from the Carnegie library here, which opened in 1902, the year of Stanton’s death. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and a Fan The square holds a tiny bandstand. After I finished my grou

Carnegie libraries visited: Canastota and Johnstown, New York Days sober: 386 Solvay Public Library Solvay Public Library Bathroom I have only a short 130 mile itinerary today, cutting east through the center of New York, so I’m feeling edgy. It’s easier to fill the days when I’m driving most of the time. I do need to find a new book to listen to. My two most recent checkouts, Alice Munro’s Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage  and Denis Johnson’s Tree of Smoke

Carnegie libraries visited: Lackawanna, Fulton, and Solvay, New York Days sober: 385 TripSavvy (“Vacation like a Pro”) lists nineteen of the United States’ natural wonders that should be on your bucket lists, if you keep such a list. I’ve recently heard a term more appropriate for someone approaching their 70th birthday: a fuckit list, on which you add things that you no longer aspire to accomplish (learning Chinese, winning a Pulitzer prize, etc.). Number 2 on the TripSavvy

Carnegie libraries visited: Bolivar, Franklinville, Perry, and Hamburg, New York Days sober: 384 The beer man’s car was parked next to mine – I saw him get a few things out of it before retiring last night – and he was up and out by 5.30 a.m. Drink beer all evening, then hit the road to his next destination before the sun came up. What a life.  About 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas, in a country comprising 3.8 million square miles. There are a lot of rural areas o

Carnegie libraries visited: Mansfield Days sober: 386 The bathroom door opened, and a penguin walked out. The Mary S. Biesecker Library in Somerset, Pennsylvania, is an hour away from Pittsburgh if you take I-76 and drive 10 mph above the speed limit. Pittsburgh is home to the Penguins, its professional hockey team. The penguin in this library waddled into the children’s room and was encircled by several staring kids, who wisely kept their distance. I did not want to interrup

Carnegie libraries visited: Homestead and McKeesport, Pennsylvania Days sober 382 West Virginia was given only three public libraries by Carnegie, and none of them are today fulfilling their destiny. The one in Hinton is the Veterans’ Memorial Museum; Huntington, it’s the home of Ameritas College; the one in Parkersburg sits abandoned. The Mountain State is not alone in its lack of Carnegies: Alaska never had any; Nevada had one, which was demolished already in 1931; Rhode Is

Carnegie libraries visited: Kinsman, Warren, and Youngstown, Ohio; Midland, Carnegie, the Pittsburgh Carnegie libraries in West End,...

Carnegie libraries visited: Cleveland Jefferson Branch, Cleveland Sterling Branch, East Cleveland, and Ashtabula, Ohio Carnegie libraries...

Carnegie libraries visited: Cleveland Carnegie West Days sober: 376 Cleveland might have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, yet I prefer...

Carnegie libraries visited: Sandusky, Milan, Amherst, and Lakewood, Ohio Days sober: 375 The five sentence history of the Kaubisch...

Carnegie libraries visited: Bucyrus, Carey, Fostoria, Clyde, Sandusky, Milan, Amherst, and Lakewood, Ohio Days sober: 375 The white van...

Carnegie libraries visited: Columbus, Mansfield, and Galion, Ohio Days sober: 374 There’s nothing like a good round of applause to begin...

Carnegie libraries visited: Walnut Hills, Northside, Avondale, Norwood, Hyde Park, and Price Hill, all in Cincinnati, Ohio Days sober:...

Carnegie libraries visited: Detroit Main, Divie B. Duffield, Edwin F. Conley, Herbert Bowen; Hudson, Bryan, and Greenville, Michigan Days...

Carnegie libraries visited: Owosso, Lapeer, and Armada, Michigan Days sober: 371 [Author’s note: I worked off and on revising this...

Carnegie libraries visited: Petoskey and Mancelona, Michigan Days sober: 370 iOverlander did not have any overnight recommendations for...

Carnegie libraries visited: Manistee, Michigan Days sober: 369 Hail pelted Goldfinger around 4 this morning, which meant I had to squirm...

Carnegie libraries visited: Bronson, Cassopolis, Dowagiac, Allegan, and Ludington, Michigan Days sober: 368 I’m lucky that I sleep well,...