This year marks the 31st Annual Library Fair. And in today’s economic climate it’s important to find a wholesome fun-filled event for everyone. From its famous book sale to its food and entertainment, the Library Fair is where you want to be on Saturday, September 24, 2011. Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Library organization who assists in supplementing the library’s budget, especially its children’s programming. If you haven’t already visited the library’s website, http://www.tllsga.org you’ll want to do so in order to see an up-to-the-minute listing of sponsors, donors, events, and more.
Category Archives: The Union-Recorder
Libraries Aren’t a Thing of the Past
I sometimes wonder if I didn’t already work in a library if I’d remember how important they are. Many people young and old have fond memories of their public or school library but forget about its place in their lives. It’s like a favorite toy long forgotten; we relegate libraries to the now dusty shelf of our past and move on to other things. Who needs to be concerned about a place we don’t use anymore? We all should be because the magic we once felt is still being felt today.
Libraries are one of the few places where they have changed so much and yet so little from our childhood. Actually, it’s unlikely that if you were to return to your childhood library that its contents have remained the same. I remember as a child growing up in Jamaica how I enjoyed going to the library and reading after school. My grandparents were business owners and so they were often too busy to spend too much time with me throughout the week. The library is where I went to do homework, to read books, and where I went to escape from whatever may be going on in the outside world. Within the walls of the library, I was safe. To this day that feeling has never changed. On a recent trip back to Jamaica I drove by the library and my heart and face smiled. It was more freshly painted but there it was, in the same place, still containing all its many treasures.
Budget is not a four-letter word
Budget is indeed a six-letter word but we often see it as something dirty, constrictive, and restrictive. However, many of us, if we hadn’t already, are learning that in today’s world we’ve had to define a new normal. Living on a budget is nothing to become uneasy about or even discouraged by. Being accountable to how you spend and what you spend it on is not only wise, it will also make you think about what is truly important to you. From those who are super shoppers to the charitable giver, having a budget actually gives you more freedom to do the things you want and need. And with the new school year about to begin and summer nearing its end, it’s something to really think about. It’s never too late to improve your finances.
You don’t have to go to college
It’s almost time for another mass matriculation, the time when students enter doe-eyed and blissfully unaware of the realities of life during and after college. Most teenagers enter college with no idea of the financial, psychological, and other costs of attending school. I’m certainly not advocating not bettering oneself and pursing some form of education but I do advocate other non-traditional means of doing so.
Here’s a fact, or one that I have personally observed – not everyone is meant to go to college and not everyone will benefit from having done so. I don’t mean to blaspheme in our three-college town, however; speaking from an HR standpoint, knowing that you obtained a college degree often simply means that you completed classes. It does little to show me your real aptitude and ability as a person and potential employee. The fact is, you may be better suited for a technical or trade school. And that’s not a knock on those institutions of higher learning.
As Forrest says: Stupid is as stupid does
When do we stop making excuses and hold people truly accountable for their actions? When do we stop and say, ignorance doesn’t give you the right to be incompetent? It really bothers me when people butcher the English language in ways that are almost beyond comprehension. Add to that how texting is a language unto itself. It’s a more rudimentary phonetic form of English that has made its way into places where it’s simply not appropriate. Texting language doesn’t make me think you’re clever or cute, it makes me wonder if you know how to spell.
LaToya M. Davidson-Perez 