I remember getting my first library card at the age of 10 at the Bucks County Libray System Fallsington, Pa Branch. It was right up the street and easy to get to. Age 10 was about the time that I really started reading other things then comic books and stuff for school. The library had the complete collection of the Hardy Boys novels. I read all of them one summer, usually 2 a day.

So do you have a library card? If not why? With the way the economy is these days the library is the place to go. I spend a few hours a weekend at book stores just browsing and taking it easy. I rarely buy many books though…I write down the names of books that look interesting and then go to the library and just check out the book. If they don’t have it I try for an inter libray loan.

Tired of paying for movie rentals…guess what go to your local library and see what they have. They probably won’t have the most recent releases but they may have a few you haven’t seen yet from last year or a few months ago.

That library card also can get you on the internet, most libraries have free internet terminals for there library card holders. This service is also available to non residents for a slight fee. I always tell people who are traveling in the USA that if you are in a bind and have to get on the internet to always check out the local library.

Remember that the library is a great place to do research on things as well as a quiet place to do work. When I need to get out and work on projects with very little distractions I go to the library. Some libraries are starting to add coffee shops so if you have one of those what more can you ask for. The coffee at libraries is usually cheaper then at the local coffee shop so another savings.

Also check out the events or meetings being held at your library you may find out there is a group meeting about your favorite hobbie or computer operating system.

So lets run down why you should visit you local library and why you should have a library card:

1. Free books to read
2. A place to rent movies at no cost
3. Free Internet if you are a resident of the area (small fee if you aren’t)
4. Great place to do research and work

I have only listed a few of the benefits of the local library and each library is different. So go visit your local library and see what is available. Hey your taxes are funding it so it’s yours to use.

Carolyn has been hitting the pavement the last few months looking for a job. With the economy the way it is not many people are hiring. Yesterday the local school district called to schedule and interview.

So today at 10:30 she has an interview for a position in the after school program in one of the elementary schools so please keep your fingers crossed that she does well and they hirer her.

More later

Last night was the August meeting of LOPSA-NJ and before hand Brian Jones and I the Co-Founders of the group sat down to figure out how to increase the meeting attendance.

We both realize that something has to be done to make the group grow. Currently we have 149 subscribers to the lopsanj mailing list, but are only getting about 4 to 15 people showing up at the meetings.

Marketing came up as a way to get the word out about the group, but before we can market the group we have to get good viable consistent topics. This seems to be an issue with all groups I have been talking to in the area. Most of them just keep pushing on there members to come up with topics. Meeting attendance

The other topic that came up last night was we don’t seem to be getting any junior admins or even any Windows admins coming to the meetings. What would bring in those admins? I know more topics geared for Windows or the junior admin. So we are back to topics.

So I ask you the NJ System Administrators what interesting projects are you working on that you want to talk about to the group. What topics do you want to hear about? How do you feel about this group as a whole? Do you feel that this is just a waste of your time? How do you think we could make the meetings better so you would come to meetings?

What happened to the big family dinners that I remember from my childhood? Maybe I have watched the Godfather movies too many times or too many Sopranos episodes where the families would get together for dinner on Saturday or Sunday and I am projecting that onto our family, but I seem to remember getting together a lot at 90 Eggerts Crossing for meals when I was a kid.

I don’t mean holiday meals those we still do, just at different locations in Mercer County. I’m talking about the Sunday morning breakfasts and the meals in the yard during the summer with Rose and Louis, Fran and Angelica, Clora and Dean, Henry and Tim, Bea and Ray, John and Bea and Terry and Willie and me and sometimes other family members and friends. Those are the meals I am talking about, and the birthday celebrations with a huge carrot cake and funny hats.

It seems when Rose and Lou died, things began to change. Family gatherings were fewer and something seemed to be missing when we did get together. It’s understandable that things change. A few of us moved away and we all have families and lives of our own. Sure, today we visit once in a while or meet at wakes or weddings and on holidays. It just seems we are always in a hurry to get through dinner and get back to our lives.

In the old days the adults used to sit around the table and talk back and forth while the kids would go outside or into the other room to play. Now when we get together we are in a hurry to eat and get going. We meet at diners and restaurants too much these days where we are always having to go, so we can’t sit and talk and the food is not as good as if we cooked it ourselves. With the amount of money we spend for our meals we could have better and more food if we were to cook it ourselves.
I get a glimmer of these family dinners I am discussing at La Vigna meetings, when Fran and Corine’s families and Aunt Bea and Aunt Lorriane descend on the beaches of the Jersey Coast or on the days leading up to and after the picnic in the yard at 90 Eggerts Crossing. These glimmers always just make the loss of these dinners felt much more in my mind.

It was these family dinners that gave me the sense of what the family is and taught me to respect and cherish the family as a whole as a child. I feel that my child and my cousins’ children have been cheated out of a wonderful piece of heritage and learning of family.

So today I write to you from the Ft. Lauderdale airport where they give you free wifi in all the terminal buildings. After a week of no internet I sort of overdosed on it here at the airport.

Our day started like all the others in the Keys with breakfast by the pool. You could tell the weekend was near there were more people at the resort and at breakfast then there have been all week. Talked to a couple from California that have been traveling around Florida for the past month. They were music fans so we talked about a few concerts that we had all seen.

After breakfast we packed up the car and started the check out process. We were on the road by 11 and heading to Ft. Lauderdale. We had a few stops to make on the way to the airport and I didn’t want to spend the morning at the pool for fear Carolyn wouldn’t be able to pry me off the lounge to go home.

We made good time up Rt 1 north to Key Largo where we stopped at the Sandle Warehouse to get a few things for ourselves.

After that stop we headed for the main land and the airport. We got there a good 6 hours before our flight and they wouldn’t let us move to the earlier flight. So it was hang out in the terminal till 7:20 bording time.

So I am back in NJ now….

The flight home was uneventful and peaceful and am liking the damp 58 degree NJ we have come back to.

This was a great vacation of just relaxing and enjoying the Keys. I think we will be coming back here again next year. The airline and car rental were great. The hotel was great and better then I expected. Look for the a review of the hotel in a few days. So it’s back to the grind on Monday…

The one thing I found out is that I am on “Island Time” all the time…Carolyn thinks I could do real well in the Keys…to tell the truth if I had the money to get a house in the Keys and could find a good paying job I would move the family down to the Keys in a heart beet, but I think I will wait till Avery has gone to collage.