Museum Days 2011

Museum Days are over.

I have bought some books at the Friends of the Fairmount Public Library Book Sale, at whose sales desk I have sat during Saturday morning and late afternoon. We did very well this year, with more than 300 visitors on Saturday, despite the cool weather and intermittent rain.

I and the other Friends have had to remind people that the building, where the Book Sale was, is not the library anymore. The library is next door; this building is now the Annex. Having the words Public Library over the front door does confuse people; and I may have to bring up painting out the words at the next board meeting.

There were some people who marveled at the wood carving on the wall in the foyer, deducting rightly that there is a stairwell behind it. The door to the stairwell is on the south side of the building, and stairs lead to what was once an apartment when the librarians used to live in the building. The apartment is no longer up to code, and is used as storage.

I had my elephant ear (deep-fried crepe sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon) twice in as many days this year. I do not eat from the other vendors, mainly because I get enough food from Madre and her chili con carne and apple pie. What I did not have, because I had forgotten about it, was breakfast at the local Methodist church. The church serves breakfast of pancakes, link sausage, scrambled eyes, biscuits and gravy, and orange juice for $6.00.

The parade managed to proceed despite bouts of rain. A local guy who used to run the National Hurricane Center in the late 1980's and early 1990's was the grand marshal. We also got police cars and fire trucks, vintage cars, Shriners on little motor bikes, floats, our local high school band and cheerleaders, several clown groups, a few politicians running for office, and lastly a drum corps. What did not show up was a traditional giant tow truck: The company it belonged to is going out of business.

I get the feeling that the Museum Days as a whole was not well-attended this year. Some of it is due to the Gas City event; but I have been told that the Gas City gig is so crowded that visitors came to Museum Days to get away from Gas City.