Trip to McAdam

Oct 15, 2016

Thursday I took a trip to McAdam. I don’t think I have ever been there and before going I set out to figure how to get there. Interestingly the three ways I saw on Google maps all took approximately the same amount of time.I chose what appeared to be the middle way .It was a lovely day for the drive and I really enjoyed the fall foliage. There was a stretch of dirt road I wasn’t crazy about since I am driving a new vehicle. Funny how that changes my perspective. I wasn’t the least bit obsessive about my eight year old Corolla. Anyway I got there in lots of time and found the library right away. The librarian is a former student of mine. She welcomed me into the library and then across the road to her place for supper. After supper I took a short drive to have a good look at the impressive grandeur of the McAdam train station. What an architectural treasure! Thankfully local people have had the wisdom and determination to preserve and restore it .I will return sometime so that I can actually get inside and would love to go when they serve their wide selection of pies. So why did I drive all the way to McAdam? Reflecting on the trip I can come up with several good reasons. I was invited. My former student Amy recently moved to the small town to take the job of librarian at the small library. It is lovely. The small facility offers many books and resources (You Tube for a young man who comes daily)It is warm and welcoming . I read to five people including the librarian and her parents who were kind enough to drive two hours for the event. I met Sherry and Karen who were very receptive and asked lots of questions. I read four passages from Waiting For Still Water and a couple of passages from The Year Mrs. Montague Cried. Karen shared her story of loosing her son in an accident and his name was also Zachary. We talked about the common threads of our experience . It was lovely to meet her. She bought a copy of The Year Mrs. Montague Cried. Sherry bought The Memory Chair and Amy’s mom bought Ten Thousand Truths. I donated a copy of Waiting For Still Water to the library. I met the young man who frequents the library daily and he shared his interests and his passion for comic books and gory stuff with me. I did not sell him on my writing but he seemed impressed that I wrote all the books displayed on the table. Amy offered her home so that I wouldn’t have to drive home on unfamiliar roads and risk coming in contact with a moose. The painting of the large moose on the library wall reinforced my desire not to take my chances.I got Amy to give me a new library card as for some reason I have misplaced my old one.I think it’s great that a former grade 4 student of mine is issuing her teacher a library card and encouraging her to read more. I was given a $25 Gas card as a gift for coming. I settled in quite early and began reading David Adams Richards new book ,Principles to Live By. I heard him read the first few pages at a Fog Lit event and as I started reading it I could hear the words in his voice and cadence. I hope my readers after hearing me read can say the same thing. So why would I drive all the way to a small NB town , to a small library and read to a small crowd ? Why not is more like it. As I have said before , I get my readers one reader at a time and I am thankful for each one. Thanks Amy!

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