CheckItOut! Living the American Dream: Filimón Jimenez. Summer After learning to read, he began to understand what was available around him.

Transcription

1 CheckItOut! Summer 2007 Livig the America Dream: Filimó Jimeez After learig to read, he bega to uderstad what was available aroud him. Newsletter of the Solao Couty, servig the cities of Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisu, Vacaville, ad Vallejo Greatest Geeratio: The story of Marie Gjersee Armchair Travel Fairfield Cordelia Opes Summer Readig

2 Armchair Travel By Jaet Sowde, Libraria Joh F. Keedy, Vallejo Armchair Travel, oxymoro though it is, has much to offer over the real thig. No plaig, o passport deadlies ad fees, o laguage barrier, o arrivig at the hotel o a 95 degree day ad fidig that it ot oly lacks air coditioig but has t quite got eough fas to go aroud. Do t eve thik airport. Just settle back with the recollectios of some of the gifted writers of the travel gere, take flight to some of the far corers of the world, ad forget about jet lag. Travel writers are ot ecessarily writig for tourists. A traveler settles ito a ew place ad lives there for awhile, probably ot i a hotel, before movig o. A tourist oly has time to see high spots recommeded i a tour guide before goig home, or movig o to a ew tow or coutry. The writers metioed here are the former, folks who have decided to really leave home for a time ad experiece, for better or worse, aother place o earth. I credit Peter Mayle with writig oe of the earliest, fuiest ad most charmig books of this kid: A Year i Provece. If you like that oe, he wrote several more ad the tured to fictio set i that part of the world, icludig oe writte i the voice of his dog, A Dog s Life. His ovel, A Good Year, has bee made ito a recet Russell Crowe movie. I do t kow if Fraces Mayes set out to emulate Mayle, but her Uder the Tusca Su is also a culture clash kid of book with aother appealig settig. Mayes, a Sa Fracisca, buys a old place i Tuscay ad udertakes to refurbish it, thereby participatig i the local Italia life. What s ot to love about Italy? Well, okay, smokig everywhere is aoyig, ad the drivers!-- but this is the great thig about armchair travel. You do t have to experiece the actual aoyaces of other cultures; you ca hear about them ad be glad you are at home. Bill Bryso is a traveler who wet to Eglad as a youg ma, married ad raised kids there. He wrote about the amusig aspects of the British culture (Notes from a Small Islad). The he moved back to America ad wrote about America culture from a outsider s perspective (I m a Strager Here Myself). He also gave us a fuy ad iformative book about Australia (I a Subured Coutry) ad a tale of hikig the Appalachia Trail with a alcoholic compaio (A Walk i the Woods). The latter two are occasioally hilarious readig with the added ejoymet of feelig privileged to hear of these escapades without havig to actually live through them. Armchair travel at its fiest. The there are those who veture to less civilized parts of the world ad who may really woder what they were thikig as they lear to accept seemigly impossible coditios i far-flug areas. Oe such author is Maarte Troost, a youg ma who was disechated with office work ad wet alog whe his the-girlfried got a job i the Kiribati Islads. This is a place without ay ameities to speak of. Ad I do t mea spa-like ameities. Toilets? No. Fresh water? Precious little. Small islad, ot eough soil to grow aythig but palm trees, all food but fish (ad cocouts) has to be brought i. It is a place oe ca visit i search of iterestig fishig experieces, but after a few days, how fasciatig ca fishig be whe there is othig else to do? I The Sex Lives of Caibals, Troost has the capability of makig the reader laugh ad crige at the same time, while ejoyig the kowledge that you do ot have to go fishig to ejoy dier. You ca appreciate the abudace offered by America life without the immediate problem of beig deprived of it. cotiued o page 11 2

3 Livig the America Dream: Filimó Jimeez By David Lewis, Literacy Program Assistat Whe I first met Filimó, he had just received a letter from Goveror Schwarzeegger. The goveror s letter was i respose to oe Filimó had writte expressig gratitude for the goveror s support of adult literacy. Filimó had othig whe he first arrived i the Uited States ad credits everythig he has ad his accomplishmets to his participatio i the literacy program. Draw to the Uited States for the possibility of a better life, i 1986, he left his home i Mexico. He smiles ow whe he talks about those first few years whe he picked Mark Your Caledar! Literacy Tutor Traiig Dates grapes ad slept uder a bridge. The, he had othig but a dream ad a willigess to work. Twety years later, he is livig the America dream. After learig to read, he bega to uderstad what was available aroud him. He is ow a America citize ad lives with his wife, Nelly, ad three kids i oe of three houses he ows. His job i costructio keeps him workig hard but ow he does t have to sleep uder a bridge. He eve Tutor Traiig Part 1 of a 3-part traiig Saturday, September 15, 10 a.m.-noo Fairfield Civic Ceter Part 1 of a 3-part traiig Saturday, September 29, 10 a.m.-noo Joh F. Keedy, Vallejo For iformatio about Part 2 ad 3 of the tutor traiig schedule please call Reach Out ad Read Voluteer Reader Traiig Tuesday July 24, 3:30-5:30 Fairfield Civic Ceter Tuesday September 18, 3:30-5:30 Vacaville Public -Cultural Ceter started ruig marathos ad recetly wo the Lagoo Valley 5K for the third time. Accordig to Filimó othig would have bee possible had he ot discovered the Adult Literacy Program. He credits the literacy program for opeig his mid ad givig him courage. I do t wat to be stuck. I wat to lear more. Whe I opeed my mid, I opeed my eyes. I used to be afraid of everythig. Now I m ot afraid to speak ad ot afraid of life s challeges Teach a adult to read. Fid out more about the library s Literacy ad Eglish as Secod Laguage program, or

4 Fairfield Cordelia Completed New Suisu City is Next S helves of shiy ew books, a view of the hills framed by a wall of widows, the latest DVDs it s o woder visitors have bee ravig about the Fairfield Cordelia ever sice it opeed i December. Built for Coveiece The coveiet locatio ear the Gree Valley Crossig shoppig ceter makes the library a ideal spot for commuters to pick up a book o CD or telecommuters to take advatage of free WiFi. Express check-out machies make gettig i ad out easy; but for those who have a little time, there s plety of comfortable spaces i which to relax ad ejoy the view. The library also houses a Career Ceter with curret college, scholarship ad trade school iformatio plus a Computer Ceter loaded with learig software. A meetig room, equipped with state-ofthe-art electroic techology, is desiged for commuity meetigs as well as traiig sposored by schools, commuity groups or the library s literacy program. Commuities chage, libraries respod Respodig to populatio growth ad a eed for a educated ad techologically savvy public, Solao Couty has grow from five braches, 15 years ago, to eight with the opeig of the Fairfield Cordelia brach. The ew braches ad reovatios of existig buildigs are part of a twety-year facilities master pla that was completed i To date, four projects have bee completed. The Fairfield Civic Ceter, which had bee more or less uchaged sice the 1970s, was reovated i 2003 to reflect a ew emphasis o customer coveiece, computer access ad group study spaces. A secod library for Vacaville, the Vacaville Public - Tow Square, opeed i 2005, with the same emphasis o customer coveiece that was pioeered at the Fairfield library. The same year, the Vacaville Public -Cultural Ceter was remodeled with ew carpet ad pait, a computer ceter, ad wireless Iteret. I 2006 the Joh F. Keedy i Vallejo was remodeled with ew carpet, pait, study rooms ad a customer-orieted recofiguratio of the public spaces o the mai floor. 4

5 Fairfield Cordelia Facts Located at 5050 Busiess Ceter Drive, Fairfield, ear the Gree Valley Crossig Shoppig Ceter (Costco). Serves a populatio of 15,000, which is expected to grow to 25,000 by computers i the Computer Ceter ad 20 additioal computers throughout the library Career Ceter with college scholarship ad trade school iformatio Quiet study room Meetig room with projector ad scree Study rooms for small groups ad literacy tutorig A 4.1 millio dollar grat from the State of Califoria Office of Costructio helped fud the library alog with public facility fees that were collected withi the boudaries of the City of Fairfield The project is a collaboratio betwee Solao Couty, the City of Fairfield, the Fairfield-Suisu Uified School District, ad the State of Califoria Office of Costructio. What s Next? Groud broke for a ew brach for Suisu City i October 2006 ad a opeig date is slated for late The 10,000 square foot buildig will be adjacet to Suisu Elemetary School, at Hall Park ad Pitail Drive. The ew Suisu City will be a joit-use library, servig as both a public ad school library. 5

6 To celebrate Older Americas Moth, Solao Couty sposored a project called Greatest Geeratio: Please Share Your Memories. High school studets coducted iterviews with members of the greatest geeratio ad their stories were displayed i local libraries durig the moth of May. The stories are o our website, ad they will be o display agai at the library booth at the Solao Couty Fair. Marie Gjersee: Prairie Girl By Katie Dowd, Armijo High School ( 07) America is, at its heart, a atio of immigrats. Millios of people have passed through New York ad Sa Fracisco harbors seekig out what the Uited States was fouded o: freedom, democracy, ad opportuity. Amog the masses that came were the parets of Marie Gjersee. I 1913, Marie s families left their ative Bulgaria for Steele, North Dakota, which had recetly passed a law that allowed for the distributio of free lad to settlers who promised to maitai ad improve the territory. They set about cultivatig golde fields of flax, cor, ad wheat ad raisig cattle ad sheep. Marie Gjersee was bor ito this farmig commuity, the oldest of five childre. Her childhood could easily be a excerpt from a Laura Igalls Wilder ovel. The atural beauty of the prairie the sog of the meadowlark, thuder o a stormy day, the wid whistlig through fields of wheat, ad edless expases of sky color her every memory. Marie atteded the proverbial oe room schoolhouse ad may of her aecdotes are from her school days. The walk to school was four miles through the fields. The school bullies would tormet the girls durig the log march, but Marie was ever o the receivig ed of their tricks. A firm smack of her luch bucket was eough to keep the boys at bay. Marie was amog the more darig girls. I her first grade year, she vetured out too far o the froze pod ad fell ito the thi ice ad had to sped the rest of the school day waitig for her dress to dry. As part of the first geeratio of her family to be bor i America, Marie was also the first to lear Eglish. She spoke Bulgaria at home, but quickly came to adore the Eglish laguage. She kept a otebook with her at all times, eve whe she wet to bed, i which she recorded ew words that she leared. Alog with her love of the laguage wet her love of music. Marie ofte used music to help her lear Eglish. But by the early 1930s, the Dust Bowl had forced Marie s family to move by trai from their farm i North Dakota to Orego. It was harvest time, ad widfall apples littered the lad alog the trai tracks. Her father could ot adjust to the city lifestyle ad abadoed Marie, her four sibligs, ad mother. Marie s mother took o a job as a jaitor at the local high school to support the family. Later, she graded lumber at the local lumber compay. 6

7 Marie s first payig job was also at the lumber compay, where she served as the clerk. Marie had a game with her sibligs. Oe would throw out a Russia word that they remembered from their youth ad the others guessed at its meaig. The game brought them closer together ad remided them of days past o the prairies ad i the city. Her love of the Eglish laguage has also brought her much joy. Whether readig a magazie or servig as a secretary, Marie has always foud pleasure i words. Marie is curretly i a creative writig group. Her work is ispired by the atural eviromet she grew up i as a child. The su, the sky, the row upo row of rustlig wheat, the thuder, the birdsog, the peace. Recommeded Readig Agle of Repose by Wallace Steger This thoughtful ovel about a retired historia who researches ad writes about his pioeer gradparets garered Steger a Pulitzer Prize. Little House o the Prairie by Laura Igalls Wilder True story of the author s childhood, ad her family s move from Wiscosi to Kasas via covered wago. Wilder s series about life o the frotier is a favorite for youg readers, Also available o DVD ad CD. My Atoia by Willa Cather A America classic that compassioately ad itimately tells the story of a Bohemia family as they settle o the great plais. Also available o CD. Studet of Weather by Elizabeth Hay I a story set agaist the backdrop of Dust Bowl Caada of the 1930s, the two Hardy sisters--lucida ad Norma-Joyce--fall for the same ma, Maurice Dove, a visitor to the Saskatchewa farm of their widower father. Weddig Dress: Stories from the Dakota Plais by Carrie Youg Portraits of pioeer life are paited i eight stories set i the North Dakota plais. 7

8 Kids uder the age of 12 set goals for the umber of books they read durig the summer. Every week they get a prize as they make progress toward their goal. You ca fid details of these free evets o our website at solaolibrary.com Fairfield Civic Ceter *All performaces are i the Becker-Balmer Meetig Room Fairfield Cordelia Joh F. Keedy Rio Vista A Letter to Kids From Aette Va Koeverig Childre s Libraria Fairfield Civic Ceter We kow that you have bee waitig all year for this! The Summer Readig Program, Get a Your is back ad the whole family ca participate. Childre who are ot old eough to read by themselves ca have a brother, sister, paret or fried read to them. The books the librarias read at storytime cout toward prizes too. Get a Your will have fu evets happeig each ad every week for the eight week period too. There are weekly prizes, oe book prize if you reach your readig goal, ad lots of great performers. There will be musicias, magicias, aimals, reptiles, clows, plays, puppets ad lots more. You ca read oe book a week or a hudred, just read ad write dow what you read o the readig log that you get whe you sig up, brig it each ad every week ad get your prize. See you soo! Wedesday, Jue 13 Magic Da Wedesday, Jue 20 Adam Miller Wedesday, Jue 27 Mad Sciece Wedesday, July 11 Travelig Later Wedesday, July 18 Owe Baker-Fly Wedesday, July 25 James K Wedesday, August 1 Pytho Ro Wedesday, August 8 Daffy Dave Tuesday, Jue 12 Magic Da Tuesday, Jue 19 Adam Miller: Storyteller/Folk Musicia Tuesday, Jue 26 Travelig Later Theatre: Sherlock Holmes Tuesday, July 3 Suisu Wildlife Tuesday, July 10 James K Tuesday, July 17 Zu Zu Tuesday, July 24 Timothy James: Magicia Tuesday, July 31 Nick Barroe Puppets- Puss i Boots Tuesday, August 7 Puppet Art Theatre- Super Tommy Wedesday, Jue 13 Magic Da Wedesday, Jue 20 Adam Miller Wedesday, Jue 27 Travelig Later presets Sherlock Holmes Takes the Case. Wedesday, July 11 Boie Lockhart- Sogs ad Music Games from Aroud the World Wedesday, July 18 Puppet Art Theater presets Super Tommy! Wedesday, July 25 Da Cha the Magic Ma ad Kat the Acrobat Wedesday, August 1 A Raibow of Sogs with Jua Sachez Wedesday, August 8 Daffy Dave Wedesday, August 11 2:00 p.m. Okli Bloodworth Wedesday, Jue 20 Tie Dye T-Shirt Summer Kick-off Wedesday, Jue 27 Travelig later presets Sherlock Holmes Takes the Case. Wedesday, July 11 Creepy Critters from Wildlife Associates Wedesday, July 18 Toy Borders Wedesday, July 25 Magic Da Wedesday, August 1 A Raibow of Sogs with Jua Sachez Wedesday, August 8 Grupo Tacoaso 8

9 Adults Get a Clue! Sprigstowe *All evets start at 10:00 a.m. uless otherwise specified Wedesday, Jue 13 Chalk Day Wedesday, Jue 20 Games Day Wedesday, Jue 27 Tie Dye Day Wedesday, July 4 Closed Wedesday, July 11 Bubbles & Balloos Wedesday, July 18 Paper Crafts Day Wedesday, July 25 Figerpait Day Wedesday, August 1 2:00 p.m. Ice Cream Social Wedesday, August 8 Games Day Thursday, Jue 14 Boie Lockhart Thursday, Jue 21 Dace Theatre of the Gospel Thursday, Jue 28 Ae Carla Roveta Thursday, July 5 Dace Ulimited Thursday, July 12 Magic Da Thursday, July 19 Fratello Marioettes Thursday, July 26 Desert Dave Thursday, August 2 Raymod Victor Blues Bad Thursday, August 9 Daffy Dave Suisu City *All evets held at the Joseph A. Nelso Commuity Ceter Thursday, Jue 14 Opera Piccola presets The Stole Aroma: A North America Folktale Thursday, Jue 21 Daa Smith ad His Performig Dog Lacey Thursday, Jue 28 Da Cha Magic Ma Thursday, July 5 Norma Ng s Magic Workshop Thursday, July 12 Boie Lockhart s Riddles ad Rhythms Thursday, July 19 Puppet Art Theatre presets The Boy Who Cried Wolf Thursday, July 26 The Bubble Lady Thursday, August 2 Toy Borders presets The Mystery of the Missig Mutt Vacaville Public - Cultural Ceter Wedesday, Jue 13 Ulatis Commuity Ceter Daffy Dave Wedesday, Jue 20 Ulatis Commuity Ceter Magic Da Wedesday, Jue 27 Courtyard Figerpaitig Tuesday, July 3 Courtyard Flag Day Tuesday, July 10 Ulatis Commuity Ceter Peter Pa Wedesday, July 18 Ulatis Commuity Ceter Timothy James Wedesday, July 25 Courtyard Chalk Day Wedesday, August 1 Ulatis Commuity Ceter Tommy s Trai Troubles Wedesday, August 8 Ulatis Commuity Ceter The Mystery of the Missig Mutt Vacaville Public - Tow Square Thursday, Jue 14 Germer the Magicia Thursday, Jue 21 Pytho Ro Thursday, Jue 28 Puppet show Trickster Tales Thursday, July 5 Audobo Society Thursday, July 12 Chalk Day Thursday, July 19 Vetriloquist Steve Charey & Corelius Thursday, July 26 Sadi ad Stevie Isect Sogs Thursday, August 2 Water Program Thursday, August 9 Okli Bloodworth Why should kids have all the fu? Our first ever summer readig program for adults is itroduced at the Vacaville Public -Culural Ceter ad the Tow Square brach. Adults ca eter a weekly drawig to wi great prizes by writig short reviews of the books they read. Eter as may times as you like by writig multiple reviews. Reviews will be used as recommedatios to help other readers fid great books. Also, participats get a free book each week they submit at least oe review. To add more fu, the library will host a variety of fu activities aroud the Get a Clue theme icludig a Hitchcock film festival, book discussios, a CSI program ad our ow versio of Amazig Race. So joi us for a summer whe you ca be a kid agai! All programs are free. For more iformatio call You ever your library Lookig for somethig ew to do this summer? From Warcraft III to DDR, there s somethig for everyoe check out the schedule at solaolibrary. com. Ad the library s tee magazie is goig coutywide! Youg people ages are eeded to cotribute essays, stories, book reviews, photography ad art to this olie zie for tees. 9

10 The Solao Couty Foudatio More Literary Fu Ahead What s goig o at the Solao Couty Foudatio? Plety! Here is a overview of the plas for the remaider of the year. A Celebratio of Local Authors Local Authors Evet As a complemet to the Foudatio s popular Authors Lucheo, the Foudatio is plaig A Celebratio of Local Authors o Suday, July 22 from 1 4 p.m. i the Joseph Room at the Joh F. Keedy i Vallejo. As may as 15 local authors will be o had to talk with attedees, sell their books, ad talk about their experieces as published writers i pael discussios. The Foudatio is presetig this evet i cooperatio with the Vallejo Frieds of the, with admissio to the evet at just $10/ticket. Buddig authors ad people iterested i literature with a local flavor are ecouraged to atted. Authors Lucheo 2007 Matchig the stellar experiece of last year s sold-out Authors Lucheo will be challegig - but the Authors Lucheo voluteer committee has a great start with this year s authors lieup. Authors who are cofirmed as of this date are: 2007 Newbery Award Wier Susa Patro, The Higher Power of Lucky; 2007 Caldecott Hoor Book illustrator Kadir Nelso, Moses: Whe Harriet Tubma Led Her People to Freedom; cookbook author, chef, ad ower of Mustards i St. Helea, Cidy Pawlcy, Big Small Plates; ad radio persoality, Jeff Bell, Rewid, Replay, Repeat: A Memoir of Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder. More participatig authors will be aouced as they are cofirmed. See for up-to-date iformatio o participatig authors. This year s lucheo will be held o Suday, November 4 from at The Clubhouse at Racho Solao. Tickets will be $80 ad will ot be available util September 15. Author s Lucheo 10 Literary Tour Would you like to visit the homes ad eviros of such literary lumiaries as Louisa May Alcott, Nathaiel Hawthore, Ralph Waldo Emerso, Emily Dickeso, Edith Wharto, Herma Melville, Mark Twai, ad Harriet Beecher Stowe? Those are just a few of the stops o the Foudatio s first Literary Tour of New Eglad from September Tour participats will stay i historic hotels i Salem ad Stockbridge, Massachusetts, visit the JFK i Cambridge, ejoy a old fashioed lobster bake, ad meet with cotemporary local authors as part of this excursio ito New Eglad s literary roots. There will also be time to explore, browse ad shop. The tour is $1,382 (double occupacy) ad does ot iclude airfare. There may still be some availability for those iterested i joiig the group. Check with the Foudatio office Literary Tour of New Eglad

11 Celebrate Readig: Share a Book that ChagedYourLife I September, at the s website, solaolibrary.com, you ca write about the book that made a differece i your life ad read about books that have chaged the lives of others. Whether it is a ah ha momet ispired by a poem, a ijustice illumiated by a story, or a subject explaied that was oce ufathomable, books have a trasformative power i the lives of readers. We wat to hear from you! Tell us about a book that has iflueced you ad you will be etered i a drawig for a MP3 player. Armchair Travel cotiued from page 2 If these accouts do give you the urge to see some far-off places for yourself, it is worth seekig out writers who have spet time where you are travelig. For example, if you wet to Paris, you might wat to take alog Ito a Paris Quartier by Diae Johso, a Califoria writer who speds part of each year livig i the St-Germai-des-Pres area. She talks about buildigs which i the 1600 s housed the famed D Artaga ad may other otables at differet times. It leds fasciatio to a place, kowig the historical evets that actually happeed right there. You could eat where Jefferso died or stay i a hotel Be Frakli favored. The kid of cotext provided by Johso or by Adam Gopik (Paris to the Moo; Americas i Paris) makes oe s ow travels immeasurably richer. Travel is erichig, o doubt about it; but you ca get may of the beefits without the hassle, expese, risk, laguage barriers, currecy coversio ad icomprehesible meus by vicariously ejoyig the experieces recouted by the taleted writers who have bee to the furthest reaches of the earth ad lived to tell us about it. 11

12 Did you kow? Your library has free WiFi Your library has hot titles - waitig for you to browse ad borrow You ca request a book (or other item) to be purchased if we do t have it yet You ca borrow a item from ay cooperatig library i the coutry or the world With your address, the library will remid you whe your selectios eed to be retured or reewed. SOLANO COUNTY LIBRARY HEADQUARTERS 1150 Ketucky St Fairfield CA Tel (707) Fax (707) solaolibrary.com ASKUS ( ) Fairfield Civic Ceter 1150 Ketucky st fairfield, ca (707) Fairfield CORDELIA 5050 BUSINESS CENTER DR fairfield, ca (707) VALLEJOjoh f. keedy 505 sata clara st vallejo, ca (707) VALLEJO-sprigstowe 1003 oakwood ave vallejo, ca (707) suisu city 333 suset ave suite 280 suisu city, ca (707) Rio vista 44 S. 2d Street rio vista, ca (707) vacaville public cultural ceter 1020 ulatis DR vacaville, ca (707) Vacaville PUBLIC library -tow square 1 tow square place vacaville, ca (707)