Welcome to another week of opportunities to celebrate. Today is Cousins Day, and Wednesday is the beginning of National Salad Week. Friday is the 80th anniversary of the day in 1921 when Insulin was First Isolated, as well as Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day. Sponsors say that walking your plants around the neighborhood makes them healthier. Of course, this is more effective if you take them before they turn brittle and brown!

Saturday is the anniversary of the beginning of World War I in 1914. Sunday is Parents Day, and Monday is the anniversary of the day in 1935 when the first modern paperback book was published by Penguin.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Wednesday’s 10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. story times feature magic with magician Nathan Hadsall. Saturday morning’s 10:00 story time celebrates ice cream in stories and activities.

Terrific Teen Thursday on July 26 will feature the motorcycles – everything from dirt bikes to road bikes. The fun begins at 2:00 p.m. in the library’s Bondurant Room.

On July 27, we’ll have another Introduction to Internet class for complete beginners starting at 9:00 a.m. The class is limited to six students, so call today to reserve your place!

July 28 is Fun Stuff for Adults with a "Stamp It Your Way" program. All materials are provided to help you make your own "rubber" stamps. The class is limited to 20 adults, so be sure to register in advance.

BOOK TALK

The library’s Bob Kerwick provides this week’s book information. Have you ever had the urge to pack your bags, throw them in the car, truck or camper and just take off? Many people have done just that, and a number of them have written books about their experience.

Probably the best-known traveler was Charles Kuralt, who made a career of doing this sort of thing. He visited many towns, large and small, as he crossed back and forth across the country taping segments that aired on CBS News as "On the Road with Charles Kuralt." He also wrote a book by the same name, as well as "A Life on the Road" and "Charles Kuralt's America." He made people feel good about their country and about themselves. Charles Osgood, another TV newsman wrote, "No one in my time, no one on television, has shown ourselves to ourselves as truly, as lovingly, as skillfully, as memorably, as he did." If you have haven't tried his books, now is the time.

Other writers have gone on the road and written of their experiences as well. One of the better known was John Steinbeck. When he was nearly 60 years old he decided to get himself a pickup, with a camper on it and set off with his old French poodle, Charley, to rediscover the America he had been writing about for more than 25 years. After driving over ten thousand miles, in 34 states, he sat down and wrote the marvelous book "Travels with Charley."

Some critics rate William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways" as being even better than "Travels with Charley." He visited towns like Nameless, Tennessee, and Looking Glass, Oregon, and even Alamogordo, New Mexico. More recently, Richard McAdoo decided to leave the rat race of the publishing world and join the ranks of the travelers, dreamers, and adventurers, who set out to see the country while still enjoying all the conveniences of home. He and his wife, Mary, write about their experiences in "Eccentric Circles."

DID YOU KNOW?

If you’re thinking of getting "on the road again," here are some useful websites. You can locate tourist offices at www.towd.com. For outdoor adventures, try www.gorp.com. And if you’re looking for cultural events, check out www.culturefinder.com.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: "Your day goes the way the corners of your mouth turn."