Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

National Authors Day

Posted Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 3:01 PM

“Will it go round in circles? Will it fly high like a bird up in the sky?” Those lyrics came to mind when I discovered tomorrow, November 2, is Look for Circles Day. Curious.

Today, however, is National Authors Day, a legitimate one endorsed by Congress. Nellie McPherson, president of the Bement Illinois Book Club, conceived the idea in 1928. The club celebrated it in 1929 and Congress made it official in 1949.

It’s a day worth celebrating. Thousands and thousands authored the books that helped raise my generation. This baby boomer grew up taking easy access for granted. In addition to school and classroom libraries, there were neighborhood ones, too. All free. The uncounted steps I made or the blocks I pedaled didn’t cost a cent, and Dad never complained when he drove me to one a few miles away.

Talk about going round in circles. My mind has done that trying to visualize adult books in my childhood home or the homes of my grandparents. It seems there were always books for us kids in the house, but my brain fogs up a bit picturing ones for the grownups. Mom and Dad had the Bible and the study books that accompanied church lessons. Condensed books from Readers’ Digest were around.

My grandparents had larger family BIbles in addition to the ones they took to church. The other books I can see in my mind’s eye if I squint real hard are photo albums and cookbooks. The pages of both acted as files for clippings from newspapers and magazines: recipes; crochet instructions; cool old-timey stories and obituaries. My maternal grandmother, Ardieth Turpin Bizzell, did have a mini-library. I recall her showing me some old books that looked so intriguing. I wanted to be older quicker so I could explore those pages. Alas. Those books burned up in a house fire. I know she was devastated, but she accumulated more. She read a lot, always curious.

I happen to know an author or two in our area, and have much admiration for the work that goes into creating the novels the rest of us grab for enjoyment. Celebrate this National Authors Day by visiting the library. Try a new genre. Buy a book from a local author. The Current River Writers can hook you up.