Being Thankful

by Paul Birkhead  Rowan Public Library

      In this season of giving thanks, I would like to add some of the things I am personally thankful for.  I am thankful for this great nation I was blessed to be born in and the state of North Carolina that has been my home for the past twenty years.  I am thankful for Rowan County and the Commissioners who support my employer, Rowan Public Library, in its mission to inform, educate, and entertain.

      I am also thankful for the blessings of food and all the wonderful ways in which to prepare it.  Along those lines, please consider checking out these new books at the library.  Christopher Kimball's Milk Street is a collection of recipes from one of America’s greatest home cooks.  You may know Christopher Kimball from his previous endeavors, such as the founder of Cooks Magazine (later renamed Cooks Illustrated) and host of the popular cooking show, America’s Test Kitchen.  Another title to investigate is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat.  This book explains kitchen science in a thoughtful and sometimes humorous way.  As you read, you’ll be learning cooking basics that will boost your confidence in the kitchen.  Perhaps there is a dish that was popular in your family years ago and no one remembers how it was made.  Check out Betty Crocker's Lost Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes for Today's Kitchen.  Betty Crocker, the fictional cook of General Mills, has been around for almost one hundred years.  Countless cookbooks have been published in her trusted name and your mother or grandmother probably owned one or several of them.  Inside this volume, recipes that may have fallen out of fashion over the years are reintroduced (with a little tweaking for the modern palate) to today’s cooks.

      I am also thankful for loved ones and for all the ways they touch our lives.  If you have young children or grandchildren, consider bringing them to story time at the library.  Some of the best storytellers I’ve ever heard are employed by Rowan Public Library.  Over the years, these librarians have instilled a love of reading into thousands of children, some of whom now bring children of their own.  If you have a teenager, the library also serves them with a variety of fun and engaging programs.  Perhaps you are caring for an aging parent.  The library has many resources on that subject including, Eldercare 101 and Caring for a Loved One with Dementia.  And we can’t forget about our pets.  Whether you’re raising chickens or goats or have a more traditional animal such as a dog or cat, you can find several books and DVDs on how to care for them and celebrating their relationships with us.  One new title I’m interested in is Walking with Peety: the Dog Who Saved My Life, about a man and his rescue dog who change each others lives for the better.

      I am also thankful for veterans.  I appreciate the sacrifices that members of America’s armed forces have made, and continue to make, to keep our nation free.  Rowan Public Library is hosting screenings of each of the ten episodes in Ken Burns’ new documentary about the Vietnam War.  Each week a new episode is shown on Wednesdays and Saturdays through December.  There is also related programming during this time and local veterans photograph and memorabilia displays throughout the library.

      These are just some of the things I’m thankful for.  Stop by Rowan Public Library during this season and perhaps discover or celebrate some of your own.