Learning to Ride Something else in the Bluegrass

My old friend Chris Green was recently featured in an article in his local paper about bicycle commuting.

In the past, I have been known to do quite a bit of practical cycling, but not so much in recent years. Although I only live about two miles from the library, I am always making excuses about why I don't ride to work. During the fall and spring semesters my excuse was that I worked until well after dark and worried about visibility. Now, however, I'm working days, and with the price of gas ballooning, I found I'd run out of excuses.

Last week I rode my bicycle to campus twice, and I'm planning to do it again tomorrow to celebrate Car Free Day on May 28. I'd forgotten what a pleasure it is to travel quickly and quietly with the fresh air breezing by. Improving my health and saving non-renewable resources, all for absolutely free, is a wonderful feeling. Thanks, Chris, and all the other wonderful inspirational bicycling folks (including my dad) for reminding me of this.

The Personal Touch

I was very surprised and happy to discover a handwritten note from the President of the American Library Association, Loriene Roy, in my mailbox this week.

She congratulated me on winning a 2008 EBSCO/ALA Conference Sponsorship.

She says in the note that she is looking forward to seeing me, so maybe she is planning to attend the breakfast for us at the ALA Annual Conference. That would be really great. I'll have to make sure I get my picture taken with her.

I wonder how many of these kinds of notes she must write. I'm sure it takes up a lot of time, but it certainly makes a big impression on the receiver. That's something to keep in mind for public service: a personal touch and extra effort might take up some time and energy, but people really do notice and appreciate it!