Chapters

I've seen and heard though I have no eyes or ears. Many stories have been written and told

here (and I'm not talking about books only). From the regular visitor who comes to read about

planes (they say he's learning to fly), to the little girl who loves animal books, many chapters are

told. This one is my favorite though, of the boy who grew up to cook.

I say boy because he was timid as one, lacking in confidence and not knowing what to do.

He'd come in every day learning how to make much from nothing (before the days of internet

and computers he'd come), to make extraordinary much. He'd sit and he'd search, absorb and take

notes, for he was cooking. Eventually the librarians took note and began asking why he came in

to learn this, and he told of his wife's sudden dietary restrictions (having a rare disorder) and how

he needed to make good meals for her and their children. He'd find a way to care for them all,

making the most of his chapters. Help was the one where his in-laws watched his kids in these

times, making sure they were looked after. Grace was the chapter given when he struggled to live

with himself after having a failed meal for her. Hope and endurance were the words and pages

lived in actions in his life when he came in exhausted and still made time to "cook up" special

needs and time for this and his family; he was truly an iron chef.

The days continued and librarians raised money to help this family, and I witnessed it all. The

heavy push on my doors encountered. The joy that echoed from my walls at completed meals

done well. I even remember the words and pages he poured over (for those lights seen more than

he knew). These chapters were beautiful, and I had the privilege of being part of my favorite

story, one where his family became whole again in these new chapters he wrote