Thanksgiving is upon us. It is time to give thanks for all that we have. We all need to stop and look around us, look at the beauty that comes along with fall.

I read a book to Mrs. Richard’s class this week for Veterans Day. It was an awesome book, one that we will soon have in our library (Mrs. Richard supplied the book. We can’t have them all!) It was called “Tucky Jo and Little Heart” by Patricia Polacco.

It is a story about the life of a man named Johnnie Wallen from Kentucky. When he was a boy, he wanted to enlist in the army even though he was too young. They lied about his age and he signed up. He met a little girl he named “Little Heart” while in the Philippines and helped her village as much as he could. When the jungle was being bombed, they had to evacuate.

I’m not going to tell you how it ends, but I will say I had tears when it was done. It really made me think about what our vets went through, and continue to go through, so that we can live in the comfort that we do. These masks that we have to wear, are nothing, so why are we complaining that we are a little put out and have to wear them.

Think about what a lot of the men and women around you went through to keep you safe. I’m beginning to think my complaining is petty and actually when it is cold out, they do help keep me warm. See, there is always a silver lining! Can you tell I got a lot out of this children’s book? You need to read it. It is well worth your time and only takes a few minutes. But we will have to order it for you till we get our copy bought.

Ok, enough about that. We are still doing story hour by Zoom. You can find the link to join us on our Facebook page, or you can always get a hold of us and I will send you a link to your email if you would prefer. We only have one more before Thanksgiving. Then three more after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Man, how time flies!

Remember we are still offering curbside services if you would prefer not to come in. You can always go to our website http://ellsworthlib.org and go to “library catalog’ to search for anything you would like. Don’t forget we also have Hoopla and Sunflower eLibrary if you like reading or listening to books from a device.

I wish I could tell you a lot is going on here, but it’s pretty quiet. People are coming in but we just can’t allow the sitting and visiting or reading or putting puzzles together. Hmm ... we miss that. Oh, gives us something to look forward to and be grateful for when it happens.

Keep your head up! Do your part and wear your mask and remember a mask is a pretty small thing to have to wear compared to what other people are going through. It’s not all about us, it’s about the ones around us, especially those we love! And if you don’t want to wear your mask, then find a good book somewhere comfy in your house and read, read, read!

Happy Reading!

Colleen Sippel is the director of the J.H. Robbins Memorial Library. She can be reached at (785) 472.3969 or 219 N. Lincoln, Ellsworth, Kan. 67439.