Here, in Lied Battle Creek Public Library, our working staff really enjoys decorating for holidays. I mean, we sometimes get so carried away that all you can really notice is the decor. Should you come in unaware,you might be startled at the blatant garishness of our efforts.

Take the month of October, if you can. We are leaping into one of our best collections of Fall and Halloween decor.  (Don’t tell anyone, but there’s a ‘dead witch’ under our easy chair–well at least her legs are.) Once in awhile, during October, someone will ease into that chair without noticing the legs sticking out underneath (purple stockings and orange shoes is a tip-off). But sometimes they do notice and they pull out the headless torso and toss it aside. One does want to be careful not to annoy the deceased.

Black cats, orange strings of lights with black spiders dripping from them, and ghastly decorated leafless trees adorned with pumpkins and creepy smiling pumpkins are not our only talents. There are evil-looking black owls perched in the Young Adult room on a ledge infested with black and silver feathered nests and the demanding warning – BEWARE!

Ghosts and  creepy pumpkins’ faces peer in from the windows. A giant black spider with a purple back and evil red eyes glaring down from the ceiling encourages you to COME IN!

Of course we have the run-of-the-mill Autumn leaves to settle your nerves a bit before you leave. We don’t want anyone to think there’s something unusual about our library. You will drop in, won’t you? We really miss you when you don’t. Ha ha ha ha!

September and October find us looking ahead for what is to come; yet  we can’t help glancing back at what is behind. Annual events spark memories of the past: Labor Day, Patriot Day, Constitution Day–all influenced the way we live in this country. A nation of workers and patriots and law abiding citizens (for the most part) built a way of life other nations envy.  And even though events seem to turn against us, we must acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our people, our representatives in government, the strong defense of our military, and our faith as a nation. Whoever we are and whatever our faith, Americans acknowledge how precious it is to live in this land.

So when Autumn rears her pretty head, we need to remind ourselves of what we have and what wonders may come living here and working here together. The ‘falling leaves ‘ drift by my window now.  Each golden and crimson leaf fluttering in the breeze is a treasure, although a brief one, that reminds us of our natural  and national treasures and hopes for the future.

To everyone who donated to the needs of our citizens whose homes laid in the path of a hurricane or a fire, thank you. To all of our policemen, firemen, emergency aid workers, doctors, and rescuers, thank you. Not all of us can rush to the rescue, perhaps, but we can all be grateful to those who do.