OTTUMWA —
It was a grand Earth Day, was it not? You’ve got to admit, the Earth has looked beautiful the last few weeks. There has been just enough rain to keep the grass a vibrant green. And the blossoms of spring have never looked so gorgeous. Hopefully, more spring flowers will appear, since many of the regular lilac and redbud and crab tree blooms have come and gone all in the first month of spring.
Iris are budding, and some of us have clematis blooms. Folks won’t be tiptoeing through the tulips in Pella during the upcoming Tulip Festival, but there is so much going on, there will be plenty to do. The daily parades are wonderful.
Now that everything is greening up, the weeds and plants are covering up some of the trash plaguing our ravines and ditches. I don’t know if that is good or not. I was dismayed to discover some trash where I didn’t expect it when walking the river levee trails on the weekend.
The downtown skateboard park wasn’t a pretty sight. Maybe it’s not the skateboarders leaving the trash behind, but some persons have, so shame on you. I urge regular users of the skateboard park to make sure all the skaters clean up after themselves. If passers-by have left their fast-food wrappers behind, pick up after them, too. The park is a highly visible site for walkers and vehicle drivers.
There is such a big effort to revitalize the downtown, let’s all do our part in at least keeping it clean. City employees tend to beautiful flowers in our downtown, so let’s help everyone and pick up trash wherever it is.
Jim McDonough was another wonderful show at Bridge View Center. The wonderful pianist and his orchestra recently performed here during their inaugural spring tour, and the crowd was large and enthusiastic.
It continues to amaze and delight me that so many events have been held and are planned at Bridge View. The offerings are many and varied, appealing to all ages at a variety of ticket prices.
A new event is planned the weekend of May 19 with a huge book sale open to the public. Many people have been donating books, magazines, record albums and more to be sold at nominal prices.
Many Ottumwans remember the always successful YWCA annual book sale and the huge crowds it drew.
Despite the avalanche of Kindles and iPads and all sorts of high-tech offerings now on the market, many readers still want to hold a book in their hands. Or, just to have them on hand.
The great thing about books is how easily they can be shared. It’s a good thing that you can get a book in other forms now, but it’s still nice to know that “real” books will be around for decades. At least, I hope so.
Judy Krieger is a retired Courier editor.
Columns
April 25, 2012
Keepers of the Earth
Et Cetera
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