Fort Vancouver Regional Library

Ms. Himler, my elementary school librarian, was one of the aspects of my childhood that was perfect. She had a never-a-hair-out-of-place salt and pepper Dorothy Hamill haircut, perfectly manicured nails with glossy clear nailpolish, and perfectly applied lipstick with a layer of clear lip gloss on top. She was nice and smiled a lot. Calm. She chose books to read with new celophane covers that crinkled as she bent the spine back. Her voice was soothing and warm. And whatever the characters of a story, she brought them to life with an ability to drop and raise her voice an octave. The only thing better than to sit before Ms. Himler and listen to her read a story was having a friend braid my hair while listening to Ms. Himler read a story.

I don’t walk into a library without remembering her. And today, as I read Outside the Ark to folks at Fort Vancouver Regional Library, I did it with a little more poise. A little more warmth and expression. The library purchased two of the books and put celophane around the covers.