http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113357239&sc=nl&cc=es-20091025
Boy Lifts Book; Librarian Changes Boy’s Life
October 2, 2009
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“She said, ‘My first thought was to go over there and tell him, boy, you don’t have to steal a book, you can check them out — they’re free.’
“Then she realized what my situation was — that I could not let anybody know I was reading.”
Grady told Neal she decided that if he was showing an interest in books, “she and Mrs. Saunders would drive to Memphis and find another one for me to read — and they would put it in the exact same place where the one I’d taken was.”
So, every time Neal decided to take a book home, the pair would set off to the city to find another book for him.
“You’ve got to understand that this was not an easy matter then — because this is 1957 and ’58,” Neal said. “And black authors were not especially available, No. 1. And No. 2, Frank Yerby was not such a widely known author. And No. 3, they had to drive all the way to Memphis to find it.”
But the women’s efforts paid off: Neal went on to attend law school and later became a judge, retiring as an appellate judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
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First, it should be NOBODY’S business what anyone reads.
Second, it was a great tale. Unlike today’s busybody society, people could think and react positively.
Third, I wonder how many “turn offs” could be “turned on” with the right “librarian”.
I know my fellow Jaspers would be a lot better at this than I could be.
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