I was paging through some papers the other day and learned that the Wednesday of National Library Week (second full week of April) is always National Bookmobile Day.

Wow, does that bring back memories. I can still remember that summer day when my mom said we were going to town to visit something called the bookmobile.

I can still picture it in my mind. It was parked on Main Street right next to the Senior Citizens Center, on the west side of the building facing south.

Oh, and the smell. I think that's what I remember the most. It was the first time I got to experience what a "real library book" smelled like - still a great smell to this day.

I'm smiling just sitting here thinking about it.

I can only image how I must have looked to the librarian helping us check out the books - big wide eyes and a smile from ear-to-ear.

I remember the librarian who was helping us tell me that the bookmobile would be back in town in one month, and that's when I needed to return the books.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe one of the first books I checked out was the green South Dakota history book that Bob Barker's mom wrote - yes, that Bob Barker.

Don't you just love when memories come flooding back? Don't ask me what I had for dinner last night, but I can remember everything about that first bookmobile experience.

Now that I'm into my mid-50s, I've started thinking about what I would like to do when I retire from the radio. I think driving a bookmobile would be a fun thing to do.

I would love to be on the receiving end of that young child, walking up the bus steps for the first time and looking down the isle at all the books stacked from one end to the other.

And getting to say, "Welcome to the bookmobile and the wonderful world of imagination."


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