The Eastham Public Library

I brought several audible books here with me to Cape Cod, where I'm spending the month of September. So I had no need of a visit to a library here  Or so I thought.

I brought these audible books here with me on my IPod:

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund DeWaal

...and besides those, I'll soon download Tinkers, by Paul Harding, which my daughter Leah recommended.

These days, I almost always listen to my books instead of reading them.  By listening, I can also knit or sew or cook at the same time.  It's great.

There are some down sides to listening, though. It might be antisocial among a group of people.  And it's not conducive to conversation with Joe, my husband, with whom I share a household.

Joe (walking into a room where Diane is seated, listening to a book on her IPod):  Blah blah bluh blah blah blah blah?
Diane (removing headphones from ears)  What?

Still, I listen because I love to knit, sew, and cook.  And because I had all those books available on my IPod,  I didn't feel I needed a library visit here on Cape Cod.

But when Leah and I noticed a library card from the Eastham Library on the kitchen bulletin board of our rental cottage, it occurred to us that we could visit the library for a DVD to view on one of these September nights. 

So Leah and I visited the library on our bikes, down Herringbrook Road to Samoset, and left on Samoset.

On the front lawn of the Eastham Public Library, there's a miniature replica of the building.

Sweaty from my ride, and with my bike helmet still clamped to my wet hair, I climbed the steps to the library, entered its air-conditioned environment, and showed the librarian the card that had been thumbtacked to the kitchen bulletin board in our cottage.

She scanned it and found it nowhere in the system.  It was defunct.

But if I were willing to pay $5.00, I could get a card that I could use at all the libraries on the Cape.  I would be willing to do that, but I hadn't brought my wallet along on my bike.

Still, a lovely bike ride.  And look what's next door to the library:

The building of the Nauset Fellowship of the Unitarian Universalist denomination is on the National Register of Historic Places.   http://nfuu.org/.  Their website says they're "a warm-hearted, lay-led fellowship of the spirit based on humanistic values, a sense of humor, and a delight in each other and our community."

As a Unitarian, I'm tickled at the ubiquity of Unitarian congregations in Massachusetts and on Cape Cod.

So we didn't get to take out a DVD at the Eastham Public Library.

But what a great way to not take out a DVD.