Old World Book
I have no idea why it sprang to mind. I was up on Monte Sano, waiting for the sunrise, like always. The thought just flew through my head -- my World Book Encyclopedias were 60 years old. Well, I thought they were from 1964. Probably are. But they were copyrighted in 1963.
Yeah, it doesn't really matter. It probably took a year or more to put them together. No telling how old the pictures are. But I had to take a look. At something. Hmmm....
Nope, I can't remember what the stain is about. Mom and Dad were tired of storing them and wanted to throw them away. I love books and can't bear the thought of anyone throwing them away. I'm not even sure if I asked my siblings if they wanted them. But I did take them home with me.
My wife sighed, I'm sure. I still buy hardbacks. She reads ebooks on her iPad. I'm pretty sure she talked me into buying this way-too-big house by pointing out it had a living room lined with bookshelves.
I have the whole set of World Books, including a few years of the updates. (I forgot to check before I sat down to write this. I think they go through 1969.)
Anyway, I had to look up something and the first thing that came to mind was Huntsville.
Population: 72, 365
"....is known as Rocket City, USA"
In 1949 the Army transferred it's guided-missile research from Ft. Bliss, TX to Huntsville. It doesn't say Werner von Braun made that happen but it does mention him.
Huntsville had a population of 16, 437 in 1950. So this isn't the first time Huntsville's population exploded.
Huntsville had Alabama's first bank, textile mill, public library and water system.
The thing that makes me feel old is the picture. The helmets. The sandbag-safety culture.
But that wasn't the worse part. Just like when I was a kid, I couldn't help but flip through the pages and see what caught my eye. It's like the analog version of Wikipedia's "random article" link. (Top left, next to the Wiki globe, click on the hamburger icon.)
Now who doesn't need to know more about Heraldry? Who knew The Mullet was the Mark of the third son? And the Fleur-de-lis was the Mark of the sixth son?
Too bad I didn't pick up the "C" book and read about calligraphy. I swear evolution doesn't stop at birth. I think our entire lives consist of random experiments.
Don Brown
August 10, 2024
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