I REMEMBER!!!
Go figure. I hit post and then it hit me. And now I'm as excited as I was that day!
I've joined some on-line Wichita mom groups recently and got a lead on a parenting book that I think might help me. So I bundled up the kids and headed to Book-A-Holic to see if they had a used version on their shelves. No such luck.
I am a book collector. I'm sure not a good one. But I still collect them. As a child, my uncle Gary would come up with the most marvelous books as gifts. These books became even more special as the years passed and in 1994 still more important to me when Uncle Gary died. Unfortunately, in the summer of 1997, Wichita (and Augusta) were hit hard by flash flooding. By that time, I had moved in with Rich but still had a gob of my stuff in the basement. The flood filled our basement and totaled my car. But I didn't care about the car, I cared about destroyed my books. When Gary was earning his degree in education he began giving me Bugg Books. They were little paperback books that taught little life lessons and very dear to me.
As I was perusing the children/young adult section looking to enhance the home library, I stumbled upon a hugely significant find for me. There on the shelf was Crick-Ette by Stephen Cosgrove. I whisked it off of the shelf and found it was a topsy-turvy book! So there were two Bugg Books right there in my hand. I couldn't see any more on the shelf or the shelves around where I picked up Crick-Ette and so I practically ran to the counter to find out if they had any more. They did! A cabinet away from where I stumbled upon Crick-Ette were 29 other hardback topsy turvy Bugg Books. I literally fell to my knees in front of them and cried. (I'm crying now.) It was very confusing to Ella and I had to explain I was crying because I was so happy that I couldn't hold it in.
I bought them all. We're broke but I bought them all. Selfish? I know. But in the years following the flood, I kept trying to find those books and I never could. Rich found some for my birthday one year and spent about $40 dollars for two single books (one hardback on paper). I spent $60 for 60 titles all hardback in great condition. Five of the books were duplicates and I plan to send those to my brother and sister-in-law for their family. I feel like I got the steal of a lifetime and Rich is so happy for me.
I think I fully replaced all of my destroyed books and even ended up way ahead. Gary hadn't finished my collection and this time I have a ton more titles. I did another search on Stephen Cosgrove (SC) yesterday and found out the books are being reworked and released. According to the official SC website, I'm now only missing three titles but I have an additional three titles not on the list. I feel lucky. I also learned these books are part of some school curriculum. I could have bought some of them that way or over Amazon or Alibris but still would have spent a lot more and it looks like the illustrations in some of the books might have been significantly different since he has a new illustrator. (I liked the old ones much better.)
Anyway... that's one thing that can make me smile (and cry). Books. Very special books.
I've joined some on-line Wichita mom groups recently and got a lead on a parenting book that I think might help me. So I bundled up the kids and headed to Book-A-Holic to see if they had a used version on their shelves. No such luck.
I am a book collector. I'm sure not a good one. But I still collect them. As a child, my uncle Gary would come up with the most marvelous books as gifts. These books became even more special as the years passed and in 1994 still more important to me when Uncle Gary died. Unfortunately, in the summer of 1997, Wichita (and Augusta) were hit hard by flash flooding. By that time, I had moved in with Rich but still had a gob of my stuff in the basement. The flood filled our basement and totaled my car. But I didn't care about the car, I cared about destroyed my books. When Gary was earning his degree in education he began giving me Bugg Books. They were little paperback books that taught little life lessons and very dear to me.
As I was perusing the children/young adult section looking to enhance the home library, I stumbled upon a hugely significant find for me. There on the shelf was Crick-Ette by Stephen Cosgrove. I whisked it off of the shelf and found it was a topsy-turvy book! So there were two Bugg Books right there in my hand. I couldn't see any more on the shelf or the shelves around where I picked up Crick-Ette and so I practically ran to the counter to find out if they had any more. They did! A cabinet away from where I stumbled upon Crick-Ette were 29 other hardback topsy turvy Bugg Books. I literally fell to my knees in front of them and cried. (I'm crying now.) It was very confusing to Ella and I had to explain I was crying because I was so happy that I couldn't hold it in.
I bought them all. We're broke but I bought them all. Selfish? I know. But in the years following the flood, I kept trying to find those books and I never could. Rich found some for my birthday one year and spent about $40 dollars for two single books (one hardback on paper). I spent $60 for 60 titles all hardback in great condition. Five of the books were duplicates and I plan to send those to my brother and sister-in-law for their family. I feel like I got the steal of a lifetime and Rich is so happy for me.
I think I fully replaced all of my destroyed books and even ended up way ahead. Gary hadn't finished my collection and this time I have a ton more titles. I did another search on Stephen Cosgrove (SC) yesterday and found out the books are being reworked and released. According to the official SC website, I'm now only missing three titles but I have an additional three titles not on the list. I feel lucky. I also learned these books are part of some school curriculum. I could have bought some of them that way or over Amazon or Alibris but still would have spent a lot more and it looks like the illustrations in some of the books might have been significantly different since he has a new illustrator. (I liked the old ones much better.)
Anyway... that's one thing that can make me smile (and cry). Books. Very special books.