Dear Faithful Blog Readers and Writers,

"I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere. I breathe the mountain air, man. I've been everywhere." - Johnny Cash

I have just returned from a cross country road trip. Well, "just", meaning that I took two weeks off and returned very late in the evening last Thursday. The purpose of the trip was to have fun, enjoy a vacation, and not to blog. Of course, I can't seem to do anything these days without thinking of how I can relate it to the blog. So I brought my laptop along for the ride and wrote about every state that we drove through. At times, I was eager to write. At other times, I wasn't.

For whatever it's worth, I'm going to be relating my journey through this great land of ours to you over the next couple of weeks. As always, feel free to join in and comment on anything, whether you agree or disagree. Whether you've been to these not-so-distant states or whether you've always wanted to go. Maybe you live very near to a place where I've been. Heck, maybe you saw me driving through your town! That'd be weird. At any rate, I'll start posting about my travels tonight. My hope is that, at the times where I am less inclined to discuss literary topics, others will jump in. It's a pretty big country, to say the least. What will follow here is merely my speedy ramble through it.

- Bry

The American Library Association (or ALA) is holding their annual convention this week. And what better place to have it than good ol' New Orleans?

With the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's massive destruction rapidly approaching, New Orleans is ready to prove that they have bounced back quick and are ready to host grand scale conventions again.

Well over 14,000 ALA members are expected to pour into New Orleans this week. Librarians and educators alike are eager to help spread the word that the "Big Easy" is back, baby! Yah! And you know how those librarians love to party! Look out!

Read the New York Times article here.

Do you ever look at something so much that you don't really pay attention to what it's saying? I do, all the time. Last night, for example, I was writing a letter on a notepad when I actually stopped writing and looked at it closely.

I bought the notepad when I visited the Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, California two summers ago. The trees were immense, tall, and the kind that you want to put your arms around. (I'd never thought of myself as a tree hugger even though one of my favorite children's books is Aani and the Tree Huggers, but there I found myself wrapping my arms around a tree trunk and relishing its sturdy stability.)

At the end of my hike, I wanted to buy a souvenir under $5 to take back. That ruled out a tee-shirt and left me with choices such as pen and magnets. Since I wanted something even more "special," I kept browsing through the racks until I found my notepad.

The notepad was made from recycled paper. A fuzzy beige, it had a sketch of a looming tree and these words:

Advice from a tree: Stand tall and proud - Sink your roots deep into the earth - Be content with your natural beauty - Go out on a limb - Drink plenty of water - Remember your roots - And enjoy the view!

Aha! Perfect! I paid for it and took it home.

Poem by Jeremy Johnson