I haven’t had a proper day out in a few months it feels like. I woke up around ten in the morning, and while I lay in bed surfing Reddit, I thought about what I wanted to do. How could I make the most of the day on a tight budget and a desire to walk around a bit.
I’ve mostly lived in mid-sized towns; you’re limited in facilities to accommodate Curiosity. However, I now live in the blue dot among the sea of red. I knew I could come up with something to amuse me for the day and get me out into the community.
Before grabbing a bus ticket, I decided that I wanted ice cream, and maybe eat that ice cream in a park. It was generally tolerable in terms of an Austin summer. I took the 17 into the city-proper, jumping off at the famed 6th Street. I wanted to grab a cup of anything cool for my walk, and Jim Jim’s Water Ice was prominently on my mind. However, because I have an ironic sense of direction I ended up at Berry Austin on 2nd Street.
The beauty of certain parts of the city is the architecture and its ability to create breezes. Berry Austin on 2nd Street has a small table just outside the establishment and I figured if I didn’t walk to Margaret Hoffman Oak Park, I could park it there for a few minutes and scribble some notes down.
I hadn’t been to Berry Austin in a long time but I knew they had good yogurt from previous experience, so I fed my sweet-tooth with an odd mixture that I thought would have tasted much better than it did. I started with a base of chocolate. I then added… Root beer float. Not a syrupy carbonated soda, just something that tasted something along those lines. Not my best moment with the combination of Oreo and Butterfinger crumbles. And about half of it melted before I finished, so that was nice. /s
From there I decided I wanted to just walk around a little bit, so I started in the direction of the Faulk Library. I was looking for a physical copy of The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. It’s this month’s book choice for the book club “Who Picked This Book?”. I have a digital copy, but there’s just something about those wonderfully bound pads of paper.
I ended up walking down the remainder of 6th Street until it ran into North Lamar. A nice walk; it was not long, but certainly interesting. 
And since I happen to be there, I might as well go to the Book People. I made no mistake by walking this far. I wanted to visit Book People since I hadn’t been into the store since the winter.
Grabbing a mocha latte, I wondered around the store. I knew having seen the trailer for Gifts, that it would be displayed prominently somewhere in the building, I just had to find it.I found it in the most obvious place, beside the staircase to the second floor. Flipping it over, I sighed. I keep a pretty firm budget when I go on an adventure. Putting the book down, I backed away. I’ll check Half-Price.
I wandered all over that place. Had to have seen every shelf at least twice. I’d pick up a book, hold it for a few minutes and then put it back. “Do I have the space…” would blip on the radar everytime I touched a book. After exhausting my latte and covering each floor numerous times I grabbed my bag and headed out.
Traveling from Book People up Henderson Rd., I found a little nook off the side of 9th Street BMX created by a bridge that cuts through the lower portion of Duncan Park. All the bridges that crisscross the city are great. I like bridgework and think almost any city can improve its curb-appeal by adding waterways and bridges to the over all infrastructure. From there I walked up random streets before making my way to the Faulk Library.
At the library I started my search for a book on the Seventies. I’ve hit a snag with my historical fiction story and needed prespective on the decade. Time to hit up the card catalo… Oh wait, everything is digital. Hello, Database.
I parsed the stacks and found a book by Bruce J. Schulman. The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society, and Politics. Perfect! I scribbled down the address to Knowledge’s house and hoofed it.
I searched the second floor top to bottom. I just couldn’t locate the book. Once I gave up and let my curiosity get the best of me I traveled to the third floor. I knew something was fishy about that second floor. There in the stacks, the book I wanted, stood.
After the library I caught the 17 back home and grabbed a bite at Dan’s Hamburgers to finish out the day.
T.
T. Simpson Writes 