I remember the day I graduated from the Children's Library to the Adult Library. It was such an exciting day. My mom and I went up to the desk and I received a brand new card. Wow, I could read adult books!
I loved reading as a kid, but the only two kinds of books I remember reading from the library were the series called, "The Little Refugees," and "Presidents of the United States." I was a morbid, serious person even then.
"The Little Refugees" were books about a sister and brother who were orphans during a war. They had to flee all over Europe to get away from the war and the bad guys. Very thrilling! Nothing like that ever happened to me, although running away sounded good. The "Presidents of the United States," series always made the Presidents sound good and intelligent, something I have since learned was a dirty lie.
At home, my mother bought us Nancy Drew Mysteries. Oh, how my sister and I loved them. Her exploits were something we would have loved to be involved with. (Oops, a preposition). We admired her spunk and independence.
So, there I was in the adult section of the library for the first time. What should I read? I saw a sign "Mysteries." Heavenly. I looked through the books and picked out one by a writer named, Mickey Spillane. The cover was certainly adult! I went to the desk and brought my precious book home.
I learned a lot from that book, none of it uplifting. Mike Hammer was certainly a different type of detective than Nancy Drew. I have no idea how my mom felt about me reading it, she was probably horrified. But she didn't believe in censoring our movie or book choices.
Anyway, when I met my husband, he told me he had also liked Mickey Spillane books when he was in his twenties. And he always tells this joke when the subject comes up:
"She walked through my office door with a pair of thirty-eights,
and a gun too."
I don't know if that is an old joke, it probably is. I've never heard anyone else tell it, and it still makes me laugh.
