Bye Bye Borders Babes

We'd meet at Borders Books on most Friday nights, single ladies all. Originally we thought of this rendez-vous point as an alternative from meeting the opposite sex in less desirable drinking establishments. We'd saunter in like literary Ya Ya Sisters in all our ladies' night out finery, stake out a table for 4, 6 or 8 and greet each other with the kind of heartfelt hugs that only women can give one another. Later, while sipping on lattes or mochas or chai teas, we'd flip the pages of an interesting magazine or share the latest contents of a book that we had discovered within the stacks. Mind you, while perusing, we'd forever be keeping an eye out for buried treasure between the isles in the form of eligible intellectual males. Alas, this was never to be, but we definitely enjoyed each others' company and whatever entertainment that was provided starting promptly at 7 pm. What transpired in the lives of each of us during the week was most often revealed in a soiree of juicy gossip disguised as conversation. Our souls were laid bare to one another at times, but for the most part, it was the sheer laughter and wit that I will remember most about our solidarity gatherings. A toast to you, ladies, for caring to share your glorious essences. Some of us moved away, some of us married, some of us found life in a different direction, and sadness now reigns since all Borders bookstores shall close, not allowing us to ever have a reunion within their walls again. Instead, we shall have to affectionately commit to memory how we collectively, if only for a moment in time, were the one and only indelible Borders Babes.

©2011 Debbie Ballard

Full circle

Before the Spirograph, there was the Magic Designer, and before the Magic Designer there was the Hoot-Nanny. As a 7 or 8-year-old child I spent many an hour playing with this fascinating mechanical toy that created infinite designs based upon angles and their relationship to each other. Later on as a teenager, I would use 33 LP albums and 45 singles records as templates to develop colorfully intertwined design art incorporating names of young dating teens. I presented the finished creations to these couples as gifts. I often am curious as to how many of them have survived and are still out there. Later still, as the Assistant Children's Librarian in my home town, I submitted this same kind of circular drawing, but with an inter-changeable middle for a permanently displayed 'riddle of the week' poster. At the time, I thought this was a good way to 'break the ice' so that children who may have been too shy or fearful to approach a librarian to ask questions could do so on their terms. At the grand opening of the library's new location, a larger version of this same 'artwork in the round' hung behind the check-out counter. Obviously, because of it's placement, no patron could miss seeing it, so it afforded me some very lucrative private commissions from interested parties. Having studied astrology for 45 years, which also uses a circular wheel and relationships between angles, I find it rather fascinating that circles have always been an integral part of my life in some way. Fifty years later, I just bought the Hoot-Nanny pictured because it was such a beloved 'toy' when I was young. Nostalgic as it is, undoubtedly, this makes we wonder what's next in the intricately-patterned cycle of life in the round.

Copyright 2011 Debbie Ballard