And the library is still free

A little boy checked out two books about ghosts in the library today and I thought, boy, they sure do write a lot about ghosts . . . and yetis and Lochness monsters, and Dracula and werewolves.

I wonder if they write as much about little boys who like to read as they do about things that only exist in our imaginations?

Of course I like to read about those things too. Dragons and Spider-man, dungeons and castles with moats and secret rooms, if they exist then anything might be possible. Even fairy godmothers and people who come to the rescue just when things get to be unbearable.

If there really are ghosts then Tatianna wouldn't miss her mother so much, the one she found lying in a pool of blood before kindergarten started. And if there really were dragons maybe Jordan could ride one to that town where food rains out of the sky and he wouldn't be hungry anymore.

Maybe it's easier to blame monsters for kids who live in cardboard boxes than it is to blame presidents and senators for taking their food away because they don't get good enough grades.

Maybe we need all these things to distract us when it just hurts too much -- and the library is still free.