September 2009 Archives

Labor Day has come and gone, and on the holiday my sister and I were talking about transitioning from summer to fall.

I looked around the house and surveyed the steps that accompany such a transition ¬- such as placing a cover over the air conditioning unit, cleaning and storing the barbeque grill, and putting up hooks in the garage for my children's bikes.

Then I thought about the bigger transition in my life. This is the last column that I'll be writing for The Bolingbrook Sun. I'm moving over to the Bugle Newspapers.

And some of you may have heard that this paper recently won 21 journalism awards, including this column for "original column." I've got to say that this column has been original in that I've had original people, places and events to write about here in Bolingbrook.

Thanks to my editors: Dan Cassidy, for giving me the opportunity to share my opinion on these pages, Katie Foutz, for her editing touches, and a special thanks to all of you who took the time to read this column and occasionally drop me a line.

It's been a blast.

And I hope to continue to see all of you around the Brook.

I don't know what is it with humans and vampires. My sisters and I have become vampire junkies overnight. We've fallen for the fangs of HBO's vampire series True Blood. On Sunday nights, we're literally three grown women sitting by the television waiting for the show to come on.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Fountaindale Public Library. I didn't have my glasses on, but I could vaguely make out the True Blood logo on a DVD case behind the librarian counter.

I asked if that was in fact True Blood, the librarian confirmed it. I then asked if I could check it out. She said I'd have to wait in line. The series had previous "holds" on it, people waiting for it to come in so that they could check it out.

Because it's such a new series (It's in its second season.) I didn't think of looking at the library for the first season, which I missed. Bolingbrook library has a pre-ordering system that automatically orders titles that librarians expect to be popular, so that a patron can conceivably get a title the same day that it's released in stores.

And while two months ago, I would not have thought that a column on vampires was warranted; however, everywhere I go I hear people talking about True Blood or Twilight, and they seem equally excited and devoted as I have become to the underworld.

"Vampires seem to be very popular right now," said library spokesman, Tony LuCarelli, "These things go in cycles and we just happen to be in one," he said. Last fall when the Twilight movie came out, the library registered over 500 holds on the book alone.

And so I ask my original question - what is it about vampires and us? For myself I'm too afraid to answer that question. But what I will say out loud is that I can't get enough of a mysterious vampire with a dark bravado. There it is, I said it.

And if you're looking for a titillating new release, you just might find it at the Bolingbrook Library...that is if you're willing wait a couple of dark nights.

See you around the Brook.

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