When I was in fifth and sixth grade my teachers would read aloud to the class, often times from books they had purchased at the Smith County Medical Society Alliance Book Fair. (Back then we called it simply the Doctors Wives’ Book Sale). They would attend once in the fall and once in the spring. I recall one teacher in particular who would come to class late on those days with a box or paper bag full of old books. Those days were exciting for us as students for a couple of reasons. First of all the teacher’s tardiness would allow us a few more precious moments of conversation, and secondly, when the teacher did arrive he would often dig through his stacks of purchases with us. In elementary school any departure from the routine is something to be savored.
Every so often our teacher would find a volume that captivated us. After a busy lunch spent on the playground or throwing a football, he would read aloud to us from one of these new finds. We began to day dream about our own trips to the book fair. We fantasized about digging up old copies of books he had read to us. “If only I could find my own copy of this or that author! I would be the envy of the class!”
Well, today I am a teacher myself; I still shop at the Tyler book fair and yes I still find myself on the lookout for some of the same books and authors recommended to me by my fifth and sixth grade teacher, Mr. Evans. My tastes have expanded over the years of course, but whatever the subject matter the “Doctors Wives’ Book Sale” has furnished my needs with some really wonderful reading at very little cost. On more than one occasion I have walked out with books of real value. Sometimes their value lay in the books obscurity, sometimes in its popularity.
As a young man on a trip to the book fair, I would buy in bulk. Anything remotely interesting would wind up coming home with me. Today however, lack of space and a touch of frugality have made me more selective. Unfortunately even my time is a constraint.
I still enjoy my visits to the book fair though. I still peruse the aisles hoping to find that stray copy of Booth Tarkington or Howard Pyle. I don’t often find much of the former that I don’t already have by the way. Over the course of my own teaching career I have introduced my students to some of these very same writers that my teachers introduce to me. In fact I’ve ended up passing out and replacing some of the books which became my favorites.
Today my personal library contains quite a number of titles that I picked up at the Doctors Wives Book Sale. This bi-annual event has become a local institution over the years. Having started in 1968 and 69 the Smith County Medical Society Alliance Book Fair (as it is now known) is celebrating its fortieth year. There have been fat years and there have been lean ones, but the show goes on like clockwork. Collectors show up every time to crowd into the little building or browse under the outdoor awning for bags of books.
The fair sells literature of all kinds, new, rare, and used books. Modern and classic fiction, history and biography religion and philosophy are all here. They even have a wide variety of textbooks, though they do tend to be older editions.
The Society Alliance Book Fair is a not for profit organization whose proceeds benefit health related scholarships and community projects.
Mr. Evans would not have been able to guess at the influence his choices of literature would have on us. Twenty plus years later we’re still enjoying the books he exposed us to, and we’re still attending the Doctors Wives’ Book Sale.
The fall session of the book fair will be held on November fifth, sixth and seventh. It is located on the loop behind Goodyear Tires and Bosworth and Associates insurance agency.
Whether you’re a teacher, a student, a parent, or anything in between, consider making this local Tyler event a tradition in your family. I can guarantee a lifetime of enriching reading and experiences.
Over Regulation in the City of Tyler
May 24th, 2010Is it just me or are there any other citizens in Tyler Texas who are beginning to feel… oh overly regulated? Now I grew up in this fair city, and I’m proud to call it my home town, but in the last few years both our state and city are being bombarded with petty new legislation that seems to afford its citizens yet another opportunity to glance over their shoulders in order to see whose watching.
It is well understood that Tylerites like to feel as though they are living in a larger city. The Tyler traffic reports they issue over the radio have always struck me as a silly manifestation of that desire. About two years ago the illustrious Tyler city council enacted its own ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Yes bars in a city in Texas, are not allowed to permit smoking! Now I gave up that particular vice many years ago, but isn’t this a decision to be made between a man and his bartender, (or bar owner), not between a citizen and his city council? I still maintain the profound belief that this law gathered support on the basis of the fact that “Big fancy cities like New York all have smoking bans!”
In addition to the local regulations there are the new state laws like double fines for using a phone in a school zone, seatbelts in the back seats, etc. Now I understand the desire to encourage safety, but I have a mother! I don’t need the village to look out for my safety! The most annoying thing about these new laws is the condescending ad campaigns that accompany them. The commercials warn the citizenry that local police are now on the lookout for new evil doers! Just this morning I was treated to a reminder that area police are starting their annual “click it or ticket campaign.” Sounds like a fund raising drive to me. Now listen, I “back the blue” as much as any East Texan. I am profoundly grateful for those who pursue criminal threats to our society and help to maintain the peace however I am extremely tired of seeing police cars hiding near the corner of thirty one and the loop hoping to catch drivers five miles over the speed limit. When asked why they were policing the stop so closely, one officer replied “we just really need to get control of traffic on this street.” No you don’t! Its fine! There aren’t any more accidents there than anywhere else. How about getting control of the drug user and meth operator who allegedly lives in my neighborhood!
The most frustrating officers in Tyler are the ones who ride motorcycles. It seems every summer I get a ticket, usually for some petty offence, and it is always written by an officer on a motorcycle. I never ever receive a warning even though my actual driving record is pretty clean. The officer on a bike basically serves one purpose, raise revenue for the city. When was the last time a trooper on a motorcycle, made an arrest, intervened in a domestic dispute or did something other the write a ticket for expired tags?
I don’t want to turn this article into another rant. I recognize that Tylerites do have a propensity to run a red now and again, and I realize that traffic on Broadway and Old Bullard road tends to be tricky to navigate, but from this citizen’s observation, increasing regulation has not helped. Install new medians, build new toll roads, and synchronize the stop lights. These are just new band aids for addressing the fact that our city is growing. But frustrating the citizens is not going to solve these growing pains.
So to any area police who may be reading let me assure you that we who live in this great community support you, but please, cut us a little slack. We’re all just trying to get to work and home without incident. And to the State and local officials, (particularly the city council), remember Pain’s maxim: “The government is best which governs least!”
Tags: Annoying Thing, Bar Owner, Bartender, Citizenry, City Of Tyler, Click It Or Ticket, Criminal Threats, Double Fines, Evil Doers, Lookout, Manifestation, New Laws, New Legislation, Profound Belief, School Zone, Seatbelts, Smoking Bans, State Laws, Tyler City, Tyler Texas, Tyler TX Socio Political Commentary
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