Hello, folks. Welcome to my blog. This post is part of a series in which I try to report news as if I still had a paid job. In some posts, I show readers a few fundamentals of basic journalism and "how we used to do it in my day. I tell ya."
By Peter Healy
Well Read Writer
I noticed a universal sign for the Stamford train station earlier this year when I drove toward the South End branch of our city's Ferguson Library.
It featured a green silhouette of two images: the front end of a train on a track and a passenger platform next to it.
On that same trip, I saw the universal symbol for a library: a graphic that depicts a person holding a book. It was very basic. A circle at the top is supposed to be a human head.
I called my imaginary friend in Long Island and I mentioned the library sign. He does impressions of famous people and questioned the sign's relevance.
In a Jerry Seinfeld voice, he said, "If someone is looking FOR a library, chances are they're going there to read a book, a magazine or a newspaper. Maybe they will take home a music CD or movie on DVD. Whatever their motive, they should be able t o READ a sign that says LIBRARY!"
The universal library sign, whether we need it or not, is invalid for a few months. That is because the Ferguson Library relocated its South End branch this past winter from the Lathon Wider Community Center at 137 Henry St. to swanky office digs with sweeping views of Stamford Harbor.
A flooded basement in the aging community center led to the library''s move to an office/retail building at 78 Southfield Ave. while the Henry Street building gets repaired.
Building and Land Technology, which redeveloped (gentrified) parts of Stamford's South End and Waterside neighborhoods, is allowing the library to stay rent free in Class A office space above the Prime restaurant until its scheduled return to Henry Street on July 1.
I don't care how long the rehab takes. I love to gaze out the huge windows at the Long Island sand dunes and boats and barges chugging through the West Branch of Stamford Harbor while I'm solving word puzzles in the Stamford Advocate's paper edition. Other library patrons told me they too prefer the temporary home.
Let's go back to Journalism 101. I showed you a classic example of "backing into a lead (or lede)." That phrase means I started the story with extraneous details and reported the actual news in the sixth paragraph. It also is known as burying a lead.
I am shifting into geezer gear. "Listen here, you young whippersnappers! I backed into so many leads during my journalism career, I had to turn on the backup lights on my wheelchair. I buried more leads than an undertaker.
I don't have to report news here. The media, including my former employer, the Stamford Advocate, reported this library news months ago. I originally intended to write this blog post as a testimonial to the joys and benefits of reading and literacy. That one will have to wait - like a return phone call from Optimum TV customer service.
Often times, I am either the only customer at the Southfield branch or I'm among two or three others at most. More readers should take advantage of this opportunity that may never happen again in Stamford. I only can think of two other libraries with coastal views. Those are in Westport and Milford.
The Southfield Avenue branch is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Enjoy the view!
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