Ebbie, I worked for 12 years in Geauga County, Ohio and 16 years in Elkhart County, Indiana.

Uri Byler autographed his book "The Long Summer" to me with the words "the best librarian on the planet." I thought that was stretching it a little, but not by much! It's a fictionalized account of his decision to stay Amish -- the town where I worked had promised him, as a community, a scholarship for as far as he wanted to go in his education.

That book is sitting next to his real autobiography, "As I remember it" on my bookshelves, about eight feet from me.

When it's available, I buy "The Budget."

I told a library patron and a friend of mine named Yoder that I was moving to Elkhart, Indiana. He said, "That Amish country, you know." I said, "Yes, and you know, I can't hardly stand them folks." He took off his hat, stroked his beard, and said, "You know, I can't hardly stand 'em sometimes myself."