Tag: reading

Beautiful new mural at Lemon Grove Library!

This very beautiful new mural was painted in April near the main entrance to the Lemon Grove Library. It’s titled Today for Tomorrow.

Positive messages conveyed by the mural include a love for family, the natural environment and reading. The extraordinary mural is the product of a partnership between the ArtReach Mural Program and the Lemon Grove Public Library. The lead mural artist was Mexican-American artist and designer Josué Baltézar.

A handout available inside the library explains: The ArtReach Mural Program Team led over 50 community members in design ideation and painting through out design-input workshops and Community Paint Day…This piece highlights the library as an uplifting and beautiful community space, welcoming and accepting of all people. Books are featured predominantly to mark the importance of learning, reading, curiosity, and imagination. The focal point of the lemon tree represents the community of Lemon Grove while also signifying growth and new beginnings. The figures placed in the books show that we all have our own stories to tell and create while also touching on family resilience, hope, kindness, caregiving and neighborhood unity…

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

12 Short Stories inspired by Balboa Park.

Gigantic bubbles form like magic in the Plaza de Balboa.

A pleasant day in Balboa Park, sitting, walking, daydreaming. Sudden inspiration.

That’s how certain stories were born in my mind before taking life on paper.

As a writer of short fiction, I occasionally share some of these stories. If you’re a reader, you might enjoy clicking the following links:

The Highest Seat was inspired by my friend Mitchell who plays didgeridoo in Balboa Park. He once worked in the planetarium at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

A Heart That Would Not End is a short story also inspired by Mitchell and his didgeridoo.

A Song for Old Warriors came directly from a Memorial Day ceremony that I observed outside The Veterans Museum at Balboa Park.

A Wise Man was inspired while attending a December Nights concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Here We Go is based in part on families riding the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad.

A Crown Above All came to me as I sat on a bench watching people near the Bea Evenson Fountain.

A Dog’s Tail also came to me as I sat on a bench in the park.

A Short Bloom flowered in my mind during a Cherry Blossom Festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

The Child and the Koi came to me while peering into the Japanese Friendship Garden’s koi pond.

Waterfall Tears is a third short story whose setting was inspired by the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden.

A Small Fountain in Green Park is loosely based on Balboa Park and other similar places I’ve known.

One Magic Bubble rose in my mind on a breezy day in Balboa Park as I watched a street performer with his looping string and bucket of soapy water.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

A philosophical short story for Arbor Day.

Wooden footbridge along 26th Street leads to a little-used trail through USS Bennington Memorial Oak Grove in Balboa Park.

Today is Arbor Day. It’s a day when we think about the future and plant trees.

Early last year I published a very short story that mentions Arbor Day. Dale’s Tree is the title. You might enjoy this touching, slightly philosophical tale.

To read Dale’s Tree, click here.

Have an excellent weekend, and stay tuned for more photographs from walks all around San Diego!

(The above photograph was taken in Balboa Park, as I walked down a path from Golden Hill into the Bennington Memorial Oak Grove. The place inspired my story.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

11 Short Stories About New Beginnings.

It’s true: time flies. Soon another New Year’s Day will have passed us by.

Every year, on January 1, many people vow to make positive changes in their life. Of course, every day, every hour, every moment provides us with a new beginning.

Cool San Diego Sights readers might know that I also write short fiction. Occasionally I’ll post a blog concerning stories that I’ve written. The approach of New Year’s Day provides an opportunity to share eleven inspiring short stories about new beginnings.

If you enjoy reading, you might explore the following links:

An Unexpected Sunflower is a short story about changing lives with generosity.

The Firefly is about friendship, hope and a moment of forgiveness.

One Strange, Shimmering Dream is a magical story about a dreamlike transformation.

A Half Dozen Odd Things concerns elements of a past life gifted to the future.

Night Walking is an odd tale about renewal.

The Wheel concerns creativity. Is there no end to beginnings?

The Hand of Fate is about mysterious human acts that change the world.

A Secret Junkyard is about the despair and hope of those who create.

The Ghost Ship is about unexpected bright moments that can change a life.

Every Butterfly is New shows a world that is always beginning.

Here We Go is full of eagerness for life ahead.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Richard

More treasure inside La Jolla’s Athenaeum!

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla is like a friendly palace filled with endless treasure. Step through its front door and you’re surrounded by jewels.

Shelves filled with knowledge and beauty. Works of art on the walls, around corners, in nooks and crannies. Comfy places to sit, read, listen, write and fill oneself with wonder.

I headed to La Jolla and stepped through the Athenaeum’s front door yesterday.

In addition to works of art that I hadn’t previously seen, I enjoyed looking at the newest exhibitions in the library’s galleries.

Here are a few of the jewels that I discovered…

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

A big thank you on World Teachers’ Day!

In the one room Mason Street School in Old Town San Diego, younger and older children sat together before the teacher and learned their letters.

Today is World Teachers’ Day!

What would the world be like without teachers? Very poor and very dull.

You probably remember some of your teachers fondly, how they inspired you to learn, grow, expand your horizons, become confident.

Today would be a great day to convey your gratitude!

To help pay for my own indebtedness, I’d like to pass along some information that teachers in San Diego might find very useful.

Write Out Loud offers a variety of inspirational programs that encourage reading and writing. Teachers can make free use of them.

Here they are:

Let Your Voice Be Heard is a poetry contest open to San Diego County students in grades K – 12. Learn about it here.

READ-IMAGINE-CREATE is a contest where Middle and High School Students will READ either the full book, or selections from CIRCE by Madeline Miller or MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton.. Students will RE-IMAGINE the images, themes, or characters and then CREATE a project in a medium important to them. Learn about it here.

Poetry Out Loud is a FREE program for High School students. Students select poems from the National Poetry Foundation Anthology, and memorize, interpret, and recite their poems in a competition at the entry level. Two winners from each competition advance to the Regional Competition and one Regional winner advances to the State Competition. Learn about it here.

“Ripples from Walden Pond” is a 55-minute one-person play written by Richard Platt appropriate for Middle and High School Literature and History Students. Performances are followed by a talk-back with the actor, Steve Smith. Study Guide is provided. This program is provided without cost, through the generosity of passionate private donors. Learn about it here.

Do you know a teacher in San Diego? Let them know these great programs are available!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Story Strolls outside San Diego public libraries!

How does one combine short outdoor walks with story time at a San Diego public library? Story Strolls!

During my visit to the San Ysidro Library last month, I observed one of these Story Strolls along walkways near the building entrance. Words and illustrations from children’s books are printed on signs, to be viewed by walkers in sequence, as if pages are being turned. It’s such a cool concept that I took these photos.

According to the City of San Diego website, eight branch libraries have featured such strolls. Most are in English. This one in San Ysidro is in Spanish. By scanning QR codes with your phone, you can also hear the story read aloud.

All of the library Story Strolls have a nature theme and debuted in June.

(If these signs appear a little dirty, we’d recently had some rain.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Beautiful bookplates at the Mission Hills library.

Do you love books?

Do you love the look, feel, and smell of words on paper, bound handsomely together for your own bookshelf?

I love to stumble upon dusty old books at a swap meet or rummage sale. Turn the pages and the author still speaks. The cover and interior artwork can be fantastic. One might find interesting notes or thoughts scribbled by past readers. And, if you’re lucky, there will be a beautiful bookplate inside.

What’s a bookplate? It’s a label readers affix inside their books to indicate ownership. They can also be used for book signings by authors.

The Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Harley & Bessie Knox Library currently has a display case full of handsome bookplates near its front entrance. They come from the San Diego Public Library’s Special Collections.

Here are a few examples:

The Mission Hills-Hillcrest Branch Library opened in 2019. Its grand opening was preceeded by one of the most wonderful events I’ve experienced in San Diego: the epic Book Pass!

Hundreds of neighbors transported hundreds of books from the old branch library to the newly built library. Every book passed from hand to hand about a mile down Washington Street. I took photographs of that incredible event, which you can see here!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Books published in San Diego a century ago.

The 57th Annual Local Author Showcase can now be viewed at San Diego’s downtown Central Library.

One of the display cases features books that were published in San Diego a century ago–in the 1920s and 1930s.

When I think of publishing in San Diego, the name Harcourt Brace Jovanovich immediately comes to mind. One of the world’s most important publishers made downtown San Diego their home for many years.

But have you heard of Torrey Pines Press, Hillcrest Publishing Company and the San Diego Printing Company? They and others were producing books in our city a century ago. Even Arrowhead Spring Water Distributors was part of the action!

The San Diego Library maintains a collection of books published or printed in San Diego. It’s called the Wilmer B. Shields Collection. It’s located inside the Marilyn and Gene Marx Special Collections Center on the Central Library’s 9th floor.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

A short story about a Christmas secret.

The House of England was hoping that Father Christmas would Please Stop Here.

Would you like to read a short Christmas story?

It’s based loosely on a real experience. The story wrote itself today, while I was sitting out in the San Diego sunshine.

The title is A Christmas Secret.

Christmas is about generosity, compassion and good cheer. And that’s what this story is about, too.

To read it, click here!