"Slow Food, Enjoy Life".

I’ve read that we Americans do not get enough sleep as we’re trying to get too much done before falling exhausted into our beds. It’s as though we’re all white rabbits in Alice’s Wonderland, and we’re rushing from one thing to another and thinking that there isn’t enough time in a day.

There are a number of new books that advocate slowing down the pace and enjoying life. “In Praise of Slowness” by Carl Honore is just such a book. When the author nearly purchased a set of one-minute bedtime stories to read to his 2-year old son, he realized that he had to slow down and enjoy this time with the boy rather than “fast track” his bedtime stories.

Honore, a Canadian journalist who is now living in London, discovered a worldwide movement devoted to slowing down to take time to enjoy a meal, take an evening walk, read a book, visit with a neighbor, or just sit in a chair and stare at the scenery.

He visited Bra, Italy, the headquarters of the “Slow Food” phenomenon (see www.slowfood.com). While the organization’s stated purpose is “…to protect the pleasures of the table from the homogenization of modern fast food and life”, he learned that the philosophy extends beyond the table. In 1999, the city pledged to become a slow city by cutting the traffic and the noise, increasing green spaces, and supporting local markets and restaurants.

The city wanted to recapture the hospitality and friendliness for which it was once known. Honore learned that the residents of Bra weren’t trying to return their lives to the time of the Middle Ages, but they were using the latest technologies to improve their city so that the residents could live a more satisfying—yet slower—life.

The “slowing down” movement doesn’t advocate that we should become recluses living on the shores of Walden Pond. It doesn’t mean that we must toss out our modern conveniences, turn off our cell phone, and junk the microwave. It means that we need to re-appraise our measurement of time and change how we use it to judge the fullness of our lives.

But how do we make this re-appraisal? Honore suggests that we can only do it a step at a time. We must learn to leisurely prepare and eat our meals. We must learn to take random walks—with no particular destination or purpose in mind. We must become used to sitting down in the evening, an hour or two before bedtime, and visiting with our spouse. Eventually, we will have learned to slow down so that we can enjoy this precious gift of life.

Recent donations to the Columbus Library Foundation include those from Mr. and Mrs. Richard Luebbe in memory of Hugo Inselman and Scott Scow. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Stavas presented a memorial in honor of Phyllis Pearson. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Anderson gave a memorial in memory of Allen Westerhoff, Dona Brestel was honored with a memorial from Mr. and Mrs. Bradley Alfson and Mr. and Mrs. Tim Engel presented a memorial in honor of Edna Blaser. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trautwein presented a donation in memory of Judy McCarthy. Memorial donations are used to purchase new library materials. Donors may request specific purchases or purchases in a general area of the collection