When I was just a little girl, my dad would take the family out for a drive and we would look at machinery. Some people looked at scenery, but we looked at machinery. He liked anything with an engine. I grew up thinking that tractors, motor graders, skid loaders, etc. were terribly intriguing. I could say "Bobcat" and "Caterpillar" before I could say "mama" and "dada" So you won’t be surprised to know that I like snowplows. Obviously I’ve had ample opportunity in the past weeks to observe the snow removal equipment in action. And recently it occurred to me that, perhaps the man driving the snowplow might be rather intriguing as well. He’d have to be terribly macho to maneuver such a large piece of equipment. He must be strong and masterful, yet sensitive enough not to ram mailboxes and run over squirrels and other helpless critters. He’s out there beating the snow into submission from 5 a.m. until long after I’m home from work. So he must have a good, solid work ethic. He is altruistic in nature, laboring day and night, without a thought for himself, just so people can get to the library, to church, and the grocery store. I think we should designate a day, a week, or month to express our gratitude to the men who move the snow and keep us mobile. In fact, I would be willing to share this month with them. We will call February "Love Your Library and Your Snowplow Guy" month. Even without a special holiday, be grateful that you’re not trapped in your house by a huge snowdrift and be particularly grateful that you can go to the library to check out the new book by Stephen White, "Blinded". Psychologist Alan Gregory is juggling his responsibilities as a father, a husband, and doctor when a patient walks into his office with an astounding admission. Gibbs Storey believes that her husband may have murdered a woman. Then, Gibbs stuns Alan again with another revelation: She thinks there are other victims; and her husband is not finished killing yet. Gregory enlists his wife, Lauren, a lawyer, to grapple with the questions of legal privilege — and gets his cop-friend, Sam, to help him launch an investigation. But is there more than one level of deceit operating here? Also new on the shelf is "Hate Crime, by William Bernhardt. Ben Kincaid has built a national reputation as a stalwart defense attorney who will fight tirelessly for his clients. In Evanston, Ill., Johnny Christensen has built a reputation as a sadistic bigot who beat and stabbed a gay man and left him to die. When Johnny’s mother comes to Ben and begs him to defend her son, he turns down the case. But his partner, Christina McCall, does not. Her client’s only defense is his claim that he left his beaten victim alive. To prove that someone else committed the actual murder, Christina needs a little bit of evidence and a good motive to go with it. When unforeseen circumstances force Ben Kincaid to enter the trial, the defense attorney sees only one way to prove Johnny’s innocence. But Ben’s plan means luring a killer out of the woodwork, even though he may kill again. Special Notice: The Library will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16, in observance of Presidents’ Day.
