When I lived in the city, I’d often go to the library to work. Unlike at a café, where I would inevitably eat more pastries than necessary and be distracted by neighbors’ conversations, I could sit in one place for hours at the library. No pressure to turn my seat over to anyone else. No false pretenses for being there. And, thankfully not loud, but there were still pleasant distractions in the form of peoplewatching.
Some of the people were homeless. They’d sit at a table in their layers of clothing, with their various bags and belongings. And no one told them to leave. It didn’t matter if they stank or weren’t reading. So long as they weren’t bothering anyone, they had the same right as everyone else to be there.
I loved witnessing that. That there was at least one place in the world that demonstrated democracy so graciously. I think about what other places approach that sense of ‘all belonging’—jury duty? The hardware store? Baseball games?
Not sure. Which is maybe why libraries are among my favorite places in the world.
