Have you taken a jog along the rail trail in the past couple of days? If so, you may have noticed a portion of the trail has been transformed into a StoryWalk.

Girl Scout Troop 60226 and leader Brenda Griffin wanted to promote literacy and reading and decided that StoryWalk was the perfect way to do both! That's why you'll find pages of a children's book laminated and posted along the trail, providing your little ones with the perfect distraction from their "aching legs" and "sore feet."

There's a weatherproof info box at the end of StoryWalk for people to post their comments. The Scouts are using this project to earn their Bronze Award for community service and would greatly appreciate your support in maintaining the posted books! If you notice pages missing or any vandalism, please report it to the library or call 234-3737.

The Girl Scouts hope to change the StoryWalk books seasonally.

 Ostrander students may recognize at least one member of this dynamic vocal group - their teacher, Marie Lysandrou!

She and MaryBeth Egan, Stephani Moorman, and Joanne Still have been performing together as Voce (pronounced vō´chā, from the Italian word for "voice") since 1999.

 Their mostly a cappella songs are drawn from an eclectic repertoire, and you'll get to hear them in person Friday, July 6, on the library lawn! The 7 p.m. performance will take place no matter what the weather (although the venue will be changed to the Lion's Club Pavilion if it rains), so mark it on your calendar!

In addition to singing together, the members of Voce have active careers as teachers, music therapists, writers, and artists. All of the women live and work in Ulster County.

 Veteran subscribers of this newsletter know that we're pretty much Jim Trelease's biggest fans.

The author of 1982's million-copy bestseller, The Read-Aloud Handbook, has traveled all over the world touting the countless benefits of reading to children. His promotion of literacy and opposition to disasters like No Child Left Behind have won applause from parents and teachers alike.

Whether you're already a Trelease fan or would like to know more about him and his work, www.trelease-on-reading is the site for you. There you'll find "Read-Alouds of the Week," book lists (great if you're looking for material for the Summer Reading Program), excerpts from Trelease's work, and more, including tons of informative articles on everything from censorship to the debate about the pros and cons of online reading.

Check it out today - it's never too late (or too soon) to get your kids reading!

 New to our shelves this week, The Artist was named Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards.

In the film, silent movie star George Valentin bemoans the coming era of talking pictures and fades into oblivion and self-destruction, but finds sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer lighting up talkies like no one else.

A tribute to old Hollywood and the first silent film in 83 years to claim top honors at the Oscars, The Artist won four other awards this year, including those for Best Director to Michel Hazanavicius and Best Actor to Jean Dujardin. 

For months, a collaboration of RCLS and MHLS libraries has been planning the Geek the Library Renegades baseball game, set for tomorrow evening.  It has been so exciting to get the libraries together to try this rather nontraditional method for promoting all that we do for our communities.  We have had a lot of fun with it, but the best time I have had is offering the opportunity to a local 13-year-old girl, Courtney Hyland, to throw out the first pitch of the game. 

 I will be completely honest that my first choice was Bill and/or Melinda Gates.  They were busy(!). Then, the Sullivan County actor and personal crush, Mark Ruffalo.  He was out of town. Then the local author, Robert Lipsyte.  Also going to be out of town.  As I pulled my star-struck head out of the clouds and dealt with the disappointment over not getting the "big name," I began thinking of who would get the most benefit out of this opportunity.  In my mind's eye, I envisioned a girl, hair flying out behind her baseball cap, standing on the mound at the Dutch, hurling the ball toward a burly Renegades catcher. 

 As I asked around to all my friends that I never see anymore because their kids are on softball, soccer, football or hockey teams, I found out this weekend is a big one for some of the local leagues and many players are out of town.Then my daughter and her friend mentioned Courtney's name.  I knew she had been on the Wallkill Area All-Star team and had played softball for years. When I called Courtney to see if she would be interested, she went into the stratosphere!  It was awesome to hear her excitement and know what a once-in-a-lifetime moment this is for a kid.  (Luckily her team, the Ulster Fillies, does not have a game this weekend.) 

 The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity leading up to this event, but nothing is in my mind more than the anticipation of seeing Courtney, as I had envisioned, on the mound throwing the first pitch.  It got me thinking of how simple it is to make someone's day.  The opportunities we all have to make that call, send those flowers, write that card, roll in those garbage containers for our older neighbors, surprise people with a special gift or thoughtful action, to say those kind words to someone you see all of the time but feel too embarrassed or have been too "busy" to say, to share more smiles.  How wonderful it is to let someone know you took a few moments to think about them, to include them, to surprise them, to care about them. 

 So, here you go, pay it forward.  Do something today for someone else.  However miniscule it may be, do it with meaning, with compassion, with joy!  It sure feels good.  You'll see...