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By James Gardner

Clark County Public Library

In my days as a Morehead State University grad student, I heard the following joke about Ernest Hemingway describing how he drank coffee:

I poured a cup of coffee.

I added cream, and then sugar.

I drank the coffee.

It’s a joke that perfectly captures Hemingway’s no-frills approach to writing, but it’s also a little reductive. Hemingway was more than a writer who wrote efficient, bare bones sentences. The man was practically a travel influencer a half a century before Instagram.

Hemingway began his journalism career as a reporter in Kansas City, but he began his journey as a storyteller while serving as an ambulance driver during World War I. His wartime experiences inspired novels like A Farewell to Arms (F Hemi) and The Sun Also Rises (F Hemi). Hemingway was also an adventurer at heart. As a journalist and writer, he wrote about such diverse subjects as bullfighting and big game sport fishing, but his book The Old Man and the Sea (F Hemi) is about more than just a man trying to catch a fish, and that’s what always stood out about Hemingway’s stories. Yes, they’re made up of sentences stripped bare of flowery language, but there’s still emotion in those stories that go beyond mere word count. This level of talent is even something to which I aspire, even as I imagine Hemingway himself hating that sentence.

To be clear, I realize I am no Hemingway. Not just in terms of talent, but I have also not seen Mount Kilimanjaro or Pamplona (Pittsburgh was my last big trip). However, what Hemingway, and his birthday taking place this week, reminds me is that there is still plenty of life to experience, even if it’s a day that man of action Papa Hemingway might scoff at. Hemingway’s lesson to me isn’t that I have to wrestle bears or skydive without a parachute, but to be in the moment, soaking up the experience whether it’s climbing a mountain or walking somewhere I haven’t explored yet, even if it’s just a new bookstore. Every morning I wake up, I have a chance to create my own adventure, and so does everyone else. Just like everyone else waking up in the morning, I am a collection of small adventures. These adventures are full of heartache and hope, of love and loss, of experiences that define me.

One such story for me happened just this morning.

I poured myself a cup of coffee.

I added some half and half.

I drank the coffee.

I wrote this newsletter.

I feel like I did a good job.

And with that, I’m one step closer to Hemingway-level greatness.

And here’s some adventures/programs happening at the library this week:

• This week’s Kentucky Picture Show stars Sidney Poitier as a Nlack Philadelphia police detective who is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town. After being cleared, he is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case. Popcorn and drinks will be provided.

• This Friday, July 28, Live@ the Library, our outdoor concert series, will feature Just Holler, a rock n’ roll band with folk, indie and pop-punk influences. Just Holler will take the stage at 7 p.m., and the El Mexiquense Food Truck will be serving food at 5 p.m. We will also have outdoor games. Bring a chair or blanket to sit on the lawn along with a love for good music and a taste for good food.

• On Saturday, July 29, at 10 a.m., the library presents its newest book club, Book Brunch from Beyond, where we’ll be discussing “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley. Not only will this group be reading the greatest fantasy, science fiction, and horror books, but we’ll also be having donuts! Copies of “Frankenstein” are available at the front desk and on Hoopla.