I’ll Be at the Library!

When I moved to Texas, I promised myself I was going to do Texas stuff… I spent a year in Georgia for graduate school and didn’t do any Georgia stuff besides work the Olympics, but that really isn’t Georgia stuff… That’s corrupt Europeans taking kickbacks stuff and white trash selling bootlegged items stuff with some sports going on… I worked in North Carolina as an intern and really didn’t do much North Carolina stuff, except audition to be an extra on Dawson’s Creek… Turned down because fat kids don’t go to Cape Side… I don’t want your life… I spent two years in New Mexico and really didn’t do much New Mexico stuff… In my years in New Jersey, I did Jersey Shore stuff, except having to see the butt doctor and the tan part of GTL, but not really much of the other Jersey stuff.

I once worked by Cape Side High School... Pre-scientologist Joey... Meeeeeeee-ow.

That guy was my doctor... We didn't get that friendly. #truestory

So here I was in Texas… Didn’t know nobody… Nobody liked the carpetbagger… If I was going to see Texas, I was going to have to go all by myself... All by myself… Don't wanna be all by myself… Anymore… All by myself… Don't wanna live all by myself… Anymore.
 

So the first week, towards the end of each work day I would scour the sites like Austin360 and Austin Chronicle to see if there was any Texas stuff going on… The first four or five days, there wasn’t much going on, but then August 27th came.

August 27, also known as my sister Alexis’ birthday… She was born when I was a freshman in high school… I was always the baby of the family and then on that day I became Malcolm in the Middle, singing the Meow Mix song.
 

Any how, August 27 is also Lyndon Baines Johnson’s birthday!... LBJ! … The real LBJ… I always cringe when people refer to LeBron James as “LBJ”… His middle name doesn’t start with a B… His mom may be dumb, but she’s not that dumb to name him Le  Bron  James… But I digress… That’s some of my Clevelander coming out.

Any how, on this August 27, the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum was having a birthday party for President Johnson… He wasn’t there… He’s dead… But I went… Because this was something Texasy… And it was literally 100 yards from my office as the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum are on the campus of TU.

It was a grand old party… I had fun, but really never got around to looking at the exhibits and hwat not… I went to the party again the next year and then went with co-worker Travis in 2008 for the big 100th Birthday blowout… It was a shindig to beat all shindig with all sorts of dignitaries… But I still never looked around at the exhibits.

My first time seeing the sights and sounds in the grand building was in October 2010 as a break from Eat Me Austin III: Sisterhood of the Traveling Fat Pants… A six-stop eating tour through Austin… I loved it… I learned… And I love learning… It ranks up there with BBQ and pie.

It was also the site of my first-ever Twittering mishap… I wanted to Tweet “I’m at the LBJ Presidential Museum and Library… The only library for made for the President who had JFK killed” on my personal Twitter account… In the middle of the Tweet, my phone crashed… When the phone rebooted, I forgot that it would go to the Texas Baseball default Twitter account… In my forgetfulness, I sent out the Tweet… Immediately upon hitting the “send” button, I realized my horrifically funny mistake… It took me about 30 seconds to delete that Tweet, but of course in that 30 seconds all of the only flaming liberal Texas Baseball fans saw the Tweet and sent their anger in my direction… It’s not the last Twitter mishap I’ve ever had... Anerica!

In addition to possibly having JFK whacked, LBJ was a close-talker.

Any how it was a fun visit and like I said, I learned a lot… And it was worth the price… Which was free… Best bang for the buck in Austin.

Two weeks ago, I made a return trip… And it’s 150% better… They refurbished most of it, so it’s almost a whole new place… The videos are now state-of-the-art and the presentation and signage was brought into the 21st century… The Library will soon be charging a nominal fee, but until then there is a transition period in which they’re suggesting donations… Even when there is an admission fee, it will be worth the price.

My return visit to the LBJ Library and Museum... I Farleyed It!

There’s nothing more American than a Presidential Library and Museum… Don’t believe me?... Try to find one in Communist Russia… Or Socialist Europe.

Generally, the “Library” portion has a majority of the Presidents’ papers, records, collections and materials and scholars and researchers can peruse through the documents by appointment… The “Museum” portion is open to everyone and has permanent displays pertaining to the President and then some temporary exhibits to "keep it fresh".

“Who had the first Presidential Library?” you might ask… None other than Rutherford B. Hayes… That’s right… Rudy… Rudy… Rudy… Rudy... Dates back to 1909.

You might be surprised to find out that not every former President has a Library and Museum… As a matter of fact, just 22… Notable Presidents that currently don’t have one include John Adams (John Quincy Adams has one), James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson and Chester Arthur… Most of the "Libraries" and "Museums" are housed in the same complex, but Gerald Ford has his Museum in Grand Rapids and his Library in Ann Arbor... 130 miles apart.

They like Ike!

The “Presidential Library System” is a network of 13 libraries overseen by the Office of Presidential Libraries under the direction of the National Archives and Records Administration… Every former President since Herbert Hoover now has one.

The National Park System administers some “birthplaces” and “homes” and other historic sites for numerous other Presidents which are also often well worth the visit.

Much like with frisky co-eds, the busts are often my favorite part of a Presidential Library

If you like history and/or you like politics, Presidential Libraries and Museums are fantastic places to visit… So far I’ve been to six, including LBJ, George HW Bush (on the campus of Texas A&M - I'll take you when you don't visit), Ronald Reagan (Simi Valley, California), Richard Nixon (Yorba Linda, California), Dwight D Eisenhower (Abilene, Kansas) and William McKinley (Canton, Ohio)… The only one that disappointed a little bit was the McKinley one… They aren’t part of the Office of Public Libraries, so they’re struggling to stay above water… With that in mind they’ve added a “Fascination Station” and “Discover World” to talk about dinosaurs and robots… Basically trying to attract kids… Unless McKinley had something to do with dinosaurs and robots that I don’t know about.
 

You can't hide this excitement!

President McKinley is well recognized as the first U.S. President to ride a dinosaur, so this makes sense in his library and museum.

Unless you’re a right-wing whack job or the more common left-wing whack job, you can enjoy the Presidential Library and Museum no matter what the party affiliation of the inhabitant.

I’ve added the ones I haven’t seen to my ever-growing bucket list… Coming up soon the Ulysses S Grant Presidential Library in Starkville, Mississippi; William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock and George W.Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.