The following is a press release issued Tuesday by Holliston Open Space Committee Chair Anne Marie Pilch:

The Holliston Open Space Committee is currently seeking applications for an opening on the committee, which generally meets the second Monday of each month, 7:30—9 p.m.

Open space protects and conserves our natural resources, including the aquifers that provide the town’s water. It provides habitat corridors for wildlife. It provides areas for passive recreation. Open space also contributes to the town’s character and aesthetic appeal.

If you are interested in helping the town of Holliston permanently preserve additional open space, please send a letter of interest to Ann Marie Pilch, Chair, Holliston Open Space Committee, c/o Holliston Town Hall, 703 Washington St., Holliston, MA 01746, or call 508-429-7114 for additional information.

WHO AM I NO. 13

I’ve maintained my youthful looks,

So please accept the mask.

Patch insists upon its use,

To complicate your task.

Basketball was once my game,

I was the star point guard.

See if you can guess my name,

It’s really not that hard.

Who am I?

WHO AM I NO. 12 REVEALED

I used to wear a Casey’s shirt,

Sometimes Long Distance Tire.

I looked real good in Braggville Black,

While cooling Brentwood’s fire.

With a church key in my left hand,

And a Bud Light in my right.

The softball guys would call my name

On springtime Sunday nights.

Who Am I?  I am Cindy Cutaia Valovcin.

GIVE SOME BLOOD, GET SOME LUNCH

Got a few extra minutes on March 12? Stop by St. Mary's Catholic Church and give some blood.

The Knights of Columbus will sponsoring the Fourth Annual Red Cross Blood Drive on Saturday, March 12 from 8 a.m.—3 p.m. All donors will receive a coupon for a free lunch at Country Farms. Though appointments are requested, walk-ins are welcome. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or visit www.redcrossblood.org to schedule an appointment.

HOLLISTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION TRIVIA BEE RETURNS

If you can answer these questions:

1. Which Holliston School Superintendent had the Robert Adams Middle School named in his honor? 
2. What Holliston street is named after George Washington?
3. Who once lived in the Asa Whiting House? ...

then you should be in the Second Annual Holliston Education Foundation Trivia Bee.

The Foundation is sponsoring the Bee, to be held at the Holliston High School cafeteria this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Team sponsorships are available for $300 and are tax deductible. Proceeds from the event will help the Foundation in their support of Holliston students and educators.

Those requiring additional information are advised to contact Beth Sherr at 429-3132 or to check the Foundations website at www.hollistoneducationfoundation.org.

MAKING A NEW FRIEND, WHILE BEING REACQUAINTED WITH AN OLD ONE

I made a new friend this week.

This friend wasn’t acquired by traditional means. There was no chance meeting and subsequent conversation while waiting for a deli order at the Superette. We weren’t sharing adjacent bar stools while watching a game at Casey’s. And we didn’t swap tales of woe while waiting in the noon time customer rush at the Post Office.

No, this friendship was made by my completion of a simple form and paying $10. Instantly, I became a Friend of the Holliston Public Library.

This was a friendship that, from my viewpoint, was long overdue. We had been acquainted since the mid-60s, when the acquisition of an orange, metal plate-bearing library card was considered a rite of passage as well as the doorway to a world that stretched far beyond my family's bookcase. With card in hand, I instantly had access to books that increased and deepened my interest in any number of topics.

It was at the Library that I would gather on Saturdays with my elementary and middle school friends to work on projects. Pouring through the encyclopedias (Colliers, World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica), we would gather our information, and by diligently changing at least one word from each copied sentence, strove to avoid any potential charge of plagiarism.

It was also here that we were first introduced to a magical device called a Xerox machine, which, for the princely sum of 10 cents, would enable us to copy full pages of documents. The world was full of possibilities.

In recent years, as extensive drives have become an integral component of my work, I rediscovered the Library. Having long ago abandoned listening to music stations, and growing tired of sports and political talk, I began to acquire books on CD from the library, my choice of selection greatly enhanced by the Library’s participation in the Minuteman Library Network.

From the comfort of my home, I am able to peruse the electronic stacks of available titles. With the entering of my account and pin numbers, my selection is made and within a couple of days, I am notified via email that it has arrived and is available for pick-up downtown.

As a result of this benefit, I have been able to enjoy a number of books on CD that have greatly enhanced my daily travels. One of these, "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow, consisted of 29 discs and required a serious commitment of time to complete. However, Hamilton’s story, spoken in a clear and well-documented manner, is riveting and compelling, the CD format more than suitable in its telling.

By comparison, I found a book by William Least Heat Moon less satisfying in the CD format than I likely would have found in the printed edition.

William Least Heat Moon is the pen name of William Trogdon, an American author with Native American roots. Moon is the author of “Blue Highways,” a New York Times bestselling book from 1982, which chronicles Moon’s travels on the back roads of our country. My father had first recommended the book to me, and I subsequently did the same for my son. Moon’s adventures include a reflective stop in Holliston and his richly detailed story is poetry without rhyme.

More than a year ago, I acquired Moon’s “Roads to Quoz: An American Mosey,” an 18-disc set, and eagerly looked forward to this new journey. Though enjoyable, I found the telling of this story in the audio format far less satisfying than I did in the reading of “Blue Highways.”  I believed that the beauty of Moon’s writing, with its careful attention to detail and thoughtful cadence, was largely lost while trying to dodge 18-wheelers on the Mass Pike.

I wrote Moon a letter with my thoughts, and was thrilled to receive his hand-written response. He wrote, “I have never been able – exception on a few Great Plains interstate highways — to listen to books. I am, for a good book, very much a man of the printed page.”

Last week, I finished listening to Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin.” It was a wonderful recital of this first great American’s life, and detailed his practical and common sense approach to most things. I found Franklin’s statement that “In this world nothing is certain except death and taxes” to be especially relevant.

Just the week before, I had received an email from a Holliston friend that contained a link to a website which displayed the real time national debt. I checked the site (http://www.usdebtclock.org/), and discovered that in the time I could hold my breath, our national obligation increased by $2.3 million dollars.

I also saw that my share of the debt approached $180,000 while that of a typical family loomed just south of $700,000. I could picture Mr. Potter looking me in the face and declaring, “Why John, you’re worth more dead than alive.”

As a matter of policy, and being totally unfamiliar with Patch liability insurance coverage, I advise readers not to imitate my breath holding accomplishment. I also wish to report that in e-mail correspondence with the above-mentioned friend this past week, it was fervently recommended that I read his all-time favorite book “Atlas Shrugged.” Not being familiar with what I now know as Ayn Rand's 1957 classic, I checked the Library Web site to determine whether to get the printed version or the CD’s. I saw that the book was over 1000 pages, and the CD version consisted of 50 discs. While debating my approach, my friend sent me another e-mail.

He had left the book in my mailbox.