The True Library Project

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Michelle - Grand Rapids, MI

Milk and a tablespoon of lemon juice can substitute for buttermilk.

Danny Sleillman (age 9)

“Always keep your eyes open, because, if you keep em’ closed, you might get lost”

“Sometimes we put up walls - not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to climb over.”

‘the present is a gift, and I just want to be.“ common

“If you want to make the world a better place. Take a look at yourself and make that change.”
- MJ

Emma, GR.

Believe in the sun when it is not shining, in love ven when you are alon and in God even when he is silent.

Kristi, Chicago, IL

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved in return.

Peace, love and equality in 2010.

Kylyssa

Spend less time trying to fit in and more time trying to get by.

RTA

This book needed some color
Always bring rain gear to Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts.
Ideas regarding the super natural will not provide food or shelter
I can tell its a family business, but that little girl was working at 11am and is still here at 9 pm. I hope she had a break.
Mmmm. Hot Chocolate.
Friendship is the best thing. Never give up and ???(a word that I can not read) over this years’ new model.

Amanda Jo Boutwell, Cuttlerville, Mi

Life is wonderful when you have the lord and prayer.
God Bless.

Sam and Niki

Talk shi*; get hit
Talk bad; people get mad

Sever Ajino.

if you want someone to be interested in you, you have to be yourself.

Adrienne

Visit: the TWAYcollection.com

See amazing art and custom sneakers!
By Tyler way

That’s my knowledge for you.
Accept and love

Rebecca and Amanda

Life is short!
Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Emily Krance, Bowling Green, OH

“Peninsula” comes from the Latin “paene insula” or “Almost island” - so you almost live on an island...

Kate Allen, Ann Arbor

The word “asphalt” is derived from the Greek X - opzMw - (a - spallo) - “to not slip” or “to not make to slip.”

Love Kyle Wood, Grand Rapids

You’ll never know when the lies end and the truth begins, but you’ll always know where your friends are.

Tiffany - Downtown GR - Heritage Hills.

Having children will be the craziest adventure you will ever undertake. Love, live and teach them to THINK FOR THEMSELVES. Don’t impose your viewpoint on them - let them make up their own minds. Enjoy every minute - good and bad. this is all we have.

Doose Ngwuren Apw

Eat Healthy
Some kids are getting fat because they eat too many things with fat in then. If you want to lose weight then exercise each day for about 20 minutes. So get off the couch and start a healthy life. Go to the gym, take walks, and eat vegetables. If you want to look young then eat healthy.

Anonymous

Dolphins sleep with one eye open

Mason

Two heads are better than one!!!

Some of the concrete in the Hoover dam is still wet

Theresa Holliman, justin Holliman, Kyle Koster, Michael Phong Kenowa Hills intermediate School - Trip to downtown (6-3-2010), Walker, MI.

Louis Campau the founder of Grand Rapids, Mi was also G.R.’s first fur-trader and its first settler.

You have not truely lived until learn to laugh at yourself.

Seues Ajim, Michigan

Stop smoking!!!
please stop smoking if you can. I know that it’s addicting. But please don’t smoke. Smoking will destroy your dreams. your brain will get damaged. Think before you start smoking or take drugs. Think about how it will effect your life first. One thing that happens when you take drugs or start smoking is that your brain cells start to die and die until you kill yourself. Try to keep from getting heart disease. If you don’t smoke that is great. Don’t waste money on cigarettes. Don’t smoke. Remember smoking = killing yourself. if you want to live a happy life don’t smoke and your dreams will come true if you smoke you may destroy your chances of having a good life. Make the world better place. Stop smoking .

Facts.
if you smoke, your lungs become black.
if you smoke, you damage lung tissue.
if you smoke, you may get emphysema.
if you smoke, your alveoli (tiny air sacs) get damaged,
if you smoke, or take drugs yo may experience memory loss,
now remember smoking = killing yourself.

Sarah Mitchell

Do everything with enthusiasms.

Anonymous, Grand Rapids.

Coke is better than Pepsi
McDonald's is better than Burger King.
Go Java is better than Biggby, (But is tied with Bitter End).

Merissa Matbery

Sometimes things happen that you can’t explain and don’t understand... You end u driving yourself crazy wondering why. Being sad shows emotion, being strong gets you through, its the unconditional love that makes the pain go away! So cry because it hurts! Pray to get the strength you need... and smile knowing the love you have for one another.

When life gives you lemons put them in your bra to make your boobs bigger! :)

you live and you learn!

Chris, GR

I love your iced caramel latte.

(was recorded from the Go Java Coffee House)

Kristi, Downtown GR , 6-05-2010

Hapiness is a choice. And life really is a journey, not a destination. Drink Strong coffee.

Merissa Malbery

Sometimes things happen that you can’t explain and don’t understand... You end u driving yourself crazy wondering why. Being sad shows emotion, being strong gets you through, its the unconditional love that makes the pain go away! so cry because it hurts! Pray to get the strength you need... and smile knowing the love you have fo one another.

Grace Rivera

Two is better
Then one.

Justin, Allendale

An armadillo is the only animal that can get leprosy.

Chelsea, Downtown GR.

Life without passion is like an ocean without water, though vast and deep it is empty!

Lauren boker, Wyoming, MI

When learning something new, like in a business, it’s really important to write what you do down. And also, how the things you do affect or change the result. That way, not only you know your progress, but those around you, like investors or managers, can also see how awesome you are.

Candice Connell, Crete, Illinois

In order to draw something from life it is essential to momentarily forget what you think that you know and take time to learn to see. Don’t look passively, look actively. Then you will really know how to world is proportioned.

Olivia, Baxter Neighborhood, East GR.

“Try not to spend too much time worrying about what might happen, life will never throw anything at you that you can’t handle.

“”I am not afraid. I was born for this”
- Joan of Arc

Zack Taylor, Morley stanwood

“Speak with a soft voice and swing with a big stick”

Danielle Alexander, Baxter Neighborhood, East Grand Rapids

“Whatever you’re going through, remember: this too shall pass”

Kyle, Sparta

The largest living thing on the face of the planet is a mushroom under ground in Oregon. It measures 3 1/2 miles in diameter

(someone commented on the post in the book: Kyle = it's mycelium not a mushroom)

Elizabeth, Sparta

All the clocks in “Pulp Fiction” are stuck on 4:20.

And

P.S... your nails grow faster at night

Amber, Sparta

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

Ainoliy Schubed, Grand Rapids (6-5-2010)

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
-Robert Frost

Joshua, GR. 616-

Everyday is a good day. Only filled with differences in events.

Anonymous, 76 Coffee

When we sit a 76,
shitty tattoo boy
shows us his ink
He is “undatable”
not only because
of his shitty ink
BA - he also wears
long denim shorts
and we’re the only chicks
at 76
with better ink than everyone
here - put together -
anyway -
... So... there you go.
and we’re not on line, wasting time
just hungry and spittin' rhymes
at east there aren’t any mines
And the sun will shine
again in a couple hours
but we’ll hang till the powerstatbc(unreadable)
Kick us out of this seat
and into the street

Jason Kaleta, SE GR

Fact:
Those people wasted this sheet of paper. WTF mate?
Assumption: They aren’t very nice.
Slander: They are @!#?=*!

Saturday, Jun5, 2010 9:00pm
I’m pretty sure oil still pours into the ocean thanks to BP. I saw pictures of pelicans and seabirds yesterday. They were far too covered in oil to move. We are killing the oceans. Dead zones are on the rise.

Judith Butles, Westside, Berkely

Fact: those being pleasured by the power structure will ever agree with you, nor will they disagree.

Harpo-Bruce Marx-Campbell

A duck’s quack obesnt echo.

Sean Marvin, Midtown

In space, nobody can hear you scream. Nor can they see you cry, tears cannot flow without gravity.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Molly, Grand Rapids, MI

Trees help us breathe, so stop cutting them down.

Charlie, Gr, Michigan

Blood isn't red in your body, it is blue. it turns red when it reaches oxygen.

Caroline, Rochester, MI

"All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need."

Corrie, Rochester/ Eastown

Enjoy beauty.
Do good.
Love truth.
(and never stop learning.)

When you travel to a new place, shop at the local markets and eat the local food. Culture is built around our basic human functions - eating is one of them. Humans share this basic need, but express its fulfillment in some many diverse and creative ways.

Specific fact: "kelewele" is a fried plantain snack, spiced with ginger and pepper and native to West Africa. Best enjoyed with groundnuts, Star (a brand of beer from Ghana) and a good companion.

Also, the item on displaying the women's restroom of this coffee shop is used to sweep kitchen floors in Ghana?

Caroline, Rochester, MI

Forgive him/ her.

Caroline, Rochester, MI

Laugh - even if you don't have a reason to.

Youtube - "Laughter yoga"

Barb, Rochester, MI

Between what we expect and what we experience is usually a gap. What we do with the gap effects everything. Do use "assume the worst" or "expect the best." I'm learning to expect the best - why not?

(P.S. - buy good pens!)

Lil, Grand Rapids

Celebration is a good thing.
Celebrate often!

(I love Kava)

Emily Liuumole, East Grand Rapids

Life is too short to work like a dog.

Allison Backous, East Town

The ache in your muscles, after a long run or some other kind of exercise, comes from lactic acid, produced by your body during activity.

Anonymous, Gaia Cafe

Once a character rode for a
long, long while
And in his glove compartment where
      he kept his smile.
Wa a secret that when it's
      creases were smoothed
Reminded him of something new.

                                          - From the song, "Something New"
                                                      By Dr. Kate Velenga Meriwether, Washington D.C.

Richard S. Rasmsen, Eastside of Grand Rapids

Choose your path, But don't hesitate to choose another if you encounter grizzlies, highwaymen, or a better looking path1

Anonymous, Gaia Cafe

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all"

Caleb K. Brennan

Knowledge is Power; Understanding is Art.
faith and doubt, like success and failure share an intricate fraternity.
Life is faceted with many moods and emotions; Art can and does) have room for them all.

Elisa Musso Rasmusen

Anything in excess becomes a burden.

K. Kaylor Midtown

Weep not, my love,

Your heart is close to me me.

You fucking bitch,

ungrateful cunt,

Your heart is close to me.

Oh, do not fear,

I am nearer than near,

Your heart is close to me.

I'll gouge out your eyes

and pound in your fucking

heard,

You fucking bitch whore,

Your heart is close to me.

J. Clark, Midtown

MLK Jr. Attempted to end his life twice at the age of 12, by trying to jump out of his 2 nd story bedroom window. Thank the powers that may be that he was unsuccessful.

Ben (age 10), East Grand Rapids

Always eat your veggies, live long in prosper.

Will (age 8), Est Grand Rapids

Also, East Grand Rapids has Jersey Junction.

Tim (age 4), East Grand Rapids

God gets rain down here for the vegetable to grow.

Brooke VanDomelen East Town

To dry herbs, you can wrap them in paper towel tightly and place them in a sunny area of your home.

By 9 mouths old, babies can tell when someone in the room is speaking a different language - not by sound, but by the way a person's mouth is moving.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Victoria Westman, East Town

1. The reason a lot of things are referred is as "Gaodi" is because of the building design style of Antoni Gaodi, a Spanish architect from Barcelona.

2. Ringo Starr's real name is Richard Starky.

3. Putting lemon juice in your hair after washing it and letting it dry in the sun will make it lighter.

4. Perennials come back year by year,
Annuals need to planted annually. (I might be wrong)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Sara, Hudsonville

In the 19th Century, it was considered "fine art" for actors to inhale nitrodous - oxide and stumble across stage.

CRV, NE Grand Rapids

Mankind has gone to the bottom of the Mariana Trench one time. It was determined that nothing worth knowing would be found there. We know more about outer space than we do about our own oceans!!!

Rachel Osborn, Grand Rapids

The big toe, through a close and precise research of western civilization, is a symbol for perverse sexual exploration.

Anonymous, 76 Coffee

Bees knees are actually really cool.

Oliver Deckard, Kava House

If you put a corpse in a sealed casket, in a sealed mausoleum, the gases from the decomposing body will explode the casket and the mausoleum, leaving body parts everywhere.

Michael Tuffclmire, EastHill.

Wellington Avenue located next to Eastern and Cherry (the one way curved street) was built as a streetcar route.

Helen Beelen, Heritage Hill

a bird in the hand is always greener than the grass under another guy's bushes.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Drew, Heartside

I was having a conversation with my roommate an couple of weeks ago and he said that he doesn't believe love is real. he had a rough life up until this point but I thought even if you believe that... why not pretend it is, maybe you'll prove yourself wrong.

Scott, Heartside

when I was 12 years old me and a friend from middle school were smoking a joint in a par. This day like any other was sunny and warm typical of San Diego weather. The bench we were sitting at was inscribed with the usual obligatory graffiti, ie: Swastikas, hearts and the usual "I" was here monikers. i glanced over at Jamin, my best friend at the time and there was a look of terror on his face. Before I could inquire what he was worried about he shot off faster than a gazelle in Africa. I heard laughter behind me, the kind of laughter you would expect to hear in a prison rape scene. Before I could turn around to see my would be prison lovers a world war II era Hitler youth knife was stabbed directly next to my hand. i looked up to see two rather large bald white men smiling as if they had just caught the big one "Are you proud of your skin nigger?", the smaller of the two asked. i had never been asked such a question. "I guess so?", was all my shaky body could muster.

John Meulink, Calvin College

Listen first, then speak.

Erika Den hoed, Calvin College

If women were to shave their faces, their hair would grow thicker and result in a beard.

Michelle Jokish, Calvin College

I think that people should try to ask more questons.
Sometimes we can learns worlds of someone if we just ask...

Mike Tate

Daily menu: three or four prayers, have faith, repent, believe.

James Bont, Michigan st and Halen st.

John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids is one of the oldest zoo in the world. It was built by John Ball at late 1700's.

Grand Rapids city sold the John Ball Zoo to the Kent county for $1 dollar in the late 1970's.
Hitchhiking is not allow in U.S. high way. But as long as you do it not beyond the signs on the On-ramp or the Off-ramp that read, "No Slow Vehicle", you are OK.

Christine Zwart, Calvin College

Dear patrick,

I just want to let you knw that I think you re a wonderful person and I am glad to know you. I remember you inviting me to your family's house for Thanksgiving last year which really meant a lot to me, thank you for always being a great friend.

I hope that you get everything out of life that you want. Don't even stop seeking out wonders in the world! In life, the world is yours to discover.

As I write this I am listening to Matisyahu and I want to leave you with this line: "your silence kills me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Is it wrong to think you might speak to me? you might speak to me, and what would you say?" (I love that God is a mystery)

jonathan Chong, Calvin College

Life is too short for complaints, live everyday as if it were your last.

Live in faith

enduring hope

Peace, Love, Sushi

Egide Nsenga, Grand Rapids

I am from Rwanda and in my culture, we celebrate death. When a person dies, we throw a big party and invite as many people as possible. We do this to celebrate their life and congratulate them on being called to be with God in heaven.

Luke DeJong, Calvin College

Western Michigan is special, but I love to find the isolation and beauty that God provides in the majesty of the great outdoors. To find this, I have found that venturing beyond the Bridge into the unknown abyss know as the U.P. sometime this summer check out the Porcupine Mountains or Pictured Rocks.

Ben Dixon, Calvin College

Michigan is not the Midwest - No offense.

Laura Woodbury, Calvin College

A completely different world exist in April on the Silver Lake Dunes. The sand stretches in all directions creating the feeling of being in a desert. I walked for what felt like miles only to reach the fresh water Lake Michigan that I couldn't drink! So thirsty! There was no one else in sight, the entire day, and it was beautiful to be so alone for a time.

If you go, bring water, wear shorts, check out the mysterious forests, and travel onfoot.

Bon Voyage!

Erene Melton, Grand Rapids

The Pine River is the third fastest moving river in the nation behind Colorado River.

Justin Martin, Calvin College

The nature of time and history is cyclical, with times of peace and war, of stability and upheaval, of abundance and of want. Despite all that we do to improve and change the world, it will never be perfect, for evil is ever - present, until the day Christ returns and judges the world and its inhabitants for all they have done, good and bad. Therefore all we can really do is to fear the Lord and obey his commandments, to enjoy the good things of life, especially relationships, that he has given us, and to be content with what we are given and what are called to do Mean while the cycles of history continue until the great resurrection, when the old shall pass away, and a new and perfect world arise.

Bridgette Lillian, Calvin College

Let art get inside you. For it will change you. you won't be able to explain it, or why it is, but no matter what it's just there. It either works for you or it doesn't. Art picks out the person, the person does not pick out the Art.

Just remember live with Art it can bring great ideas, thoughts and inspiration.

Always be in rebellion, question the mass media and culture.

Never let anyone tell you who to be or how to act, and never let consumerim become you.

Keep your voice, let it ring loud and clear you can change the world around you.

Ashley Juvonen, Calvin College

"We shall never know the difference a simple smile may make" -Mother Theresa

We forget we are all human, we all suffer, we all feel insecure at times, and have the same emotions even though we have had different experience and come from different places. Smiles really can make a difference! Love each other and remember we have more in common than not.

isabella, Calvin College

Recipe:

3 cups whole green beans
1 cup chopped almonds
3 tbsp soy sauce

Sautee green beans in olive oil, add soy sauce, take off the flame, toss in the almonds, yum!

Jake Witte, Calvin College

The worst thing you can do to yourself is sell yourself short. We are often our own worst enemy. if you want to succeed and be accepted, be comfortable in who you are.

kobby Berko, Calvin College

Why worry when you can pray, why complain wen there is a solutin waiting to be found, why judge when you could offer words of upliftment, encouragement and peace. A smile instead of a frown, the world is a reflection of our thoughts. We create a world of chaos and animosity when that all we say, believe and see. You will find what you are looking for. So look for peace, love, community, unity and yo will find it amidst the most difficult situations. Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find. Be careful what you seek and ask for, you just might find or have that.

Daniel Coumache, Calvin College

It's one world whenI go to Calvin College and it's another world when I take the Rapid bus. I pray that the Spirit moves to end the ways Christians separate themselves from people who are different. lets be loving towards the vulnerable immigrants in our midst, for as Christians we should understand waht it means to be a stranger and alien in the world.

Eric Thayer, Vassar SE St.

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind." Shakespeare said that. True love lies not in what we see with our eyes, but in what we imagine our beloved becoming. Love is about imagination and seeing the value (and potential for value) in the person we love.

karlie Krieger, Calvin College

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved." - Victor Hugo

I find this quote really interesting and meaningful. We, as humans, naturally seek acceptance and love from others. Whether it ve love of a significant other, best friend, family, or God, we seek to find meaning in relationships. It is important to remember the people in our lives - their feelings and attitudes - so that we can be sure to pass that love on. And in doing so, God may bless us rough the love of other. Christ has givn us hope, freedom, and the ability to be loved and to love others.

I went to google map and made a map of all 12 "Red Boxes" location...

Here is the address:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=113454072977582005556.0004882597878c40a59b5&ll=42.965373,-85.67836&spn=0.007443,0.019355&z=16

hope you enjoy being a part of it!!!

Patrick

HURRAY!!! All 12 of the red boxes had a host and the project had began!!!

Today I ran around East Town a bit and catch up with few more restaurant and coffee shop and found a host for the last 4 "Red Boxes"!!! I am so excited!!! And I know that couple of them already had people's writings in them. I am so grateful. Thank you everyone!!!

Here is the list of the location of all twelve "Red Boxes"!!!

1.

Bitter End Coffee House

752 Fulton St W, Grand Rapids, MI