I want to make it clear: I’m not in it for the glory. I am but a simple man, a man of letters, letters strung into words, words flung onto a page and pages arrayed for my reading pleasure. It’s all about the reading, man!

So when I receive an Award of Merit, such as that which was conferred upon me last week at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library, in honor of, I’m not sure of the exact wording, but it was something to do with my constant and steadfast devotion to the written word, I accept it with humbled grace.

At the convocation, held at the library’s reference desk, I was presented with a gift card for Uptown Coffee. The denomination of the gift card was not revealed, and I haven’t used it yet because I’m still basking.

As we head into the final stretch, I stand at nine completed books, (for 11 stamps because I combo’ed a couple), including Unmoored: Coming of Age in Troubled Waters, an excellent memoir by Mt. Lebanon resident J.R. Roessl that netted me a travel stamp on my reading passport, and an accumulated total of 55 hours of reading. Something to be proud of, but no time for complacency. I’m coming up woefully short on Food, with also much left to accomplish before achieving Travel and History supremacy.

This is what I train for all year. This is my Super Bowl. Can I do it? With a boost of free caffeine and chocolate from Uptown, how can I not?