by Frank Schroth

. . . last night I did get to hear from a guy who wrote a book about it. Actually, the book, Sex on the Moon, is about a man who stole moon rocks from NASA in order to provide his girlfriend with an extraterrestrial experience. The book is by Ben Mezrich, and he was the featured speaker at last night’s Literary Gala hosted by the Milton Library Foundation. It was a sensational evening in every respect.

Over 300 attendees showed up to enjoy a meal, listen to Mr. Mezrich, and demonstrate their support for a cherished institution, our local library, which, as Foundation member and MC Gene Boylan succinctly noted, makes a wealth of information free to all.

The audience reflected the diversity of the community and was well sprinkled with elected officials and town leaders. And the community showed its support. There was a silent auction and live auction and a “fund the need.” The latter was a simple request to assist the library in its mission to address specific needs such as early childhood literacy, improved access to digital technologies and delivery, and increased utilization. An unofficial guess is the foundation raised over $30,000 on that request alone. One attendee commented, “It was just remarkable.” And so was the auctioneer, John Terrio. That man could talk the scales off a fish.

The evening closed with Ben Mezrich’s talk. He had been sitting at a table with a group of students and writers from Milton High. The foundation has made it a custom to offer a table to students. It was a good spot for him. Mezrich, author of numerous books including The Accidental Billionaires about the founding of Facebook which was made into the film The Social Network, has a boyish exuberance. Informally dressed in jeans and sneakers, he told his tales of how his books came to be, and he was fascinating. Listening to him, one could see and hear some of the traits he described in his subjects: highly intelligent, not quite manic, and driven. When talking about why he is a writer, he referenced the first Terminator film. In short, it is what he does and he can’t really do anything else. Nothing gets in his way.

It was a fun night. Go see what all the fuss was about. Visit the library.

Note: Frank Schroth serves on the Library Board of Trustees