May I?

As a child I would ask, "Can I have a cookie?" I was always quickly corrected, "Do you mean may I have a cookie?" May 15^th is touted as National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. As synonymous as milk and cookies is NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® semi-sweet morsels and chocolate chip cookies. This product has been on the market since 1939, and there is a very interesting history and recipe collection on its web site. There are also several books devoted to this little piece of perfection, one of which, NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Best Loved Cookies, is available through the library system. A quick perusal of the Fort Plain Free Library shelves finds the following offerings…Double Chocolate Crisps in the Taste of Home Baking Book and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake in the Better Homes and Gardens 9 x 13: The Pan That Can book.
On May 11^th, the Fort Plain Free Library was honored to receive the Mohawk Valley Library System's Library Recognition Award at the system annual meeting in recognition of this past summer's Twain Along the Mohawk event. The award honors the efforts of a library to improve, expand, or enhance services to its community and the region. As stated in the citation, "Books have the ability to bring communities together as we have all seen with the success of community reads. The Fort Plain Free Library took this idea with a twist for its Twain Along the Mohawk program last summer, joining the author and his words with a celebration of community."
On Tuesday evening, May 24, from 6:00 – 8:00, the library will present Fort Plain's Finest Foodies. The program, by public request, will bring together samples and provide demystification of complicated sounding recipes. Participants are invited to bring a prepared appetizer, entrée, desert, etc. that sounds "gourmet" but is, in reality, easy to make. They will hand out copies of their recipes and explain the finer points of its preparation. Plates and service will be provided. The program is free and open to all. For more details, drop by the library.
So, what is the difference between may and can? Anyone may (to imply permission) go the library where they can (to imply ability) learn something new!