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Now's your chance. For years you've read my ditherings about what it was like growing up in this burg.

The movie theaters, the drive-ins, the dance joints, the swimming pools.

What I didn't remember, I plumbed from others — some with memories stretching back to the 1920s.

Holocaust survivors and former Luftwaffe pilots, football coaches and astronauts, cowboys and Indians — all have shared their recollections.

And now so can you.

On Thursday, the Pima County Public Library is celebrating Tucson's upcoming birthday with the event "Tucson, Tell Us Your Story."

There Tucsonans will be invited to share their memories of growing up in this town, as well as milestones, turning points, favorite places and events.

During the workshop, you can either tell your story to someone who will record it or learn how to post your written stories online.

You can also write out your story beforehand and bring it to the workshop.

All of the memories will then become part of the launch of a new online library collection devoted to Tucson's memories — one that will undoubtedly grow over time.

The seed was planted when Pima County Public librarian Coni Weatherford, a recent University of Arizona library-science grad, took some classes on digital collections.

"I was learning about social collaboration, people finding an outlet to share memories."

One library in Illinois, she noted, has posted pictures of buildings in the neighborhood, with patrons posting memories of those buildings.

Who says walls can't talk?

Ironically, it took the celebration of Tucson's soon-to-be 232nd birthday, on Aug. 20, to bring about this culling of memories via computer.

"We had Tucson's birthday coming up and we wanted to create programs and displays," Weatherford said.

"We had put together an online forum for another venue, and we thought this would be a good time to launch this."

I'll be there during the launch to blather on a bit about my personal recollections of what this town was like in the 1950s and '60s.

But you don't have to be a native Tucsonan or even a survivor of one lone summer in this town to qualify.

"We're not looking for one particular person or story," said Weatherford. "Someone told me, 'I just moved here.' I said, 'Do your memories of a newcomer, how you see Tucson.' "

Youngsters also qualify. "You can be a 10-year-old with your first memory of snow," said Weatherford. "It's that encompassing."

All this is just the beginning, added Weatherford, who envisions partnering with other libraries and history projects. "We'll give our memories, link back and forth."

Veterans are also a wellspring of memory she hopes to tap into.

Library workers and volunteers — some of them teens — will also help with the project.

"We'd like to make this intergenerational," Weatherford said.

All you need are your memories.