If there is a pattern to winter madness, this is it: It warms up. It snows. It cools down. The sun shines. It warms up. It snows.

Right now, we are in the cold phase of this pattern. Temperatures are in the single digits, and soon to go below O˚F. It is breathtakingly beautiful out; the trees are flocked with snow. They look like those white Christmas trees.

Less deforestation in our area this year because the deep snow deterred the Christmas Tree cutters.

Alys in book storage area at the Meetin House

Today I took it all in as I drove to and from town. Was glad to be driving the Subaru – the Great White Hope is like a ship, making her way from port to port.

On the way into town, and home, I thought about the book project and where it’s going. This is beginning to feel like the movie, Field of Dreams, and like the book, Shoeless Joe. In both instances, the central character had a dream, which was to build a baseball team, and bring in ghosts, Shoeless Joe, a disgraced player being one of them.

It's the dream part that I have been focused on. I started out digging in huge cardboard boxes for books, and distributing them to family members and friends. Then I widened my circle. There were times when my viewpoints about distributing books conflicted with the viewpoints of others. But I did not give up.

I will never know why I didn’t give up. (I pause). Why I didn’t give up is going to be the question that I will never be able to answer. I suspect that this had to do with my academic training and upbringing. Books were meant to be respected. That the books I was dealing with were, before their shelf life was over, to be shredded and pulped bothered me.

There was, from the onset, a great deal of community support for this project. The comment that is most often said, in regard to this venture, is that “it’s a good project.”

Finding a place to work out of has been challenging, not in the same way as dealing with those lacking a vision, but in a different way. We had considered all options when it came to land acquisition and building specifics.

There is hardly any land to buy or lease in Palmer. We canvassed the area thoroughly – we determined that our current site, or something within shouting distance would be ideal. Nothing materialized. I repeatedly got my hopes up and saw them dashed to the ground.

We considered having a few differing buildings moved by a company that does this sort of thing, the site being behind the Meeting House. And we considered building directly on this site. This was not meant to be.

The only hard part now is waiting for all involved to do their part. I will continue to distract myself by continuing to get books into the hands of appreciative readers.

Next: 349. 12/20/22: Another Cold Day in Hell