A hot day here in Alaska, temperatures in the seventies. I am not used to this. I can’t imagine being in a place where the temperatures are forty degrees higher. I have said this before, and I’ll say it again – human beings have a very low temperature range, one of actually about 30 degrees – above or below it and they must deal, cold, by retreating to warmer environs, hot by retreating to colder environs.

It was okay being in the former banquet room of the Historic Eagle Hotel because I was there early. No one seemed to mind that it was a bit hot in there – right now I can only get two windows open. I also prop the door open with a piece of wood. Our rent is lower than it might otherwise be because the place is -- funky in some respects. It’s a comfortable place though, and people do linger, more so than when we were at the Meeting House.

There was a steady stream of people in the distribution area today. Alicia came with her two kids and cleaned books. Then Jennifer came and dropped off about 30 boxes of heavy books. She was followed by an older couple, who dropped off two bags of books. I next talked to Cherokee, who is the self-appointed maintenance person. We talked about birds. She’s convinced that the reason we have climate change is because the planet is tipping on its axis.

Next, Pete, then Robert, rolled in. They assisted me in sorting the books the above donors brought in. And after, Pam came and cleaned books. Bill was the caboose, he dropped off two more boxes of books, which he salvaged at VCRS, the recycling center.

Collectively, a lot got done in a short amount of time. I have this sense that the distribution site is becoming a community center. I’m just going to keep encouraging this. This, ironically, was what my father envisioned when he opened his bookstore in Hillsboro, NH. Had he been giving away books, it would have been more so.

After we finished up, around 3:00 p.m., Pete, Robert, and I went for a kayak paddle on Eklutna Lake. I didn’t make it known, and I should have, that I would have preferred a closer paddle. Instead, we drove a long ways to Eklutna, and did not get on the water until 4:30 p.m.

Pete and I paddled on this lake a few years ago. I was right in that I remembered this particular paddle as being a slog. The lake is between two major hills. There isn’t anything really to see on the shoreline, and no wildlife. There were plenty of people in the shoreline area – they had all kinds of floaty toys and aquatic devices. There were a large number of plastic craft.

Going out, we had a tailwind. Coming back, a headwind. My groin muscles began hurting badly midway through our paddle. I was lucky to have made it back to the put in spot without any assistance.

Next time, I’ll use one of our other boats.

Next: 201. 7/23/23: A Very Full Day