To come full circle when you don’t think you’ve completed the circle is an amazing thing. Today it happened. Pete and I got going early, and went to the historic Eagle Hotel, where we were joined by Robert, the President of the BLBP board. Pete and Robert moved the dozen-or-so boxes of baseball books into the truck. I put the banner and bookmarks and bins in the car.

Our destination, the Palmer Train Depot, was less than a quarter-mile away. Once there, we drove up to the door and unloaded the boxes, bins, banner, and bookmarks into the building.

Three Mat-Su Miner players were at one table, taking donations, and three more were at another table, giving away tee-shirts.

The large room to our left was filled with those who were being served pancakes and sausages. We set up shop in the alcove to the right. I was worried that we would not be all that visible. We made up for this by greeting people as they came in the door.

At first there was little interest in the books. Then I began passing them out, first to the players and then to those talking to the players. Once people saw people talking to us, their interest piqued. There was then a steady stream of appreciative readers.

I explained that the books were a part of a larger donation, made by a fellow who was an avid baseball book reader. And I further explained that they were on a wide variety of topics.

One fellow took a book, then when I showed him a baseball trivia book, said that Jesse Cook, their broadcaster, would like it. I followed him into the dining area and met Jessie, who is currently a journalism student at Syracuse University. I sensed that he was going into the right line of work – he had an announcer’s voice and very enthusiastic demeanor.

A short while later, he appeared in the book area, and I began loading him up with trivia books. I also, before he left, handed him a book on the Boston Red Sox. He left, with an armload of books in hand.

For the past two months, I’ve been doing little besides unpacking books, sorting, categorizing, and getting them on the right places on shelves. There has been little interaction with the public because this is a somewhat solitary endeavor. I say somewhat because some have stopped by the distribution area to say hello. Affirmation then, comes when one is out putting books on the shelves. Always, those who come and select books are truly appreciative.

In interaction with the public, stories have continued to beget stories. What happened today, at the midway point of this event, was perhaps the best story yet. Three kids came and got books. One took an encyclopedic book the size of an Oxford English Dictionary. He was maybe 7 years old. He staggered under the weight of the book. He disappeared with it, as did his two buddies with their books. He reappeared, and, I learned, had gotten signatures from all the Mat-Su Miners ball players. His friends had done the same.

They took a moment and showed me the signatures. The significance of this did not escape me; in fact, I nearly started to cry for these kids and the players had made an important connection. And if we hadn’t been there, this would not have happened.

We soon packed up the few remaining books and loaded them back in the truck. My thinking was, yes, all the hard work that has been involved in this project has been well worth it. Build it and indeed, they will come.

Next: 207. 7/30/23: End of the Month