That’s the title of a most amazing book by Dave Eggers.

Today we salvaged books at VCRS and then moved them to the Meeting House. For a while we were moving the boxes of books to the Meeting House on Mondays because space was limited, and the books would undoubtedly spill over into the church room where Sunday services are held.

Now that there’s an upstairs and a downstairs distribution area, there is more storage space in general, so Pete is now able to move the books on Saturdays rather than Mondays, saving him considerable time and gas money.

Bill digging into Gaylord

We got a huge children’s book haul today – most of the books were buried/dumped in the Gaylord. This included a very rare first edition copy of The Cat in the Hat, which is now not as valuable as it was because the book spine was broken.

We went directly to the Meeting House after leaving VCRS, and the guys (Robert and Pete) began off loading books, both upstairs and downstairs. Me, I worked at finding space for the sixteen boxes of books going to Utqiaġvik. (There are going to be 16 more boxes; I just have not yet packed them up.)

As we were finishing packing, Robert came upstairs and entered the main room. He was followed by a small, elfin woman who looked to be about 30 years old. She was carrying a very full maroon backpack. I noticed right away that she moved like a marionette, in a very jerky fashion. She was mumbling, half to herself, half to us. I had a hard time hearing her because my ears (from having a cold) are plugged up.

Robert attempted to talk to her. She half noticed that he was there. We decided after giving her some water to call 911. In minutes, a Palmer policeman showed up. He was a large fellow with a trimmed brown-red beard. He didn’t say much; rather, he observed and listened to her. She said that her boyfriend, who was at the motel adjacent to the Thai restaurant, had smashed up her car.

The policeman told us he was going to call for an ambulance. He left and the EMT crew, which consisted of one woman and two guys, appeared on site.

The three, like the policeman, took their time in assessing the situation. The woman said her feet hurt and removed one of her running shoes. She then took off two outer layers of jackets.

The EMT crew, after doing a check and verbal assessment, told the woman, Rebecca was her name, that they thought it best if they take her to the hospital. They added that she needed to sign a form saying that she refused to go. She signed the form.

It took another ten minutes for Rebecca to again get her layers on. Then she took off her shoe again.

Finally, she got up, and was assisted down the stairs and out the open door. The gurney was in place. It was obvious that she wanted nothing to do with it. She and the EMTs agreed that she should be on her way. And so off she went, backpack on back, down the street and around the corner.

I asked and was told by the EMTs that they often must deal with similar people, in similar situations.

I still feel bad, that Rebecca left the Meeting House and continued on her way because she obviously needed assistance of some kind.

But at the same time, I was impressed with the EMTs, their patience, technical expertise, and ability to work through a tough situation.

Next: 50. 2/19/23: Weather Wise