Logan, our videographer, made a movie called “Sudsy Smith Rides Again.” In it, there is a gypsy fortune teller named Dunka – her crystal ball is a cantaloupe. Pretty dang funny. It’s probably just as easy to foretell the future looking into a melon as it is a crystal ball. I have no taste for melon, so I’ll stick with the crystal ball.

Thinking, thinking, always thinking. Had, when Bill and I begun digging through the books, foresaw what would transpire, I would have been incredulous. Yes, that’s the word, incredulous. What most amazes me is that I refused to let go of what became a

2019 VCRS Holiday Sale

project. The point in time in which I should have thrown my hands/thrown in the towel was at the end of the 2019 VCRS Holiday Sale. I didn’t have a clue as to what should be done with the remaining books, and neither did anyone else.

That was the toughest part – figuring out that there actually were people out there who wanted these books, then finding a way of getting them these books. I and others who assisted in this endeavor, mainly Pete and Bill, got us over this, the biggest obstacle.

Today is a good example of how far we’ve come.

I got to town early, and while waiting for Pete, I packed up a few boxes of books, which along with the rest, we’ll take to Anchorage on Friday. We’re going to take 36 boxes of books to Northern Air Cargo.

Pete and I then went to the Wasilla Ford dealership and talked with a car salesman, telling him what we’re looking for in the way of a cargo van. He didn’t have what we are looking for – he said we have to go to Anchorage and talk with the Toyota Dealer. Too bad, I liked the ambiance of the place – it is several stories tall and has glass panels on three sides. I wanted to just hang out and go car shopping.

We returned to town. Pete went food shopping, and I went to the Palmer Senior Center. The word is, no more lunches for Seniors. Amazingly, I parted company with a lot of books. So I’m going to keep going there on Tuesdays, as I’ve been doing, and setting out books.

I returned to the Meeting House, and soon Lois assisted me in sorting, cleaning, and categorizing books.

After, I did a distribution run.

I headed for home, stopping to check the mail. There was an envelope full of thank you notes from students at the Bishop Gibbons High School. I’d previously sent them books. I just sent an email saying I’d be glad to send them more.

I checked my email before going out and tending to the horses. The Alaska Reads Act newsletter came out. Our article is in there. I rewrote the letter that Pete sent to Sean Parnell, the University of Alaska Chancellor. There was also an email from Rachel House, who is with the Friends of the Palmer library – we are going to pass out books at a reading event on Saturday. Another woman who lives in Wasilla said she’d like to do volunteer work. And a teacher in Mountain Rest Alaska wants books.

I never saw this coming. Maybe if I’d traded a crystal ball for a cantaloupe, I would have been able to foresee all of this.

Next: 53. 2/22/23: Look at a Book