I’d say that we are over the hump, daylight wise. It was this dark November 21, and I thought, ohh we are in for it. Ohh we won’t get this much daylight for another two months. Ohh this is a long time away. Ohh ohh ohh.

I arrived in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel at 11:00 a.m., and I left at 7 p.m. That’s eight hours. That’s a long time. I was glad I was heading home and had a home to go to.

I like my job except for the fact that it doesn’t pay and the hours are long. How did this come to be? And lately, I’ve been interacting with some of the nicest, kindest people on the face of this earth. How did this come to be? And I get to read really good books. How did this come to be?

Alys and Hrimmi just below tin can

I’ve worked at creating a volunteer base that consists of kind, intelligent, thoughtful people who are passionate about reading. I now have this. I need an income and a paid staff because as kind, intelligent, and thoughtful as these volunteers might be, they do not get paid for what they do.

Getting paid for what one does makes a difference. Let’s see if I can articulate this: Money is both a motivator and a reward. It’s like giving a horse a treat for a job well done. I suppose that in this respect, we aren’t much different than our canine, caprine, and equine friends. If there isn’t going to be a reward, what’s the sense of doing what needs to be done?

The best volunteers are those who see their reward being in the fact that they get to handle some truly wonderful books or get to interact with new and old friends. These are the people who are sticking around. And these are the people who I am privileged to get to know.

I have to remind myself of this because the BLBP hours are long and the pay non-existent. Is this situation ever going to change? It might because we have made a considerable amount of progress in a short amount of time.

The real hero is not me. It’s Pete who continues to bolster my sagging spirits. And this morning they hit rock bottom. The prospect of yet another day of having to deal with volunteers and keeping them busy was overwhelming. It in fact felt like someone had tied a rock to my ankle and told me to jump off the edge of the pier. I didn’t, and in fact when I got to work, and all day, I had to fake it.

A big part of my job involves hanging out with the volunteers and making interesting conversation. Today I had Annetta and Sami putting away the holiday scene and Lois and Eliza cleaning books. I was like a ping pong ball, going back and forth across the floor of the former banquet room.

So I am far more lucky than I realized.