I am going to make a metaphorical comparison. There is now more daylight. And at the same time, I am seeing the light at the end of the Bright Lights Book tunnel. Slowly, the project is coming together in great and wonderous ways, and I am glad to be a part of it. However, I can’t continue to move at the speed of light. I’d miss the scenery if I did this.

Yesterday, after a two-week hiatus, I went to the recycling center – I should add that I was sick. I had a sinus headache and I was plugged up. Ergo, I had a cold. This intensified the feeling that I got when I entered the sorting area, that is, like an implosion has occurred. I felt I was moving in slow motion. Boxes of books covered every square feet of available space. I looked more closely and saw that these books had been partially categorized.

I did the half-full, half empty glass routine, leaning to the side of the half-full glass, glad of course that in absence, the sorters had stayed ahead of the shredders. At the same time, I could not ignore the fact that I had quite a bit of work ahead of me. The books were in no apparent order, nor had they been categorized. I foresaw that I would have to do this soon, otherwise, potential Bright Lights Book patrons would walk into the room, say “lots of books,” and walk out. This as opposed to “Oh, there are books on humor over there. I should take a look.” This, I knew, was good marketing strategy.

More books, more books

So I assisted Bill in doing more sorting, and after a bit called it a day.

I laid awake last night, thinking about what I had to do today. I do this a lot. I finally decided that I needed to lobby for another bookshelf and get categorized books on this shelf. I mentioned this to Carole, the volunteer coordinator via email before I went in to VCRS and when I arrived, a new shelf was waiting. It wasn’t as simple as putting it into place – she and James, who is in charge all goings on on the warehouse floor had to adjust the shelf racks.

I knew that the shelf would not hold all the books, but it was a start. And it was a good start. I now know where the Bibles and the Colliers Encyclopedias are. Now some might say that no one will want the encyclopedias, but I will, when I resume my distribution efforts, try and find someone who will take them on.

There are a lot of I’s in the above paragraphs. Today, like most days, was a team effort. Lisa (volunteer) put up some more books on E-Bay, and her friend Ryan helped me box the books that will need to be further categorized. And two Mormon brothers cleaned boxes. Now, these four usually shred.
So we are making progress. Tomorrow, I hope to get another shelf and get more books off the floor. Once the boxes have a visible place, I think we will be golden.

Next: 64. 3/5/20: Book Obsessed