I was apprehensive at the start of my workday. This is because my workdays usually begin at home. Pete and I eat breakfast and then I head upstairs and resume working on my current writing project. It’s just way different, going to a place of work and suddenly having to be on and working with many, many other individuals, particularly in the mornings after they’ve had their obligatory morning coffee. I’m not used to it. I don’t think that I’ll ever get used to it.

I think of some jobs I’ve had in my very distant past – working in a book bindery now comes back to mind. I folded, shredded, and sorted paper. I was fired after a few days because I wasn’t at all motivated to do what was required. But this job, this is different. I’ve been

Energy changing form and direction

working like a dervish, that is until I’m dazed and unable to move on to the next task.

I am, I realized today, my own worst enemy. I often see the job at hand as being mine, and when others intervene get irritated. Maybe I’m to learn in this job that working well with others is as and perhaps more important than getting the job done.

But, in terms of what got done, it was a great day. All the upstairs books went downstairs. Some downstairs books went upstairs. Some of the upstairs books were in a holding pattern – two Mormon women, called sisters, they cleaned children and kid’s books destined for Louise’s Farm School. And Bill Schmidtkunz, he packed up and moved out books destined for the Palmer Urgent Care facility, the Palmer Pioneer Home, the Vagabond Blues Café, and the Sutton Post Office.

There were not enough children’s books on hand to fill the orders. The Mousetrap Daycare Center wanted ten boxes, and so did Sarah Gotschall, who is a member of a teacher’s literacy group.

I took a break later in the day and assisted a woman who was looking for books. She told me about living in Anchorage and having her books stolen. She had a toddler, Gideon, age 1, who was covering a lot of ground at a crawl. And one of the woman artists (an art group was meeting on the upper floor) brought along a black cocker spaniel who touched noses with the toddler. Fun, watching all this.

And as quitting time was approaching, Sue, another volunteer, showed up and assisted me boxing up the last of the children’s books. Then she took on the job of sorting the boxes of books in the area that will soon be the Bright Lights Bookstore.

While we were down in that area, VCRS director Steve Brown came downstairs and talked about the plans for the room – Pete, as it turned out, is going to paint it. And there will be shelves and a rug and maybe a table and a lamp.

Lastly, a fellow came into the bookstore area – I did not at first recognize him because he moved with his head down. Turns out, this was Gary, who was a student of mine in my animal behavior class at the college. He became a reader that semester, and is now a reporter for the college paper, the Mat-Su Monitor. He interviewed me, and several other individuals.

A good day, I’d say. But it ain’t over yet. Tomorrow I’m going to call Planned Parenthood and see if they want some books. I’m also going to start looking for a way of generating funds so that I can start sending textbooks overseas.

First things first. Tonight, I am going to kick back and read a book.

Next: 17. 1/17/20: A Conversation with Tyra and Tinni