This morning my neighbor Kirby came by and loaded the rear portion of DGNPNY with books. He told me he was cleaning house, and at the same time, doing a book purge. He said he had too much of everything, including books.

This got me thinking – I have too many books. They are not, as they were before, in piles on the floor, but all available shelf space is taken. All these books, does this make me a hoarder? I think that I am on the low end of the spectrum, but nevertheless, on the spectrum. Elaine, who works at the Bishop’s Attic Thrift Store, said that for every one book she acquires, she parts with two books. I simply do not believe this. I think that, like me, she too is on the low end of the spectrum.

And what is to become of these books? This is a very real question. I have a finite number of years left, and I am not going to read them all. Then again, I am not going to part with the majority of them because I think that I will read them.

I’d have more time to read if I wasn’t keeping the Bright Lights Book Project going.
That there is irony.

Bill with his V-HO bookcase

Today, Pete and I went to the Willow Community Center and picked up one set of library bookshelves. There was another, but we didn’t have room in our vehicle. I later told Pete that I knew what we would be dealing with. And I was right. The three sets of shelves were in a large, brightly lit room filled with construction materials and tools. I stopped a few times and looked at the sun’s reflection on the Lake outside the window.

A fellow named Chris showed us the bookcases. He was tall, thin, had a hawk nose, a long face, a full beard, and reeked of cigarette smoke. He didn’t say much to us – Pete, who has familiarity with construction workers, and quite obviously feels at home in such sites, asked him a few questions.

W we worked in a semi-methodical fashion, putting the metal shelves in one pile, the slats that held the shelves in place in another pile, and the side pieces in still yet another pile. Then, when we had finished taking apart the shelves, we loaded the stands first, then the other parts into the truck.

We made a beeline for the Meeting House – it was a 1.5 hour drive each way. There we spent considerable time figuring out where an old desk and an existent bookcase might go. This was as we ate takeout Thai food. We did figure this out, but by then the room was in a complete state of disarray. Tomorrow I am going to have to put everything back in order. But once in order, books will have a longer meeting house shelf life.

There you go – another title for another chapter of my book – shelf life. I’m eager to get going on this.

Next: 275. 10/5/21: A Glum Day at the Palmer Senior Center