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February 3, 2021: The Bright Lights Book Project: Having a Vision

Visions! omens! hallucinations! miracles! ecstasies! gone down the American river! Dreams! adorations! illumnations! religions! the whole boatload of sensitive bullshit!
-----Allen Ginsberg

Quite often in your life, you have watched as others worked on projects, and been impressed with the time and care, as well as the sheer obsessiveness in which they tackled their chosen task. And you, at these times asked yourself, how is it that they have it in them to care so much about what they are doing? It is, you have thought, that they have a vision of how things should be. You found it


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difficult to work for these people because, as you noted, you could not care about the task at hand as much as they did. What immediately comes to mind is Pete’s gardening venture. Yes, you like to see things grow. And yes, you like to pull weeds now and then. However, the ongoing and high degree of detail are overwhelming, which is why you are instead, when it comes to gardening, more of a spectator than a participant.

For sure, you have been passionate about things, the animals in your care and your writing being what comes to mind. For you recently, to have a vision unrelated to these two things was an unexpected surprise.

A little over a year ago, you first saw the Gaylords overflowing with paperbacks and hardbacks. You were appalled by the fact that they would eventually be pulped and shredded. You instead envisioned them being passed on to others. You didn’t have the specifics then, but nevertheless, this vision started to consume you, the way the flames consumed the books in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

Slowly, ever so slowly, sometimes in fits and starts, your vision materialized like an oasis in the desert. You began taking one slow step at time, into the hot sand. You began making calls, sending out emails, making follow up calls, and sending out additional up emails.

Most recently, you asked airlines for shipping donations. If you were given your druthers, you’d have exclusively focused on sorting books, culling out those that were worn or out of date. But you weren’t given your druthers. You were given a raft load of shit. For a while you eschewed the administrative aspects of this project and the books filled a near entire room. Your hope was that the powers that be would provide you with a stipend for your efforts and a place to store books. This was not be. Those hundreds of sorted books were shredded and pulped.

Lesson learned, as your mother used to say, “shit or get off the pot.” You got off the pot, and now, at this point in time, there are no extra books on hand at VCRS. The ones you salvaged are now either in distribution sites or in the hands of readers. And additionally, there are books in your kitchen addition, soon to be sent to Alaska bush communities.

Your vision now is simply to maintain the momentum. This you can do. Yes, this is something you most certainly can do.

Next: 35. 2/4/21: A (heartfelt) conversation with Hrimfara fra Lough Arrow II

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