And so, here we go again. March literally has come roaring in, the roar being the sound of the very ferocious winds. I am trying to imagine what March 31 will be like – perhaps warm, balmy, no wind.

Usually, people around here do not complain about inclement weather, but the strong winds, combined with the fact that it’s late in what has been a tough winter, have people grousing. And no wonder. It’s difficult, in places, staying on one’s feet. I am thinking of the wind tunnel on the left-hand side of the former banquet room of the Eagle Hotel. The wind is so strong that I can’t exit my car there, nor can I get the hotel door open.

Pam

So today I went in the front door. All I had to deal with was the hotel denizens, hanging out in the alcove, smoking cigarettes. I could only think, must be a strong addiction, to have to go outside to get one’s nicotine fix. I, and others I know, do not go out unless we have to.

I did go outside with Pam (project manager) so as to bring some boxes back into the building. She handed me two empty boxes. I began walking back in the direction of the front door and whooooomph, a blast of wind ripped one of the boxes out of my hands. It sailed over the fence, into the Jenski Automotive lot. It did not occur to me to go and retrieve it for it was just too cold and windy. It was a banker box, and banker boxes are expensive and hard to come by, so, had the weather been more conducive to getting around, I would have gone around the fence and retrieved the box.

The only good thing about such vile weather is that I did not, as I do on nice days, regret being inside. So, I was inside getting things ready for Sunday’s big event.

I had a lot of books to clean. I was about done when a woman, heavily tattooed, hair shaven on both sides of her head, walked in with a large box of children’s books. She then went and got another box, this one filled with adult books. I could tell that she considered this just to be a drop off – she wasn’t interested in learning about the project. The kids books were in good shape and will be of interest to young readers.

Disinterest – this morning I got a call at 7:45 a.m. The caller, who is involved with local literacy efforts, asked if we could reschedule our appointment from 11 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. I didn’t say what I was thinking, which was that every minute we have in the mornings is precious and that giving up an entire half hour was going to be quite a stretch. Instead, I said I’d be there. Pete and I arrived exactly on time, and the meeting was a bust. The lack of interest in what we do was puzzling. But as Pete rightly said, they’re not the only game in town. We’ll get a literacy program going and involve those groups who are interested in what we have to offer.

60. 3/2/24: Let there be Light