It will be summer when May’s over. And come June, there will be just 21 days before the days grow shorter. P-tooey. I am enjoying spring, which I equate with the word magical. There’s the smell of the cottonwoods, the green haze, the buds on the trees, and of course the long days.

I spent the morning, at least one and a half hours, working on Shelf Life. It went well, with my alternating between organizing and copy editing sections. I thought that the chapter on partnering with Melina would be harder than it was. Tomorrow, the chapter in which we decide to apply for nonprofit status – this one is going to be tough because unlike the other chapters, this one is very disorganized and will need additional stories.

I feel though like I am making progress and that Shelf Life does have continuity. I am not allowing myself to think that this book is no good. Rather, I am envisioning there being a good sized and appreciative audience for this book.

Sorting Native Language Books at U-Haul

I spent time in U-Haul in the afternoon, moving boxes around, so that we’ll have room for them when the books from White Mountain get here. I also sorted through the Native Center books in preparation for sending them to Juneau. This, folks, is planning ahead. And this is why the Bright Lights Book Project has been so successful, and we now have a new president, one who is as invested in keeping this going.

It was raining when I went to town. The sun was shining when I came out of U-Haul, which has no windows. Pete and I first stopped at The Amoosement and Bugge Park parks and put books in the little libraries. Then, on a whim, we went to the Matanuska River Park, where I had heard there was another little library.

We had books on hand, so we stocked the library. We were assisted by a Parks employee who agreed to be a bookcase guardian. Ganan is a reader, and showed considerable enthusiasm for our project. He’s a philosophy major and currently reading Marx’s Das Capital.

I told Pete that our good luck was fortuitous. Adding him to my lengthy distribution route was no problem. I just wish we had such individuals for all our sites.

We came home and I went for a ride on Tyra. She’s a wonderful riding horse and equates being ridden with being on an adventure. I hope in the near future, to take her on an adventure.

This evening, I sent out a LOT of emails, mainly about various things. I then focused on sending out emails to potential volunteers, who I hope will give an assist with Friday Fling and passing out books at the Colony Days Parade.

My plan for the next few days – tomorrow I’m going to get books ready for distribution on Tuesday. Then on Tuesday I’ll do this and make phone calls. I will also, tomorrow, get the Native books ready to mail.

My mantra is not I think I can but rather I can do this.

Next: 144. 5/26/25: Fond memories of Search and Rescue Training