I did an experiment of sorts this morning. I began writing at 9:30 a.m. and finished at 10:30 a.m. I knew that I’d have just a half hour to get to the hotel, leaving no time to get ready. But I said to hell with it, and I went ahead and spent that hour writing. I was, of course, 15 minutes late – I was supposed to meet with Melina.

I don’t usually arrive later than expected when it involves pre-determined times. But I did today. And I did not regret it. Every day now, when I begin planning the next day, I work at making time to get the writing done. One hour is not enough most days; then again, some days it is too much. What’s most important is consistency, and I seem to have a grasp on this.

I worked on the chapter about my involvement with the Palmer Senior Center. Coincidently, right now the center is in trouble and may close because of the inept use of funding. I have known this as a much needed gathering place for seniors, and it pains me to see this happen. I am going to write about the PSC and in the epilogue talk about what happened. I suspect that by the time the book is finished that the powers that be will have acted upon the center’s future.

It was, overall, a good day at the literacy center. People in and out all day. And everyone got along. Melina assisted in getting ready for the Alaska State Fair, Alicia, Paula, Robert, and Pete cleaned books, and Colton worked on online sales. Tom the Realtor dropped in and did mention that the person who is running the Palmer Food Bank is soon to retire, so maybe a partnership related door will open.

Katie came and painted a raven on the newspaper box – she painted one on the other side last year. Me, I just shlepped books around in an attempt to get them in order for the Alaska State Fair.

It rained, not such a bad thing because I felt less guilty about being inside – yesterday, the best I could do was distribute books.

We are now in the thick of preparing for the Alaska State Fair – today I realized that I am not in this project alone. This is a good feeling. Others are pitching in.

I talked with Colton for a bit and learned that he does not know how to write in cursive. He wrote his name on a piece of paper in a very slow and halting fashion. I have since given the matter more thought, and I am going to take my draft of Shelf Life and show him how cursive writing works for me. The more back and forth motion of the hand, it is different than the up and down tapping of fingers. I move back and forth between the two and with good reason. This keeps me mentally engaged and from blocking for any length of time.

Yes, I am going to share my thoughts on this matter with him.

Next: 212. 8/8/25: Picking Cabbages at Dusk