This has been my mantra as of late. It is maybe more positive than, “give up, give up.” I have as of late talked with Pete, telling him that I can’t continue to do what I’m doing – working very long hours for no pay. I add that I’m making less money than a fast food worker.

But I have to kept going, and I will keep going knowing that there are no funding prospects out there for me now or in the near future. Maybe, though, in the distant future.

The problem, if you want to call it a problem, is that I receive plenty of affirmation, sometimes in strange and serendipitous ways. For example, this morning I went to U-Haul and got out books in order to supplement the one’s in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel.

I was loading the last of the six boxes into my car when a woman came over and asked me if I needed a hand. I said yes. She loaded the last box into the back of the car, and we then chatted about the book project. Carli does administrative work at Sutton Elementary School. By the conclusion of our conversation, she had committed to being a BLBP bookcase guardian. Now this happened because a few days before I went to her and asked if I could restock the bookcase.

Our project, for sure, is known around the community. Later I got an email from Zack, who owns Bleeding Heart Brewery. He said that the Shear Fire Designs building is for sale. I went to the hotel after reading his message and I grabbed Pete and Lawrence, our new Volunteer coordinator, and we went over there and talked with the owner. We learned that the building was for lease and not for sale, and that the lease fee was more than our current lease fee. I liked the place – the upper floor would make for a spacious rental space.

So no to this idea. While I was disappointed, I am okay with where we are, in the hotel, right now. I would like us to raise money to buy the hotel. This is going to have to be some sort of serendipitous thing.

Lawrence, Pete, and I went back to the hotel and I gave Lawrence, who is our new volunteer coordinator, the tour, showing him the ins and outs of book intake and distribution.

Then we sat down, the three of us, and we went over some book intake and outtake particulars. Then we came up with a literacy-based plan, one that is going to involve hiring educators to tutor students. This will be through the Mat-Su Central Home school. There is money involved in doing this, so I suspect that we will get tutors who are invested in doing the work.

Keep going, keep going, keep going. Sometimes the ice is rough under the skates and sometimes it is smooth. Today was smooth. I do wish I lived on the edge of a lake. I would enjoy ice skating.

Next: 284. 10/21/25: Readers come and Readers Go