I have some cachet or some would say notoriety or credibility, being the founder of the Bright Lights Book Project. I was the one who picked a handful of books off a top pile, in a Gaylord, and gave them to appreciative readers.

And my inability to let it all go at the point in which there seemed to be no audience for these books – was the turning point. The project took off in that an audience for the books materialized big time.

Now we have many really good volunteers and a wonderful staff person and considerable project reach.

But I did not do this alone. Pete has been at my side, working as hard as I, from day one. I remember our leaving the recycling center when one of the staff employees, the education director, expressed her displeasure over the fact that I was impinging on her program, by not cleaning up immediately after our/the recycling center’s first book sale.

It was on that drive that I should have just said that I would let the recycling center deal with their book overabundance problem. I did not to a large part because Pete didn’t tell me that this was something that I should do.

Pete eventually took an active role in this project and is now the BLBP board president, a job he takes seriously. Without him, this project would have imploded.

I do think that I have matured some in continuing this project. I am not as adversarial and do roll with the punches. This, is in large part is because of Pete’s influence.

Today is a case in point. We met with “our” Mat Su Health Foundation Program Manager. Pete, during our meeting, was amazing. I likened him to being a world class chess player. The program manager would move a piece on the board and then Pete would move another. He never expressed any emotion.

Me, I was all over the map. The operations manager said that “stories are good but the team wants data.” The problem is that the hairs on my neck rise when I sense that stories are being devalued. Pete though, he liked the idea of conducting a survey and getting feedback. Okay, yes, this is important, but neither of us have the time.

So he’s going to work with a board member on this. I think aye yi yi.

Well tomorrow is another fair day, and I have my comings and goings mapped out. I have books ready to distribute and will get them out there.

I really am on the downward part of the state fair arc. But there will be no time to gloat. Other projects are ahead.

Next: 236. 9/4/26: Crowds