That pretty much describes the last few days..
As I mentioned
in the previous posting, the Friends of the Library book sale was held over the
weekend where days of sorting took place over the previous week, where this
Was turned into
with a reminder that this is only a look at the Non Fiction building
with the Fiction and Children’s buildings looking pretty similar.. after putting the finishing
touches on sorting and tidying Friday morning we were finally ready for the “members
only” day opening at one. The “dealers” (who must
sign up as members) show up early hoping to get the first crack at the good
books and grabbing some real bargains.
We had dealers from Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Our little book sale has quite a
reputation.. Anyway they queued up out
side the doors a good hour before opening
Finally at the stroke of one the doors open and in they come
with tubs at the ready
Usually they have a focus area (biography, history, etc.)
and proceed directly to that area. Some
have little scanners that read the book's bar codes and instantly give them pricing. We have been told we are one of the best shows they go to, things are clean, organized, and excellent values.
My job is to take the money when they check out so I get to
chat with them. Generally they are
pretty friendly; we seem to have weeded out the ugly ones. Most stay all day, with the folks from
Tennessee being shoved out the door at eight that night. The pricing for our "regular" books is two dollars for
a hard back and one for a “trade paperback”, with the smaller paperbacks (of our
youth) going for fifty cents. Many of the
dealers spend upwards of five hundred dollars.
But mostly the people that come are community folk, and I always
enjoy seeing many friends and it is a fun way to spend the weekend. It is so rewarding that people still want a real book in their hand, not just a screen to look at. The little ones are so proud thay they have a book of their very own! We had a book about birds near us which had descriptions of birds and a little device into which you could punch it's "number" and it would play the song. One little boy fell so in love with it that his mother couldn't resist getting it for him for a whopping 6 bucks. He sat for hours (while mom shopped) listening. And maybe we have created a future birder!!
Saturday was a pleasant day and we were
able to offer food since the “hot dog guy” came and set up shop.
I was saddened to learn through chatting with him that he has decided to “retire” for a
while so he can devote some of his weekend time to family rather than half
smokes and brats. Too bad (for us, good for him!). He was a boost to our local food scene..
Yesterday (Sunday) was “half price day” at the sale, and we unloaded a bunch more
books. Even so, we’re left with hundreds
of books and what do you do with those?
Our local Rotary Club located a place in Annapolis that takes books and
eventually gives them to service folk and charities and they said they would take all we had
left. So, the dirty work of taking down
all the lovely books we assembled began by putting together “Gaylord” boxes
And with the help of the Rotarians we filled ‘em up.
Loaded them on “the truck” (fork lift not pictured!)
And off they went.
There were just about three truck loads, with each truck holding about
seven or eight “gaylords” with each box holding I don’t know how many
books. It’s nice to know that the books
won’t just be recycled. So, like last year, we end the
sale with exactly zero books (except holdover rare and unusual ones) and yet
each year we have all those books due to donations by people like you. And the proceeds from the sale will augment
our local libraries ability to have nice computer equipment and special
programs.
Too bad we don’t make enough to buy them a new library, we see the
need if our local government doesn’t.
Nuff said.
Before leaving the literary side, if you have books you
would like to donate for next year’s sale, take them to the back end of the
Leonardtown Library.
Roundball
Meanwhile as we were moving books, many college basketball
teams were moving the basketball as “March Madness” began all over the
country. As usual, I have filled out a
couple of (for recreational purposes only) brackets and, as usual my carefully researched and
emotional choices get bounced. In one of them, I
had Missouri being National Champion.
Thanks, plucky little Norfolk State.. how did you enjoy the Florida game?
Duke, meet Lehigh! At least my
Spartans (second National Champion) is still alive. It is fun to watch teams
that have never played go up against one another, and I guess that’s why a
Norfolk State can knock off an alleged national power. As somebody said, “It’s why they play the
games”. So that will go on over the next
couple of weeks..good luck.
And just to keep a foodie hook alive, after Saturday at the
sale we joined some friends for dinner at Morris Point Restaurant. I don’t have much to add to previous reviews
that it is like going to a friend’s house for dinner, with Dad in the kitchen,
Mom running food, and a smaller one taking orders. Questions about menu items are relayed directly to the kitchen through
the open window , as in: “what kind of white wine do we
have tonight?” or: “how is the rockfish prepared?”. Once you get into the flow, it’s kind of
fun. It’s slow but that’s why we ask
what kind of wine they have. I had a
crab stuffed rockfish that was very good, although MFO would have preferred her
fish to remain on the heat a while longer. And where can you get glazed beets for a side? or Roasted Green Beans? At home of course, or Morris Point.. It is
a good experience for fun, and by golly it isn’t a chain. It's local, it's special. But you must be
DFD
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