"If
you don't like the weather, wait a minute." -- New
England proverb frequently attributed (erroneously)
to Mark Twain
What a difference a day makes!
Ivan's been here and gone. Alas too much water prevented
Nancy from getting a bus up here to join me for the Strut
for the Strays today so I'm going it alone. Going it
alone on zero sleep too. But with absolutely perfect
weather.
It was great to see the Greyhound
Rescue people there with their beautiful dogs. It was
great to see how many Strutters walked with their canine
companions. Stacy's daughter walked the most adorable
golden retriever puppy who was wearing a Red Sox bandana.
Too cute and quaint- New-England-theme-park-esque for
words. I managed to raise $147 in sponsorships from
people at my new workplace (still haven't come up with a
code name), Unitarian poets, and coffee
buddies.
I started out walking at a good
pace but my knee started to give out so I had to slow
down and bring up the rear. I walked the last mile and a
half with Stacy and kid and puppy who were forming the
rear guard. As soon as I got back to Bartlett Mall, I
called Nancy to check on the Red Sox.
I had a wonderful time talking with
MRFRS volunteers whom I hadn't seen in awhile and
particularly enjoyed talking with Bonnie Buckley, a
former MRFRS staff member, who is doing a
wonderful
service for our troops in Iraq and their
mascots. She had a booth at
the Strut selling patriotic doodads to raise money for
her military mascots project. Also it was a relief to
talk to someone who was nonjudgemental about BiB's
experiences. (Yes, oh left wing and right wing readers, I
can be simultaneously opposed to the war and support the
troops. The best thing we can do to support the troops
and their civilian support team is to bring them home.)
Heck, it was just nice to talk to someone affiliated with
the cat shelter who realizes we are still at war.
Somedays I wonder if our board and volunteers live in a
parallel universe.
After the Strut I limped over
to the Newburyport Public Library (actually I drove there
and parked as close as possible) for the silent auction
of used books to celebrate the library's 150th
anniversary and raise a little funds in this day and age
of insufficient library funding. When I limped in wearing
my Strut t-shirt, the Friends of the Library told me I
was the third person to come from the Strut -- actually I
was only the second as they were counting the guy who
designed the shirt for us who was wearing his. He hadn't
actually come from the Strut. Anyway, the library people
were happy to see Strutters show up. I had a long chat
with the guy who organized the book auction as he is also
an MRFRS volunteer. I told him I thought I was the only
MRFRS volunteer interested in old books until he came
along. Given the strong association between used book
stores and cats, you'd think there'd be more overlap.
There's got to be some way to capitalize on the
connection between books and cats. I'll have to
brianstorm with him at the next fundraising committee
meeting. Nice to talk books and cats with someone who
loves both.
While I was still at the library,
Nancy called to update me on the Red Sox/Yankees debacle.
Sigh. Can't have everything. What's up with Petey against
the Yankees?
I was outbid on the
Caleb
Cushing memoir I wanted
(being newly back on my feet financially I had to stick
to a firm budget) but I got a great bargain on a book of
bird paintings by Michael
Warren. The painting of
horned larks on the cover drew me in and once I flipped
to the page with the most accurate painting of a piping
plover pair on the beach that I have ever seen, I knew
the book had to be mine. Fortunately, only one other
bidder was interested and apparently not as interested as
I, so I came home with the book. The birds are all
species associated with the sea and shore on both sides
of the Atlantic. Wonderful choices.
While I was waiting for the bidding
to close, I chatted with another book collector who
wanted to know about my Merrimack Valley collection.
For once, I felt a sense of
community, albeit in a city I don't even live in. I was
glad I could fit in both the Strut and the library
fundraiser.
