Jeremy was first in line to greet me when I rolled up to Right to Dream Too. I was just stocking some books that were donated by Diane and Dean who work for Portland's Tidal Wave bookstore. Jeremy selected a James Patterson title.
Art gives to Street Books
Art
Art stopped by on his way to the meeting at R2D2 to make a cash donation to the library. What's this for? I asked him. I always donate to Street Books. You can too!
AB Returns
A.B. Lewis, security guard extraordinaire, & long-time Street Books supporter, stopped by for a visit at our Skidmore Fountain shift. A.B. was our very first visitor a year ago, in June, when he asked this street librarian for a permit. After I told him we didn't sell books, but were a library for people living outside, he got behind the project in a big way. In fact, all last summer, if he saw people loitering in the square holding a bag of books to donate, or looking to return one to our library, he'd stop to talk with them, and tell them when we'd be back for a shift. By the end of the summer, I offered to get A.B. a book, any request, as thanks for his support. On Wednesday he told me that he still had the book I'd gotten for him, and that it had started to bother him that he'd never returned it. I expect we'll see him soon with a return. In the meantime, great to see you again, old friend.
Adversity Creates Men
"Prosperity creates monsters. That's Victor Hugo," Steve told me. "I'd like to think I'm a good man, there are enough monsters." He was very interested in Street Books, and though he didn't take a book with him, we stood and talked for a good half hour while I tended to the library. He said his mother had rubella while pregnant with him, and that he is blind in his right eye and has 20/200 vision in his left. He is an inventor, who designed the spectacles that help him with his voracious reading habit.
It Takes a Village to Run a Street Library...
Even though Street Books is not affiliated with Portland's own Multnomah County Library, there are plenty of opportunities to cross paths. Geoff Brunk from Outreach Services donated great books to us over the summer, and Jane from the Central Library came by for a visit. I've occasionally returned Multnomah county library books when they come my way through Street Books, and just this past week, I discovered that the library had done a "Courtesy Return" of one of my books by sending it to our PO. Here's to libraries big & small working together.
Nine Simple Patterns
For Complicated Women. That's the name of Mary Rechner's stellar debut collection of short stories, and we are grateful for her recent donation of a copy to the Street Books library. Mary joins other authors who have contributed to the project, including Anthony Doerr, poet Matthew Dickman, Ben Parzybok, Peter Rock and Alisa Christensen. If you are an author who would like to contribute a book to the library, please contact us at: librarian@streetbooks.org .
Chelsea Made a B-Line to Right2Dream
B-line is a sustainable delivery system that serves the urban core, (on bicycle). When they're not making deliveries for local businesses, B-line gleans from grocery stores like Whole Foods and donates it to places like the Right2Dream rest area. Think Dave's Killer Bread & cold green grapes, among other things. Gotta love the treasures that can be found in boxes moved by bicycles.
Bryan Donated, Eric Checked it Out
Bryan lives nearby in Old Town, and brought us a box of books to donate. Right away Eric found a western he liked, and so it was a fortuitous crossing of paths. Thanks to Bryan for the donation, and Eric for the continued patronage.
It's a Small World
Mark is a military veteran who moved to Portland four months ago. He came from Florida, but we both had a chuckle over our common link: Middletown, Ohio. Mark was raised in Middletown and I spent many days of my youth visiting my grandparents on the very street on which Mark's parents had rental property. He didn't take a book today, though I issued him a Street Books library card. And he made a donation. Thanks, Mark!
Alisa Donated Her Memoir to Street Books
In Gimp: Surviving Your Survival, former stuntwoman Alisa Christensen tells the story of injuries she sustained from a fire, and how that experience has shaped her life after. It is a powerful story, and she is a hell of a story-teller. She is a part of Portland Burn Survivors, a local nonprofit dedicated to helping burn survivors "lead happy and rewarding lives." We met outside the Right2Dream Too rest area, when she stopped by the street library for a visit. Thanks for the contribution of your book, Alisa.
Katie Did a Favor For Her Brother
Scott Parker, author of Running After Prefontaine, donated five copies of his book to the Street Books library. His sister, Katie, was kind enough to do the delivery, because Scott was out of town. Big thanks to them both.
Happy Holidays from Street Books
It has been a great year of building friendships and literacy. From the Street Books family to yours, best wishes for a happy holiday season!
Visitors Welcome at R2DToo
City of Portland commissioner, Randy Leonard (center), made a visit to Right 2 Dream Too with camp organizers Mike Dee (left) and Ibrahim Mubarak (right) after a meeting at city hall to discuss the future of the relationship between R2DToo and the city.
Two New Book Donations
Jason Breedlove, a long standing Street Books supporter and local author, caught up with me to donate two copies of his new collection of short stories, Hole. Learn more about his story in the spring 2011 interview with Powell's Books here.
Can I Donate Some Books?
That is the million dollar question lately. And soon, we will have an answer for all of our amazing supporters like Lynn who approached me in Pioneer Square today. Yes! We have secured a storage space generously donated to Street Books by EcoTrust and we are planning a book drive for December. We will post more information about the event as the day comes closer. Thank you for contributing to the Street Books story.
If the Shoe Fits...
Mary Winzig was reading my blogpost last week about Eric and his need for new boots. She thought of a pair of Western boots, size eight that she had been holding onto, and didn't need. Eric was thrilled to receive the donation of new boots. The interaction happened to be caught on film in this segment by KGW News. Thanks to Mary for her generosity.
Communitecture
Mark Lakeman approached the Street Books library and wanted to photograph me with a patron to share some of the amazing projects our fair city has to offer. He was on site at the R2DToo camp to post the vision for the camp at 4th and Burnside - a beautiful one at that:
Lakeman, as part of the Communitecture team, volunteered to create a very professional visioning of the future of the R2DToo camp.
Bringing Dignity to R2DToo
Ptery, a resident of Dignity Village, came to the R2DToo camp this morning to share support for the nearly 60 campers who face a long road ahead. Dignity Village, began much like R2DToo as a tent city in 2000. Today, the Village is a vibrant community flush with gardens and individual homes -wooden structures, not tents - for more the than 60 people who live there.
Many Feet on the Ground = A Movement
Breezy, Colleen & Jacob stopped to visit the Street Books library and have a conversation. They have been camped at the Occupy Portland protest for the past week, and reported that things were going well. They spoke of being disappointed by some of the media coverage and its tendency to focus on the less organized fringe elements of the movement. They said that Portlanders continue to show up bearing gifts of food and supplies. "You won't go hungry," Jacob said.
Tj Jones-Ravenwolf Shared His Tiny Friend
Tj is an artist, musician and culture bearer, and had a tiny baby squirrel in his front pocket, which he discovered on the sidewalk, and is now feeding with a milk dropper. Great to meet you, Tj.
