Jaime Prefers Video Games

So he said he'd leave the books for other people. He was selling newspapers at the market in the Park Blocks. He told me his favorite musician is Michael Franti, and that at a Portland show one time, Jaime was selling newspapers to a line of people waiting to see Franti perform. Nobody was buying papers, he said. Then all of a sudden, Franti appeared from the back of a limo and greeted Jaime and gave him tickets to the show, a CD of all his songs, and invited him backstage afterward. Franti is a musician who has made a film about people in Iraq, Palestine & Israel, hoping to bring attention to the effects of war on ordinary people. Jaime says Franti walks barefoot everywhere he goes, so occasionally gets turned away from hotels and restaurants. "Until he shows them his Visa card," Jaime says. "Then they open the doors wide."

Charlie Finished Abbey

Said he then gave The Monkey Wrench Gang to an autistic kid, ("But he's good for it," he said). Charlie took Blindness by José Saramago for this week's reading. Took time off from selling his newspapers to pose with the book.

Mercy Corps Hosts Street Books

Portland's own Mercy Corps will be hosting the Street Books library through the summer at their Action Center, located next to Skidmore Fountain downtown. Stop by and get a look at the project up close. Big thanks to Mercy Corps for their support of Street Books, and for all the work they do globally to help people in need.

Michael Chose Psychology

His book by the Reverend Wing F. Fing is a guide to the happy acceptance of everything. Michael was fresh from the hospital, with the wristband still on his arm.

Adam Liked Portland Noir

Local author & bookseller Kevin Sampsell edited the collection of noir stories by Portland writers, and Adam decided to give it a read.

Street Books Crashed the Rose Parade

And lent books at Right 2 Survive's peaceful direct action. They'd set up camp along the parade route the night before, to bring attention to the city's policy of legalizing camping on the evening before the parade, so that parade-goers can save a sweet spot along the route. Three hundred & sixty-four days a year, camping is still illegal, and people who live outside in Portland are criminalized for doing so, wakened by police in doorways and under bridges, and told to move on. But once a year, anybody can pitch a tent.

Celia Took the Baby Goose

Elizabeth was afraid she couldn't take care of it, so Celia, Assistant Librarian and Keeper of Small Helpless Animals, tucked it in her sweatshirt and headed to look for a bus that might take her to the Audubon Society. Not in her job description, but then, she works for a street library.

Martin Carries the Torah

He says he'd better not add anything to his carefully packed bicycle -- even a paperback book could take him over. He tells me about riding the train coast to coast, about growing orchids and working for the Rockefellers. When we part, we shake hands and he says "You made my day."

Marvin Likes Books About Building Things

He likes to read about how to use tools in carpentry and construction. It's hard to find books like that anymore, he says. It's a Wednesday, and he's headed to see the giant Navy ships come into port, since he still hasn't found a job, and so the day is wide open. It's a gray day at Skidmore Fountain, and chilly. I watch two police officers on horses rouse a group of three people, sleeping amid a tangle of bicycles and shopping carts, sleeping bags and plastic bags. The cops pause to have their pictures taken with a group of school children on a field trip. Then they go back to rousing the people. One of those just wakened is a kid who looks to be fifteen or sixteen. He paces around, agitated, and when he passes close to me, I ask if he'd like a book. He shakes his head and looks away, and I can feel the misery radiating off him.

Gratitude

Okay, first a little gratitude, before the project launches. Thanks to RACC for helping to fund this project. Thanks to my sidekick Ben Parzybok for the mad web skills and his steady support. Thanks to James Moulton, architect/builder/designer and a patient brother who will build and then haul my projects around in the back of his truck. Thanks to Celia Luce, Street Books Assistant Librarian and all around cool ace. Thanks to Joanne & Israel and the vendors at Street Roots, for their support of this project and willingness to participate. Thanks finally to all the people and organizations who have donated books to the Street Books library. It's going to be a great summer.