After 20+ years of monthly booksales, the local library system got a new director who cut the Friends back to 3 sales a year. To fill this social void, I started checking out sales in neighboring counties. Both Fulton & DeKalb counties have over 30 branches each, each with its own sales. I checked out a good many the last couple of years, & am still on the mailing list for several.
So, I get an email from the Toco Hills library saying, come to our book-sorting party, before the big sale in May. I think, why not? The catch is, it's 5-7 p.m., across town, at the worst traffic time of day. But I kind of want to go. I'm thinking, why not get there early, grub down, & then frolic at the library? With ze spouse at spring training [Chaucer in Spring hath naught on my hunky hubby for langen to goon on pilgrimagen--especially with baseball.], there's no time pressure.
While looking at the map for eating places, I notice it's near the Book Nook [used book store]. This is starting to look like an outing! Best of all, there's a Cici's [pizza buffet] right on the way.
I have several outlets for things to leave the house. There's the Interfilk box, the swapping piles, and the going-away stacks. I packed 2 banker's boxes with books & cds from the going-away area and headed out. Traffic was pretty good, so I reached the pizza place at 3:30. Call it an hour to grub down [with a good book] & 30 minutes to get to the library [traffic].
Arriving right on time [yay, me!], we all get to work right away. There were multiple carts piled high with sturdy tray-boxes that had to be sorted into categories. They'd already set up multiple rows of alphabetized categories, but they were all on the floor. Iow, lots of bending, stooping, & lifting. My back loveth me not, but volunteers get a few free books. I found some cds for me & some books for ze spouse. Good chats & hard work, but I'd not exactly call it a "party"; there weren't even donuts, let alone beverages.
Then came the bookstore. I hauled in the heavy boxes, feeling smug about getting rid of so much clutter. To my chagrin, when they were finally done, most of my stuff was back in the boxes. I was stuck with lots of stuff, & meager trade-credits [which can only be used for limited things]. Worst of all, there was a box labeled "Bluegrass Blowout." Thinking there'd be big discounts, I found lots of things to want, only to find out that there were no discounts at all. Now, I like lots of things, but not enough to pay $8-$9 for used cds. The whole wall labeled "discounts" weren't, either. No thanks to the signage, I eventually found the discount stuff & even found some interesting things, but it was still frustrating and disappointing.
It's a thing I get from my mama: rip me off if you must, but don't lie to me. I'd been so excited, & I did enjoy some things about the afternoon, but it was still a big let-down, to drag home, worn out, with feet hurting & a spasming back, only to still have to drag the heavy boxes right back in & unpack them. I left that for today, when my back was still stiff, but much better [triple ibuprofen, ftw!].
These folks need to learn words, though. If you're going to "party", "trade", or "discount", then rock that. But if you're not, don't call it that. You'll avoid alienating a lot of folks that way. And some of us are pretty vocal. Good or bad, we'll broadcast that experience all over town [& some internet].
I was too tired to use the [few] book-credits last night, so that's an opportunity for an outing with a friend or ze spouse. That'll be something to look forward to. Why, yes, I *did* imprint on Pollyanna at a young age; why do you ask?
;)
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