it's national read a book day: let's play the page 56 game

 

In honour of National Read A Book Day, grab the book you are currently reading or the last book you read. 

Open to page 56, and find the sixth sentence on the page. 

Type the line in comments, plus the title and author of the book.

I'll start:

-- What?

Roddy Doyle, Love (2020)

When we last played this game on wmtc in 2008, we had one of the longest threads ever on this blog... now wiped out. I continue to hope. Perhaps foolishly, but I can't live with the thought of thousands of comments being lost.

what i'm reading: a new plan

As I've mentioned many times, I keep a running List of books. The List dates back to the mid-1980s. 

It's not a complete list of books I've read. I wish I kept track of every book I read, but because I didn't start this at the Beginning of Time, I can never start it. 

The List is also not a to-read list. If it were, I would be too overwhelmed to read a single word. 

The List is all the books I hear of or read about that sound interesting and attractive to me. The List is the universe of books that I turn to when looking for what to read next. 

Books from the List comprise about half my reading -- meaning, I read many books that aren't on the List. This bothers me in ways I cannot begin to explain. I work hard to free myself from All Or Nothing thinking, but it pops up in all areas of my life. 

[Strangely, for someone whose default setting is All Or Nothing, I don't care about reading series. I often read the first book in a series, and then, whether I liked it or not, don't go any further. I can explain this... but it would make this silly, boring post even sillier and more boring.]

Recently I've been pulling smaller reading plans out of The List. I'm enjoying having a reading plan, albeit a flexible one where I also read many books that are not part of the plan. I'm obsessed with crossing things off lists, and since the massive List is too long to approach that way, these plans give me a sense of accomplishment. 

I'm aware that is all a bit ridiculous. It's just how my mind works.

I've done pretty well on this subset of The List, from this 2017 post.

Three biographies I want to read
Jackie Robinson: A Biography -- Arnold Rampersad (review)
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder -- Caroline Fraser (review)
Helen Keller: A Life -- Dorothy Herrmann (not reviewing)

Three people I want to read biographies of but don't know which one to read
Muhammad Ali (review)
Bob Dylan
Galileo (not reviewing)

Now I'm going to turn my attention to this bit.

Six writers whose books keep appearing on my list but I haven't read yet (there are many more)
Frans De Waal
Carl Safina
Robert Sapolsky
Margaret Laurence
Colm Toibin
Helen Oyeyemi

Three write nonfiction, three write fiction. I'm aiming for a minimum of two books per author, although not consecutively. 

But first, new Roddy Doyle, and more labour history and organizing.

laura and the angry itch: recent experiences with both sides of the medical divide

As my Facebook friends know all too well, I have been struggling with severe urticaria -- hives -- for two months. I have been going out of my mind with unrelenting itching. My skin is on fire.

For six weeks, I had no idea what had caused the urticaria, and nothing known to me relieved the itching.

At the end of a day of itching and burning, Aveeno soothing baths and a thick eczema balm help calm things down.* Ice packs offer some relief. 

Antihistamines do nothing, although I continue to take them, fearing it will be worse if I don't.

I've seen a doctor twice, which was almost useless, although he did refer me to a dermatologist. There can sometimes be very long wait-times for specialists, and apparently dermatology is one of those. I don't expect to see a specialist for months. I've heard allergists are even worse.

A friend recommended a naturopath who practices in a few different towns, including ours, and I thought, why not. I had a very thorough consultation; she thinks I may have developed an allergy to dairy. At this point, I will try anything. 

It's day four of dairy-free. Apparently it will take two or three weeks to know for sure. 

The naturopath also pointed out (and I have confirmed) that a medication I'm taking is not meant to be used long-term, and some other issues (not itch-related) I've been experiencing could be side effects from that. 

The M.D. asked me the standard allergy questions -- are you using a new soap or shampoo or laundry detergent, are you eating anything different, and so on. He suggested Benadryl, which I knew, but he advised me to take higher doses, and more frequently.

The naturopath looked at everything. Her intake form was 10 pages long, and her initial consultation ran over two hours. No M.D. could possibly take the time she did. The system is simply not designed that way.

* * * * 

Some people hate standard, so-called western medicine. They don't trust it and will do almost anything to avoid it.

Reasons to distrust western medicine include a lack of focus on prevention, an over-reliance on pharmaceuticals (and the very justified distrust of Big Pharma), pathologizing anything outside a narrow norm, and a problem-oriented, atomistic approach. 

Add in racism, misogyny, and victim-blaming -- plus, in the US, the profit motive -- and you've got a very ugly picture.

I can't really disagree with any of that. Western medicine can be all of those things.

Some people hate and distrust alternative or complimentary medicine. They dismiss it as snake oil and woo-woo. They cite a lack of scientific studies, and claim that anecdotal or experiential evidence is invalid.

* * * * 

Unlike most things I think and write about, on this, I take a middle ground. 

I've had good and bad experiences with both western and alternative medicine. 

From the western medicine side, I've seen sexism, and arrogance, and a rush to the prescription pad and to the scalpel. 

I've also seen lives saved, possibilities opened, quality of life improved. I've seen doctors who listen and apply a dogged, creative determination to rule out every possibility.

From the alternative side, I've also seen a deeper understanding of things like micronutrients and trace minerals, a wider range of options, and more honesty and disclosure about potential side effects. And perhaps most importantly, a holistic approach that looks at the social determinants of health.

I've also seen impossible claims, an over-reliance on too-gentle remedies, and an obsessive belief that everything can be fixed by changes in nutrition. (Nutrition is extremely important. But not everything can be cured by a change of diet.)

Some practitioners on one side fear and distrust the other side. To me the best practitioners are willing to look at a wide range of options. 

I had an excellent doctor in New York who encouraged me to try natural and alternative supplements. If I took supplement X, and made no other changes, and there was a positive effect, she was willing to say, although we can't prove that there is cause and effect, we can trust our own experiences, so let's go with it.

Meanwhile, the itch goes on.

* I learned about "Aveeno bath," as it is called, when I had chicken pox at age 25 -- the sickest I had ever been. Aveeno makes a full line of fragrance-free products made with colloidal oatmeal. Highly recommended.

another blog, for anyone who is interested

I've decided to have bariatric surgery. I made the decision towards the end of last year, and I started a separate blog so I could write about it.

Initially I wanted to keep this very private. I just wasn't ready to share it. But there's a lot of stigma around weight-loss surgery, and I like to poke holes in stigma whenever I can. 

I'm taking steps to improve my health. There should be no shame in that. If some people are judgmental or feel superior, that's not my problem.

If you want to come along, I'll be writing about this at 85 percent thinking. 

which side are you on: the unprecedented strike by nba players is a watershed moment for justice

First of all, it's not a boycott. It's a strike. And a wildcat strike to boot.

When the players on the Milwaukee Bucks chose not to play in the NBA playoffs -- joined by their baseball counterparts, the Brewers, with other teams quickly following -- they became part of a tradition that reaches back to Tommie Smith and John Carlos, to Muhammad Ali, to Carlos Delgado, all the way to the present, to Maya Moore and Colin Kaepernick. 

The striking NBA players are part of Black Lives Matter. They are part of the present-day civil rights movement. But they are part of something else, too. They are part of the labour movement.

Professional athletes are workers. 

They may be wealthy -- though all are not as wealthy as the top earners -- but their working life is perilously short, and throughout history, has been awash in exploitation. If some earn huge salaries today, that's because so many people are profiting from their labour. 

Strike vs boycott

So why is this action a strike and not a boycott? 

If NBA fans refused to buy tickets to games, or watch the games on TV, that would be a boycott. 

If fans refused to buy the products advertised during the broadcast of NBA games, that would be a boycott.

When workers refuse to work, that is a strike. 

And when they do so without the direction of their union, when they are not "in a legal strike position," as it is called, that, my friends, is a wildcat strike. 

And if we all did this -- if we joined them -- that would be a general strike.

Why it matters

I've been surprised to see some progressive people shrug off the NBA strike as mere display. It is anything but. 

When people who command media attention are vocal about justice, it is noticed. That is powerful. 

When those same people withhold their labour -- when they "down tools" and walk off the job -- it is exponentially more powerful. 

Everyone is rocked by this action: the NBA, their sponsors, the media, the fans, even people who never watch basketball. It is news. It draws the focus of the entire country -- and a huge portion of the entire world -- to why this action was taken. 

Professional and college athletes' support of the Black Lives Matter movement has been, continues to be, important. Athletes have spoken out, they have worn the t-shirts, they have knelt or been absent during the national anthem. All this matters. 

But with this step -- a strike -- they put their bodies on the line. 

As the shooting of Jacob Blake stunned us, left our hearts sore and broken, the very fact of this strike has made my heart soar with hope.

For important context, you'll want to read Dave Zirin's most recent column: The Milwaukee Bucks and Brewers Strike for Racial Justice.

This op-ed by Kurt Streeter in the New York Times is also good: With Walkouts, a New High Bar for Protests in Sports Is Set.

Zirin, speaking with Democracy Now, calls the players' protest "a challenge to the labor movement as a whole". He writes:

They are posing the question that all great strikes pose—to political people who hate sports and sports fans who hate politics, and to white fans who love them on the court but are oblivious to Black lives when the final whistle is blown—“Which side are you on?”

missing nyc: spontaneous political street art in bloom

This story in The New York Times made me miss New York City more than anything has in a very long time. 

All over the city, artists have created murals protest racism and police abuse. This critic surveys the murals, and compares them to the Neolithic cave art in the caves of France and Spain.

We saw cave art in Spain (stories here and here, but no pictures), something that I had longed to do ever since I first knew they existed. It was a peak travel experience for me. I love street art, and I love New York, and I love that someone links these things together.

the deadliest organized-crime and terrorist enterprise in the history of humanity: the catholic church

In the entire history of human beings on this planet, has there ever been a criminal enterprise more devastating -- to as many people, over as long a period of time -- as the Catholic Church?

The largest empires of the world -- Roman, Spanish, Dutch, British, American -- lasted 500 years at most. The Catholic Church has been at it for thousands of years.

If it was fiction, no one would believe it -- an organized crime network so vast, and so evil, that virtually no aspect of human civilization has been untouched by its rabid influence.

Persecution, torture, and execution of scientists, philosophers, independent thinkers and non-Catholics.

Wars intended to slaughter adherents of other religions. 

Profit from slavery. 

Support for murderous dictatorships all over the world.

The slaughter and forced conversion of Indigenous people all over the world.

Forcing untold numbers of families into poverty, children to starvation and death, women into death from desperation, by prohibiting contraceptives and abortion -- while its aristocracy lives in splendor, by its own rules (including rape, sex, and abortion).

Child sexual abuse on an unimaginable scale, truly a massive child-sex ring, from procurement to cover-up, for more than 1,000 years. 

The perpetuation of murderous anti-Semitism, inciting the terrorism known as pogroms.

The perpetuation of murderous homophobia, and shaming of sexual and gender expression.

All this, and I've probably missed a few crimes. Individual spiritual practices aside, the institutional Roman Catholic Church is a terrorist and organized-crime operation. 

This outburst was brought on by Galileo: Watcher of the Skies. Review to follow.

wmtc "what i'm reading" posts to celebrate black august 2020

I thought Black August was something newly created by Black Lives Matter, but it turns out it has existed since the 1970s. I'm sorry I haven't heard about it sooner, and I thank the Movement for Black Lives for bringing it to my attention.

Black August commemorates the rich history of Black resistance. Revolutionary moments such as the Watts Uprising, Haitian Revolution, Nat Turner Rebellion, Fugitive Slave Law Convention, and March on Washington all happened in August. Also, many of our revolutionaries, such as Marcus Garvey and Fred Hampton, were born in August. Black August was started in California prisons in the 1970s by Black freedom fighters who wanted to honor the lives and struggle of Black political prisoners killed by the state. Fifty years later, groups like Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and New Afrikan Independence Movement continue the Black August legacy of celebrations by amplifying our history of resistance and creating spaces for Black people to come together in community to recharge the revolution. 

To celebrate Black August on this blog, I'm posting links to my "what i'm reading" posts that celebrate Black lives, Black history, and the Black struggle for freedom, and books by Black authors.

(Not included: quotes and random fangirl posts about Colson Whitehead. There are several!)
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (August 2020)

Muhammad Ali: A Life (December 2019)

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (September 2019)

toni morrison, rest in power (August 2019)

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (July 2019)

five things you probably don't know about frederick douglass (and u.s. history) (July 2019)

Jackie Robinson: A Biography (March 2019)

Hunger by Roxane Gay (January 2019)

required reading for revolutionaries: jane mcalevey and micah white (January 2018)

Words on the Move (June 2017)

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (May 2017)

Swing Time by Zadie Smith (April 2017)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (April 2017)

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (October 2016)

NW by Zadie Smith (November 2013)

John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead (September 2012)

Zone One by Colson Whitehead (July 2012)

invisible man meets the zombies of zone one (July 2012)

further thoughts on ralph ellison's invisible man (July 2012)

heroic white people, "i am not a racist," and other thoughts on some old news (August 2011)

Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead (December 2010)

A Mercy by Toni Morrison (January 2010)

q&a with author lawrence hill (November 2008)

The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (August 2008)

The Known World by Edward P. Jones (November 2006)

The Sweeter the Juice by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip (March 2005)

what i'm reading: how to be an antiracist by ibram x. kendi

How To Be An Antiracist is an important, powerful, thought-provoking book. With unflinching precision, Ibram X. Kendi defines the roots of racism and explains how we can work to eliminate it.

The structure of the book is disarming: the explanatory chapters are interwoven with the story of Kendi's personal journey from racist thinking to antiracist thinking.

Yes, the author is Black, and he has had racist thoughts, and has engaged in racist behaviours. 

He spares no mercy for himself as he looks back, cringing at his beliefs -- although understanding the tradition that they grew from. I hope Kendi's openness and his willingness to publicly criticize himself helps more readers approach his ideas with an open mind and less defensiveness.

Kendi believes that our typical conception of racism as a product of fear and ignorance is wrong, and he makes a very strong case for that belief. He shows that racist policies are made by racist people in order to further their own interests. Racism can be unmade, therefore, by antiracists creating and getting others to create antiracist policies.

In Kendi's view, it's a mistake to conceive of racism as a permanent descriptive term, an on/off, either/or state -- "He is a racist" -- as it lulls us into a false belief that we are not racist. He writes:

"Racist" and "antiracist" are like peelable name tags that are placed and replaced based on what someone is doing or not doing, supporting or expressing, in each moment. These are not permanent tattoos. No one becomes a racist or antiracist. We can only strive to be one or the other. We can unknowingly strive to be a racist. Or we can knowingly strive to be an antiracist. Like fighting an addiction, being an antiracist requires persistent self-awareness, constant self-criticism, and regular self-examination.

Here are a few things I loved about How To Be An Antiracist.

-- Kendi does a great job unspooling intersectionality, the idea that the overlapping of various identities or membership in certain social groups leads to combined privileges or disadvantages. (I strongly dislike the word "intersectionality" and I wish we called this something else, but the concept is very important.) For example, the forced and coerced sterilization of poor Black women is racist, sexist, and classist. It can't properly be seen unless all three factors are acknowledged.

Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, prejudice against skin-colour, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, class prejudice -- all of these can intersect and overlap, and when that happens, the effects cannot be separated. Kendi takes the reader through each group or identity and shows that to be antiracist, one must work on all the other biases as well. Put simply:

To truly be antiracist is to be feminist. To truly be feminist is to be antiracist. 

-- Kendi frames racism as inextricable with capitalism. He's writing about modern capitalism as it is now conceived. The selling and trading of goods in a marketplace is as old as humanity. Our present-day capitalism bears little resemblance to that benign and extremely human activity.

Capitalism is essentially racist and racism is essentially capitalist. They were birthed together from the same unnatural causes, and they shall one die day together from unnatural causes. Or racial capitalism will live together into another epoch of theft and rapacious inequity, especially if activists naively fight the conjoined twins independently, as if they are not the same.

Calling capitalism and racism "conjoined twins", Kendi echoes Martin Luther King, Jr.:

It means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

-- I love that Kendi demonstrates that the fraud and theft of the 2000 and 2004 US elections were essentially racist. He calls the actions of Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican Chief Elections Officer in Ohio, "the most egregious Black on Black crime in modern US history". Many readers may not be fully aware of what happened in these elections, and Kendi's brief summary will be very eye-opening.

-- Kendi demonstrates the inherent racism and classism embedded in standardized testing. Very interesting!

-- Kendi demonstrates how antiracist policies and an equitable society would benefit everyone, including most white supremacists.

Of course, ordinary white people benefit from racist policies, but not nearly as much as racist power, and not nearly as much as they could from an equitable society, one where the average white voter has as much power as superrich White men to decide elections and shape policy. Where their kids' business-class schools could resemble the first-class prep schools of today's superrich. Where high quality universal health care could save millions of White lives. Where they could no longer face the cronies of racism that attack them: sexism, ethnocentrism, homophobia, and exploitation.

I'm highlighting what I loved about this book, but I'm purposely not trying to recreate Kendi's arguments. I feel that anything I write will be oversimplified and, because of that, too easily dismissed. I want Kendi to make the argument for you. Read this book.

Kendi's previous book was Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, winner of the 2016 National Book Award for Nonfiction. I have not read that yet, but I gather that How To Be An Antiracist is much more accessible. This book is nothing to be afraid of. It's something to read, and re-read, and ultimately embrace. 

simple but amazing experiences healing dogs from past trauma

Cookie recently had a fear reaction, and we're working on desensitization. I thought I would share our experience with changing fearful behaviour. 

Diego

Not long after we adopted Diego, we learned he had an extreme fear reaction to anything involving his ears. Neither Allan nor I can remember exactly how we learned this, whether he growled at the vet during an exam, or something else. But I distinctly remember that, when he saw a Q-tip in my hand, Diego showed his teeth for a split-second -- then instantly looked sorry and guilty. Poor guy!

The vet could see that Diego had a very severe ear infection. Not wanting to traumatize him further or cause him pain, she suggested general anesthesia, a full-on ear cleaning, then a program to desensitize him to ear-touching. 

Diego was highly food-motivated, so it was not difficult to re-program him.

First we associated the Q-tip or cotton ball with the treat -- so that he earned a treat just for seeing the Q-tip, then for smelling it on his own, then we would touch his ear very lightly, and so on. Then we moved on to very light touches to his ear, gradually increasing the interaction, using plenty of rewards and lots of happy talk and affection the whole time.

We did this over the course of a week, and it went brilliantly. Diego never had the fear-aggression reaction again, and for the rest of his life, he enjoyed being rubbed or scratched behind his ears.

Could this be why such a sweet-tempered and well-trained dog ended up in a shelter? Perhaps he growled, showed his teeth, or even snapped at someone who was trying to look into his painful ears.

Cookie

It's fortunate we had this experience with Diego, so we knew what to do for Cookie.

Cookie is extremely frightened of the monthly anti-flea and tick prevention we're using. I didn't understand it until I held the vial to my face: it smells like rubbing alcohol. 

Cookie did live in a house where there was drinking, drugs, and violence, so it's not surprising that she has a negative association with the smell of alcohol.

When we used the treatment last month, Cookie was wary, but she allowed us to put it on her. After, she rolled around and acted strange -- and I later realized she was trying to run away from the smell or rub it off.

This month her reaction was much stronger. As I started unwrapping the vials, she jumped away. When I moved towards her, she showed her teeth for a split-second, and frantically moved away. So sad!

Because of our experience with Diego, I knew what to do. We put the stuff on Kai, then I held the empty vial in one hand, and put a treat in my other hand. I held my hands out, palm up, a few inches apart. 

Cookie would dart in, take the treat, and dart away. After doing that a few times, I put the empty vial and the treat in the same hand. 

She did the same thing, quickly grabbing the treat and jumping away. We did that four or five times, then stopped. That's enough for one session. 

The next day, I did the same thing -- not advancing, just repeating the same level of interaction. Cookie took the treat with relaxed body language and looked at me, asking for another.

That's where we are now. I plan to do this for a few more days before trying again to use the treatment on her.

It's important to go really slowly, never forcing the dog into contact with the stimulus that's eliciting the fear reaction. Gradually, you create a new, positive association. Hopefully Cookie will soon know the smell of rubbing alcohol means a treat is coming.

Buster

Of course, not all trauma and fear-aggression will respond to desensitization. Buster, our beautiful broken pitbull, needed medication, and special training, and still could never be safely off-leash outside. But we did use a similar idea on a regular basis.

Our lives in those days depended on having a dogwalker visit twice a day, two days each week. This meant that every once in a while, we had to introduce Buster to a new person. 

The behaviourist we worked with gave us a plan. 

It took four sessions. Buster would be on-leash and wearing his "gentle leader" -- which made him feel safe. As long as he was on-leash and a stranger didn't enter his (literal) comfort zone, Buster was fine.

The first time New Person entered our apartment, we would scatter yummy, "high value" treats on the floor. New Person would come in, sit down, hang out, talk, say Buster's name many times in the happy-lovey voice. All the while, we would continue to scatter treats on the floor and Buster would go around gobbling them up. 

Session two, we would do the same, but we would place the treats near New Person's feet -- so Buster had to be near New Person while eating the treats. New Person would sit on the couch, talking to Buster in the happy voice, saying his name often, but not trying to touch him or even putting their hand out.

Session three, New Person would offer Buster the treat, open hand, palm up, doing all the happy talk, saying Buster's name a lot. Buster would accept the treat from the person's hand, and we could see his body language was relaxed. There was no further touching, but Buster was willingly touching NP's hand every time he accepted the treat.

At session four, Buster would be relaxed and friendly. All his fear would be gone. He would spontaneously come to New Person asking for attention. New Person could put on the gentle leader, touch Buster's head. Buster would rub his head into NP's leg -- and that was it.

Once Buster gave his trust, it was total and irrevocable. But we had to do this every time, and there was no rushing it or skipping a step.

Except for one remarkable experience that we'll never forget.

Our dogwalker and his partner were coming over for dinner. We had not met Partner before, so Buster was on-leash with the gentle leader, lying down next to Allan's chair.

During dinner, Buster went under the table, and put his head on Partner's shoes. Partner reached down and stroked Buster's head, and Buster snuggled closer. Somehow, Buster understood that Partner was part of Dogwalker, and he would be safe.

rotd: love and labor in alliance

Revolutionary thought of the day:

Wherever capitalism appears, in pursuit of its mission of exploitation, there will be socialism, fertilized by misery, watered by tears, and vitalized by agitation. It will also be found unfurling its class-struggle banner, and proclaiming its mission of emancipation.

Love and labor in alliance, working together, have transforming, redeeming, and emancipating power. Under their benign power, the world can be made better and brighter.

Eugene V. Debs

"at your library" in the north island eagle: make screen time count with library e-resources for kids and teens

At Your Library: Make Screen Time Count with Library E-Resources for Kids and Teens

You know I’m always going on about the great e-resources you can access through your library. “E-resources” means e-books, digital magazines, streaming music and movies, plus ways to learn new skills, expand your small business, and so much more. But did you know that Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) has e-resources just for kids and teens?

My favourite e-resource for kids is TumbleBookLibrary. It offers picture books, graphic novels, children’s classics, early readers, and more. There are even “read-alongs” -- your child can read the book while it’s also being read to them. With TumbleBookLibrary, your kids always have fresh new books to read, and you always have a way to help build their reading skills.

OverDrive is the library’s most popular way to access eBooks and eAudiobooks – and it has a kids’ section. Download the “Libby” app and you can get started right away. Don’t worry: eBooks and audiobooks “count” as reading. They help your children develop literacy every bit as much as print.

There are great e-resources for homework and school projects, too. Explora is a kid-friendly research tool containing articles from encyclopedias and science magazines, on nearly every topic you can think of. 

The Encyclopedia of British Columbia is just what it sounds like – the definitive reference for all things B.C. There are thousands of articles, plus photographs, maps, and video clips. KnowBC is the place to go for popular school subjects like local birds, marine life, shells, and place names. 

Teens are part of the picture, too. TeenBookCloud has hundreds of eBooks and audiobooks for middle school and high school readers. You can access it online without an app. And you can find lots of YA reads on OverDrive, either through the library website or the Libby app. 

Knowledge Network is a hidden gem – a commercial-free public television network for the province of BC. Teens might be especially interested in the documentaries on far-ranging topics, by independent filmmakers, with a strong Canadian and BC slant. It’s free and easy to use. 

Teen crafters will love Creativebug. It offers thousands of video classes and demonstrations for creating art and craft of all types. There are ideas for every interest and skill level. A great idea for a social-distanced party!

These are only some of the many options for kids and teens that you can find through your library. Of course, they are all free, and available to anyone with a library card. Go to virl.bc.ca > Read, Watch, Listen to start exploring. If you need help, call 1-888-415-VIRL. Someone is available to help you every day of the week.

"at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, parts 2 and 3

Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots

As the lockdown began, I posted some "At Your Library" columns that were suddenly irrelevant, among them a column about Ancestry Library, then only available from a library branch -- and the branches were all closed.

Shortly after that, Ancestry was made available from all computers -- but the newspaper wasn't publishing. 

As it turns out, that column didn't run before the lockdown. I submitted with some changes in July, and I was able to announce that this e-resource is now available from any computer. So I'll check that off my list.

*  *  *  *

The next column feels sadly ironic. As more library services move online, we can reach more people. But the "digital divide" grows wider, and we fail our most vulnerable customers. Libraries everywhere are working on ways to address this, but it's another sad ripple effect of the pandemic.

Your Library Online: fun and safe ways to enjoy your library this summer (plus increased Takeout hours in Port Hardy and Port McNeill)

This is a tough summer for libraries. We miss our branches being a hub of activity, and having people of all ages and interests flock to our doors. Whether it’s beach reading, Summer Reading Club, or a series on audiobook, libraries have always helped make summer entertaining (and dare I say, educational). This summer – like everyone else – we are discovering new ways to connect.

The good news is that the library is still here! When you need something new to read or watch, you can use our Takeout service. Soon deliveries will resume and you’ll be able to order materials from any VIRL location. That should make many customers happy!

Although our library programs have moved online, they are still the programs you know and love – but in a different format. 

Kids up to 12 years old can “Explore Our Universe” with the 2020 Summer Reading Club. You can register your children by visiting https://bcsrc.ca/. There are lots of virtual events to explore. The easiest way to find out more is through the “Virtual SRC 2020 Explore Our Universe!” Facebook group. Families without internet at home can call 1-877-415-VIRL to register.

Readers age 12-18 can join the Teen Summer Challenge, completing tasks to win prizes. You can see the complete task list and instructions at https://virl.bc.ca/teen-summer-challenge/.

We’re now offering three virtual book clubs. All the titles for the clubs are available as eBooks with no waiting and no holds, throughout the month of July. 

    • The Shared Shelf is a book club for the whole family. The focus will be on children’s chapter books, to read and talk about together. The July title is Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing.

    • The Take A Break book club reads lighter fiction and informative, enjoyable nonfiction. The July book “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared” by Jonas Jonasson is a crowd favourite.

    • Books & Beyond focuses on taking action. After each title, members will have an opportunity to try a local challenge or a task to help them better understand or address topics covered in the book. The July title is “I’m Not Dying With You Tonight,” by Kim Jones and Gilly Segal.

There are also online storytimes. Check out the Storytime Corner Facebook Group at 10:30 a.m. every Monday and Friday, and Babytimes every Tuesday. Children of all ages can enjoy storytimes.

Questions? Feedback? Ideas for virtual programs? Call us at 1-877-415-VIRL (8475). 

[Sidebar with branch open hours.]

"at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, part 1: library takeout

Since the lockdown ended, I've been writing my column in the free local newspaper again. These columns seem very specific and not of wide interest, but since I started collecting the columns on this blog, I want the record to be complete. 

At Your Library: Your Library Is Coming Back… One Step at a Time

Welcome back! I’m so very happy to welcome you back to your local branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL). 

I hope you weathered the lockdown in relative comfort and safety, and that you and your loved ones are all healthy. It’s been such an unusual time, with so many unknowns, and for many people, a real struggle. I can speak for all library staff when I say, we missed being able to help you through it.

VIRL is taking steps towards a gradual return of library services. We’ve worked hard to design a system that protects the health of our customers and library staff, follows all the provincial health guidelines, and still provides access to your library. Quite a challenge!

Right now we are pleased to offer “Library Takeout”. During certain hours, you can visit your local branch to drop off items and pick up something new. For now, you’ll only be able to borrow books, DVDs, videogames, and magazines that are currently in the branch. We won’t be able to order anything in from other branches – for now. 

By the time you read this, Takeout hours will be running at all VIRL libraries. In Port Hardy, there will be two Takeout hours daily, Wednesdays through Saturdays. The other North Island branches – Port Alice, Port McNeill, Sointula, and Woss – will offer Takeout hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. To check the hours, please visit the VIRL website at virl.bc.ca/branches or go to your branch’s Facebook page.

Takeout service is built around all the necessary health and safety guidelines, to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 – social distancing, disinfecting, and frequent hand-washing. All library materials will be quarantined for 72 hours in between customers.

Since April, free wireless internet access has been available 24/7 outside all VIRL branches. Most of our e-resources are available from your home or workplace, including Ancestry Library (normally available in-branch only). If you need help with any library resources, you can call VIRL at 1-877-415-8475 or email info@virl.bc.ca. 

You can also call or email for any reference or research need, including suggestions for what to read or watch next. Library staff is there to help you, Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Another option is VIRL’s “One Book, One Community” online book club. Right now we’re reading Greenwood by Michael Christie. Greenwood is a multigenerational family story, linking the fates of five people on a remote island off the B.C. coast over the course of 100 years. The award-winning author, Michael Christie, lives on Galiano Island. 

You can access Greenwood as an e-book or an e-audiobook. If you need help getting started, call us at 1-877-415-8475 or email info@virl.bc.ca.

With access to physical books limited, this is a great time to become more familiar with VIRL’s many e-resources. In my next few columns, I’ll take a look at some amazing options that may surprise you. (If you missed my column on Ancestry Library, and you’re interested, email me!) If you’ve never tried an e-book or e-audiobook, why not start now? It’s free, and as always, we’re here to help.

a piece of new york is gone: pete hamill, rest in peace

A piece of New York City died this week. Pete Hamill, a legendary New York journalist and possibly the last of a breed, died yesterday at age 85. 

Obituaries describe him as a "tabloid poet" or "tabloid hero". If he hadn't existed, perhaps Raymond Chandler would have invented him. 

It seems only fitting to let the Daily News tell his story.

Legendary journalist and author Pete Hamill, a tabloid hero and teller of New York tales, dead at 85

Pete Hamill, the Brooklyn-born bard of the five boroughs and eloquent voice of his beloved hometown as both newspaper columnist and best-selling author, died Wednesday morning. Hamill, who worked at five New York newspapers and outlived three, was 85. 

Hamill, four days after a Saturday fall that fractured his right hip, died in New York-Presbyterian Hospital Brooklyn Methodist, said his brother and fellow ex-Daily News columnist Denis Hamill. Though Hamill underwent emergency surgery, his heart and kidneys ultimately failed.

“Newspaperman, novelist, mentor to so many, citizen of the world,” tweeted New York Times columnist Dan Barry of Hamill. “I once wrote that if the pavement of New York City could talk, it would sound like Pete Hamill. Now that city weeps.”

The legendary Hamill served as editor for both the Daily News and the New York Post during a newspaper career that covered the last 40 years of the 20th century — an improbable dream come true for a high school dropout, the son of Irish immigrants, raised in a hard-scrabble borough.

“One of the best days in my life is when I got my first press pass,” he once recalled fondly. “To be a newspaperman is one of the best educations in the world.”

The lifelong New Yorker brought a touch of poetry to the tabloids, a sense of grace, wit and empathy amid the daily dose of crime and corruption. He wrote 21 novels and more than 100 short stories, along with longer pieces for The New Yorker, Esquire, Rolling Stone and New York magazine.

He was working at the time of his death on a book titled “Back to the Old Country,” a reminiscence about the pervasive influence of Brooklyn on his life.

Hamill inspired generations of journalists to follow his path, one that took him across the country and around the world but always returned to New York.

“I greatly appreciate him encouraging me to write as a young person full of self-doubt,” said Jelani Cobb, a staff writer at The New Yorker. “I will also miss the fantastic breadth of his knowledge of New York City and the indelible rhythm of the sentences he pushed off the tip of his pens.”

11 (more) things on my mind about the protests in the u.s.

In April, I wrote a post called "11 things on my mind about the anti-police-violence and anti-racism protests". For reasons unknown to me, it's one of the most widely-read posts I've written in a long time. So here's an updated list.

1. When governments respond to protests with violence and intimidation, and the protests only grow, a movement has reached another landmark of growth and development. This is happening right now, and it's exciting!

2. Protest by middle-class and middle-aged citizens is so heartening to see, and possibly another milestone. The so-called Wall of Moms, and the "dads" with leaf blowers and hockey sticks, are crucial pieces. Their courage will embolden so many others. No change will happen until and unless the middle-class is onboard, so get onboard!

3. Veteran resistance is so powerful. I wonder about resistance within the active military.

From my work with the War Resisters Support Campaign in Canada, and from extensive reading about war resistance movements, I know that military resistance is always much bigger than civilians might ever imagine. Those courageous men and women are badly needed, right now.

4. I hope organizers are working on tactical nonviolence training -- not because I think protests must always be nonviolent, but because it will build movement power.

Nonviolent protests command a huge amount of attention, and focus attention on the one-sided violence against the protesters. We have a cultural memory of the power of nonviolent protests from the U.S. civil rights movement, and consciously linking the present protests with those famous scenes is strategic and powerful. I'm not inside the movement on that level, so I don't know if this is already happening, but I hope it is.

5. People are educating themselves about racism. Books like How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo are on bestseller lists and have long hold queues at public libraries. Libraries are posting antiracism reading lists. Antiracism book clubs and discussion groups are popping up. This is amazing and so beautiful.

6. A repeat from that April post: the US was founded on protest. Every important, positive change in the United States has been born of protest. Protest is as American as racism and gun violence. Which is stronger? We shall see.

7. How far will the crackdown go? How far down the spiral into a police state will the current occupant of the White House and his lackeys take the US?

8. What will Trump do when he loses the election? If enough people vote to counteract all the fraud, vote suppression, and black box voting, Trump will lose, and Biden will be elected. If that happens, will Trump leave peacefully?

9. And if he doesn't, will other countries condemn the US? Will the UK, Canada, and other countries with a long and friendly history with the US punish and sanction it? What would it take?

10. In my heart, hope wrestles with cynicism.

For so long, I have felt the situation in the US is beyond hope. Then Occupy. Then Black Lives Matter. Then the Fight for 15. Then Idle No More. Then Extinction Rebellion. People organizing. Against racism. Against a brutal economic system. Against environmental destruction. People organizing knowing that these are all connected. I feel a tiny glimmer of hope.

Then I think about what "winning" in the US would look like. For so many people, a Democrat in the White House -- hell, a sane, thinking person in the White House -- will be enough.

And I despair.

Then I see the uprisings, and I have hope.

Then I think... and I despair.

(Of course, how I feel is irrelevant.)

11. The future is unknown. No one knows what the future will be, no matter how much certainty they put in their words or their voice.

The future has not been written yet. If Trump is having this much trouble squashing resistance in Portland, what's it going to look like in Brooklyn, or Philadelphia, or Oakland, or St. Louis?

This is why it's so important to organize. And that's exactly what BLM and FF15 and all the solidarity networks have been doing.

Who knows, maybe after organizing and winning small victories, changing R to D won't be enough. Maybe people will demand more.

rotd: "systemic racism" is redundant

Revolutionary thought of the day:

"Institutional racism" and "structural racism" and "systemic racism" are redundant. Racism itself is institutional, structural, and systemic.

Ibram X. Kendi, How to be Antiracist

listening to joni: #15: turbulent indigo

Turbulent Indigo, 1994

Front Cover

Turbulent Indigo is a rich album, one that demands repeated listening. Every time I hear it, I discover new sounds and meanings, and I find that it has slyly become one of my most beloved of Joni's work.

The name of the album is itself enigmatic. Many reviewers have noted that it echoes an earlier masterpiece, since the colour indigo is a form of blue. I don't find much in common between 1972's Blue and this one. On Turbulent Indigo, the music is sparse, and the lyrics mostly look outward in social commentary, nothing like the deeply personal lyrics of Blue with resounding piano.

Given the nature of the songs, the album title seems to refer to the times we live in, the turbulence and dark colours of our contemporary world. The title may also reference the violence and inhumanity associated with indigo, the substance: it was part of the slave trade for hundreds of years. (Interesting tangent: the International Center for Indigo Culture seeks to revive the cultivation of indigo through humane and sustainable practices.)

The title track (and the album cover) evoke Vincent Van Gogh, similar to how Joni evoked Beethoven in "Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)" (For the Roses). This Van Gogh, like Beethoven, is rough-hewn, not socially cultured, the people shuffling past his paintings blind to his wild visions. Over Joni's signature rhythm-and-percussion guitar, to a dark minor key punctuated by Wayne Shorter's lilting soprano sax, she sings:

Brash fields crude crows
In a scary sky
In a golden frame
Roped off
Tourists guided by
Tourists talking about the madhouse
Talking about the ear
The madman hangs in fancy homes
They wouldn't let him near!
He'd piss in their fireplace!

At least two songs on Turbulent Indigo are about the oppression of women. "Magdalene Laundries" was the first time I had ever heard of that particular method of repression, this one brought to you by the Catholic Church in Ireland. (Similar institutions existed in Canada and Australia, too.) The song is told through one of the captive women: Joni gives her a voice.

Hearing this song for the first time led me to seek out every scrap of information I could find about the laundries. There's a movie and a survivors' network, and there's been testimony to the United Nations. The practice is now widely acknowledged as both torture and slavery -- like something from a dystopian novel, but alas, very much of our world. The song still affects me deeply, with tremendous sadness and anger, every time I hear it.

Back Cover

These are from the inside covers.
I like how they're photographed with their frames,
a picture within a picture.

"Not To Blame" evokes the pandemic of violence against women: "The story hit the news from coast to coast, it said you hit the girl you love the most." Incredibly, more than one reviewer wondered if the song was about Jackson Browne and Daryl Hannah, an abusive relationship that was in the news at the time. Somehow I think they've missed the point.

Six hundred thousand doctors
Are putting on rubber gloves
And they're poking
At the miseries made of love
They say they're learning
How to spot
The battered wives
Among all the women
They see bleeding through their lives

Those two lines -- "Six hundred thousand doctors / Are putting on rubber gloves" -- paint an appropriately chilling, gruesome picture.

"Yvette in English," co-written with David Crosby, about a lovely woman in Paris, is so cinematic, I can visualize the whole encounter, the "wary little stray" who is "So quick to question her own worth," but who runs off. Nothing bad happens to Yvette in this song, and it's the only track that is not somber and dark.

From the lyrics booklet.

Although I avoid mapping songs onto life, here I go doing it again -- hopefully only the second time in this blog series. Just as "Solid Love" on Wild Things Run Fast was clearly inspired by Joni's relationship with "Klein," as she always calls him, "Last Chance Lost," must have been inspired by their breakup, which took place before and during this album's creation. Over the simple guitar rhythm, Joni's voice breaks out -- loud, open, holding long, clear notes, like she's sounding a siren or an alarm. The sad line "the shrew will not be tamed" echoes self-recrimination we've heard before, on "River" (Blue) and most agonizingly, in "Amelia" (Hejira). This short song is a sad and beautiful meditation on heartbreak.

On "Borderline," Joni again explores duality, but this time, rather than two aspects of her own mind, she sings about divisions that prevent us from seeing our shared humanity.

Every bristling shaft of pride
Church or nation
Team or tribe
Every notion we subscribe to
Is just a borderline
Good or bad we think we know
As if thinking makes things so!
All convictions grow along a borderline

It's hard not to see ourselves in some piece of that.

The album closes with a seven minute tour de force of the dark night of the soul, inspired by the biblical story of Job.

Let me speak let me spit out my bitterness
Born of grief and nights without sleep and festering flesh
Do you have eyes?
Can you see like mankind sees?
Why have you soured and curdled me?
Oh you tireless watcher! What have I done to you?
That you make everything I dread and everything I fear come true?

On this song, the music becomes more layered; Shorter's soprano sax is given room to run, and Joni does her own backing vocals. The lyrics and music build, darkly but with a feeling of uplift and inspiration, reminiscent of Court and Spark, especially "Down to You". The song is a masterpiece.

The album cover

This album cover is very interesting! Joni has re-imagined a self-portrait of Van Gogh as her own self-portrait, using a Van Gogh-esque style.

There are more Joni paintings inside, and on the back there's a photograph of part of her bookshelf, posted above.

In keeping with the Van Gogh theme, my promo copy of the CD came with a little metallic ear! Allan was still writing about music at the time. We got lots of free stuff, and sometimes the swag was awesome. I made the ear into an earring -- which I don't wear, for fear that it will fall off the hook and be lost forever.

In her own words

From an interview with Mary Campbell of Associated Press.

Joni Mitchell has a new record, a new record company and a new love. She kiddingly calls herself "the new and improved Joni."

"When public interest wanes in a detergent, they stick a 'new and improved' label on it. I'm the new and improved Joni. I'm going to put it on my albums," Mitchell said.

"At 50, you've worked things out. You know yourself pretty well. I saw a Leonard Cohen quote, 'After 50, the anxiety cells in your brain begin to deteriorate."'

Co-writing credit

"Yvette in English" written with David Crosby.

"How Do You Stop" written for James Brown by Dan Hartman and Charlie Midnight.

Other musicians on this album

Bass, Larry Klein
Guitar, Michael Landau, Steuart Smith
Pedal Steel Guitar, Greg Leisz
Guitorgan, Bill Dillon
Soprano Sax, Wayne Shorter
Drums, Jim Keltner, Carlos Vega
Percussion, Larry Klein
Keyboards, Larry Klein
Background Vocals, Seal, Charles Valentino, Kris Kello

john lewis and c.t. vivian, rest in power

What a sad and moving coincidence, that two great freedom fighters died on the same day.

I chose these photos as a reminder that doing the right thing may involve breaking the law. Canadians, who over-value a superficially peaceful society, frequently need reminding.

As a remembrance of these two men, I cede the floor to Black Lives Matter.

* * * *

A Requiem In Memoriam Our Great Ancestors

The Honorable John Robert Lewis
(February 21, 1940 - July 17, 2020)

The Reverend Dr. Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian
(July 30, 1924 – July 17, 2020)

Today, we celebrate two men of moral courage, ethical excellence, and relentless diligence in making Black Lives Matter in the policies and practices of this country and world: The Honorable John Lewis and The Reverend C.T. Vivian. Like many of us, C.T. Vivian and John Lewis participated in a movement -- a protest -- and it changed their lives forever. For C.T. Vivian and John Lewis, a jail cell was as familiar as a police officer's baton. For their human rights work, cops arrested these activist ministers more times than they cared to count and suffered several brutal beatings at the hands of law enforcement.

These courageous human beings, now among our greatest ancestors, disrupted the status quo -- commerce/business-as-usual -- FOR YEARS before anyone took notice. They were attacked, despised, and criticized relentlessly by mainstream society and their own people, but they persisted. Only in their latter years did they receive the honor due to them, including being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perseverance, tenacity, and determination (among other things) in this struggle link us to them. None of us are free until all of us are free, so we commit daily to the work of making Black Lives Matter in policy and practice knowing our struggle for justice is a part of the same continuum of human rights struggle led by those before us.

Thank you, John Lewis and C.T. Vivian, for being freedom fighters. Thank you for your service to our community, country, and world. We are winning.

-- Black Lives Matter Global Network

* * * *

what i'm reading: political graphic nonfiction: this place: 150 years retold

This Place: 150 Years Retold, foreward by Alicia Elliott.

In keeping with my posts about political graphic nonfiction, here is a quote from This Place.

The book is an anthology of 10 stories by 10 or 11 writers and illustrators. Each writer prefaces their story with context, including something about their personal connection to the material. Chelsea Vowel begins her preface to "kitaskinaw 2350" like this.

Dystopian or apocalyptic writing occupies an enormous amount of space in contemporary storytelling and in our social consciousness. We are told that the end is nigh, and that the world (or at least the world as we know it) will be destroyed, and that this is a Bad Thing. We are encouraged to imagine what life could be like during and after this supposedly inevitable destruction, but are steered away from dreaming up alternatives. Indigenous peoples have been living in a post-apocalyptic world since Contact. This entire anthology deals with events post-apocalypse!

* * * *

This Place: 150 Years Retold makes an excellent illustrated companion to the Indigenous Canada MOOC. Reading it has inspired me to learn more. Perhaps you will find the same.

You know who I wish would read this book? Paul Bunner, racist speechwriter for Jason Kenney, who called residential schools "a bogus genocide story". I was impressed, but not surprised, that an Indigenous leader reached out to Bunner, determined to find common ground and exchange ideas. I cannot imagine remaining calm and clear-headed speaking with a Holocaust denier.

in which i reflect on the joys of summer in north vancouver island, especially during the pandemic

In 2015, Allan and I moved into an apartment, for the first time since leaving New York City in late 2005.

We had rented a series of houses for 10 years. Now the market had changed and it was clear there were no houses for rent in our price range that would offer long-term stability and a decent commute.

There is no way we would consider buying a house in the Toronto area, and we had no interest in buying a condo. This meant we were forced to move back to rental apartment life. We found a great apartment, as rentals go -- three bedrooms, two bathrooms -- at an affordable rent. And we adjusted.

I'm very aware of my own privilege, so I consciously found the positives and tried not to complain about the negatives. But truth be told, it was a difficult adjustment, and definitely a diminished sense of well-being and happiness. I sorely missed having private outdoor space -- a lack that had me scheming to find a way to leave NYC many years before we actually did. Having a backyard was the reason I made peace with suburban life. Living in an apartment in suburbia just made no sense.

The other negatives were doing laundry (a minor nightmare), frequent elevator breakdowns (and their impact on dog-walking), and above all, not having control over the temperature of our living space.

Both Allan and I hate hot, humid, summer weather. In NYC, we would spend the summer trapped in our apartment with the air-conditioner blasting 24/7. (I am not exaggerating.) Now we found ourselves in the same situation, but so much worse -- because we couldn't control it. Giant Corporate Landlord made tenants suffer the heat for at least a month before turning on the air-conditioning, then never turned it up high enough, then cut it off months before it cooled down outside. For months, we were always too warm and never really comfortable. (Again, I'm aware of all my privilege as I write this.)

As it turned out, this disappointing regression to apartment life was the push I needed to make the next Big Life Change. After our first trip to Vancouver and to visit our west-coast family, in the taxi home from the airport, surrounded by ugly, grey concrete and smog-choked air, I said, "Why do we even live here anymore?"  Much like "Why don't we move to Canada?" in 2003, I look back on these words as a door we consciously opened.

Fast-forward to the bizarre world of 2020. We have been incredibly fortunate, more fortunate than I can express, to ride out the pandemic in (1) BC, where Dr. Bonnie Henry has been a true leader and model, (2) a remote, sparsely populated area where infection rates are very low, and (3) a comfortable home with a great deck and a big backyard.

And now it is summer. At least that's what the calendar says. In Mississauga, temperatures in the 30s, sometimes with a "feels-like" (as the Weather Network calls it) of more than 40. (American readers: 40 C = 104 F.) To us, anything over 20 (68) is hot, and anything over 25 (high 70s) is very uncomfortable. 30 (86) is unbearable.

Here in Port Hardy, we have yet to see a day over 20 (68). This summer is unusually cool, but even during 2019's more typical summer weather, we never missed having an air-conditioner. A few times we used a fan in the bedroom, and it was easily cool enough to sleep.

I'm imagining living in that Mississauga apartment with inadequate cooling and over-crowded elevators, with the pandemic raging. I'm so sorry that so many people are suffering... and I'm so grateful to be where I am.

Mississauga, July 2020

Port Hardy, July 2020

Photo from July 10, 2020. Seriously.

things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #32

I emailed this to my colleagues and our administrators; I should share it with wmtc readers, too. Along with many library workers, I am worried that our most vulnerable neighbours are being left behind.

* * * *

I just heard a heartbreaking lament from one of our regular customers, who was here for curbside.

She told us that most people she knows do not have internet access or any TV service, and many do not have phones. They rely on library staff to suggest and order materials for them.

We assured her that we can still do that. We asked her to encourage folks to show up during curbside hours and we will find books and DVDs for them.

Then she said, “It’s not just the boredom. It’s the isolation. It’s the friendship. We are a poor community, and this library is our lifeline. I would work on the jigsaw puzzle or read a magazine, but that was just an excuse to be among people, to see friendly faces, to connect. The other place we would hang out is the Salvation Army – also closed. Many people go to church for that reason only, to connect with people – also closed. We’ve been cut adrift. People are depressed and they're suffering.”

She understands why we can’t open our doors yet. She just wants us to know how much the library space is missed.

I share this as a reminder, both of the great need for physical materials – a need not likely to go away, and of the service we provide that cannot fit through the takeout window.