10/23/25
Even after talking to my brother, it still seemed like a fairy dream. Sure, let’s just jump in and start a non-profit. Sure, let’s just be queen of the world, and run the show. Sure, my super-power is to stand on the outside of the puzzle box, looking at the big picture, and knowing where all of the pieces go. But who would ever let me use my super-power for good?
Sure, right.
And then I had a bad day at my job-job. And then another bad day. And then a really, super, mega-dump-truck, awful, horrible bad day. The kind of bad day that sticks with you for years, kind of baddy bad bad day.
And then someone at work, someone whose friendship and opinion I value, asked me if I thought I might want to get therapy for my anger problem.
And I thought, if my friend, my work-peer, sees me as someone who has an anger problem, it’s way beyond time for me to walk away from that toxic environment. If this person I value, sees me as someone who is always angry, and my job is causing me to be that always-angry person – then I need to fly away to fairy land and be queen of the world, and look at my puzzle box. Because staying in the Fire Swamp, dealing with Rodents of Unusual Size, is leaving me mostly dead in my soul.
So, I let my brain unfold. (Watch out, Universe.) I started doing research. I found out how different the demographic is here and now, than what it was 15 years ago in Tucson. Then, it was just Mike and Donnie. They ran the show. The took all the books, and gave to all the places. Here, now, in the Bay Area, it is 100x more complicated. There are two entire organizations that just give books to jails. There are two organizations that give books to teachers – just in the East Bay – within 15 miles of each other!
I started finding out that the Bay Area is at the same time resource rich, and also distribution poor. Books are going in the dumpsters, while Friends of the Library groups are begging for books. Organizations are folding for lack of volunteers, while other organizations have people who are begging to have more hours. One group has too many books for teenagers, while a high school 8 miles away is having parents post library wish-lists on social.
Why hasn’t anyone coordinated all of this? It seems…so easy. So obvious.
Puzzle box. Outside. Super-power. Me.
Queen of the World. Run the show. Me.
OMG, am I doing this?
I can’t. I am. Am I really doing this?
I got a Board of Directors assembled. I filed my paperwork. I got my California non-profit approval. In a week.
In. A. Week.
I’m doing this. OMG, I’m doing this.
To be continued…
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