Volunteering

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written.  There aren’t many stories to tell these days.  All work and no play makes Denise a dull girl.

The most exciting parts of my life lately have been the volunteer jobs I’ve been doing.  I gave Liuda another driving lesson on Tuesday.  This time I took her to a bigger parking lot that had several things going for it.  It was a combined parking lot for two stores and in the center was a cement curb with a way to get around it at both ends.  This way, Liuda didn’t have to imagine that there was a curb.  It only took her driving over it a couple times for her to figure out she didn’t want to do that anymore!  There was also a seldom used part of the parking lot that had a striped line with two lanes, so she could practice staying to the right as though she was out on a road.  Also, there were cars nearby, but not too close, so she could feel like she needed to be watchful.  The best part was that the parking lot was large enough that she had time to get herself straightened out as she went down her lane.  She learned a bit better how to adjust if she was going slightly astray.  She also had opportunity to park and then back out of a parking spot.  All in all, it was a perfect training ground!

I’m also getting better at my volunteer job at the bookstore.  It took me several weeks to learn how to do things Kubie’s (pronounced Coo-bee) way.  He and I have a system going where he pays me for my help in books.  He is weeding out his collection, and he says I can take the books and try to sell them in bookstores en route as Mark and I travel.  I have been cataloging the books he’s given me.

Kubie’s big news this summer is that he made the Huffington Post’s top fifty book stores in America.  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/50-of-the-best-indie-bookstores-in-america_us_58fe472ae4b06b9cb9192bb3?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003).  His store, Wm. Caxton Ltd, is number twenty-six on the list.  And as a result, he was also interviewed for our local weekly paper, The Pulse (https://doorcountypulse.com/kubie-luchterhand-man-behind-ellison-bays-books/).  Yesterday when I was volunteering there, I overheard him tell someone, “I don’t like to brag, but…” and I smiled.  Kubie is very proud that his little book store in Ellison Bay made the top fifty list and he’ll tell anyone who gives him half a chance.  His pride is justifiable.  Everyone who comes in comments on the breadth and depth of his collection and the quality of his books.  He is teaching me what I need to know to try to sell his books and I am developing a healthy respect for them!

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