SNOW WHITE MOTH

Since this strange summer began
I've been compiling a little book
of new poems and stories.
Here's the line-up so far:

OVER MILKWEED

ED STOREY, THE 2 STORY MAN

PLASTIC JOBS

THE 5 MILE SMILE

A DUCK

A CAT

SNOW WHITE MOTH

MORE THAN ONE BLUE MOON

THE GREAT COMPOSERS

200 ZOOS

THE SPECTACULAR FAILURE OF GASTON LeFLUE, 1891

THE GIRL WHO IS THE RIVER

HUCKLEBERRIES

A SILENT MOVIE

BATTLESHIP

NEW SHOES

SMILE REPAIR

A BAT

A RABBIT

THE PIANO TUNER

A COYOTE

THE BLACKTOP SON

TWO CROWS

THAT FLOWER

CROWS

DOUBLE TAPPED HORN

BLACKBERRIES

PEACH

GRAPEFRUITS

THE OLD PLAYGROUND

RICHARD IS GONE

THE REDDISH DOG

SUMMERTIME IS GONE

THE DARK BOAT

4 BOUQUETS

THE LOCAL AUTHOR

aloha!

15 years at Western Washington University Library
farewell and thanks for the memories

last day at library

Today's my last day at the library.
Will be moving to the Art Department
on Monday. Bon Voyage! Aloha!
This is what a library looked like
in the 1600s. Fun!

improved

elephant book

Here's another hint to
my forthcoming book
for Good Deed Rain...
hmmm...something to do
with an elephant...

the card catalog

With only three days left at this job

I’ve been worried about the fate of

the last card catalog in the library,

the only remaining passenger pigeon,

the lone buffalo. Twice it’s been

condemned to the junk heap by

the ruling powers of the library.

And twice it’s been saved, once

by Claire, and most recently by me.

I’m utterly baffled why a library

wouldn’t want to keep such a part

of their past, but that seems to be

the approach of certain libraries.

I tried all over to find someone here

to care for it and fortunately,

at the last cliff-hanger minute

an office has been found for it!

This beautiful card catalog can

remain in the library where

for many years into the future

people will be glad it’s still here.

One of my first jobs when I started

at my college library in 1984 was

typing the cards and putting them in 

the catalog. Good memories of that.

and how...

nash metropolitan

In 2012, I self-published a little book called TRAVEL

featuring poems of Ohio. (Most of these were collected

in my new poetry book, PLAYGROUND available 

from Amazon.com.) The TRAVEL book featured 

a photo of an old Nash Metropolitan that was sitting

in a weedy lot near Sandusky, Ohio. It's such a great little

relic of a car, like a Richard Scarry bathtub on wheels. 

This week, Larry Smith sent me a photo of the car

and it's still there, waiting for someone. 

2 weeks

This comic is from the October, 1979
School Library Journal. I just gave
my two weeks notice at the library
where I've worked for 15 years.
Moving to the Art Department!

Chandler stories

I'm still rereading Raymond Chandler's short stories.

I love these night desk house detectives who end up 

in deep. Just came across a great description of a dark

drive in the detective's 1925 Marmon touring car:

"I let the Buick lead me away from the straggling 

lights of Las Olindas, through a series of small beach 

towns with little houses built on sandlots close to the 

ocean, and bigger ones built on the slopes of the hills

behind. A window was lit here and there. The tires

sang on the moist concrete and the little amber lights

on the Buick's fenders peeped back at me from the 

curves."