No Points for Deal Making

Yesterday I decided I couldn't swim in books any longer. We had a wall of floor to ceiling bookcases. All full. Even had a smaller bookcase in front of the bookcases. My computer desk was filled with books, the floor was stacked with books, one bathtub was filled with books, my husband's dresser was filled with books. In the living room,---well, you get the picture.

Anyway, I decided to start with the paperbacks. Because I need one hand free to support myself when walking, I packed the books in plastic bags. I packed and carried eighteen bags of books to the car---no small deal for me. My original intention was to take the books to our local Salvation Army. Some place along the way, my northern European roots came to the forefront and I wondered why I should just give the books away. With a quick phone call, I confirmed that a used bookstore in a town about 25 miles away would be glad to look at my books (meaning all eighteen bags would have to be carried into the store).

So with husband and books tucked in the car, we drove off to Wellsville. When we parked in front of the store, I noted with dismay the two-foot high mound of snow between the car and the sidewalk. Bravely, I attacked the snow only to discover I couldn't get through it without falling. So back to the car to get my cane. At this point, the shop owner came flying out of the store and announced that I shouldn't be doing anything and that she would unpack the books. We finally compromised. I stood on one side of the snow wall and she got the books out of the trunk and handed them across the barrier to me.

Then all eighteen bags were carried into the store and stacked by the owner's desk. One bag at a time, one book at a time, she selected the books she would buy. I carried the rejected books outside, waiting to go through the same dance to put them back in the car.

The owner selected 118 books and paid me------------eleven dollars and eighty cents. That's ten cents a book! When I told my husband, he dryly pointed out that would cover the cost of the gas. We went to McDonald's for lunch and that cost four dollars and change so lunch was covered too but the rest of my killing was too little for a bank deposit.

We drove back to Hornell and went straight to Salvation Army. I backed up to the Donations door and went inside to tell them that I had 100-200 books to be donated. A guy came out with a cart, loaded the rest of the books, thanked us and pushed the cart inside.

We went home where I decided to take the rest of books straight to the Salvation Army. By then it was pretty obvious that I had made no points for deal making.