the end. for real, I mean it this time.

Hello Dear Readers,

As usual, I hope you are all well. It is a gorgeous late summer day here in Western Massachusetts, a warm sunny day sandwiched between cool nights. I saw a tree starting to turn on the way to work today which clearly places us on the edge of Fall, a beautiful time in New England but always a time of great change for me. I am a Fall child after all, being a Libra and whatnot. Anyway, the fabulous E.C. drove 'cause my car is *gone*!! Sorry if you were hoping to make an offer, but I got my asking price, and this sweet kid in Easthampton got a new project, complete with free car-repair items and bumper-stickers!

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Everyone Else, today is my very last day at the Odyssey. Good thing, too, 'cause my plane leaves on Sunday! I suppose most people goof off on their last day, or call in sick or something, but I'm finding it kind of difficult to let go of the things I'm responsible for. Ok, I'll be honest, I'm having trouble letting go of the First Edition Club. I have put a huge amount of ongoing time and effort and thought into keeping it running smoothly with minimal mistakes and high quality mint condition books, delicately yet efficiently handled from bookstore arrival to shipping date, and I can't seem to just let it go. I'll probably be sending Joe notes for the next month as I think of little tricks we used to minimize mistakes or mylar quickly or something. I also really enjoy talking with First Edition Club members too, and being able to find special editions or have books specially inscribed or simply offering something unusual. Basically I like being able to put in a bit of extra effort and providing a specialized service. *Sigh* I guess maybe I like retail. Maybe. It is pretty rewarding to be able to get great books to friendly people, tho, and the overwhelming majority of our club members are friendly people. So friendly, in fact, that one actually sent me a book as a going away present! Just to be clear, he pays for the books that we send him, it is a business transaction, and sure we talk books once or twice a month, but wow, he gave me a book as a thank you for selling him books. This guy sent me an early printing of Silent Spring (Rachel Carson) after he learned of my Environmental Science academic plans. Seriously, where else could this happen? I love independent bookstores. And the Odyssey Bookshop most of all, of course. (Ooh, Terry Tempest Williams is coming to the store this fall for her new book! Take note, environmentalists!)

You may have noticed my love of the El Camino, but you may not know that Ford produced a similar car-truck between '57 and '79, the Ford Ranchero (read about it here). You might know that my mom is one of our most regular readers, perhaps because I don't call home enough (sorry mom!) so she sometimes learns things about me via blog. Well I recently learned from her that my parents actually owned (and drove) a Ford Ranchero shortly after getting married, when they were living in a tiny apartment in LA and carving newlywed dreams out of concrete and seaweed. WooHoo, that's puts me one step closer to ownership, being directly related to people with such a car/truck/miracle rather than just living next door to 'em. Somehow the they never thought to fill the bed with water (what's the point if you can just drive/walk/bikeride into the Pacific), but these fun folks did! I'm not actually sure if this is an El Camino or a Ford Ranchero, but it is pretty awesome either way. This concludes my multi-day muscle car/wading pool digression.

Well, I guess I'd better go do some work, after all that talk about not letting go. I'll tell you guys about my airplane reading later today.

Best,
-
Darcy