Thankful-ness

 Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate this holiday!  I am thankful for my family, especially Paul and Chris, and that my 103 year old Mom is still doing well and my sister Jenny takes such good care of her.  I'm also thankful to live in the beautiful, caring state of Vermont where people share and look out for each other.  It is a refuge from the meanspirited world we currently live in.  

Last year, my brother said Barre is a lot like Mayberry, that little southern town of the Andy Griffith show.  I wasn't offended as it is homey and sweet here a lot of the time - that's why I live here.  I've spent my days this week at the library helping to put up a huge holiday display on all three floors.  

In between greeting and helping donors, I've sat reading near the entrance.   I watched library users come by, including a large number of unhoused people, mostly young men.  They are respectful and quiet.  I can see the library is their refuge not only from the cold but also from their harsh reality.  I hope they have some place to go today and tomorrow when the library is closed.  I am thankful not to have their lives and that I can make the holidays a little brighter for so many people of different circumstances.   (The photo shows some of the Friends of the Library in 1984)