Volunteers make it happen

The George Mason Regional Library book sale was a month ago. I am still amazed. This was an unusual sale in that the ebb and flow of customers was not what we expected. The crowds on Thursday night were down making parking much easier for those who did come. Friday, on the other hand, was a constant stream of people. Saturday was a rainy day and many people stayed out of the wet. Finally, Sunday came and the people came and they came and they came.

What made it all happen, though, were the people who worked at the sale. There were people who have been cashiering at the sales since the sales started twenty years ago. We had people who just decided to sign up right before the sale. There were middle school students, high school students, and recent retirees. One was a doctor taking a break. It was amazing.

We had people pop into the library to return a book and stay to work at the sale. We had people come for two hours and stay all day. We had people who came for one day and then returned and then returned. Thanks to all these people, we were able to keep lines to a minimum when it came time to actually tally and pay.

Let me not forget the behind-the-scenes people, the ones who got the books out of the boxes and the ones who cleared away the books at the end of the sale. It takes a lot of time to unpack 48 boxes of books in various languages, sort them out, and then display them so that shoppers can find their particular language. It takes a long time to unpack 100 boxes of Suspense novels. All these efforts greatly contributed to the success of the sale.

In the midst of the bustle of the book sale, I doubt that I was effusive enough in my thanks for all these people. I did notice your efforts and I did and do appreciate them. I hope you had a good time and were able to meet a few new people. When I first started volunteering with this group, one of the benefits I gained was a community of readers who wanted to share their favorites. I hope you experienced this as well.