Bible Box Update

because I know you care...

Think of the M*A*S*H episode where Father Mulcahy leaves the morphine under the bell at the orphanage.

Hands Across the Water (now linked twice from my site, so let's hope they are not a subversive military organization...unless of course they are for Our Side...) made this statement in their goals, which I thought spoke directly to the box of Bibles residing in my garage:

We are addressing an important conservation problem an important conservation problem in this country as our landfills and paper recycling centers can no longer take all of the excess but perfectly serviceable books that our schools and libraries were trashing - with guilt - before HATW’s existence, for lack of other outlets...Contrary to popular conception, most of the books that are being destroyed here in the USA are not moldy and tattered but are instead often quality books that are still in good condition. Typically they are discarded by a relatively affluent households, schools and libraries which must periodically "weed out" their collection due to space constraints.

Amen!" said my Bible box. "Pipe down, you," I said, and sent the HAW people (also known as Surplus Books for Charity AND Literacy for All) a note about the Bibles.

Reply: Yes, we gladly accept bibles and all religious literature as well as all kinds of books.

"Halleluah!" the Books cried. "Don't make me come out there," I yelled.

And --- -and...there is a collection bin in my own town. Bin-to-bin book transfer!

Here how it goes down: Drive to the parking lot behind the gym. There are 2 boxcar sized bins. One is a clothing dump, brightly painted with the charity name, and contains those pull-down drawers that are the nature of these bins. The other is olive green, sits on the other side of the parking lot, and appears to be sealed on all sides.

But oh! kick aside that piece of parking lot curbing, and a door swings open. And the bin is full of clean, boxed, neatly organized books.

Pause here for dramatic effect. Bring up the music if you have it.

I have a new calling: ushering orphaned books through this literary underground railroad. I have a new thing to worry about: getting locked inside this bin.

I leave my box, including a complete Chronicles of Narnia inside this poetically fitting Wardrobe, replace the asphalt block (for now I am an insider) and drive away.

in closing,
Thanks to Dr. A, who sent this clip.