"And a good time was had by all..." AND aching feet and sore backs and many a hearty chuckle and warm hugs. I tell you, you really had to be there to take in the first Monster Book Sale of the upcoming century (they tell me it isn't official until January 2001). We has lots of room, more than enough books in all categories, lots of interested and purchasing patrons, and THEN, to top it all off...A RAIN SHOWER!!! I just had to put little red stars on the entry for September 25, 2000: so many things came together to create a wonderful spirit of camaraderie, community, and accomplishment. With Ken LaRonde, Connie Moore and Al Heinrich at the helms of various crafts, our fleet of book-laden pallets navigated through river-(road) blocks, a new launching site, and obstacles of varied interests all crying out for attention. Without the perseverance and loyalty of all our book-loving patrons, however, the Monster would have had to bury its head in a box! As it was, only about 300 of the approximately 1612 boxes taken to Crockett Center had to be abandoned to the great dumpster. A Rotarian group shipped over 100 boxes of education and children's books to South Africa, several local elementary schools were able to find books for their sparsely-occupied shelves, and a few other organizations made good use of some books. Since our main goal is to raise monies for the local public libraries to augment their budgets, as well as to encourage reading, we feel all our efforts have been well-rewarded.