On a Gray Summer Day

     Yesterday a stranger came to our door clutching two books.  One was a well-worn copy of my uncle Willard Espy’s Oysterville:  Roads to Grandpa’s Village; the other was a newly purchased copy of my own Oysterville book.  “The nice man at the store told me you might be willing to sign this book,” she said rather hesitantly.
     “I’d love to,” was my reply.  And I meant it.  I’m always amazed at the courage people show to knock on an unknown door.  It’s something I don’t think I could do  and I always feel the need to ‘reward’ them.  Plus, it never fails to be an interesting experience.
     She eagerly showed me her copy of Willard’s book – a first edition purchased at an estate sale in her home town of Salem, Oregon.  Tucked between pages were various news clippings and notes that apparently related to the book.  She turned to the page with Earl Thollander’s drawing of the church and showed me a picture of herself taken in the 1970s in front of the very same church.  “I’ve been coming to Oysterville for a long time,” she said.
     “Did you know that I wrote a book about Willard’s sister, Medora?” I asked.  When I showed her a copy, she promptly bought two of them,  asking me to personalize one for herself and one for her daughter.  She then went to the door, called down the lane telling the daughter to “Come quick!  She’s signing a book for you!”  I felt like a total celebrity.
     On impulse, I took them on a quick tour of the house and had them sign our guest book.  We spent another five or ten minutes visiting and, as they left, I heard one woman say to the other, “Isn’t this the perfect cottage garden?”  I reveled in that assessment of my poorly tended flower beds for the rest of the day!