Last weekend we had a memorial service for Barbara, one of
the owners of Volumes of Pleasure Bookstore. Hundreds of people filled the
little church in Los Osos. And hundreds more sent cards.
One of our regular customers organized a cookie chain.
People who attended brought platters of cookies for all to share. Many of our
regular customers came out to honor Barbara and comfort Carroll. Former
employees came from other parts of the state.
It was a wonderful and heart felt “community” event. Yes, it
was a memorial but it was also a gathering of the community and a testament to
the impact that an independent store and that stores owners can have upon their
community. Carroll and Barbara matter to people. What they have done to support
our community has mattered. The service they have provided for over two decades
has mattered.
Can we ask for much more from our lives than to have what we
did with it matter? To one, to several, to our family, to our community, to the
masses. However far our touch reaches, don’t we just want it to matter? In the
end.
Just got me thinking.
Go in Peace, Barbara.
It was such a moving memorial. Barbara lived a wonderful life. She will be missed.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteBarbara & Carroll's work has mattered, & continues to matter. The memorial was the sort of celebration one would hope for when one heads off to the Big Wherever.
Here's hoping Barbara's Big Wherever is giving he many opportunities to smile (or do whatever the equivalent of smiling is in such a place).