It was a neat scene. Mounds of snow were everywhere, and cars could hardly pass one another on Hope Street. Tom O’Donnell, the Rochambeau Community Library’s gracious and charismatic director, was waiting for me in the doorway. The storm had paralyzed Providence for much of the day, and the event had been cancelled for a time yesterday before Tom urged that it be held as scheduled. I was expect a handful of people. About 30 showed up, and we had a cozy, warm and compelling time together.

I am not a fan of nostalgia and memory can be a trick. The library was nothing like I had remembered it, and a beautiful new addition had been added. Circulation is up, and the community is ferociously supportive. I liked Tom a lot. An actor and former bookseller, he is running a vibrant library. I saw the place where I first came into the library, read my books, was told I might become a writer. It meant a lot to be there, and to have such a warm, receptive and appreciative group of people. I see that the blog has an impact beyond my own narrow imagination and it is worth working hard to maintain and upgrade, which I will keep doing.

It felt good to be a writer. It was very meaningful to come to Providence, to say goodbye to some things and greet others. The circle turns and turns. My writing about farms, libraries, fear and depression touch some deep chords, as well as dogs and other animals. I need to hear that sometims. It was a bit wrenching to go see my parents in their windswept cemetery off of a highway and I talked to my mother about my life. Tomorrow, I’m going to find my grandmother’s house. No one in my life until recently had ever loved me as much as she did, and I want to visit her tenement and tiny mom-and-pop store where she saved Hershey Kisses and Twizzler’s for me. And shiny new pennies.

Thanks to the Rochambeau Library and the people who turned out. If my writing and blog means a lot to you, your words mean as much to me.

Tomorrow, onto Osterville, 2 p.m. Then Scituate, 7 p.m.Books will be sold and signed at both places, and I will sign any books people bring, as well as body parts. Maria will be sketching and we will also be selling notecards to benefit family farms.