LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE
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Everyone remembers crossing the Rubicon to the reality and breadth of Covid 19 during the second week of March, 2020.
Mr. Wonderful and I were careening north along I-95 from Naples, Florida, a winter sojourn cut short. We spent one sleepless night at a Hampton in North Carolina, wearing masks and haz-mat suits. Scary times.
But in New York City on Wednesday of that fateful week, Todd Doughty, senior VP and deputy publisher at Doubleday, faced the menacing monster with aplomb and creativity. After leaving his office on Fifth Avenue for Grand Central Station, he boarded the 5:25 PM Metro-North train.
The World Health Organization had just declared Covid-19 a global pandemic and Todd knew he’d be working at home for the foreseeable future. Bouncing home to Bronxville, he opened his iPhone and began scribbling notes.
“NYC. Fat goldfish. A really good burger. Long walks.
Your foot sticking out from under a blanket in order to find
some cool air. The musical intro to NPR’s ‘All Things
Considered.’ Sondheim. Lin-Manuel Miranda. Freshly cut
yellow tulips….”
The next day Todd posted his list on Instagram. The day after that, he posted another list. He admits, “I discovered that everyday things mattered more than ever before. Feeling connected mattered … and hope mattered.” Within months, his lists, musings, quotes and playlists morphed into a delightful book: LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE, Happy-Making Things in A Difficult World.
Meanwhile back in Maine, my pal Marylou, the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious director of Graves Library in Kennebunkport, handed me a copy of the book and asked if I’d interview the author on Zoom for library patrons “in the near future.” I said, “Sure,” and immediately stashed the book on a low shelf in my office.
See, I’m not a “happy list” person. I have zilch interest in chicken-souping-my-soul. Friends send me emails offering “inspiring uplifting thoughts” which immediately inspire me to hit delete.
Last week Marylou contacted me and said the Zoom interview with Todd was scheduled for Friday. I panicked. How could I read the book in time. But when I opened it up, I couldn’t put it down.
“Bright green buds on trees. Rosie the Riveter. The National
Spelling Bee. Meredith Willson, national treasure. Maya Lin,
national treasure. A 64-degree day. On Cloud tennis shoes.
Using British slang words, such as trainers, lift and
collywobbles. Old faded red barns. The friendship of Carl
Reiner and Mel Brooks. Little Free Libraries. The sound of a
a train whistle early in the morning or late at night. A decent
passport photo….”
Doughty offers 3000+ items that make him happy in a difficult world. Some I’d never heard of so I Googled “the photography of Vivian Maier" and "the art of Tug Rice.” (I liked learning about things I didn’t know.) But most entries made me purr: a Dutch door with the top open, a bucketful of Lincoln logs, getting the giggles in church, Neuschwanstein, heated towel racks.
Interspersed throughout the 242-page book are short sweet essays about teachers, summer reading, small towns and other topics. The different typefaces and Josie Portillo’s delightful drawings add to the breezy and amusing nostalgia.
Todd closes with these words: “The moral of this story? Look out the train window … You never know what you might see — and what inspiration or solace you might find — on the other side of the glass.”
One reviewer declared the book “effervescently positive.” Another said it “boils life down to what really matters.” For me, it’s a reminder that when the going gets tough, it’s time to pick up LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE.
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LITTLE PIECES OF HOPE: Happy-Making Things in a Difficult World is available on Amazon, independent bookstores including Fine Print in Kennebunkport, and of course Graves Library in Kennebunkport.
