“I had just come in from a two-hour walk in the rain and was feeling very wet, cold and shivering – when the phone rang.”
So begins Mary Quarry’s account of a memorable afternoon in Sechelt.
Mary is a Sunshine Coast Hospice Society volunteer and the phone call was from Mary’s coordinator, who had a request. She was tied up at work and needed a book for a vigil. The book was Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic 1883 adventure novel, and there were two conditions. First, she needed a copy that didn’t necessarily have to be returned – “in case,” Mary explained, “it got misplaced during the vigil.” Second, she needed it by 5 p.m. She suggested Mary try the Thrift Store.
After a hot shower, Mary headed down to Cowrie Street to the Thrift Store and combed through the assortment of used books. “No Treasure Island.” She told her story to one of the Auxiliary volunteers – “and the helping hands began,” as she so aptly puts it.
“The Book Lady had just gone home, so another Auxiliary lady phoned her. No, she didn’t think she had one. However, another Auxiliary worker who overheard us, and lived in Granthams, said she had one at home. So I thanked her, took her phone number and said if I couldn’t find one I’d be in touch.”
Mary crossed the street to the Salvation Army thrift shop and searched through their large selection. No luck again, but one of the workers suggested she try the library, “because once they heard why I was needing the book, they probably wouldn’t worry about the return.”
Good point, Mary thought. But before visiting the library, she decided to follow her hunch and check around the corner at Talewind Books, thinking they might know where she could find a second-hand copy.
Arriving at the bookstore, however, she asked if they happened to have Treasure Island in stock. “The owner escorted me to the back of the store and pulled the most beautiful little edition of Treasure Island off the shelf. When I asked if she would donate it to the cause, she walked to the front of the store, inserted a bookmark, handed me the book and smiled.”
Mary couldn’t believe it. She had a brand-new copy of Treasure Island in her hands and it was two hours before her deadline.
When she shared her adventure with us, Mary was “still in absolute awe of the kindness and compassion” she encountered along her journey. “I am so proud to be a Sechelter,” she said.
Mary sends out kisses and thanks to all the “helping hands” and wishes all of you a very happy Easter. And she means it, too.
