A good project with a mildly depressing note

Since early May, I have sold books to benefit the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the United Way of Walla Walla County.

The project is made possible by my employer, a daily newspaper based in the city. The company had until early May a rather substantial collection of books, which it made available for sale at a steep discount to employees.

In 2005, that technique raked in about $12. Plus, the books were a nuisance because they took up space. I volunteered to sell the books online on the condition that 50 percent of the proceeds go to DFGF (the default charity for the paper is United Way).

I believe the net benefit to be split between the charities now stands at about $350. Not as much as I thought when I hauled all the books home, but not too shabby. Besides, now all those books have homes.

But on a somewhat sad note, the titles include "Daddy, You're My Hero" and "Mommy, You're My Hero," both of which are written and illustrated for small children whose parents are about to deploy, presumably to war.

They're not the greatest books, but they are touching in their own way. The former sold early on, the latter yesterday.