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USA250 Journal Project
Personal Chronicle: July 4, 2025 – July 5, 2026
A gift for reflection. A record of now. A story for what’s next.
✍️ “Who am I?”
I’m Reilly. No “Mr.” unless you need to borrow a book.
Retired librarian. Former father. Still here.
I spend my nights at the Hollow because I like coffee that never ends and jukeboxes that still hum. I like Annie’s art, though she hides it. I like that she still believes in softness, even when she thinks she doesn’t.
I don’t say much. Most of what I’ve said in life is written down somewhere.
Who am I?
Someone who made too much sense too late.
Someone who finds God in well-placed semicolons.
Someone who leaves sticky notes like breadcrumbs—just in case someone else needs the way out I never found.
✍️ “How did I get here?”
I got here by turning pages. Thousands of them.
By helping teenagers find poetry they didn’t think they’d like. By helping elderly folks print resumes. By telling small boys that yes, comic books do count.
By loving someone who died. By not knowing what to do with the silence afterward.
I live in a one-bedroom apartment with three plants and too many first editions. My daughter doesn’t call much. I don’t blame her.
Now I sit in the same booth five nights a week. I write quotes on Post-its. I fold them into napkin holders. Annie reads them. Sometimes she writes one back.
What has life taught me?
That kindness isn’t soft—it’s stubborn.
That people don’t always need answers—just permission to keep asking.
And that stories save us, even if we don’t finish the last chapter.
Friends & Associates
Annie Sullivan – Friend.
