Goodbye, Kym! Bookstore manager (and hound) leave Wellesley

A mournful bay upon Kym's leaving. She's leaving,
I'm staying.

One of my very favorite friends, Kym Havens, assistant manager at Wellesley Books, is pulling up stakes in Wellesley and heading to Plainville, Mass., to help open a new bookstore for Jeff Kinney, author of the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid children's book series.

I'll be missing Kym's farewell gala, as it interferes with my nap schedule, so I called on her late this afternoon just before she headed out.

Rather than taking the trouble to page her, I let out a few bays, which is usually enough to bring all of my admirers to my side, proffering treats, backrubs, etc. And you thought this was a bookstore!
Kym leaves to join former store manager Deb Sundin, who left Wellesley Books last year to embark on this new venture. Check out the interior in progress here.

Kym never failed to laugh at my antics. I actually inspired her to adopt a Walker hound of her very own, Junebug, as if her pup Biscuit didn't do enough to entertain her. The two pups have become great pals and partners in crime.

Kym and Junebug certainly will be back, because however awesome her new store will be, it will have a NO DOGS ALLOWED policy (unlike the fabulous Wellesley Books). That's because the bookstore includes a cafe, and somehow, people in Plainville don't seem to understand that it's people who make things dirty and dogs who clean them up. From my experience browsing around Boloco's outdoor space (after hours of course), I can tell you I do my best to keep that sidewalk spanking clean.

If anyone is up to the challenge of opening a new store, it's Kym, with her great good humor, patience and, of course, excellence at bookselling and managing. I have offered to serve on the screening committee for her successor.
Dearest Kym, I will miss you. Love to Junebug (Biscuit, too.)

Dog park for Wellesley's North 40? Hey, Ellen, how about it?

Cooper the Goldendoodle before Wellesley firefighters rescued him.
Image from Wellesley Police Department video. Watch it here.

Just thought I'd weigh in —all 87.7 lbs. of me — before the going gets tough on exactly what is going in, or on, the North 40 property. And what a cure for winter weight that would be—a fenced place to gallop around and meet up with some friends.

Here's what made me think of it: not just the sight of poor Cooper, who didn't know what he was getting into when he ventured onto the icy Charles River at Elm Bank this week, and those brave firefighters who jumped into the water to save him, but looking over at a pack of dogs racing around Morses Pond this afternoon.

They really should not have been there. Safely frozen? Maybe, maybe not. Sections of the western shore certainly are mushy, and there's one part that never freezes.

Maybe Ellen DeGeneres, who generously offered another group of Wellesley firefighters a Caribbean cruise for their heroic rescue of a dog just before Christmas last year—also at Elm Bank—,will step up and give the town of Wellesley something it obviously needs—and which won't challenge state ethics laws: a dog park. The North 40 might be just the place for it.