The anti-litterer, blood, cutbacks, masks, Flag Day

Sally Dawley, "The Butt Lady," phoned me Wednesday night to let me know how many cigarette butts she has assiduously removed from Auburn's streets, gutters, sidewalks and parks. As of June 10, her numbers are up to 1,711,005. More than a million and a half. Sure wish there would come a time when she hunts ALL DAY LONG and never finds any. Would all you smokers do that for me? Put Sally out of business? … I donated blood last Wednesday. As I entered Vitalant in North Auburn, I saw a young woman at the snack table, finishing her resting time. This was Olivia Evans, 21, who has donated platelets 50 times. Maybe more, she's not sure. You can donate platelets every two weeks. "I'll do it as long as I physically can," she said. She started donating at Placer High when she let herself be caught by Thomas Schroeder, the organizer of the school's biannual blood drives. Schroeder's retired now, but his influence lives on. "It's a way I can help people," Olivia said. "It's a responsible and right thing to do." Oh my. Thank you, Olivia. Want to donate blood? Or platelets? Or plasma? Of course you do. Investigate vitalant.org or visit 11990 Heritage Oak Place Suite 2A, Auburn; or phone (877) 258-4825. … I picked up the printer ink I'd ordered at Walkers and realized Superfast was open. In non-pandemic times, the Hitchcocks make Silver Screen (auburnsilverscreen.com) banners for me. But no Silver Screen lately, so no banners. But I stopped by to say hello. Kristine Hitchcock said business recently is slower – "but it's picked up a little bit. We're 65-70 percent of where we were before," she said. They've cut back on their hours – 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – but they're happy to work with their customers. All of whom, Kristine insists, "are awesome." … Recently in Bel Air, I noticed the masks many people had on. Peggy LeMasters, in Auburn for 20 years, is a fan of Queensland Heelers. I could tell because that breed happily bounded all over her mask. "I have Heeler mixes," she said. "I was a cat person until I discovered dogs." … Chad, a Foresthill denizen for 23 years, wore Buff headgear over his head like a bandana. "It's a running thing," he said. He's into Javalina trail ultra-racing. … Jake Hall wore one of six masks that "my grandma made me," he said. He grew up here. So maybe you know his grandma: Arna Hall. … Speaking of masks: I recently mentioned Auburn Bodega, two doors down from Winston Smith bookstore. The owners sell books for Glen Sewell during his uneven hours in this pandemic. I said Travis Ward and his wife work together. No. Business partners Travis and Molly Raney work together. Travis' wife Katie works at Flyers. Oops. My mistake. What does this have to do with masks? When I delivered my most recent stack of getting-better-all-the-time homemade masks to Glen, he told me what I had gotten wrong. Eek. Travis says it happens all the time. FYI: My masks are available for free at the bookstore. Most of the time. Check again in a couple of days if you can't find them. … Last Tuesday, walking up from Winston Smith (where I'd delivered my masks – see above ¶), I bumped into the infamous retired art teacher Larry Albers with his wife Judy and their grandchildren, Ryder, 6, and Delilah, 4. They'd just been treating themselves to frozen yogurt at Tango. Glad Tango's open – and it's always a kick to laugh with Larry. … I stopped by Uptown Signs and found Jerry Kopp on his bench. I sat and shut up – he was on the phone. He left a message, saying hi to a pal, and hung up. This very nice guy, whose presence in Auburn I value (even though we have different politics), shared that, "I try to call everybody I know every once in a while." His friends, he said, need to know he's thinking about them. I thought how remiss I've been – in this odd time I've sequestered myself making masks (masks, do you hear?) and I've stayed far away from my phone. … Jerry told me the Chamber Forum (aka Meddlers) starts up again next Tuesday: 7 a.m. in the Rose Room in City Hall. He also told me the speaker will be City Manager Bob Richardson. Maybe I'll see you there, if I can drag myself out of bed. Wear your mask. … Hey: Today's Flag Day. Celebrate the day in 1777 that the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that defined what our flag would look like. And in 1916, President Wilson officially established this day as Flag Day. Please join Don and me and fly your American flag. That's my town. Got any items for me? Email me at goldcountrydenizens@gmail.com.