It's a good thing that lunch was so much fun, because today
at Logos was dull...dull...dull! Sandy had a busy morning, I did not (which was good
because my book was gripping).
However, lunch was great fun. It started out to be
the normal day with my mother. I dropped off her clean, folded laundry and made a
point of letting her know it was HER laundry and that I would return to pick up my laundry
basket tomorrow (this ploy seems to have stopped her not recognizing her clothes).
We went to the dining room early because I had to go to
work and you never know how fast or slow service was going to be. We sat at the
usual table and pretty soon Margaret came to join us. The three of us had ordered
when Leighton arrived (I don't know if that is his first name or last name...Peg, maybe you do)
I don't know how he started talking about barn-storming
planes. I mentioned that my mother's sister had been one of those barn-storming pilots and
was, in fact (or at least in family lore) the first women to get a pilot's license.
Leighton was interested and asked her about it. My god, she joined in the
conversation! He asked her if Mel (her sister) had given her a ride in the
plane and she said that she had and talked about the experience...a new story for
me!!! I had never heard that!
Someone came to the table and asked Leighton where he was
going to be reading this afternoon. I asked him about that and it turns out he
writes short stories and reads them once a week for whoever wants to listen. We
talked about writing, a lot. He started writing when he retired from his veterinary
surgery practice. He told us the story about a boy who wanted to meet an elephant (a
story he has written for his grandchildren). I just had the best time listening to
him and sharing stories about publishing.
Then it was time to get ready for Logos. When I
arrived, Sandy said she'd had a busy morning and had filled over half of the spaces on the
first side of the log where we record the sales. At the end of the day, I had
recorded a grand total of seven sales (and two of them were to myself; I bought
one book on botanical footware for my mother's birthday -- she loves shoes and she loves
flowers and I thought she might enjoy looking at the book (I can always take it back when
she's tired of it) and I later found a book with nice dog pictures in it so bought that
too.)
Almost immediately, two young women entered the store, each
wearing glittery shoes. They each had broad smiles and bought 2 contemporary fiction
books.
An old guy came in to ask about donating books. He is
originally from Palo Alto and he and his wife moved here 10 years ago because they
realized that their grandchildren were "growing up without them" and they wanted
to be able to spend more time with them (I understand the feeling...but he didn't have a
mother in a facility in Palo Alto). He told me a bit about his grandchildren and
then said, with a sigh, "communication is so different these days." He
said he'd tried a cell phone, but that it was not for him.
There was a long period where the store was empty, during
which time this little guy stood at the front door looking in for about 10 minutes.
I didn't see anybody with him, but eventually a girl about 10 came
alng and he walked away with her.
A guy who reminded me of Chandler Bing (Friends)
bought a book of short stories, a young Latino man with a very bad limp came in to buy
four bargain books from outside and then She walked in.
This young woman came up to the desk and asked, hesitantly,
"Do you have a book named 'Outlander.'" I just laughed. I told her I
seriously doubted it, given the popularity of the series and the TV show right now and
then we just started talking about the Gabaldon books. She LOVES the TV series, she
LOVES the actors cast in the principal roles, she hasn't read the 8th book in the series
yet, but plans to do so. It was so nice to find a Gabaldon fan in the
store. First one I've encountered, I think!
But after she left it was 4:22 and 2 guys walked in and
walked out again quickly. Another guy in business attire came in and didn't buy
anything. Two girls wearing UCD shirts came in and left without making a purchase.
Another business man type came in and bought an art book
(table top type).
"My friend" didn't show up by 5 p.m. either.
I'm wondering if he has found greener pastures, since a local music shop has opened
up a used book section.
The last person to come into the store before Susan came to
relieve me was a guy who wasn't interested in buying a book, but in making a donation to
Doctors Without Borders. I told him we weren't a 501c3 location so couldn't take his
donation (at least not giving him tax credit).
And then Susan was arriving and relieving me and my stint
was over. Definitely not my most interesting day there (though the chat with the gal
about "Outlander" was pretty fun!)
 |
| Day 60: I got my very first letter from Brianna! |
No comments:
Post a Comment