Walt was in SF going to a matinee of the
symphony today. Char invited me to come, since she had Mike's ticket
which was going to go unused. But today was Logos day, so I passed.
But that also meant I didn't have a car, so I went to and from by bus.
(A friend has offered to drive me on days like this, but it was kind of nice
taking the bus). The nice thing about taking the bus is that I
discovered everybody has headphones connected to their electronic
devices, so instead of trying to read my book on the bouncing bus, I
listened to my audio book, which was particularly nice on the ride
home, which takes about 40 minutes.
As i walked through the alley way toward
Logos, I realized I was following Bruce, but he was not in the store when I
got there, so I guess he walked on by.
I arrived a little before time to take over
for Sandy. I was eager to find out if she had news of her friends in
Nepal, and thankfully she has found out they are all OK, though she doesn't
know the condition of their house. Since there is no wifi in Nepal at the
moment she was able to contact a friend in Germany who was able to get in
touch with a German friend in Nepal and get a report on the people.
We chatted for about half an hour. I
don't remember how the topic of Paul's death came up, but I started my
diatribe against the coroner and probably bored her to tears. When a
customer came up with a book, she beat a hasty retreat (sorry, Sandy!)
It was such a slow day today that I usually
fill up 3-4 pages in my notebook for this entry and today I only filled
barely 2.
The first customer after Sandy left was a
woman thrilled to find a huge book about Chinese archaeology, liberally
illustrated with beautiful photos, for only $8, but she also needed a
bathroom and ours is not fit for a public restroom, so I directed her to the
bank building across the street, which does have a public restroom.
She left her husband browsing outside at the bargain books. (They
eventually bought 2 books in addition to the one one China and I asked her
if she had been there, which she had)
A woman wanted books on nutritional health,
but didn't find what she was looking for.
A couple came in. The man, wearing an aloha shirt, also
needed a bathroom and I directed him across the street too. The woman
bought a Paul Coelho book, one I had not heard of.
A man who looked like a cross between our friend Clyde and
actor Ralph Waite came in. Barrel chested man wearing white trainers
with orange and green stripes. That was a new combination for me.
He didn't buy anything, but turned and gave a cheery wave when he left.
A tall man with a shiny bald head, a chartreuse t-shirt and
bright red shoes came in carrying his silver rimmed sunglasses in his hand.
He didn't stay long and didn't buy anything.
The man with four books on Myths and/or Religion ($28) was my
first credit card customer of the day. Susan had just replaced the old
credit card machine with a slick new one and I hoped that I wouldn't screw
things up. I didn't and it runs so much faster than the old one!
I was very happy with it (Susan says I'm the only volunteer so far who likes
the change!)
The antiquarian, whom I
have not seen in several months, walked by, looked in and waved, but didn't
slow down.
The 4-5 hour came and went
with no sign of my friend again. This is the third week in a row he
has not come in.
A couple came in and
chose two books on stories from the Caribbean. The woman paid and the
man explained that she was just learning American currency and that coins
confused her. I told them I could sympathize, having had that coin
confusion before in most countries we have visited!
A woman asked if we had the Decameron Nights, couldn't find
it and bought Waiting for Godot instead. I screwed up her charge.
I kept trying and trying but the machine would not read her card and there
doesn't seem to be a way to enter the number manually (I'm sure there is,
but I couldn't find it). When she pointed out to me that I was swiping
the card upside down and I turned it the right way it worked fine. Doh!
My last customer bought Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back
Door" and a Spanish dictionary. She and her friend were going to try
to see as much of Europe as they could, starting in Norway.
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