Today at Logos

Today Logos was a good diversion.  I learned this morning that someone I love dearly has had a terrible diagnosis and I don't know what is going to happen, but I needed the world of books and customers to keep me from curling into a ball and fighting tears all day.

Sandy's granddaughter was there again today and the two of them left for "froyo" (frozen yogurt) and promised to return shortly to get their bikes.  There were 2 customers in the store when they left, neither of whom bought anything.

I found the David Gerrold book that I started last week still on the shelf where I'd left it.  I have been reading my own copy here at home and figured I could get the book finished during my work day today (I did).  As I sat at the desk reading I was aware that someone in the store was wearing perfume.  It made my nose itch.  I haven't worn perfume since the 1980s when a friend of mine had a virulent reaction to most scents.  Before that I neve rrealized that people could be made so sick by scent.

Two girls came in together and wandered around the store together and together bought 4 bargain books, 1 science fiction. 3 Literature books, 1 contemporary fiction. 2 books on gardening, and 1 book of fairy tails.  Total ~$46.

They were followed by a large nondescript man who bought a book on military history.

A congenial couple came in and didn't buy anything...yet, but were amazed to learn of the store's policy of donating to charity and said they would return.

A tall, thin but muscular woman with short curly brown hair bought "Joy Adamsob's Africa," (written by the 'Born Free' lady)

A cheery guy came in and we talked about what nice weather it was today.  He bought a book called "Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal, which Amazon tells me is "a roadmap to sex and gender for the 21st century, using Lady Gaga as a symbol for a new kind of feminism."

A woman who taught band for decades here in Davis came in with donations.  She took our hand cart out to her car to get them, while I was frantically trying to reach Walt to have him remind me what her name was.  It was someone I knew very well, but had not seen in a long time.  I even sent text messages to Jeri. I never did reach Walt or Jeri until she was gone, but she wanted a receipt, so I had her leave her contact information and that is how I remembered her name, though after she left, I realized she had never mentioned MY name either, so I suspect we were both mentally thinking "what IS her name???"

A guy who had put a bargain book on hold that morning came in with a dollar to buy it.

A grandfather type came in looking  for children's books I Spanish but our "other language" basket had lots of languages, but only one Spanish one.  He did buy that one.

An older bearded guy with saggy blue jeans, a lanyard with keys on it around his neck, his glasses perched at a rakish angle on his nose, and digging deeply in his ear with his finger checked out old books, then self improvement and ended up just buying a bagain book of "History of the Greek City States."

Two women came in together. They were the upper end of middle age and one had bleach blonde hair in a French twist to the top of her head where it swirled decoratively.  She was wearing an aqua blue lacy blouse with a matching aqua blue purse.  She looked at cookbooks, then asked if we had a book by actress Livf Tyler o manners. Apparently the women had come from Fairfield and Walnut Creek and they, too, liked the philosophy of the store (but didn't buy anything)

A buxome blonde in a black top so tight that I might have worried about a wardrobe were her boobs not too big to pop out accidentally.  Sorry she didn't buy anything!

A woman bought a Hemingway, then returned because she lost her receipt.  She looked through the book (where I'd put it) four times and finally found it.

My friend arrived at 4:50 and bought a book from the Literature section, but I forgot to look at the title. We discussed David Gerrold when he saw the book I was reading.

A man with his hat pulled so low over his eyes he never made eye contact, but bought 4 bargain books and paid by credit card--my first credit sale of the day!

The next customer was the most interesting of the day.  She looked like she was ready to begin The Amazing Race, though smelled like she was in the middle of it.  I couldn't believe the size of her backpack.  She is from England and she had just hiked 280 miles from Mt. Whitney to I don't know where.  She traveled alone and she said she did it in 11 says, but as that is ~25 miles a day, I wonder if I got the figures right.  But she dove into the literature shelves because she said she had nothing to read for 11 days. She bought a 700+ page book by George Elliot.  Nice girl.

Right on time, dog trainer Cayce Wallace and her walking group passed by, about a dozen dogs on leashes learning how to be well behaved on city streets.

My last customers were a mom with 3 girls in skinny jeans and heavy eye make up (at least one of them).  After doing a lot of searching they spent $50 on

• 4 Contemporary fictions
• 1 philosophy (the youngest girl bought that)
• 1 book of poetry
• 1 thick music anthology
• a mythology book and
• a biography

Walt was late coming to pick me up because he was coming from a meeting.  I had developed a sore throat over the course of the afternoon and all I wanted to do was go home and lie under a quilt, which I did.  He cooked his own dinner.  By about 1 a.m., I was starting to feel human again.