Tuesday, September 4, 2007

The Kindness of Strangers

We get some of the nicest people coming to our bookstore. Many folks comment on Sam, the portly feline that drapes himself about the books, and I usually get a few photographs of the grey eminence sent to me each year. This striking photo of Sam hard at work is courtesy of Dan Wilcox, who maintains a great blog on the Albany, New York poetry scene.

I have been surprised and delighted by other kindnesses that our customers have bestowed upon us: homegrown catnip and handmade cat toys for Sam, plates of holiday cookies, perennial flower cuttings, bags of bubble wrap and packing peanuts, orphaned boxes of books left on our doorstep, and once, a plate of fried fish, complete with napkin and cutlery, after I was spied sucking down a tepid and insipid cup o' soup behind the desk in sight of my fairy cod-mother. Another great advantage of the bookselling life.

1 comment:

DWx said...

& thank you for posting the picture. I guess what people are trying to say by leaving their gifts is that they appreciate the "gift" of your bookstore to the community, away from the Malls & corporate America.
Peace,
DWx