A few minutes before 11 yesterday morning, as I was walking the campus, past the 200 classrooms again, I thought back to the Panorama Mall in Panorama City, a no-frills mall that was there for service. No huge banners for movies or TV shows, no soda vending machines with credit card slots, very few stalls across from various stores selling Pillow Pets or cell phone cases. What you see is what there is, and there's also the two-floor Walmart that looks nothing like how the corporation is setting up other Walmarts, with slicker operations.
Across from La Curacao, the Hispanic electronics store, there were tables with chess boards and timers on them, and people playing chess. There was a quiet, thoughtful feeling in this area, and that's my community standard, with people sitting close together, a mutual game between them, enjoying the strategy, the concentration, working to think three moves ahead. Everyone was equal in these games. This is what there was. And it was honest, most important to me, unlike here in Santa Clarita, where you can't get a solid read on anyone. I don't intend to seek out chess games in Henderson, since I don't play chess, but I get that same feeling there.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Only Job In Which I Can Amble, Mosey, Wander and Stroll
Given a two-day stretch as a substitute campus supervisor, I'm at my best on my second day. Whenever I'm called for the job, it's always a few weeks or sometimes a month in between, and my body is accustomed to the relatively slow pace of my average day. So the first day is always the hardest as my body's not sure what's going on, but this can't be right! All this walking? All this communication with other people? This sudden air of authority? Something's wrong!
Because my hours for this particular campus supervisor, Alex, were 9:30 to 3:30, I had time in the morning to go online and read. On Thursday, I spent those two hours (Dad, Meridith and I get to school at 7:30 or a little past) online, trying to catch up on the latest transcripts of arguments before the Supreme Court in its new term, which I've vowed to follow at length because of my interest in the institution. SCOTUSblog (http://www.scotusblog.com/) provides transcripts in .pdf form at day's end when there are arguments before the court, and I've just found out that The Oyez Project (http://www.oyez.org/) provides the audio, along with transcript follow-along. I think I'll wait at the end of each argument week for the audio because I'd like to read the transcript as the audio goes along. I'd like to listen to the justices' questions, vocal inflections, as well as those of the people arguing these cases.
But on Thursday morning, I finished reading the transcript of Maples v. Thomas, which SCOTUSblog, on its page of the case, puts in plain English: "Whether a defendant is prohibited from arguing in federal that his death sentence is unconstitutional because his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court."
My maternal grandfather was a lawyer, passionate and dedicated, and though I don't remember a great deal about him, I picked up on this somehow, just as I did with a brief interest in boxing (He loved boxing) that led me to write recaps of fantasy boxing matches years ago when the Internet wasn't as advanced as it is now. However, I've no intention of following my grandfather. I'm happiest as a reader and writer and the Supreme Court is one of many interests.
Thursday was without radio calls from various members of the school administration to bring kids to the office. I walked around during the day, made sure everything was ok, supervised the kids during brunch (15-minute break) and lunch, made sure they got to class when the bell rang between each period, and made sure they left as swiftly as possible at the end of the day. But because my body wasn't used to such activity, I was completely worn out after the day was done. At Walmart Supercenter, where we went to pick up a few things, I felt like everything in me had been scooped out and I was left with a hull of myself. Zombie feeling.
I've started something new whenever I have this job. I love it, but I also make sure to pick out one thing to look forward to when I get home. Yesterday, it was dinner from Wienerschnitzel. Meridith and I went in and we ordered dinner for all of us to bring home, and I ordered a pastrami sandwich and ultimate chili cheese fries, which includes diced onions and sour cream. I had been good with my diet throughout the day, and this was worth it. Wienerschnitzel produces some satisfying chili cheese fries. It's a solid comfort food, even when you're not looking for comfort. Today, I looked forward to a shower in the evening. And it was worth it, naturally.
Today made all the difference. My body knew what was to come, since I had gone to bed at 12:30 a.m. again (I made no attempt to try to go to bed earlier, since I had to make my lunch for the day and shave beforehand), and I was ready. I had my Cheerios in the toy racecar in which you open the back and put them in; I had my Silk Very Vanilla soymilk, my favorite lemon yogurt, a few slices of Swiss and Provolone cheese, previously-frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackberries now thawed out in a plastic container; spinach, cherub tomatoes, and carrot chips in another plastic container; two rice cakes in a plastic baggie, and a Quaker oatmeal raisin granola bar. I gathered it all in a plastic bag and we were all off to work.
I spent time online after we got to school like I did yesterday, except for after the bell rang. Since the special education class that Meridith's an aide for was in Dad's classroom for first period, there aren't as many kids during that time, so I had a computer for myself. This morning, full up, so I went upstairs to the teachers' lounge to lie on the couch and read through most of Books by Larry McMurtry.
The newest feature in the teachers' lounge, right in front of that couch are book racks for teachers to bring in books they don't want anymore, for others to take. When I was substituting for Liz, one of the other campus supervisors (I was substituting these two days for Alex, who's also a football coach at Canyon High), I took my fair share of books then, including Night Fall by Nelson DeMille, All in One Place by Carolyne Aarsen, and someone must have been giving away their John Grisham collection, because I found The King of Torts, The Brethren, and A Painted House. It was funny finding all those Grisham books on the shelves (Bleachers was also there, but football doesn't interest me) because in 3rd grade, Mr. Dexter called my parents in for a conference because I was bringing John Grisham novels to class to read. And I could read them.
Yesterday on those racks, I spotted Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (set in 1969 Biscayne Bay, Florida), a much cleaner copy of Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright (I had ordered it online and received it in the mail, and after bringing that better copy home, I put the other one in the Goodwill box), and The Broker by John Grisham. Of course I grabbed all of them. Today, the same Nora Roberts and two Sue Grafton novels still sit on those racks. But the next time I'm called in, I'm hoping there's more great possibilities like those finds.
Before I continue fawning over this wonderful day, there are two cabinets in the school library, one under the magazine racks and a bigger one next to those racks with the labels "Discarded Books." These are books that are no longer needed in the school library and are free to take. Being that books are my life, these are wonderful portals, and in the smaller cabinet, when I was substituting for Liz, I found All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriott. Today, substituting for Alex, I found The Cherokee Trail by Louis L'Amour, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton, both with "Accelerated Reader" labels on them. Good enough for me!
Lying on the couch, I read a good portion of Books, and marveled at where I was in my life. Before work, I got to read. I stopped at a few points in the book to revel in that. I got to read, since I was starting at 9:30, and it was 8:30. All I want to do in my life is read and write, so this fits easily.
After I signed in on my time card and wrote down the hours, and picked up a walkie-talkie from the head campus supervisor's office, I walked around campus, and my mind went right back to thinking about Las Vegas, about Henderson, about how I can reinvent myself once I'm there. I intend to remain as I am now, but no one knows who I am. No one knows what I'm about, and I can strive to make the best impressions every time. In Henderson, I'd be entirely different from the person I was in Santa Clarita, happier, and from the person I was in Florida, much more grown up, but only in age.
That's what I love about this job: I can think about anything. I've had random song lyrics come to mind, I've thought about if I'd want to date again (I'm not sure I'd want to give up all this reading time), I've mulled over my writing projects, especially my new one which has me very excited. It's a solo foray into 1930s movie history, but not what's typically known. I've thought about possible angles for it, and that unlike What If They Lived?, whose format was already set for me (Phil Hall, my co-writer, who created it, already had everything laid out when he asked if I wanted to join him), I have to write an outline for this book. But I don't mind it because that's the skeleton for the book. Everything else to do with the book will emanate for that. It'll be fun. And it'll get me closer to editing, which I enjoy more than writing. I like to write, but I love to move around words, sentences, rewrite paragraphs, and shape a book to become what I'd want to read.
There were a few calls for a campus supervisor today, two kids going home, one dismissed curtly by a P.E. teacher who wanted me to take him to the principal's office, and another to be taken to see one of the assistant principals. Some kids are easy to talk to as we walk, some I can sense that silence is best as we walk to the office. It's easy to know.
Because Liz wasn't there today (she always seems to take Fridays off), I drove the golf cart to the basketball court with the mesh basketball bag hooked in the back, giving out the basketballs and taking IDs in exchange at brunch and lunch. There wasn't much action on the court at brunch. The only interesting part had been a kid giving me his backpack as collateral for a basketball. I'm ok with that, because if a kid wants to play basketball, my favorite sport, he's going to have the chance to play.
But at lunch, holy god! There was a 4-on-4 game going on that was the most intense, the most talented I have ever seen in the years I've been a substitute campus supervisor at La Mesa. These kids played hard, one kid fell on the blacktop, but was ok, and they were laser-coordinated. There was a clear love of the game among all of them, and one kid in particular threw a hook shot a few inches off half-court and it went in! I was stunned and the other kids were floored as well. Naturally, he tried it again merely two minutes after and didn't make it. Never attempt a sequel so soon after. Build up again, and then do it. After checking on the kid that had fallen on the blacktop, I enthusiastically complimented the star player on his shot. I love watching basketball (and only shooting hoops. No full-on games), and that was great basketball. There was no showmanship ahead of the shot. He just concentrated and did it.
After I had collected all the basketballs, one kid from that game limped up to me, having twisted his ankle, and he wanted to go to the health office in the front office. He got into the golf cart next to me, we went to the office, and I walked him in. Later, I found a jacket left near the office, brought it in to put into the lost and found pail, and went into the health office to see how he was doing, telling the woman working there about his great feats as part of that game. He was a great player as well. Devotion to the game is what I like to see first, and all of those kids had it.
Later in the day, while walking around the campus yet again, I looked at the cement blocks near the library with the poles planted that hold up part of the walkway roof, and I couldn't see how the golf cart could drive through that space, even though Liz and John, the head campus supervisor, had done it before. I went back to where the golf cart was, across from the campus supervisor office, put in the key and drove to that part. And it was like the space had widened. I drove through that easily.
I did two circuits around the campus, then parked it where it was, and a little later, drove it around again. I wanted the practice, and I did well. And since John was sitting in the health office at that time while it was lunchtime for the woman there, no one needed the golf cart, so there was my chance.
Those were the major parts of the day. I have other ideas for potential careers in Henderson, but I'm seriously considering this for a full-time career. I have easy access to strong recommendation letters, I have the experience, and I have a feeling that since you have to make your life work in whatever way you're looking for, being that you live in the desert, being a campus supervisor would be even better. And I wouldn't mind helping with traffic crossings at the end of the day, the roads being easier there. Traffic crossings at the end of the day at La Mesa are crazy. Those who pick up the kids are in a rush, don't care about others, very nearly run you over since they're not paying attention, and it's frustrating. I have the feeling it may not be that way there.
This is the good life. I have opportunities to read before I start work, during lunch, and during the day, walking around the campus, I can think about my writing. In fact, I thought of the title of this entry while walking past the classrooms in the 200 section of the school (Room 222, 234, and so forth), and spent some time thinking of the arrangement I wanted for those four words. This could be where I belong.
Because my hours for this particular campus supervisor, Alex, were 9:30 to 3:30, I had time in the morning to go online and read. On Thursday, I spent those two hours (Dad, Meridith and I get to school at 7:30 or a little past) online, trying to catch up on the latest transcripts of arguments before the Supreme Court in its new term, which I've vowed to follow at length because of my interest in the institution. SCOTUSblog (http://www.scotusblog.com/) provides transcripts in .pdf form at day's end when there are arguments before the court, and I've just found out that The Oyez Project (http://www.oyez.org/) provides the audio, along with transcript follow-along. I think I'll wait at the end of each argument week for the audio because I'd like to read the transcript as the audio goes along. I'd like to listen to the justices' questions, vocal inflections, as well as those of the people arguing these cases.
But on Thursday morning, I finished reading the transcript of Maples v. Thomas, which SCOTUSblog, on its page of the case, puts in plain English: "Whether a defendant is prohibited from arguing in federal that his death sentence is unconstitutional because his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court."
My maternal grandfather was a lawyer, passionate and dedicated, and though I don't remember a great deal about him, I picked up on this somehow, just as I did with a brief interest in boxing (He loved boxing) that led me to write recaps of fantasy boxing matches years ago when the Internet wasn't as advanced as it is now. However, I've no intention of following my grandfather. I'm happiest as a reader and writer and the Supreme Court is one of many interests.
Thursday was without radio calls from various members of the school administration to bring kids to the office. I walked around during the day, made sure everything was ok, supervised the kids during brunch (15-minute break) and lunch, made sure they got to class when the bell rang between each period, and made sure they left as swiftly as possible at the end of the day. But because my body wasn't used to such activity, I was completely worn out after the day was done. At Walmart Supercenter, where we went to pick up a few things, I felt like everything in me had been scooped out and I was left with a hull of myself. Zombie feeling.
I've started something new whenever I have this job. I love it, but I also make sure to pick out one thing to look forward to when I get home. Yesterday, it was dinner from Wienerschnitzel. Meridith and I went in and we ordered dinner for all of us to bring home, and I ordered a pastrami sandwich and ultimate chili cheese fries, which includes diced onions and sour cream. I had been good with my diet throughout the day, and this was worth it. Wienerschnitzel produces some satisfying chili cheese fries. It's a solid comfort food, even when you're not looking for comfort. Today, I looked forward to a shower in the evening. And it was worth it, naturally.
Today made all the difference. My body knew what was to come, since I had gone to bed at 12:30 a.m. again (I made no attempt to try to go to bed earlier, since I had to make my lunch for the day and shave beforehand), and I was ready. I had my Cheerios in the toy racecar in which you open the back and put them in; I had my Silk Very Vanilla soymilk, my favorite lemon yogurt, a few slices of Swiss and Provolone cheese, previously-frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackberries now thawed out in a plastic container; spinach, cherub tomatoes, and carrot chips in another plastic container; two rice cakes in a plastic baggie, and a Quaker oatmeal raisin granola bar. I gathered it all in a plastic bag and we were all off to work.
I spent time online after we got to school like I did yesterday, except for after the bell rang. Since the special education class that Meridith's an aide for was in Dad's classroom for first period, there aren't as many kids during that time, so I had a computer for myself. This morning, full up, so I went upstairs to the teachers' lounge to lie on the couch and read through most of Books by Larry McMurtry.
The newest feature in the teachers' lounge, right in front of that couch are book racks for teachers to bring in books they don't want anymore, for others to take. When I was substituting for Liz, one of the other campus supervisors (I was substituting these two days for Alex, who's also a football coach at Canyon High), I took my fair share of books then, including Night Fall by Nelson DeMille, All in One Place by Carolyne Aarsen, and someone must have been giving away their John Grisham collection, because I found The King of Torts, The Brethren, and A Painted House. It was funny finding all those Grisham books on the shelves (Bleachers was also there, but football doesn't interest me) because in 3rd grade, Mr. Dexter called my parents in for a conference because I was bringing John Grisham novels to class to read. And I could read them.
Yesterday on those racks, I spotted Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel (set in 1969 Biscayne Bay, Florida), a much cleaner copy of Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright (I had ordered it online and received it in the mail, and after bringing that better copy home, I put the other one in the Goodwill box), and The Broker by John Grisham. Of course I grabbed all of them. Today, the same Nora Roberts and two Sue Grafton novels still sit on those racks. But the next time I'm called in, I'm hoping there's more great possibilities like those finds.
Before I continue fawning over this wonderful day, there are two cabinets in the school library, one under the magazine racks and a bigger one next to those racks with the labels "Discarded Books." These are books that are no longer needed in the school library and are free to take. Being that books are my life, these are wonderful portals, and in the smaller cabinet, when I was substituting for Liz, I found All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriott. Today, substituting for Alex, I found The Cherokee Trail by Louis L'Amour, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton, both with "Accelerated Reader" labels on them. Good enough for me!
Lying on the couch, I read a good portion of Books, and marveled at where I was in my life. Before work, I got to read. I stopped at a few points in the book to revel in that. I got to read, since I was starting at 9:30, and it was 8:30. All I want to do in my life is read and write, so this fits easily.
After I signed in on my time card and wrote down the hours, and picked up a walkie-talkie from the head campus supervisor's office, I walked around campus, and my mind went right back to thinking about Las Vegas, about Henderson, about how I can reinvent myself once I'm there. I intend to remain as I am now, but no one knows who I am. No one knows what I'm about, and I can strive to make the best impressions every time. In Henderson, I'd be entirely different from the person I was in Santa Clarita, happier, and from the person I was in Florida, much more grown up, but only in age.
That's what I love about this job: I can think about anything. I've had random song lyrics come to mind, I've thought about if I'd want to date again (I'm not sure I'd want to give up all this reading time), I've mulled over my writing projects, especially my new one which has me very excited. It's a solo foray into 1930s movie history, but not what's typically known. I've thought about possible angles for it, and that unlike What If They Lived?, whose format was already set for me (Phil Hall, my co-writer, who created it, already had everything laid out when he asked if I wanted to join him), I have to write an outline for this book. But I don't mind it because that's the skeleton for the book. Everything else to do with the book will emanate for that. It'll be fun. And it'll get me closer to editing, which I enjoy more than writing. I like to write, but I love to move around words, sentences, rewrite paragraphs, and shape a book to become what I'd want to read.
There were a few calls for a campus supervisor today, two kids going home, one dismissed curtly by a P.E. teacher who wanted me to take him to the principal's office, and another to be taken to see one of the assistant principals. Some kids are easy to talk to as we walk, some I can sense that silence is best as we walk to the office. It's easy to know.
Because Liz wasn't there today (she always seems to take Fridays off), I drove the golf cart to the basketball court with the mesh basketball bag hooked in the back, giving out the basketballs and taking IDs in exchange at brunch and lunch. There wasn't much action on the court at brunch. The only interesting part had been a kid giving me his backpack as collateral for a basketball. I'm ok with that, because if a kid wants to play basketball, my favorite sport, he's going to have the chance to play.
But at lunch, holy god! There was a 4-on-4 game going on that was the most intense, the most talented I have ever seen in the years I've been a substitute campus supervisor at La Mesa. These kids played hard, one kid fell on the blacktop, but was ok, and they were laser-coordinated. There was a clear love of the game among all of them, and one kid in particular threw a hook shot a few inches off half-court and it went in! I was stunned and the other kids were floored as well. Naturally, he tried it again merely two minutes after and didn't make it. Never attempt a sequel so soon after. Build up again, and then do it. After checking on the kid that had fallen on the blacktop, I enthusiastically complimented the star player on his shot. I love watching basketball (and only shooting hoops. No full-on games), and that was great basketball. There was no showmanship ahead of the shot. He just concentrated and did it.
After I had collected all the basketballs, one kid from that game limped up to me, having twisted his ankle, and he wanted to go to the health office in the front office. He got into the golf cart next to me, we went to the office, and I walked him in. Later, I found a jacket left near the office, brought it in to put into the lost and found pail, and went into the health office to see how he was doing, telling the woman working there about his great feats as part of that game. He was a great player as well. Devotion to the game is what I like to see first, and all of those kids had it.
Later in the day, while walking around the campus yet again, I looked at the cement blocks near the library with the poles planted that hold up part of the walkway roof, and I couldn't see how the golf cart could drive through that space, even though Liz and John, the head campus supervisor, had done it before. I went back to where the golf cart was, across from the campus supervisor office, put in the key and drove to that part. And it was like the space had widened. I drove through that easily.
I did two circuits around the campus, then parked it where it was, and a little later, drove it around again. I wanted the practice, and I did well. And since John was sitting in the health office at that time while it was lunchtime for the woman there, no one needed the golf cart, so there was my chance.
Those were the major parts of the day. I have other ideas for potential careers in Henderson, but I'm seriously considering this for a full-time career. I have easy access to strong recommendation letters, I have the experience, and I have a feeling that since you have to make your life work in whatever way you're looking for, being that you live in the desert, being a campus supervisor would be even better. And I wouldn't mind helping with traffic crossings at the end of the day, the roads being easier there. Traffic crossings at the end of the day at La Mesa are crazy. Those who pick up the kids are in a rush, don't care about others, very nearly run you over since they're not paying attention, and it's frustrating. I have the feeling it may not be that way there.
This is the good life. I have opportunities to read before I start work, during lunch, and during the day, walking around the campus, I can think about my writing. In fact, I thought of the title of this entry while walking past the classrooms in the 200 section of the school (Room 222, 234, and so forth), and spent some time thinking of the arrangement I wanted for those four words. This could be where I belong.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Another Day, More Dollars
The head campus supervisor at La Mesa called the house tonight. He and another campus supervisor are going to be out for the next two days. Did I want the hours? Hell yes! 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for this other campus supervisors. Six hours. And, according to the paycheck I got when I was a substitute for Liz, that's $13 an hour. A few dollars taken off as they always are by the district, but it's not a bad shaving.
So my plan for tomorrow is as follows:
- Wake up a little after 6, giving a scant few minutes over to checking my e-mail and posting on my Facebook account as I usually do, since access is blocked at the school.
- Breakfast is Cheerios in the plastic race car with the Cheerios logo on the hood, and the back opens up for the Cheerios, Silk Very Vanilla soymilk, and a banana.
- Since I report in at 9:30, less than an hour after school begins, I have time to go online in my dad's classroom, being that the class that period is small, and I can read. I'm bringing Books by Larry McMurtry, American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia by Joan Biskupic (I've been following the new Supreme Court term, reading transcripts of the arguments and the reportage of Lyle Denniston on SCOTUSblog (http://www.scotusblog.com) and Biskupic on the USA Today website, and though I know a little about Scalia, I've become more and more curious about him), and On the Road with Charles Kuralt by Charles Kuralt, transcripts of his programs, with photos. I'm reading Books, so that'll be first in my reading time. At 259 pages, it's relatively short, and I may start the Scalia one towards the end of the work day tomorrow.
- I then do what I usually do throughout the day, making sure the kids get to class, walking around, making sure that everything's ok, supervising the kids at lunch along with the rest of the campus supervisors, and whatever comes around tomorrow. Each day differs slightly. Keeps it interesting, though to me, it's always interesting.
- I got some great news from Meridith that we're getting dinner from Wienerschnitzel tomorrow which, for me, means a pastrami sandwich (I liked it when I had it last time) and ultimate chili cheese fries, with sour cream and diced onions. Wienerschnitzel cares about good chili cheese fries and this is the last time I'll break my diet for a while. Plus, I'll be good for the entire day, and it's nice to have at the end of the day. Something as enjoyable as the previous parts of the day will likely be.
It's nice to have these two days slide right into the weekend. Money earned on a Friday. Can't beat that.
So my plan for tomorrow is as follows:
- Wake up a little after 6, giving a scant few minutes over to checking my e-mail and posting on my Facebook account as I usually do, since access is blocked at the school.
- Breakfast is Cheerios in the plastic race car with the Cheerios logo on the hood, and the back opens up for the Cheerios, Silk Very Vanilla soymilk, and a banana.
- Since I report in at 9:30, less than an hour after school begins, I have time to go online in my dad's classroom, being that the class that period is small, and I can read. I'm bringing Books by Larry McMurtry, American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia by Joan Biskupic (I've been following the new Supreme Court term, reading transcripts of the arguments and the reportage of Lyle Denniston on SCOTUSblog (http://www.scotusblog.com) and Biskupic on the USA Today website, and though I know a little about Scalia, I've become more and more curious about him), and On the Road with Charles Kuralt by Charles Kuralt, transcripts of his programs, with photos. I'm reading Books, so that'll be first in my reading time. At 259 pages, it's relatively short, and I may start the Scalia one towards the end of the work day tomorrow.
- I then do what I usually do throughout the day, making sure the kids get to class, walking around, making sure that everything's ok, supervising the kids at lunch along with the rest of the campus supervisors, and whatever comes around tomorrow. Each day differs slightly. Keeps it interesting, though to me, it's always interesting.
- I got some great news from Meridith that we're getting dinner from Wienerschnitzel tomorrow which, for me, means a pastrami sandwich (I liked it when I had it last time) and ultimate chili cheese fries, with sour cream and diced onions. Wienerschnitzel cares about good chili cheese fries and this is the last time I'll break my diet for a while. Plus, I'll be good for the entire day, and it's nice to have at the end of the day. Something as enjoyable as the previous parts of the day will likely be.
It's nice to have these two days slide right into the weekend. Money earned on a Friday. Can't beat that.
Every Book Has Two Authors
Inside the peaceful bliss that was Crown Books in West Hills yesterday, I couldn't pick up every single book and read every first page, first because not every book interested me and second, I didn't have that much time. I never looked at my watch when I got there, never glanced at it while I was browsing, but I'm sure I must have spent an hour and a half to two hours there. Not every book could be mine.
I noticed, though, relying heavily on the copy printed on the back of paperback, and on the paper flaps of hardcover books that every book has two authors. There is the author you know, whose latest book you pick up, curious if you'll have the same pleasureable experience you had with the work that got you hooked on them in the first place. Then there are those authors you don't know much about, but either the title attracts you or the cover or, indeed, the copy describing what the book is about. We don't know who those particular writers are. They work for whatever publishing company put out the book, probably working in marketing, and they have to condense that entire book into succinct sentences that can pull in potential readers, can make them buy that book. That's the business they're in, and maybe they're looking to become novelists or non-fiction writers too. Judging by some of the copy I read, whoever they are, they should.
The first paperback book I picked up from a table heavy with paperbacks that joined a harcover Anna Quindlen book called Thinking Out Loud: On the Personal, the Political, the Public and the Private (Quindlen's easy. I'll read anything she writes and I don't need the invisible writer's copy to tell me to read her) was On a Night Like This by Ellen Sussman. The copy on the back reads:
"Blair Clement is a struggling single mother with a teenage daughter, a job as a chef, and a tragic secret that will test all of her emotional resources. Luke Bellingham has fulfilled his early promise and is one of the country's most acclaimed screenwriters. The two haven't laid eyes on each other for decades, not since they went to the same West Coast high school.
Now, for a class reunion, Luke impulsively contacts the woman who has long intrigued him. And before she knows what hit her, Blair is faced with the decision of her lifetime: what to do when the right man comes along...but at the wrong time."
The keywords for me in this copy were "chef" (My sister's an aspiring one, and I'll read anything food-related), "screenwriters", and this reunion between the two. I'm curious about what will happen. Obviously the copy doesn't give away everything because then there may not be a point in reading the book, though I think I would anyway, because writing style interests me as well, the way this author, Ellen Sussman, chooses to tell her story.
Because of that copy, I turned to the first page: "Blair lifted the man's arm and slid out from under him. She tucked a pillow back in her place, and he embraced it easily. She smiled at that. Men. She gathered her clothes from the floor and tucked them under her arm, picked up her shoes, stopped in the doorway. She looked back at the man, his long, lean body curled away from her, his hair a tousled mess, his face half buried in the pillot. I could climb back into bed and stay there awhile, she thought. She closed the door quietly behind her."
Copy and first paragraph together. I'm in. And that's why I bought it.
The same happened with Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston, a novel concept for a novel:
"Quinn "Q" Boothroyd is a young British lawyer married to an American and living in New York City. She's checked off most of the boxes on her "Modern Woman's List of Things to Do Before Hitting 30," and her busy working life has been relatively painless. But when her doctor tells her she must spend the last three months of her pregnancy lying in bed, Q is thrown into a tailspin. Initially bored and frustrated, Q soon fills her days by trying to reconnect with her workaholic husband, provide legal advice for her sweet Greek neighbor, forge new emotional bonds with her mother and sisters, and figure out who will keep her stocked up in cookies and sandwiches.
Q experiences adventures on the couch she never would have encountered in the law firm and learns a lot about herself and what she wants out of life--and above all, about the little one growing inside her."
I hope the name is used for a better reason than just for the simple fact that Bilston may be a Bond fan, being that in the novels, there was Major Boothroyd, the weapons master known as "Q" and certainly as well known in the movies too. To me, that feels too easy, like there wasn't a great deal of thought about the name beyond Quinn. But I'm willing to try this.
I didn't need to read all the copy on the back cover of Do Bald Man Get Half-Price Haircuts?: In Search of America's Great Barbershops by Vince Staten. I wanted to read it just because of the title alone, and the first sentence of the second paragraph of the copy that states: "Staten visited more than three hundred barbershops, in towns ranging from Chowchilla, California, to Mount Airy, North Carolina."
That's all I need!
And with those who work at publishing companies, wise are the ones who find the right critical quotes to put on the backs of books. I picked up Maybe the Moon by Armistead Mapuin, because I had seen it listed on the inside page of every successive Tales of the City novel that I read. And because of my experience of reading those books, which tug at me for a re-read every few months, I decided to see what this one was about.
On the back of this paperback edition was a quote from Publishers Weekly which began: "Though Cadence Roth, the heroine of Maupin's captivating novel, is only 31 inches tall, her impact on the reader's emotions is enormous..."
Stop, stop, stop. That's all I need to know. Now I'm curious about Cadence Roth. But just to be sure, I turned to the first page:
"THE DIARY WAS RENEE'S IDEA. SHE RAN ACROSS THIS NOTEBOOK at Walgreens last week and decided on the spot that it was time for me to start writing things down. Just so you'll know, it's a Mr. Woods notebook, the spiral kind, with a green cardboard cover and the little bastard himself gazing wistfully from his hole in the tree trunk. Renee took this as a major omen. That evening over dinner she made such a solemn ceremony out of giving it to me that I felt like Moses on Mount Sinai. Since then, so help me, she hasn't stopped peeping at me sideways, watching my every move, waiting breathlessly for the muse to strike."
Not only do I want to read this book as soon as possible (Books by Larry McMurtry is next, and today I received The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie, and my Ann Beattie obsession is not going away until I exhaust her entire bibliography, and by then, it'll probably remain on "simmer"), but I feel like I should check in on Mrs. Madrigal again. That pull is back.
I appreciate those whose job it is to write that copy that'll market the book, or picking out the quotes by critics that will best represent the book because otherwise, I would still be at Crown Books at this very moment, reading every first page, seeing if something clicks and yanks me in. It's a great place to be, and it's where I would live if I had the opportunity (though with less dust because when I walked out with my 10 books in a plastic bag, I got a slight headache from my sinuses getting used to fresh air again, clearing out that atmosphere). But I'd rather be reading for long hours, books that I know I absolutely cannot go without. Crown Books is an incredible way station for traveling readers looking for their next destinations, and well-written copy on the backs of many books and the flaps of many book jackets makes the experience worthwhile. But one thing I know from years of reading is that you can't put your faith entirely in that copy. It's only meant as a bridge to the book. The rest of the effort is yours and if the book turns out not to be good, it's not the copy's fault. The journey just didn't work out, and there's always opportunities for others.
I noticed, though, relying heavily on the copy printed on the back of paperback, and on the paper flaps of hardcover books that every book has two authors. There is the author you know, whose latest book you pick up, curious if you'll have the same pleasureable experience you had with the work that got you hooked on them in the first place. Then there are those authors you don't know much about, but either the title attracts you or the cover or, indeed, the copy describing what the book is about. We don't know who those particular writers are. They work for whatever publishing company put out the book, probably working in marketing, and they have to condense that entire book into succinct sentences that can pull in potential readers, can make them buy that book. That's the business they're in, and maybe they're looking to become novelists or non-fiction writers too. Judging by some of the copy I read, whoever they are, they should.
The first paperback book I picked up from a table heavy with paperbacks that joined a harcover Anna Quindlen book called Thinking Out Loud: On the Personal, the Political, the Public and the Private (Quindlen's easy. I'll read anything she writes and I don't need the invisible writer's copy to tell me to read her) was On a Night Like This by Ellen Sussman. The copy on the back reads:
"Blair Clement is a struggling single mother with a teenage daughter, a job as a chef, and a tragic secret that will test all of her emotional resources. Luke Bellingham has fulfilled his early promise and is one of the country's most acclaimed screenwriters. The two haven't laid eyes on each other for decades, not since they went to the same West Coast high school.
Now, for a class reunion, Luke impulsively contacts the woman who has long intrigued him. And before she knows what hit her, Blair is faced with the decision of her lifetime: what to do when the right man comes along...but at the wrong time."
The keywords for me in this copy were "chef" (My sister's an aspiring one, and I'll read anything food-related), "screenwriters", and this reunion between the two. I'm curious about what will happen. Obviously the copy doesn't give away everything because then there may not be a point in reading the book, though I think I would anyway, because writing style interests me as well, the way this author, Ellen Sussman, chooses to tell her story.
Because of that copy, I turned to the first page: "Blair lifted the man's arm and slid out from under him. She tucked a pillow back in her place, and he embraced it easily. She smiled at that. Men. She gathered her clothes from the floor and tucked them under her arm, picked up her shoes, stopped in the doorway. She looked back at the man, his long, lean body curled away from her, his hair a tousled mess, his face half buried in the pillot. I could climb back into bed and stay there awhile, she thought. She closed the door quietly behind her."
Copy and first paragraph together. I'm in. And that's why I bought it.
The same happened with Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston, a novel concept for a novel:
"Quinn "Q" Boothroyd is a young British lawyer married to an American and living in New York City. She's checked off most of the boxes on her "Modern Woman's List of Things to Do Before Hitting 30," and her busy working life has been relatively painless. But when her doctor tells her she must spend the last three months of her pregnancy lying in bed, Q is thrown into a tailspin. Initially bored and frustrated, Q soon fills her days by trying to reconnect with her workaholic husband, provide legal advice for her sweet Greek neighbor, forge new emotional bonds with her mother and sisters, and figure out who will keep her stocked up in cookies and sandwiches.
Q experiences adventures on the couch she never would have encountered in the law firm and learns a lot about herself and what she wants out of life--and above all, about the little one growing inside her."
I hope the name is used for a better reason than just for the simple fact that Bilston may be a Bond fan, being that in the novels, there was Major Boothroyd, the weapons master known as "Q" and certainly as well known in the movies too. To me, that feels too easy, like there wasn't a great deal of thought about the name beyond Quinn. But I'm willing to try this.
I didn't need to read all the copy on the back cover of Do Bald Man Get Half-Price Haircuts?: In Search of America's Great Barbershops by Vince Staten. I wanted to read it just because of the title alone, and the first sentence of the second paragraph of the copy that states: "Staten visited more than three hundred barbershops, in towns ranging from Chowchilla, California, to Mount Airy, North Carolina."
That's all I need!
And with those who work at publishing companies, wise are the ones who find the right critical quotes to put on the backs of books. I picked up Maybe the Moon by Armistead Mapuin, because I had seen it listed on the inside page of every successive Tales of the City novel that I read. And because of my experience of reading those books, which tug at me for a re-read every few months, I decided to see what this one was about.
On the back of this paperback edition was a quote from Publishers Weekly which began: "Though Cadence Roth, the heroine of Maupin's captivating novel, is only 31 inches tall, her impact on the reader's emotions is enormous..."
Stop, stop, stop. That's all I need to know. Now I'm curious about Cadence Roth. But just to be sure, I turned to the first page:
"THE DIARY WAS RENEE'S IDEA. SHE RAN ACROSS THIS NOTEBOOK at Walgreens last week and decided on the spot that it was time for me to start writing things down. Just so you'll know, it's a Mr. Woods notebook, the spiral kind, with a green cardboard cover and the little bastard himself gazing wistfully from his hole in the tree trunk. Renee took this as a major omen. That evening over dinner she made such a solemn ceremony out of giving it to me that I felt like Moses on Mount Sinai. Since then, so help me, she hasn't stopped peeping at me sideways, watching my every move, waiting breathlessly for the muse to strike."
Not only do I want to read this book as soon as possible (Books by Larry McMurtry is next, and today I received The New Yorker Stories by Ann Beattie, and my Ann Beattie obsession is not going away until I exhaust her entire bibliography, and by then, it'll probably remain on "simmer"), but I feel like I should check in on Mrs. Madrigal again. That pull is back.
I appreciate those whose job it is to write that copy that'll market the book, or picking out the quotes by critics that will best represent the book because otherwise, I would still be at Crown Books at this very moment, reading every first page, seeing if something clicks and yanks me in. It's a great place to be, and it's where I would live if I had the opportunity (though with less dust because when I walked out with my 10 books in a plastic bag, I got a slight headache from my sinuses getting used to fresh air again, clearing out that atmosphere). But I'd rather be reading for long hours, books that I know I absolutely cannot go without. Crown Books is an incredible way station for traveling readers looking for their next destinations, and well-written copy on the backs of many books and the flaps of many book jackets makes the experience worthwhile. But one thing I know from years of reading is that you can't put your faith entirely in that copy. It's only meant as a bridge to the book. The rest of the effort is yours and if the book turns out not to be good, it's not the copy's fault. The journey just didn't work out, and there's always opportunities for others.
Truth in Books
If you're planning to read The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, it may be best to skip this entry. Even though the end is hinted at at the beginning, the end isn't as vague, and it's what I quote from at length here because it imparts the truth about what books can do:
"Because what it's come down to, after that whole messy spring, that whole tortured summer, all the time since, is this: I no longer believe I can save people. I've tried, and I've failed, and while I'm sure there are people out in the world with that particular gift, I'm not one of them. I make too much of a mess of things. But books, on the other hand: I do still believe that books can save you.
I believed that Ian Drake would get his books, as surely as any addict will get his drug. He would bribe his babysitter, he'd sneak out of the house at night and smash the library window. He'd sell his own guinea pig for book money. He would read under his tented comforter with a penlight. He'd hollow out his mattress and fill it with paperbacks. They could lock him in the house, but they could never convince him that the world wasn't a bigger place than that. They'd wonder why they couldn't break him. They'd wonder why he smiled when they sent him to his room.
I knew that books could save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They always dressed a little out of season. Their names were enshrined on the pink cards in the pockets of all the forgotten hardbacks in every library basement in America. If the librarians were lazy enough or nostalgic enough or smart enough, those names would stay there forever."
"Because what it's come down to, after that whole messy spring, that whole tortured summer, all the time since, is this: I no longer believe I can save people. I've tried, and I've failed, and while I'm sure there are people out in the world with that particular gift, I'm not one of them. I make too much of a mess of things. But books, on the other hand: I do still believe that books can save you.
I believed that Ian Drake would get his books, as surely as any addict will get his drug. He would bribe his babysitter, he'd sneak out of the house at night and smash the library window. He'd sell his own guinea pig for book money. He would read under his tented comforter with a penlight. He'd hollow out his mattress and fill it with paperbacks. They could lock him in the house, but they could never convince him that the world wasn't a bigger place than that. They'd wonder why they couldn't break him. They'd wonder why he smiled when they sent him to his room.
I knew that books could save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They always dressed a little out of season. Their names were enshrined on the pink cards in the pockets of all the forgotten hardbacks in every library basement in America. If the librarians were lazy enough or nostalgic enough or smart enough, those names would stay there forever."
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Rosh Hashanah and Furlough Days Off - Day 6: Everybody Should Have a Day Like This
One of my most prized t-shirts in my collection is of the comic strip character Andy Capp, my favorite, hoisting a wooden case of three bottles of booze on his shoulder, clearly happy to have his favorite thing in life with him, wearing a sprig of holly behind one ear, and giving a thumbs-up. It's no wonder I wore that t-shirt today when I went out with Mom and Dad and Meridith. I had exactly that kind of day, one of the greatest of my life.
It began before I woke up, an e-mail in my inbox at 10:05 from the Warner Archive Collection. I woke up at 10:33, which I can do easily whenever I'm not working as a substitute campus supervisor, which seems to be often so far this new school year. In that case, I don't go to bed until after 2 a.m., but before 3, since I've either got books I want to read or TV shows I want to watch on the Tivo and I enjoy the silence of the night.
I found the e-mail from Warner Archive a little after noon. I looked at every single one that came in for the past few months, hoping for the day that Travels with My Aunt, starring Maggie Smith and based on the novel by Graham Greene, would be released on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection, which had to happen since Warner Bros. owns countless MGM titles from way, way back, including 1972.
I opened the latest e-mail, spotted the words "'70s Cinema," and my heart started going a little faster. I scrolled down a bit, to the images of the DVDs to be released and...OH MY GOD! I excitedly called Meridith over and showed her. Travels with My Aunt was now available for purchase! And I had e-mailed them about three months ago, asking them when it was going to come out, and to please, please, please release it soon. I bought it on VHS about a week after the Valencia library pulled it from its circulation. It's one of those rare instances in which I like the book and the movie equally, and both can easily stand separately, with the end of the movie a clever and necessary change from the book.
I went right to the Warner Archive site, ordered it, and so what that it came to $24 total? This is going to be one of the grande dames of my DVD collection, and I've no qualms about tossing my VHS copy because Warner Bros. has remastered the movie, and the clip provided on the site (http://www.wbshop.com/Travels-With-My-Aunt/1000239737,default,pd.html?cgid=ARCHIVENEW) shows a pristine picture and clear sound. And it'll be nice to see my favorite parts over and over without having to rewind a videotape.
Barely a few minutes after I ordered it, I received a press release from a PR firm (I'm still on the e-mail lists of many, despite being a former film critic) announcing that owing to the success of The Lion King 3D, Disney is releasing Beauty and the Beast 3D on January 13, 2012, Finding Nemo 3D on September 14, 2012, Monsters, Inc. 3D on January 18, 2013 (a few months before the prequel, Monsters University, arrives on June 13, 2013, in 3D), and The Little Mermaid 3D on September 13, 2013. Meridith is especially excited about the latter, her favorite movie. I'm happy that Disney is converting Monsters, Inc. into 3D, because the climactic doors sequence will look stunning like that. Plus, the East Australian Current in Finding Nemo will reap the same benefit. But despite its failures in theaters and on home video, I wish that Disney would take the risk of converting Treasure Planet into 3D. It's Treasure Island in outer space for the most part, the ships are mostly computer-animated, Long John Silver is a cyborg and is half-hand drawn animation and half computer animation, and there's a lot of galaxy scenery that would be awe-inspiring in that form. I hope that these future releases do equally as well and possibly better than The Lion King so these opportunities continue and possibly lead to Treasure Planet getting the same treatment. It's worth a try. But of course I say that without being an investor in Disney or running the company. So I can.
Mom decided to go back to Fry's in Woodland Hills to return some key rings that it turns out she didn't need, and to look at the others they had, to see if we needed any more for the net in the trunk, rings to latch onto the hooks there. And then came Walmart in West Hills, a surprising one, not because of how it looked in the front, with curved signage, but because of a store nearby, in the same shopping center, which seemed strange because despite the "Crown Books" banner at the top of the building, the store below was selling Halloween costumes and related accessories. Perhaps Crown Books had once been there but didn't take down the sign?
Meridith went with me to see if there was a discount book store, and we rounded the corner of that building, and I found heaven. In two ways. First with the tables full of books I spotted on the inside, and a sign against the glass that said, "Book Heaven - Every Book for $1". That section was on the other side of the store, a lot of square feet of space for books.
I looked over as many titles individually as I could. I stood against tables with the spines of paperbacks facing the ceiling and I pulled out whichever ones seemed interesting, read the back quickly, skimmed the first page if my interest went that far, and pulled to me what I really needed, what I could not leave Crown Books without. This included a book called Do Bald Men Get Half-Price Haircuts?: In Search of America's Great Barbershops by Vince Staten, who visited 300 barbershops across the country. I also found, by Jane and Michael Stern, Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows. I'm a dog lover, so that immediately went into my stack. There also came a novel called Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston, about a pregnant woman confined to her bed for the final three months. And State of the Arts: California Artists Talk About Their Work by Barbara Isenberg, which I picked up at the very end of my long exploration and needed it because there's a piece by opera director Peter Sellars, one of my heroes because of his true uniqueness, that you look at him and think that it could only be him. He lives according to what he loves. That's all that matters.
At the end, I came away with 10 books for $19. And even so, there were some books I picked up, like The First Rumpole Omnibus by John Mortimer, thinking I might try Rumpole of the Bailey again, but decided not to. The Supreme Court of late is the only interest I have in the law.
And Meridith found a book I absolutely needed to buy and did: Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar, which I read as a kid and loved, and this edition from the '90s by Avon Books is the original cover I remember, as well as the original illustrations. This will be snug in my permanent collection.
Then came the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a mainly outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment center. Fuddrucker's is there, and Mom wanted to go there to eat. We walked in, and I looked at the back of the place and found a Galaga arcade machine. But before that, I ordered a chicken cordon bleu sandwich and chili cheese fries. Then, once we found a table and I got my drink of watered-down Hi-C fruit punch, I asked Mom for a quarter (I didn't have any) and went to play. And it was pure bliss. I like having it on Nintendo DS as practice, but it doesn't compare to standing at that machine, slapping the fire button as fast as I can, eliminating as many aliens as I can before all of them stack up and begin flying down, firing their weapons. I ended fairly quickly at 20,000 points, owing to a dumb move that eliminated one of my ships right away, and then went to eat. After I was finished, I opened to where I left off in The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, and Mom, noticing that I was done, asked if I wanted another quarter. I first said no, because she was still eating and I didn't want to interrupt, but out came another quarter, and a better game, reaching 50,000+ and the ever-reliable level 10 that I can never seem to get past, and I didn't this time either.
But this was perfect. A lot of my favorite things so far during the day, and it continued with a small pumpkin pie I found on a circular tray under a plastic cover at the counter when Meridith was ordering cookies for Mom, Dad and herself. I love pumpkin pie and I got it. It was mild pumpkin pie, reliable enough for the flavor, but nothing notable, though that was ok. I was living fairly low-key pleasures throughout the entire day, so this tied into it very well. But as I told Dad before we left the house for Fry's, I couldn't wait for him and Meridith to go back to work so I could eat normally again. I know that it's my choice with what I eat, but given the opportunity to indulge in really good chili cheese fries at Wienerschnitzel, and so-so ones at Fuddrucker's (The chili used for these fries is just a salty dark brown covering, with meat to show that it's chili, but with little enthusiasm), and a chicken salad melt and curly fries at Jerry's Famous Deli in Woodland Hills, I grabbed it over and over. Six days with Dad and Meridith home, there were obviously going to be changes in eating habits, but I look forward to getting back to my usual eating, my regular diet.
After Fuddrucker's, Walmart in Panorama City, which has a heavy Hispanic population. We were the minority of that Walmart, but I was envious of those who shopped there. First, it was the standard Walmart we once knew before they made all the changes that turned it into a slick operation. It's a true neighborhood Walmart, with a major difference being that it's two floors, accessible by escalator or elevator, which we've never had in any Walmart we've been to, here in Santa Clarita or in Florida. The Lion King was playing on DVD on flatscreen TVs across from the electronics department, and it was at the part before Scar's "Be Prepared" number, so I had Meridith watch it with me so I could point out to her where Jeremy Irons drops out and Jim Cummings replaces him (because Irons blew out his voice after shouting, "You won't get a sniff without me!"), and the differences in their voices if you pay attention closely. Meridith noticed.
And once we got back down to the first floor, we unexpectedly found the entrance to the Panorama Mall, which looked comfortably worn. Everything was on one floor, all the stores across from each other were close together, and it felt like a community gathering place, evidenced by those who were playing chess at small tables outside La Curacao, an Hispanic electronics store. We went in there too, and man, if only Santa Clarita had felt like this for eight years, had felt like a genuine community like this was. I don't know a great deal about Panorama City, but this part at least felt like people gathered often, that there's more closeness. All we've got in Santa Clarita is plastic to bounce off of when you try to get close enough.
Nevertheless, this was the kind of day that everyone should have, in which a great deal of what you love is threaded throughout. It's why I believe in hedonism. I remarked to Meridith in Walmart that it was amazing that I had enjoyed many things that I loved in one day. Just one day! Reading, ambient music, and my favorite TV shows such as Jeopardy! are part of my daily life, but not usually to this extent. And this was incredible through and through. For me, all this was the definition of living.
Dad and Meridith will be back at work tomorrow, and I'll have my diet again, which I need back badly. But most importantly, I'm going to aim to have more days like the one I had today. I'd like those feelings constantly. It's wonderful! What better way to live?
(Addendum at 12:31 a.m.: I just pulled out of my bag of 10 books Like I Was Sayin'... by Mike Royko. This was from the Book Heaven side of Crown Books, and was a dollar. The price sticker is still on the book, and it was affixed on September 25, 2010. Maybe it had been moved around somewhat since then, and maybe some people had flipped through it, but it's been there until today. Over a year. Among many reasons I love discount book stores, this is one: Nowhere else that sells books will you find price stickers with the date of origin on them.)
It began before I woke up, an e-mail in my inbox at 10:05 from the Warner Archive Collection. I woke up at 10:33, which I can do easily whenever I'm not working as a substitute campus supervisor, which seems to be often so far this new school year. In that case, I don't go to bed until after 2 a.m., but before 3, since I've either got books I want to read or TV shows I want to watch on the Tivo and I enjoy the silence of the night.
I found the e-mail from Warner Archive a little after noon. I looked at every single one that came in for the past few months, hoping for the day that Travels with My Aunt, starring Maggie Smith and based on the novel by Graham Greene, would be released on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection, which had to happen since Warner Bros. owns countless MGM titles from way, way back, including 1972.
I opened the latest e-mail, spotted the words "'70s Cinema," and my heart started going a little faster. I scrolled down a bit, to the images of the DVDs to be released and...OH MY GOD! I excitedly called Meridith over and showed her. Travels with My Aunt was now available for purchase! And I had e-mailed them about three months ago, asking them when it was going to come out, and to please, please, please release it soon. I bought it on VHS about a week after the Valencia library pulled it from its circulation. It's one of those rare instances in which I like the book and the movie equally, and both can easily stand separately, with the end of the movie a clever and necessary change from the book.
I went right to the Warner Archive site, ordered it, and so what that it came to $24 total? This is going to be one of the grande dames of my DVD collection, and I've no qualms about tossing my VHS copy because Warner Bros. has remastered the movie, and the clip provided on the site (http://www.wbshop.com/Travels-With-My-Aunt/1000239737,default,pd.html?cgid=ARCHIVENEW) shows a pristine picture and clear sound. And it'll be nice to see my favorite parts over and over without having to rewind a videotape.
Barely a few minutes after I ordered it, I received a press release from a PR firm (I'm still on the e-mail lists of many, despite being a former film critic) announcing that owing to the success of The Lion King 3D, Disney is releasing Beauty and the Beast 3D on January 13, 2012, Finding Nemo 3D on September 14, 2012, Monsters, Inc. 3D on January 18, 2013 (a few months before the prequel, Monsters University, arrives on June 13, 2013, in 3D), and The Little Mermaid 3D on September 13, 2013. Meridith is especially excited about the latter, her favorite movie. I'm happy that Disney is converting Monsters, Inc. into 3D, because the climactic doors sequence will look stunning like that. Plus, the East Australian Current in Finding Nemo will reap the same benefit. But despite its failures in theaters and on home video, I wish that Disney would take the risk of converting Treasure Planet into 3D. It's Treasure Island in outer space for the most part, the ships are mostly computer-animated, Long John Silver is a cyborg and is half-hand drawn animation and half computer animation, and there's a lot of galaxy scenery that would be awe-inspiring in that form. I hope that these future releases do equally as well and possibly better than The Lion King so these opportunities continue and possibly lead to Treasure Planet getting the same treatment. It's worth a try. But of course I say that without being an investor in Disney or running the company. So I can.
Mom decided to go back to Fry's in Woodland Hills to return some key rings that it turns out she didn't need, and to look at the others they had, to see if we needed any more for the net in the trunk, rings to latch onto the hooks there. And then came Walmart in West Hills, a surprising one, not because of how it looked in the front, with curved signage, but because of a store nearby, in the same shopping center, which seemed strange because despite the "Crown Books" banner at the top of the building, the store below was selling Halloween costumes and related accessories. Perhaps Crown Books had once been there but didn't take down the sign?
Meridith went with me to see if there was a discount book store, and we rounded the corner of that building, and I found heaven. In two ways. First with the tables full of books I spotted on the inside, and a sign against the glass that said, "Book Heaven - Every Book for $1". That section was on the other side of the store, a lot of square feet of space for books.
I looked over as many titles individually as I could. I stood against tables with the spines of paperbacks facing the ceiling and I pulled out whichever ones seemed interesting, read the back quickly, skimmed the first page if my interest went that far, and pulled to me what I really needed, what I could not leave Crown Books without. This included a book called Do Bald Men Get Half-Price Haircuts?: In Search of America's Great Barbershops by Vince Staten, who visited 300 barbershops across the country. I also found, by Jane and Michael Stern, Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows. I'm a dog lover, so that immediately went into my stack. There also came a novel called Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston, about a pregnant woman confined to her bed for the final three months. And State of the Arts: California Artists Talk About Their Work by Barbara Isenberg, which I picked up at the very end of my long exploration and needed it because there's a piece by opera director Peter Sellars, one of my heroes because of his true uniqueness, that you look at him and think that it could only be him. He lives according to what he loves. That's all that matters.
At the end, I came away with 10 books for $19. And even so, there were some books I picked up, like The First Rumpole Omnibus by John Mortimer, thinking I might try Rumpole of the Bailey again, but decided not to. The Supreme Court of late is the only interest I have in the law.
And Meridith found a book I absolutely needed to buy and did: Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar, which I read as a kid and loved, and this edition from the '90s by Avon Books is the original cover I remember, as well as the original illustrations. This will be snug in my permanent collection.
Then came the Sherman Oaks Galleria, a mainly outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment center. Fuddrucker's is there, and Mom wanted to go there to eat. We walked in, and I looked at the back of the place and found a Galaga arcade machine. But before that, I ordered a chicken cordon bleu sandwich and chili cheese fries. Then, once we found a table and I got my drink of watered-down Hi-C fruit punch, I asked Mom for a quarter (I didn't have any) and went to play. And it was pure bliss. I like having it on Nintendo DS as practice, but it doesn't compare to standing at that machine, slapping the fire button as fast as I can, eliminating as many aliens as I can before all of them stack up and begin flying down, firing their weapons. I ended fairly quickly at 20,000 points, owing to a dumb move that eliminated one of my ships right away, and then went to eat. After I was finished, I opened to where I left off in The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, and Mom, noticing that I was done, asked if I wanted another quarter. I first said no, because she was still eating and I didn't want to interrupt, but out came another quarter, and a better game, reaching 50,000+ and the ever-reliable level 10 that I can never seem to get past, and I didn't this time either.
But this was perfect. A lot of my favorite things so far during the day, and it continued with a small pumpkin pie I found on a circular tray under a plastic cover at the counter when Meridith was ordering cookies for Mom, Dad and herself. I love pumpkin pie and I got it. It was mild pumpkin pie, reliable enough for the flavor, but nothing notable, though that was ok. I was living fairly low-key pleasures throughout the entire day, so this tied into it very well. But as I told Dad before we left the house for Fry's, I couldn't wait for him and Meridith to go back to work so I could eat normally again. I know that it's my choice with what I eat, but given the opportunity to indulge in really good chili cheese fries at Wienerschnitzel, and so-so ones at Fuddrucker's (The chili used for these fries is just a salty dark brown covering, with meat to show that it's chili, but with little enthusiasm), and a chicken salad melt and curly fries at Jerry's Famous Deli in Woodland Hills, I grabbed it over and over. Six days with Dad and Meridith home, there were obviously going to be changes in eating habits, but I look forward to getting back to my usual eating, my regular diet.
After Fuddrucker's, Walmart in Panorama City, which has a heavy Hispanic population. We were the minority of that Walmart, but I was envious of those who shopped there. First, it was the standard Walmart we once knew before they made all the changes that turned it into a slick operation. It's a true neighborhood Walmart, with a major difference being that it's two floors, accessible by escalator or elevator, which we've never had in any Walmart we've been to, here in Santa Clarita or in Florida. The Lion King was playing on DVD on flatscreen TVs across from the electronics department, and it was at the part before Scar's "Be Prepared" number, so I had Meridith watch it with me so I could point out to her where Jeremy Irons drops out and Jim Cummings replaces him (because Irons blew out his voice after shouting, "You won't get a sniff without me!"), and the differences in their voices if you pay attention closely. Meridith noticed.
And once we got back down to the first floor, we unexpectedly found the entrance to the Panorama Mall, which looked comfortably worn. Everything was on one floor, all the stores across from each other were close together, and it felt like a community gathering place, evidenced by those who were playing chess at small tables outside La Curacao, an Hispanic electronics store. We went in there too, and man, if only Santa Clarita had felt like this for eight years, had felt like a genuine community like this was. I don't know a great deal about Panorama City, but this part at least felt like people gathered often, that there's more closeness. All we've got in Santa Clarita is plastic to bounce off of when you try to get close enough.
Nevertheless, this was the kind of day that everyone should have, in which a great deal of what you love is threaded throughout. It's why I believe in hedonism. I remarked to Meridith in Walmart that it was amazing that I had enjoyed many things that I loved in one day. Just one day! Reading, ambient music, and my favorite TV shows such as Jeopardy! are part of my daily life, but not usually to this extent. And this was incredible through and through. For me, all this was the definition of living.
Dad and Meridith will be back at work tomorrow, and I'll have my diet again, which I need back badly. But most importantly, I'm going to aim to have more days like the one I had today. I'd like those feelings constantly. It's wonderful! What better way to live?
(Addendum at 12:31 a.m.: I just pulled out of my bag of 10 books Like I Was Sayin'... by Mike Royko. This was from the Book Heaven side of Crown Books, and was a dollar. The price sticker is still on the book, and it was affixed on September 25, 2010. Maybe it had been moved around somewhat since then, and maybe some people had flipped through it, but it's been there until today. Over a year. Among many reasons I love discount book stores, this is one: Nowhere else that sells books will you find price stickers with the date of origin on them.)
Monday, October 3, 2011
Rosh Hashanah and Furlough Days Off - Days 4 and 5: Wienerschnitzel's Social Strata and Steinbeck at Fry's
Yesterday, after an hour and a half with Mom, Dad and Meridith at the Walmart Supercenter on Carl Boyer Drive that netted me the hardcover edition of Just After Sunset by Stephen King for the bargain price of $6.97, we drove to Canyon Country, to Wienerschnitzel, near the Edwards Canyon Country Stadium 10 movie theater.
Wienerschnitzel became our go-to hot dog place after the disappointment that was Cupid's, adjacent to Edwards Canyon Country. We knew Cupid's when we lived in the apartment in Valencia that first year (It was in the shopping center in front of our apartment complex), and Meridith went there so often, every afternoon, that one of the women who worked there (Not sure if she was the manager or fairly high up), had Meridith's order ready right when she came in from the bus stop. And the hot dogs were reliably good, right up to when there were changes in the personnel there and things went downhill, though it took a few years after we had moved to Saugus, but still went there occasionally. Eventually, it went out of business at that location.
We're not sure how long the location next to Edwards Canyon Country has been open, but not only did the prices not match the quality of the hot dogs, as in being higher than the hot dogs were worth, but they forgot my fries, which was rectified by us going to McDonald's later for dessert, which included my fries. Therefore, we decided to try Wienerschnitzel, a few blocks from the movie theater.
The first time we went presented us with a reliable place for decent food. Not always healthy, hence why we don't go very often, but well worth it each time. I don't go overboard with what I order there, but I do chuck aside any dietary concerns for the treat of eating there. Such as it was with their ultimate chili cheese fries, which is their regular cheese fries with diced onions and a generous glop of sour cream. It's enough sour cream to play along with the chili and cheese.
The first time, I had an Angus pastrami hot dog, which was very good. This time, I had a pastrami sandwich, rye bread, pickle slices, and mustard. My kind of sandwich. In the box it was placed in, it had been sliced in half and each half was wrapped in individual paper.
The first time I had the ultimate chili cheese fries, I was pleased to see the diced onion there, but whoever had made it had put in too much onion and it became annoying toward the bottom of the fries. This time, there were not as many. I know that the guy who had been behind the counter taking our order when we were there the first time was the guy taking our order this time, but would he, or anyone else working with him, have really noticed my displeasure at too much diced onion, and remembered that in case we came back a second time? It doesn't seem possible, and yet, when we were there both times, there was no one else there. And it's not because Wienerschnitzel doesn't do good business. That actually brings me to something I and Mom and Meridith noticed.
If you want an accurate view of the population of Santa Clarita, don't go to a supermarket and don't go to Walmart. Go to Wienerschnitzel. We were the only ones there. We don't put on airs. We're regular people, regular lives, just living each day. Our goals only go as far as getting to Henderson, and then we'd see from there what happens next.
But those getting food at the drive-thru, there may be a few who are on errands, who have other things to do, who don't have time to sit inside and eat. But when a few shiny Chryslers sit at the window, when there's an equally shiny Mustang, and one or two other expensive-looking cars, you get the feeling that there are those who believe that they are above eating at such places, who don't want to be seen there. It's bad enough that Wienerschnitzel has to be located in Canyon Country, what they might consider the dregs of the valley. They don't like the reality of others; they prefer the reality that they have created for themselves with possibly gated communities and all-leather interior and the advanced ability to ignore those who aren't them, who aren't part of their blessed lives. There's a lot of posing that goes on this valley, a lot of snobbery. To me, no one is above me and no one is below me. We're all on the same planet and we're all headed for the same exit, so why be that way to others? Why feel like you're above everyone else? I've never understood it. You'll find genuine people at Wienerschnitzel. The guys and women behind the counter are some of the nicest you'll find in this valley, and guaranteed that those who eat there are straightforward, real people. No posing, no positioning.
Today, Meridith stood over me in my room at 10:10 this morning when I woke up, asking if I was going with her and Mom and Dad to the Fry's in Woodland Hills, because Mom wanted to return the latest in a string of clock radios. She hasn't yet found one that will suit her, though she's eyeing a few possibilities on eBay.
Dad had said last night that he was thinking of leaving at 10 to go to Woodland Hills, but knowing Dad and his time spent on the computer, that's naturally delayed. So I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and grabbed a banana, a few blackberries, and Silk dark chocolate almond milk for breakfast. No time for my usual Cheerios and Silk Very Vanilla soymilk. Plus, Mom said that she wanted to leave right away, not half an hour later after I've used the computer, so no time for that either, and I understood. All I needed was my books and one of the two issues of Slightly Foxed that I received in the mail two weeks ago.
I've come to like the Fry's in Woodland Hills better than the one with the alien invasion theme in Burbank. It could be that it was nearly empty because it was a Monday, and therefore the start of the workweek (save for Dad and Meridith's furlough days, like the rest of the Hart School District), but it felt more relaxed, perhaps because of the theming being more spread out, because there was less of that feeling that if you were not technologically inclined, you don't belong there. Plus, the quarter machines that were near the exit, with Disney trinkets, and candy of many kinds (including Reese's Pieces), and other tiny toys, were vastly more interesting than the Burbank selection. I looked closely at what was offered and was thinking about a small zoo animal plush toy in one of the machines as I went to look at the DVD selection there, first seeking more Dragnet DVDs, but only finding the Dragnet 1968 and Dragnet 1969 season 2 and season 3 sets. There was nothing else I wanted to look for, nothing I need. I don't feel the pull for more DVDs anymore as much as I feel the pull for more books, which shows where my passions are now and forever.
And that pull for more books led me to the bargain book sections, which I first thought was only one side. On the left were bargain computer books which I would never read. I had my own website on Geocities when I was 14, a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip of the day page, but that's as far as I went in anything computer related. I've only always used computers, and never looked deeply into them, although, because Geocities HTML code was easy enough to use, I updated the site through that code and not with visual aids.
Then in the aisle behind that one were cookbooks and bargain science books. I realized that the bargains were mixed up within all the books. To find if you were getting a good deal, you had to look at the price on the back of the book.
After I asked Meridith to find where the music DVDs were, I found where the other books were, the novels, the biographies. And I looked at each title closely. I first found The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets which features a missing chapter from, and the original ending of, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, along with what some characters were originally called, as well as various insights into Dahl's life related to the writing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was $4.99, and so I held onto it. And then I found Cannery Row. John Steinbeck. In hindsight, I wish I had remembered the photo and the name of whoever had stocked these shelves, because at the end of each aisle, there's a laminated sheet of paper that says, "This aisle has been proudly stocked and managed by..." and it gives a name. Maybe it was just a way to stock the shelves, but someone thought to put Steinbeck there, as well as Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which had been reduced to $2.99, but I didn't buy it because I didn't feel like it was time for it yet.
This paperback edition of Cannery Row was $9.99, and I wondered if I should get it. The price made me hesitant at first, because I could certainly find it cheaper on abebooks.com, but here it was. Right now. No additional shipping cost. I could buy it and it would be mine. And besides, if I like it, that value is multiplied millions of times over the original cost. I had checked it out of the Valencia library once, but never got to it. I carried it around with me, along with the Dahl book, while Mom looked at bedside light fixtures, and I read the copy on the back, and that was it. I wanted to know more about "...Doe, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love." I wanted to know more about this world Steinbeck clearly loved and lived.
I like to buy things from unusual places, such as when I bought Murphy's Romance on DVD for $5 during one of Pavilions' $5 Friday sales before the summer, which had Sony DVDs for $5 amidst other items. Buying books from a store known for electronics and computers and computer accessories ties into that. I didn't even notice until after I bought it that I had paid full price for both books. On the back of the Dahl book, under the Puffin logo, the list price is $4.99. $10.00 on Cannery Row. I didn't mind. These books were mine now. I would get to read them soon. That's all that mattered to me.
Wienerschnitzel became our go-to hot dog place after the disappointment that was Cupid's, adjacent to Edwards Canyon Country. We knew Cupid's when we lived in the apartment in Valencia that first year (It was in the shopping center in front of our apartment complex), and Meridith went there so often, every afternoon, that one of the women who worked there (Not sure if she was the manager or fairly high up), had Meridith's order ready right when she came in from the bus stop. And the hot dogs were reliably good, right up to when there were changes in the personnel there and things went downhill, though it took a few years after we had moved to Saugus, but still went there occasionally. Eventually, it went out of business at that location.
We're not sure how long the location next to Edwards Canyon Country has been open, but not only did the prices not match the quality of the hot dogs, as in being higher than the hot dogs were worth, but they forgot my fries, which was rectified by us going to McDonald's later for dessert, which included my fries. Therefore, we decided to try Wienerschnitzel, a few blocks from the movie theater.
The first time we went presented us with a reliable place for decent food. Not always healthy, hence why we don't go very often, but well worth it each time. I don't go overboard with what I order there, but I do chuck aside any dietary concerns for the treat of eating there. Such as it was with their ultimate chili cheese fries, which is their regular cheese fries with diced onions and a generous glop of sour cream. It's enough sour cream to play along with the chili and cheese.
The first time, I had an Angus pastrami hot dog, which was very good. This time, I had a pastrami sandwich, rye bread, pickle slices, and mustard. My kind of sandwich. In the box it was placed in, it had been sliced in half and each half was wrapped in individual paper.
The first time I had the ultimate chili cheese fries, I was pleased to see the diced onion there, but whoever had made it had put in too much onion and it became annoying toward the bottom of the fries. This time, there were not as many. I know that the guy who had been behind the counter taking our order when we were there the first time was the guy taking our order this time, but would he, or anyone else working with him, have really noticed my displeasure at too much diced onion, and remembered that in case we came back a second time? It doesn't seem possible, and yet, when we were there both times, there was no one else there. And it's not because Wienerschnitzel doesn't do good business. That actually brings me to something I and Mom and Meridith noticed.
If you want an accurate view of the population of Santa Clarita, don't go to a supermarket and don't go to Walmart. Go to Wienerschnitzel. We were the only ones there. We don't put on airs. We're regular people, regular lives, just living each day. Our goals only go as far as getting to Henderson, and then we'd see from there what happens next.
But those getting food at the drive-thru, there may be a few who are on errands, who have other things to do, who don't have time to sit inside and eat. But when a few shiny Chryslers sit at the window, when there's an equally shiny Mustang, and one or two other expensive-looking cars, you get the feeling that there are those who believe that they are above eating at such places, who don't want to be seen there. It's bad enough that Wienerschnitzel has to be located in Canyon Country, what they might consider the dregs of the valley. They don't like the reality of others; they prefer the reality that they have created for themselves with possibly gated communities and all-leather interior and the advanced ability to ignore those who aren't them, who aren't part of their blessed lives. There's a lot of posing that goes on this valley, a lot of snobbery. To me, no one is above me and no one is below me. We're all on the same planet and we're all headed for the same exit, so why be that way to others? Why feel like you're above everyone else? I've never understood it. You'll find genuine people at Wienerschnitzel. The guys and women behind the counter are some of the nicest you'll find in this valley, and guaranteed that those who eat there are straightforward, real people. No posing, no positioning.
Today, Meridith stood over me in my room at 10:10 this morning when I woke up, asking if I was going with her and Mom and Dad to the Fry's in Woodland Hills, because Mom wanted to return the latest in a string of clock radios. She hasn't yet found one that will suit her, though she's eyeing a few possibilities on eBay.
Dad had said last night that he was thinking of leaving at 10 to go to Woodland Hills, but knowing Dad and his time spent on the computer, that's naturally delayed. So I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and grabbed a banana, a few blackberries, and Silk dark chocolate almond milk for breakfast. No time for my usual Cheerios and Silk Very Vanilla soymilk. Plus, Mom said that she wanted to leave right away, not half an hour later after I've used the computer, so no time for that either, and I understood. All I needed was my books and one of the two issues of Slightly Foxed that I received in the mail two weeks ago.
I've come to like the Fry's in Woodland Hills better than the one with the alien invasion theme in Burbank. It could be that it was nearly empty because it was a Monday, and therefore the start of the workweek (save for Dad and Meridith's furlough days, like the rest of the Hart School District), but it felt more relaxed, perhaps because of the theming being more spread out, because there was less of that feeling that if you were not technologically inclined, you don't belong there. Plus, the quarter machines that were near the exit, with Disney trinkets, and candy of many kinds (including Reese's Pieces), and other tiny toys, were vastly more interesting than the Burbank selection. I looked closely at what was offered and was thinking about a small zoo animal plush toy in one of the machines as I went to look at the DVD selection there, first seeking more Dragnet DVDs, but only finding the Dragnet 1968 and Dragnet 1969 season 2 and season 3 sets. There was nothing else I wanted to look for, nothing I need. I don't feel the pull for more DVDs anymore as much as I feel the pull for more books, which shows where my passions are now and forever.
And that pull for more books led me to the bargain book sections, which I first thought was only one side. On the left were bargain computer books which I would never read. I had my own website on Geocities when I was 14, a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip of the day page, but that's as far as I went in anything computer related. I've only always used computers, and never looked deeply into them, although, because Geocities HTML code was easy enough to use, I updated the site through that code and not with visual aids.
Then in the aisle behind that one were cookbooks and bargain science books. I realized that the bargains were mixed up within all the books. To find if you were getting a good deal, you had to look at the price on the back of the book.
After I asked Meridith to find where the music DVDs were, I found where the other books were, the novels, the biographies. And I looked at each title closely. I first found The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets which features a missing chapter from, and the original ending of, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, along with what some characters were originally called, as well as various insights into Dahl's life related to the writing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was $4.99, and so I held onto it. And then I found Cannery Row. John Steinbeck. In hindsight, I wish I had remembered the photo and the name of whoever had stocked these shelves, because at the end of each aisle, there's a laminated sheet of paper that says, "This aisle has been proudly stocked and managed by..." and it gives a name. Maybe it was just a way to stock the shelves, but someone thought to put Steinbeck there, as well as Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which had been reduced to $2.99, but I didn't buy it because I didn't feel like it was time for it yet.
This paperback edition of Cannery Row was $9.99, and I wondered if I should get it. The price made me hesitant at first, because I could certainly find it cheaper on abebooks.com, but here it was. Right now. No additional shipping cost. I could buy it and it would be mine. And besides, if I like it, that value is multiplied millions of times over the original cost. I had checked it out of the Valencia library once, but never got to it. I carried it around with me, along with the Dahl book, while Mom looked at bedside light fixtures, and I read the copy on the back, and that was it. I wanted to know more about "...Doe, a young marine biologist who ministers to sick puppies and unhappy souls, unexpectedly finds true love." I wanted to know more about this world Steinbeck clearly loved and lived.
I like to buy things from unusual places, such as when I bought Murphy's Romance on DVD for $5 during one of Pavilions' $5 Friday sales before the summer, which had Sony DVDs for $5 amidst other items. Buying books from a store known for electronics and computers and computer accessories ties into that. I didn't even notice until after I bought it that I had paid full price for both books. On the back of the Dahl book, under the Puffin logo, the list price is $4.99. $10.00 on Cannery Row. I didn't mind. These books were mine now. I would get to read them soon. That's all that mattered to me.
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