Okay, I admit I am sitting her in the Starbucks at Sumner Place taking advantage of the wi-fi as well as the banana bread, waiting for Eliza to finish with paddling practice and weight training. Liam is sitting opposite me finishing off a pumpkin cream cheese muffin, reading The Catcher in the Rye.
The light along the river was beautiful earlier, a little bit of sun on the trees, the water catching the light, calm, quiet. The banks along the canal and the trees are still green with the exception of small patches of red leaves and white and purple asters. My husband, David, and I found four white puffballs on the forest floor the size of volleyballs! A far more positive experience than the one I had on Monday afternoon when Eliza and I went shopping for fall clothes, yes, at Target and Old Navy. Don't get me wrong. Eliza and I had fun. She is delightful to shop with. But to "balance" things out, I felt compelled to go into Barnes and Noble (Yikes! Another large chain!) to browse. Not a good idea! I nearly had a heart attack when I walked into the store and found the whole front taken over by Nook and Nook accessories! No words, no books. I felt lost and more than a little sick. The poor Nook sales clerk, asking if he could help, took the full brunt of my woe. I think I just bewildered him. "Where are the books?" I asked. Little did he know the poet laureate of Alexandria was about to have a hissy fit right in front of him. He gestured vaguely to some distant corner of the store as if books were a bother and entirely irrelevant to one of the largest bookselling chains in the country, which apparently they are. "Oh, you mean those dusty things with pages?" he might have said. He didn't know, however, that I'm not actually opposed to the Nook or the Kindle. I find them rather clever and appealing for a number of reasons, but I still want a place where I can go and pick up a book and browse. I want to see what commuters are reading on the Metro; I will miss reading the thick spines of the tomes they lug religiously with them and sink into on their paths to and from work. I can see why they might want to tote something as light as a Nook, but I increasingly feel like I am missing out, like I'm no longer a part of the larger community dynamic, invited or not...Which brings me to my last topic. I want to invite you to tell the people around you about a wonderful benefit concert taking place this Sunday, October 24th from 2:30-4:00 at the Australian Embassy. You will be among real people listening to live music and helping out an important cause. I invite you to go to this website: www.Hydroassoc.org and purchase a ticket or tickets to see Peter Yarrow perform for the benefit of the Hydrocephalus Association. There is even a poster for it here at Starbuck's. There might even be one on your e-book!
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