REMEMBERING OUaT

I HOPE YOU DON'T WEARY of my frequent references to the bookshop we owned from 1966 until we sold it in 2003. It comprised nearly half of my life so thoughts of it often arise. The subject popped up again when I opened my email on Thanksgiving morning and found a letter from Lynne, a long time customer who morphed into being a friend as did so many people who chose to shop at our independent bookstore.

The contents of her email warmed my heart. Not everyone who shopped with us, "got it", understood what we were really about. I've always insisted that I was simply the channel through which an idea expressed which is getting rather esoteric but some folks really seemed to grasp the essence of the enterprise, more than others. Lynne was one of those. Henceforth, her words:




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At this very moment, many people are thinking of you two and how much you have meant to them over the years* and how interesting you both are, in your individual ways. It's such a hard time for you right now, and we shuffle about, awkwardly, not knowing what to do. So I'm writing to say, "Hey! Over here! I'm thinking fond thoughts of you two" and also "Happy Thanksgiving", my friends.

*****

All those days at Once Upon a Time are so clear to me. The dear, well-chosen books. The different areas of delight. The cards which were such treasures. The very air.

One day, Jane, you needed a person to help, and let me come in a take someone's  shift. I remember walking around the shop, dusting the already-dusted shelves and touching each book, trying to keep them alphabetized or at least not upside down.I fluffed up the plush animals and put little book-character figures into amusing poses. In short, I was no help at all. Yet in return, you gifted me with a delicious volume of Mary Oliver which I treasure to this day.

Mr. Bob brought his debonaire manners and flashed his twinkley eyes, and made me chuckle the first time we met. We were conversing about that fabulous screen door which I still want. What exactly was funny, I have no memory of, but Bob, you sure made me laugh out loud, and it was clear why Jane had fallen for you.

I remember bringing cousins and friends to the shop because it was such a treat just to be there.  First off, many folks weren't that interested in going to a children's bookshop...they thought!  But when I brought them in, then they saw and experienced what you provided.  The child's desk. The window displays. The special books for adults. They became filled with delight and wanted to return again and again, as I did.


One year, I got a notice in the mail about a "Bridge" group. What a truly delicious idea! And it was just at the point I'd made myself decide to actually DO something more, socially, not merely talk about it. Oh, I was so scared to go! But Bob and Jane, you made me, you made us, so comfortable and welcome. One of your biggest gifts to me was of my friends Nancy and Michael Coler, whom I met there at Bridge Club.  And then, there were all those wonderful Sunday evenings, lanterns lit in the sweet flower-filled backyard night! Sometimes I'd walk out into your garden, look toward your house and see those fascinating folks and think, This must be something like Heaven. And it was.

This Thanksgiving, I want to express how grateful I am for knowing both of you, quirky, generous, and inventive folks that you are! 

Tomorrow, I hope you can enjoy that turkey and dressing.

Fondly,

Lynne"


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A note of explanation about the Bridge Club to which Lynne referred. For six months we hosted a weekly Open House on Sunday evenings, thinking of it as a "bridge" from the carefree weekend, back to the workaday world on the next day. There was no card playing involved. It was a relaxed, "come if you can, come as you are" sort of thing and there was never a Sunday without anyone showing up. We provided beverages, guests brought something on which to nibble. We disbanded because the urge to travel posed the problem of how to notify everyone who might show up that we wouldn't be in town, so it seemed simpler to stop, but in one way or another the people who attended let us know how much they missed the event. 


And one last picture of Once Upon a Time for now. Mr. Bob has a reputation for being an easy sleeper. As I write this at 12:26 p.m., he's back into bed, snoozing away and it's time for our dinner. Should I wake him for sustenance or let him sleep on? That's the biggest dilemma I'm faced with these days. 

WHAT NOW?

AFTER ALL THAT DRAMA, what does one write about next that's likely to hold your interest? I'm open to guidance from you as to what subjects would be likely to pique your curiosity. Our world has shrunk yet again and as it gets smaller, the day to day reports become more humdrum. One needs to become cleverer in the quest to command an audience. 'Tis possible, but tricky.


I'm snuggled into my oversized bathrobe, it's raining outside and today we've gone through my accumulation of Once Upon a Time memorabilia ...... old ads, including the ones we first did individually by hand, when my mailing list was small. Photographs, every monthly newsletter, for which Christopher did the artwork and I did the writing. He always came up with a seasonal border and not until the mailing piece had gone to press would I discover the pregnant girl standing in line to board the school bus on the September edition or the human heart, complete with valves in the Valentine's Day issue, hidden in the margin of hearts. Letters from authors, yellowed newspaper articles, notes and articles for a workshop I gave on the importance and joys of letter writing. So many memories and the agonizing decision to throw it all away. 36 years of a splendid, self-satisfying career, the record of which went into the trash chute today. Happily, there were customers who enjoyed my chosen profession too, but it would be dishonest to say that I did it for the good of mankind, when it was pure and simple self-fulfillment. How fortunate that other people benefitted, too, and that our own interest helped to forge a love for books and the written word in others. Among our customers were adults who discovered the joys of reading as their children's love of literature flourished.


I don't know why it seemed so devastating to get rid of all tangible trace of that experience, but some tears were shed in the process. The person in charge of Once Upon a Time now has a lot more business sense than I did which allows the business to continue; even so, it's a challenge and Maureen is largely responsible for the forty-fifth anniversary the shop recently celebrated, no mean feat in this day and age.


Now comes the tricky part of this blog. It may be a test of your comprehension, so pay attention. You'll need to read the rest of this and then go back to the notification email and play the sound file to get the whole story.


In our apartment there are two speakers over which are broadcast announcements and reminders of events about to take place. Imagine our surprise to hear this in the midst of our Once Upon a Time purging: (Because a sound file can't be imported to this blog, you'll now need to go back to the email notification and play the sound file there. Best I could do!)


"It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor."  ~Max Eastman