Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/2

Thanks to the kind folks who have purchased stuff the past two days while the history that was made shunted everything else aside. Yesterday a little guy of Indian origin looked through all my wares as his mom conversed with a friend. He asked how much the children's books were. "Hey, mom, three for a dollar," he said, excited. Pinocchio was one of his choices, another was by Louisa May Alcott, author of the classic Little Women. It looked like that would be it for the session when a young man stopped and looked through the CDs. He chose one by Life of Agony, a band with which I was completely unfamiliar. "Alternative," he called them. Enjoy, sir.
John, a self-published author, came by today and took CDs by Midnight Oil and The Replacements. He is unsure what to do with his latest novel. I'd recommended All Things That Matter Press, publisher of my short story collection, A Hitch in Twilight, but he was unimpressed upon visiting the site. I can't imagine why. If the book were accepted, he wouldn't have to pay for anything but copies, and he would even have the option of forgoing that if he wished to concentrate solely on web sales. This time I suggested Lulu.com. Good luck, buddy.
A while later an elderly man in a motorized wheel chair stopped and asked if I had anything by Jackie Collins. I sure did - Hollywood Kids, which he snapped up. As he stood to reach for his wallet, his attendant and I moved in, ready to catch him should he fall. I was reminded of Arlynn and her daily struggles and refusal of help to rise and sit. She is now more than halfway through her radiation treatments. The only negative effect has been a rash that has her doctor puzzled and which he attributes to her pre-existing condition. She questions whether the treatments are doing any good other than adding to the coffers of the medical profession. She is billed for physician visits that last minutes and amount to nothing more than "How are you feeling?" It's not news that costs are out of control. Government has made it that way, and perhaps it is the only solution if we are to insure everyone. I recently saw a guy who lived directly across the street from my sister for about 15 years. Richie was a great neighbor, always willing to help with any problem. He retired from his maintenance job in the library system and moved to Staten Island to be close to his grandchildren. He once told me he'd done a lot of drinking in his youth. He had a liver transplant about six months ago. The cost was $350,000. His medication will cost $100,000 per year for the rest of his life. "Thank God for insurance," he said. The bills, of course, are covered by tax payers. I don't know what the solution is, but it's going to be awfully expensive to save everybody.
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