It was another gloomy day, occasional mist in the air. I set up the floating bookshop at the viaduct, but got so lonely that I decided to give my usual spot a shot. It was the right move, even though I had to cover the goods in plastic a few times and had only one sale. I was visited by two of my favorite customers, whom I hadn't seen in a while. Steve, the poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, has been keeping busy teaching adult education classes on world music while his muse eludes him. He recently covered an American opera version of Sophie's Choice and the Argentine tango, and will next present the work of Russian composer Prokofiev. He has also won a case against the IRS and will be refunded the money it wrung from him. Yay for the good guys!
Laura, a sweet, lovely Romanian, is in her senior year of college and has decided to follow her dream of a medical career. She is cracking the books and has no time to read for pleasure. I also learned she is fluent in French. Bonne chance, mademoiselle.
Al, who is a month removed from knee replacement surgery, stopped by to donate a couple of books: a beautiful hardcover edition of Jack London's The Sea Wolf, and Michael Ford Curtis' The Ten Thousand, which follows the Greek army as it fights its way from misadventure in Persia to its homeland. Al said he will always remember that book because it got him laid. He was at a party and a tipsy woman asked him to read to her. She was so turned on by the Greeks' exploits that the next thing he knew he was in the garage en flagrante - in sub-freezing temperatures! Thank you, sir. I myself will always remember an aspect of The Sea Wolf, wherein London describes the captain, Wolf Larsen, as unmoral, that is, without conscience, primitive, as if he'd been born before there were such a thing as morality. If you've never read any London, look for a version of The One Thousand Dozen, a short story. As Spock would say: "Fascinating."
Thanks to the little old lady who is a big fan of fantasy, who purchased a huge Piers Anthony reader, Double Exposure.
Read Vic's stories, free: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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