Flashback Friday...the other Sept. 11

I just had my review at work, which means I've been a bookseller for 9 years!

It was the year 2000 and I had just left a job that I thought I would be at for the rest of my life.
I was still numb over mom's passing and bruised from a lot of stuff that had gone on during the previous two years. I took the summer off and slept a lot and wondered just what was around the corner. When the money ran out, I asked myself, what have I always wanted to do?

The first answer was and still is:

Nothing.

I mean nothing that resembles work, anyway!
Seriously, the top answer is and always will be to wander backroads and take pictures of vanishing Americana and write about it and other random thoughts. And to make videos and tell stories, both mine and other peoples.
But, alas...no one was or ever is...gonna pay me to do that.

The second answer was and if one has to work, still is:
Work in a bookstore.

I applied at Borders and Barnes and Nobles, but secretly hoped for a job at one of my favorite huants: Half Price Books.
I still tell the story about how I knew that the "culture" of working there would suit me when my boss called to set up an interview with me and left a message on my machine saying "well, okay, honey....call me back when you get this."

The "honey" pretty much cinched it.

My first day was on Sept. 11, 2000.

Now, there are those who were skeptical:
My neighbor, ex-coworker and friend, upon finding out I got the job, said: "well, if you ask me, it's like an alcoholic working at a bar." And looking around at the state of my apartment and the amassing of all things written and recorded, I suppose she was right. But I don't recall asking her, anyway : )

Along with building the best book, cd and dvd library ever, the other perk of the job is collecting hundreds of movie moments and stories that come with working with the public and their stuff (we buy used merchandise from customers). Don't get me wrong, there are days when working in retail sucks. But those days and those customers, are usually outweighed by the priceless moments of experiencing humanity and all its quirks. When one of these moments unfolds before us, I often turn to my co-worker who is a film maker and say: " You can't write this and you can't cast this."

So far, this blog has been pretty silent about work stories. I usually save them for in person story-telling, but I find that I'm forgetting them, so in the future, I will try to preserve them here.

Directions to here:
The only thing I don't like about my job, is that it's not in Northwest Indiana!
Won't you go to halfpricebooks.com and send an email requesting a store in the Northwest Indiana area?

Bring it!