The Mandelbear's Musings

The flower_cat and I spent the late morning/early afternoon at the Grand Re-opening of Kepler's bookstore. The opening itself was preceeded by an almost-hour-long rally of a sort I haven't been to since sometime in the last century. The Cat, who grew up in the area, met several people she knew from her childhood; one of my coworkers and a long-ago-former coworker were there, and no doubt a number of people I once knew but either didn't notice or didn't recognize.

It was without a doubt the most crowded I've ever seen a bookstore except for maybe start-of-the-quarter at college; lines for the two cash registers, at opposite ends of the half-block-long store, met in the middle and doubled back. It took me about 45 minutes to get to the front (to buy about $100 worth of books, a T-shirt, and a family membership), but it was a happy 45 minutes.

A great independent bookstore and the community spirit it inspired have won a gratifying victory over corporate greed, and I'm going to be spending a lot more of my time (and book budget) at Kepler's in the future.