Well, the important thing is I'm back to writing.

I've answered a question that I've always wondered about.

Would writing itself be enough? If I thought no one would ever read my scribblings, would it still be satisfying to create?

The answer, surprisingly, is yes. To a point.

Because, even though I'm not actively looking for ways to print up or expose my writing, that is still kind of a hazy goal in the future.

I got back three of the revisions to my manuscript, and they are sitting on my table. But vacation time came, and then summer, and I've more or less decided not to tackle it until Fall. The last two books -- the one I wrote before my long hiatus, and the one I wrote after -- are lumps of coal. I know there is a diamond in there somewhere, but I'm not sure how to extract it.

So, meanwhile, I've started a little space fantasy for myself. I'm writing it more the way I write my blog. Easy, cheesy. Not struggling over it, just sort of spinning it out.

The fun and satisfaction is in writing that first draft, the discovery, the flexing of the creative muscles. I'm going with that, for now.

Because in the end, no matter that actually producing something in a readable form is the ultimate goal, nothing is possible without the original material. So the fact that it's piling up a tad doesn't really bother me.

I'm hoping for inspiration on SOMETIMES A DRAGON and on I'M ONLY HUMAN that will unlock their potential.

Meanwhile, it's on to writing the next thing. CLOUDSHIPS. Here I come.

Agoraphobia and NEWSROOM

The show NEWSROOM had the first realistic depiction of a panic attack I've ever seen on T.V. or in the movies, last night. One of the characters rushes out of a meeting and runs up to the roof to hide and recover. Her roommates friends have absconded with all her Xanax.

Anyway, I thought it was interestingly handled, as a response to stress that can be dealt with properly. That the character is an effective worker, who occasionally has a problem.

And the Xanax.

I always carry a pill with me, just in case. I haven't had to resort to it very often. I suspect, actually, I don't resort to the pills often enough. I'm conscious that it could become an issue.

But just having them available has been a huge help. It seems to short-circuit the beginnings of the problem to know that I have a solution to the problem. A placebo effect without even taking the placebo.

I've mentioned before I suffered from depression in my 20's. It's been about 35 years since I went off the major medication.

But there was one holdover, and that was my agoraphobia. I fought through it. Just going into Pegasus Books the first time and meeting the owner was a real challenge. Going to writer's group. Both activities have led to both a personal life (I met Linda at writer's group) and my working life (hired to work at Pegasus and 4 years later, buying the place.)

Here's the thing I'll always remember though. I just thought I was generally crazy until:

I read an article.

Yes, in all my voluminous and almost addictive reading, I stumbled across an article about agoraphobia and realized what I had. An, 'ah hah!' moment. This was at least 10 years after I suffered my first panic attack.

Neither of the shrinks who treated me for depression ever diagnosed it: I'm sure it was all tangled up in my other neuroses...heh.

Just knowing what it was, was a huge huge relief. I read up on the condition, and started treating myself. Not aggressively, by any means. But slowly, very very slowly, I attempted more and more social interaction, venturing out of my safe zone ONLY when I felt I wouldn't have a panic attack.

The theory being, the more marketplace interactions I had without a panic attack the more credit I accrued in my emotional bank.

But I had a safe platform from which to venture. I owned my own store, I had a very supportive wife and family. I did it extremely slowly -- you might even say, over a 20 to 30 year period of saying NO to most things, and occasionally saying YES.

It was about a decade ago, that I asked my general practitioner about Xanax, which I had read was a "magic" pill for the condition. I was all ready to argue that "I didn't care what caused it" and "I didn't want to see a shrink" and so on, but he readily agreed.

It's been a huge help, and I'm almost at a stage of believing that the actual phobia is gone -- that what I've got is just your everyday social anxiety, which Xanax smooths over.

My latest Doctor actually did start to ask about "what caused it" and I rather harshly said, "It doesn't matter -- it has to do with depression and drugs from 30 years ago, and I've been all through that -- the pills WORK and that's that." She, maybe a little reluctantly, let it drop. I suspect, at this point in my life, I probably know more about the condition than she does...That it's situational, and that I don't need Freudian analysis to figure out what's going on.

Anyway, it was nice to see a non-pejorative, non-judgmental depiction of the condition.


Now, about NEWSROOM.

It's red meat for liberals. I cheer every scene.

The first episode was great, the second episode was cringe-worthingly bad, and the third episode was pretty good. I don't much like the flibbertigibbet female characters in their relations to the men.

Other than that, I'm eating it up.

Bend's Wall Street is its Main Street.

I was talking to another merchant who asked me if I thought downtown Bend's Wall Street really gets so much more business than the rest of us.

Answer is: I don't know.

I'm guessing, however, that they do indeed get a lot more foot traffic. Linda and I walked around downtown this afternoon, and the flow was definitely heavier on Wall.

They also don't seem to have as much turnover as the rest of downtown.

My assumption is; the rents are at their peak on Wall Street, but so are the returns. Let's say 100%.

Go off the beaten track just a little, say Oregon and Minnesota streets, and maybe the rents drop slightly (if at all) but the return is probably more like 85%. So we're paying very close to full peak rent, say 95% but getting 85% the return. Go even further out, and the rents only drop a little more, say to 90%, while the return probably drops to more like 75% and so on.

In other words, in my opinion, the rents are a little off kilter. Landlords want the going rate, and the going rate is Wall Street or slightly below. But the returns aren't equal.

Which is why, I think, you see slightly more turnover the further away from Wall Street.

Like I said, I can't really prove any of this, it's just a sense I get.

So, yes, if I was starting a business from scratch, and there was a likely looking location on Wall Street, I'd take it.

It wouldn't make much sense for me to do it now. I've been in the same location for so long, and the store is so packed, that any improvement (the above 10% improvement) would be more than offset over the short and medium time-frame by the customers I'd lose and the costs of moving. Plus paying a higher rate right off the bat while I'm trying to re-establish myself.

Besides -- from my long-term perspective -- the amount of foot-traffic I'm now getting is a bit of a miracle -- considering for most of my career we didn't get much of any. So it's a vast improvement, from my perspective.

Ironically, Wall Street can seem almost too busy. The traffic is kind of heavy. But that smacks of the old Yogi Berra saying, "No one goes there anymore...it's too busy."

I'm sure they are slow plenty of times. If it was too busy, I'm sure I'd get over it by counting my money in the register at the end of the day.

Push this button every 108 minutes.

No I didn't forget to write. I was hoping for something to say.

I'm starting to feel like the guys in the Hatch in Lost who have to push a button every 108 minutes or the world ends.

So here it is, and in 4 months it will be six years of pushing the hatch button.

(Yes, I know I can quit at any time, but usually it's easy...)

Friday fuds.

I could swear I heard a couple of bombs going off on the 4th. Not firecrackers. BOMBS!.

**********

Reading two weeks of Bulletin just really shows how conservative their editorial pages are. It's so strange, because I disagree with almost everything the editorials, letters and columns say.

How did I find myself here?

**********

I was down to one day of working at the store this week, and it just wasn't enough time. I'll have to go back today to finish up.

The holiday falling on Wednesday was interesting; Monday and Tuesday were slower than I expected, but yesterday was busy.

Looking ahead, we have an early Thanksgiving (the 22nd) and Christmas and New Years falling on Tuesday. Reading the tea leaves, I think that's a good day to maximize sales.

But who knows?

**********

I put the shipment of jigsaw puzzles out for sale at Linda's store. About 60 of them. They stack very nicely, not taking up too much room. Started a puzzle on the table.

I'll be interested to see if they sell.

It was a momentary madness on my part, but I don't think it will be a disaster.

**********

All the unavoidable mirrors in the motel rooms inspired me to go on a diet.

For some reason, this isn't that hard for me. (Well, it isn't easy, but I can do it.) I set a goal and just do it. I'm thinking about 15 pounds, and so far I'm down 5 pounds. Also, walking. I was going to do 10K steps, but decided on 7000 minimum per day as a more reachable goal.

Turns out, I do about that many steps on a busy day at the store. Yesterday, for instance, I didn't sit down once.

**********

I haven't been able to do any writing, if you're wondering.

Even when I was writing full time, I found summer and holidays a difficult time to get anything done. The fall (memories of school?) and the depths of winter are the best time to concentrate and not be distracted by family and events.

I'm keeping my hand in -- writing a little space fantasy for my own amusement.

**********

So -- I liked Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

I guess I'm easily amused. The major criticism the reviewers had was the lack of humor.

Hey, vampires are a serious business! At least in my book.

Have I mentioned I usually hate campiness?

June results.

+21% over last year, the 12th straight month of increases over the previous year.

It will be interesting to see if we can now start to beat the previous increases. It might be hard to do in July, because we had a pretty big month last year.

Every category saw at least a double digit increase this month, which I think is the first time that has happened.

Comics: +24%. Comics continue to do well.

Sports Cards: +10%. Reinvesting in these, and getting a bit of a boost, but probably not much more than I'm putting in. Trying to get these going again, especially after seeing card shops on my trip who seemed to be making headway.

CCG's: +10%. Considering that I have one less competitor than before, not a major increase but I'll take it.

Games: +27%. Very gratifying that these continue to do well.

New and Used Books: +24%. Also very gratifying. Books have just continued to grow.

Toys: +35%. A big increase in a smaller category, but nice to see since I've been reinvesting in this category this year.

Graphic Novels: +15%. I feel with the quality of the selection I've brought in, this category should actually be doing better. But I certainly see it as solid.


I also did an analysis of the first six months compared to last year, with very similar results.

+22% increase overall.

Comics: +24%.

Sports cards: +10.

CCG's: +10.

Games: +28%.

Books: +24%.

Toys: +35%.

Graphic Novels: +15%.

So, not just close to the same as June, but almost exactly the same. (The numbers don't seen to quite add up, but I'm getting ready for work. I'll try to figure out how the individual increases didn't add up to a larger overall increase later...)(O.K. I think it's just a 'rounding' error. No biggie.)

At any rate, it would seem that the growth in all categories is real and solid.

Another wasted day.

I was nursing my poor eyes for the first half of the day, intending to get going (filing books at Linda's store, mowing lawns, etc.) when my eyes flared up again.

Totally frustrating not to really be able to watch anything, browse the internet, read a book, or much of anything else.

Also, I'm worried. Why did I get a flare up? Do I have a new allergy? The only thing that has ever hit me this hard before was when I got a cinder of sage in my eye from a fire. Have there been fires around Bend that contained sage? Why does it strike hard at 9:00 every night?

Around 9:00 I laid down and closed my eyes for about an hour, and when I got up again, the eyes were not getting worse. Got up again this morning with really puffy eyes, and got my guys to cover the store today. (Yes, we're open; 11:00 to 4:00).

I'm going to wash my hands every hour or so and keep them away from my eyes and mow the lawn no matter what and otherwise try to stay busy until the fireworks tonight. Sorry, not much else going on.

Eyes swollen shut.

I was out gardening last night. Came in, washed my hands. Started to watch some T.V., and put my hands to my eyes to rub them.

A few minutes later, my eyes exploded. Painful, watering, just awful.

Got in the shower and tried to rinse my eyes. Was up until 3:00 in the morning before the pain subsided enough to get some sleep. Almost went to the emergency room. Just about the worst thing about it, is my sinus just starts flowing when my eyes water, and I used up a couple boxes of tissue.

Woke up this morning with my eyes glued shut. I pried them them open gingerly with my fingers, but there wasn't any pain.

However, I look like a gargoyle. Fortunately, I don't have to work today, though I was planning to work tomorrow.

Gardening is dangerous.

A sense of Bend.

There's a column in the Bulletin today that talks about the weakness of the Bend bus system, but avoids, I think, calling it what it seems to be: a failure. (At least, less than a success.)

I'm not judging the merits of mass transit, only whether it was ever going to be workable in Bend.

O.K. Those who want proof, can stop reading now.

This is more a sense of Bend that I have, a sense that we really are different.

When I visited all these other towns on our trip, I started to get a little uneasy. There were more comic shops, more card shops, more game stores, per capita, than in Bend. Bookstores were less predictable, with towns bigger than Bend having none, and towns smaller having more. But really, when you look at Bend from an objective standpoint, there should be more independent hobby shops than there are.

But Bend really only has one independent bookstore, one game store, one comic store. None of them have had it easy.

It's something ab0ut the demographics, is my sense, but I don't know.

My sense was that the bus system in Bend simply wouldn't be used enough. That the layout of Bend, or the attitude toward driving, or -- well, I couldn't prove it. But I was pretty sure this is one of those things that Bend -- because of it's size and relative importance to the region -- should have, because everyone else has them, but which would prove to be elusive.

We've had this idea in Bend for awhile now, that we should have everything a "city" should have. But some of these things -- that our size should allow -- simply don't work.

We are a tourist town, isolated for much of the year, rolling in visitors other times of year. That seems to be different model of economy that most towns our size.

At least that's my sense of it.

Another Bend kid made good (?)

This may be a good time to talk about another Bend kid who made it in the wider world. I won't say he made good...

I'm not sure how many people remember the Trailways Bus company; or the depot that used to be on the corner of Greenwood and Bond. I was still taking those buses to college back in the early 70's.

And I'm not sure how many people remember (or care) that Trailways was based in Bend, founded by a fellow named William Niskanen, who fought a legal fight to have Greyhound declared in fault of anti-trust so that his company might exist.

William Niskanen's son (also named William Niskanen) went off to Harvard and became a well-known libertarian economist, eventually landing at the conservative think-tank, the Cato Institute. He died in 2011.

The reason I bring him up is, that his death apparently put the Cato Institute in play. The Koch brothers swooped in and tried to take control of the place. It was recently resolved with the head guy stepping down, but with the Koch brothers backing off.

I find two things about this story to be ironic.

1.) William Niskanen's father resorted to asking the federal government to intervene against a monopolistic enterprise, (Greyhound.)

2.) That the Cato Institute almost got swallowed whole by big money.

In both cases, it seems to me a true libertarian would be saying, yeah, go for it. Money deserves whatever it can buy. The big bad government can butt out.

I wonder. Do these guys ever have second thoughts?

My Handicapping Method of Movie Going.

Was getting ready to leave the store yesterday: "When I've done this, I'm finished."

"What you should do when you say that," Cameron says, "Is say it in Daniel Day Lewis's voice; 'I'm finished.'

"I've never seen THERE WILL BE BLOOD," I said, instinctively realizing that was what he was referring to.

"WHAT!"

Anyway, I started to explain my Handicapping Method of Movie Going.

You take the baseline Rotten Tomatoes score: 60% positive, makes it a fresh movie.

O.K. Bear with me.

You automatically add 10 points for any horror, science fiction and fantasy movie.

+10 points for action movies.

+10 points for any End of World and/or zombie, vampire, werewolf or other supernatural critters.

So, for instance, Linda and I had just come back from ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER.

Original Rotten Tomatoes score: 35.

So we add +10 points for horror, and +10 points for vampires. That get's us to 55. So we add, say, another +10 for any movie with Lincoln in it, and there we are! (So, I made the Lincoln addition at the last moment, but it's MY handicap.)

Meanwhile, I didn't have to dock -10 points because it was Campy. I hate campy when it comes to most S.F. movies, and dislike it in horror.

-10 for drama.

-10 for romantic comedy.

-10 for sappy.

"Wait a minute," Cameron says. "That means you're saying that any drama is automatically 20 points worse than any horror movie, no matter how bad! There are a lot of bad vampire movies!"

"Yes, but we work from the baseline of the original Rotten Tomatoes score, remember."

"Still, not watching a movie like THERE WILL BE BLOOD is crazy."

"Well, I should have seen that movie, no excuses, it actually fit well into my handicapping # even with the automatic -10. Besides....you can also add and subtract points for actors, for instance:

Daniel Day Lewis. +10.

Sean Connery. +10

Tom Cruise. -10.

and so on."

Cameron looks skeptical, so I go for the kill. "You could add +10 points for Bruce Campbell, for instance."

"Oh, he's a +30!"

"See! It works for you!"

Anyway, I haven't worked out all the kinks. I know there is a movie coming up that I'm pretty sure I'm going to see, the Abraham Lincoln biopic. It's loaded with points.

Daniel Day Lewis +10.

Steven Spielberg +10.

Abraham Lincoln +10.

Vampires +10.

....well, it's part of the historical record, right?

Beet's 9th floors me every time.

There's a ten thousand person chorus to Beethoven's 9th, choral last movement, over on Naked Capitalism links.

This music never fails to send shivers up and down my spine, my head tingles, my eyes water, I'm totally mesmerized. Every time.

There's a name for this reaction, but I can't remember it. They had a long thread over on Reddit, but I can never find threads there.

Anyway, any time I want to be emotionally moved, all I have to do is put this music on.

"Don't tell anyone, but...."

The store was in pretty good shape when I got back. The last two days haven't been as difficult as I expected, after being away for so long. So, the guys did a pretty good job.

It is a little more disheveled than I like, but pleasantly so. In fact, I think I can allow a small amount of chaos in the store. But that disorder has to come from an original state of order, not from other chaos. Which means, that I have to put it in order.

Fight The Entropy!

I don't believe anyone really understands the "half-inch" rule: which is how I describe the little bits of disorder adding up to an impression of messiness.

Just between you and me, the impression that things are in order is as important as the things actually being in order. Squaring everything away makes people feel like someone is in charge. Just don't tell anyone, O.K.?

Anyway, most all the stores we visited, including the corporate ones, had more things out of place that I would like. Sometimes that just seemed to fit the personality of the workers -- sometimes it was O.K. But that can so easily spin out of control.

So what did I take away from all my visits?

Most of these stores were ordering way more "extra" copies that I do. My guess is that my variety of titles is considerable more extensive than theirs, per foot.

On the other hand, having multiple copies of the same book highlighted can make them look very appealing. So I'm going to try to find a way to do this in my store more often.

I've just ordered a ton of copies of the classic Batman graphic novels: The Long Halloween, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and others. Going to create a big display near the register, see how that goes.

I've read all these books, and all of them are at the top of the comic field. It's a great time to read them. (I know, I know...I keep saying movies have no effect, but I'm ever hopeful...)

I fear the homogeneity of the bland.

O.K. So yesterday's post may have been a little harsh. But my gentle nudges don't seem to get anywhere.

I've always liked Chuck, and I think the Downtowners mean well, but I simply don't understand their mindset. I'm an outsider, and it gives me an ability to be somewhat critical without fear of consequences that other merchants probably don't have.

Nevertheless, the substance of what I said yesterday still stands.

Thing is, the city already has the power to regulate the displays. Indeed, for 20 years they wouldn't allow anyone to put anything on the sidewalks without a ticket.

I fear that will be the end result of this brouhaha.

Yes, someone having a "garage sale" in front of their store is tacky. But I prefer a downtown that keeps a little of the funk; that has variety, and yes that even includes different levels of status.
I don't want downtown to become all slick and heterogeneous like, for instance, The Old Mill.

Obviously, there are lots of people who prefer that kind of superficial sophistication, but I think it loses some of its humanity.

What are the downtowners thinking?

Wait a minute. The city will insist on walling off access to my business on a regular basis, and closing the streets around my store? But they want to charge me for putting a table of books onto the sidewalk? Or worse, maybe decide my display doesn't meet their standards?

My first thought was, who's complaining? Turns out, it wasn't any customers, it was a downtown store owner that who didn't like the looks of her neighbor's displays.

Hey, if you don't like the looks of your neighbor's display (tires?) go tell them. I'll bet you they'll conform. Don't be a weasel and go to the city council to have the city bureaucracy get involved. Bad idea. Really bad idea.

And make everyone pay. Because of your stupid complaint, we all end up paying an extra 200.00? And the Downtowners are in favor of this? Who's side are they on?

I tell you, when the neighbor can decided what your store looks like, we are no longer a confederation of independent businesses, we are a mall. Suppose someone doesn't think a comic store fits among all the jewelry stores and art galleries? Could they start deciding that?

The worst of it, the freaking Downtowners are in support of this measure, that would cost me 200.00 a year to put a table of books in front of my store.

That's it.

This organization has metastasized into a interfering, blundering mess of dopey merchants. It seems to always take the side of the most prosperous of downtown businesses -- and to ignore everyone else. In all the years since I was roped into being a downtowner against my will (I hereby resign) they have never once even mentioned my business in their newsletter.

Some examples of their overreach: wanting paid parking. Wanting to put camera's on every corner. The endless festivals and closed streets. And now this.

What are the downtowners thinking?

Mister Know-it-all.

Well, I may not know it all, but I know something.

I used to be leery of giving advice, not because I didn't think the advice was any good, but because my own business has mostly struggled to make money. What right did I have to give advice? Not that it might not be spot-on advice, because you learn from failure, more than you do from success.

Success can hide things that aren't working. Failure pretty much highlights them. I've done a ton of things wrong, and I've stumbled on a few things right.

The last 8 years or so, we finally became a going concern. Both stores are doing well, especially considering how awful the economy has been for the last 5 or 6 years.... I feel like I know what I'm doing.

(There are things wrong with my store, and I'm aware of some of them and not aware of others; but space has limited my options. The trade-off is: Long-term presence in a vibrant downtown, but limited space. Or a leap into the unknown, leaving the above for more space. I've chosen the former because of where I am in my career. So, yeah. There are lots of things that can be improved in my own store....)

Anyway, on our travels, we visited a bunch of shops. We'd always introduce ourselves as "two bookstore owners."

The lack of curiosity on the part of the 95% of the people was astounding. To me, utterly inexplicable.

Here's the thing: If you walked into my store and told me you owned a store of any kind, I'd immediately start picking your brain, asking you questions.

Most of these people didn't even respond. Not so much as a "where are you from?"

I can tell you that it only took a minute or two to see what most of what these guys were doing right and doing wrong.

"In YOUR opinion, Mister K.I.A."

No, really. Obvious stuff they were doing wrong. Either they had lived with it for so long, they didn't see it. Or they just didn't know it. Or -- in the worst cases -- it was obvious they didn't care any longer to improve.

There was one store that I told Linda after we left: "Give me $200.00 for two days work, and I'd completely transform that store into a nice place -- I'm make it look fresh and vibrant. Give me $50.00 for a couple of hours, and I could improve it tremendously...."

It was mostly ergonomics -- the efficient use of space. But it was also marketing -- what to display, and where, and how much. And so on. Just a little jiggling, a little tightening, a little freshening up.

When I walked into the store, I thought it was dying. I thought it was old and tired. But I looked around for a few minutes, and the store actually had a lot of good inventory. The basic setup wasn't that bad. It just "felt" old. All the basic ingredients were there for a good store, but they'd set up a store that gave the opposite message.

Ah, well. Like I said, most of these folk didn't even want to chat, much less be open to advice from a stranger. In every place, there were at least 1 or 2 things I could have told them that would have helped their operations. I'm sure of it.

What a shame.

I have to remind myself that if anyone comes in the door and looks like they know what they're doing and are willing to give advice, that I should be open and receptive.

Where have all the truckers gone....

The lead story on U.S.A. Today is that there is a shortage of truckers.

Which is pretty synchronic to my two week road trip. You couldn't help but notice truck after truck with "Drivers Wanted" signs on the back.

"You'd think with the unemployment rate, that people would be clamoring for those jobs..." I said.

But I'd read somewhere that some employers were finding it hard to find people who didn't have criminal records and/or could pass the drug test and/or fill out the minimal employment applications and/or pass a credit check.

It also turns out it also costs like 6K to go to driver's school and you have to be 21.

But the biggest reason, according to the article, seems to be -- it's too much work and you have to be away from home too long.

Another job for immigrants?

Some like it cold.

For Pete's Sake, there is no right or wrong answer to where one lives. (For H. Bruce's Sake?) It's all pretty subjective.

I've been watching Househunters for a number of years, and not once when they go back to revisit the house do the owners say, "Damn. I should've bought House #1." Nope, they're always delighted with the choice.

--- The choice --- they --- already --- made ---.

So we rationalize, at least those of us who have a choice.

I think H. Bruce's mistake is that he decided to leave Bend, but then -- for whatever reason -- stayed in Bend, and once the rationalization was stripped away all he could do was find fault.

Meanwhile, traveling.

I think where one travels and how long is also a choice where there is neither right or wrong. There are people who will tell you have to travel, just like there are people who will tell you how to eat, how to dress, how to drink wine.

But -- not-- traveling is also an option. Non-adventurous travel is an option.

I was thinking the other day about how I've sort of eased into the normal. I've always loved routine. I'm a pretty steady guy. (Witness the blog I've written everyday for 5.5 years; the wife I've had for 29 years, the business I've owned for 28 years, the hometown I came back to.)

Why is that acceptable to me? To "ease into the normal?" Because if you've ever spent a significant amount of your life feeling like the "other" the "outcast" it's a nice place to be. I feel like I could go off-center pretty quickly, go off the rails. I'm protective of myself.

But I think this gives me a platform to be adventurous in the creative parts of my life. To take business risks (this is the part of me that has always been more thrill-seeking) , to garden, and after a number of years trying to create my stable platform, to continually write.

Meanwhile, I have a stack of Bulletin newspapers 8 inches high to catch up to...

Hey guy! Quit waving that beer arou....oh, damn.

Because it's expected of me, I'm going to do my yearly lament about street closures. Certainly not a "tirade" these days, because I've given up any hope that things will ever change. I make sure I have other people working at my store on these days, and accept them like I would accept a hailstorm or something.

Still, I'll keep pointing out the emperor has no clothes, because -- well, the emperor is butt naked.

These street closures don't help business. Certainly not on the days they are held, and I've seen absolutely no evidence they help on the days they aren't being held. And it isn't just me.

I know it doesn't stand to reason. But there are lots of things in business that don't stand to reason, and yet there they are. If you examine the evidence -- it just ain't true.

For example: The massive success of the superhero movies must mean I'm doing really well selling comics...right? Actually, they have zero effect. This was a surprise at first, but since we've gone through year after year of blockbusters with the same limp effect, well -- there you have it.

Evidence -- Pshah!

It's a harmless illusion mostly. It probably doesn't hurt that people think that. It might hurt someone who is inspired to open a comic shop, I suppose. Or a new shop who over orders comics in anticipation, but the knowledge is pretty much out there among the comic community, so fair warning.

Anyway, I've detailed all the reasons I don't think street closures help business. Every spring for the last 6 years -- look it up. (I don't think it is just my business --but I can only prove my own business.) Admittedly, they don't hurt quite as much as they used to, because I've tried hard to mainstream my inventory, so I suspect it these street closures now hurt me more like they hurt other downtown business, instead of the extreme effect they used to have...

I've asked around a lot, and my opinion that these events don't help business is widely held, but rarely talked about. No one wants to rock the boat.

So, anyway, I got the sales total for Saturday, and it was mediocre. Less than almost every other day this week (and we're talking weekdays versus weekend.)

Then it occurs to me! They are holding the Bite of Bend every *other* year, alternating with the Old Mill district.

So I look up the same Saturday as last year's Bite of Bend, and we did ---nearly twice as well last year without the street closure. (I usually find the same kind of differential when I compare street-closure summer weekends with weekends before or after, very similar results.)

Evidence -- whateeeeeever, right?

Because you see, when summer comes, the streets are full of shoppers. Normally.

Unless you distract them. Unless you put a beer in their hand and fill the street with revelers. Then they tend to, you know, revel.

Today, the street was full of revelers and nibblers, bless their bloated little tummies.

Candide's return.

By the time we got to Cheyenne, we were ready to get home. We didn't really explore at all, though it looked like they had a grand old railroad station.

Stopped in Rawlins, Wy. for lunch, and there were antelope grazing in the middle of town. Had some grand old Victorian style houses. Supposedly, there was a bookstore called Off The Beaten Track, but when we stopped and asked, the antique lady just shook her head: "They've been gone for 15 years! How did you know about them?" They're listed on the internet. "They need to fix that internet..."

We got gas in Rock Springs, and I have to say, it was by far the ugliest town we'd seen on our entire trip. We drove through a very rundown downtown, were I was astonished to find a "comic" shop filled from top to bottom with action figures; old comics and sports cards, and a ton of other pop culture stuff; I felt like I had stepped into a store from 15 years ago.

We were told there was a bookstore in Green River, so we stopped there at the tourist center and contemplated going through the Flaming Gorge area, but it would've added 3 hours to the trip.

(We were constantly tempted by sights that would have added 2 to 3 hours, but if we'd planned just a tad better, some of them would've been achievable. Next time.)

It was a very nice town, though we went on a wild goose chase trying to find their bookstore.

Here's the thing I've learned on this trip; locals are useless when it comes to knowing about their own towns. Distances and populations are far beyond them. They can't give simple instructions. But worse -- they don't seem to know whether bookstores or comic shops even exists.

Drove on to Ogden. (which I proceeded to call Provo the whole time we were there...)

Nice little town. About the size of Bend, but has Weber State and an interstate. Had two comic and game stores, but only one small paperback exchange type used bookstore. There was a Hastings, and I went in to see their comic section, which was actually pretty extensive. No independent bookstore....we could find. (Again, this is after asking around... see above about locals cluelessness.)

I could see living there.

Drove into Boise, and after stumbling around for awhile, found the 'riverwalk' which was very pleasant. We were right next to Boise State, so there were some nice sights to see. I think maybe Bend would look very similar (minus the co-eds) on a summer day; lots of people walking the paths by the river; but then again, we live here. I tend to try to find quieter spots. Boise is nice.

I could see living there.

Drove on into Ontario, and it was like we were home. It just felt different somehow. The people are nicer, the signage is better, the sights are familiar. (Sorry, Bruce. I know this is provincialism, but it's the way I feel.)



For our entire two week trip, I don't think the mid-day temperatures ever dropped much below 90 degrees. I remember getting out of the car in Albuquerque and feeling like I stepped into a blast furnace.

It was near 100 degrees most of the time we were Oklahoma. (Hotter than usual for this time of year.)

So, ironically, the only time we saw cloud cover and or lower temps or rain was -- yesterday, when we were met with a deluge just east of Bend.

It was refreshing.

It feels so good to be home. Our cat couldn't decide if she was out of her mind happy to see us, or angry at us. The garden has bloomed in our absence.

Traveling makes you appreciate what you got. I can't really imagine it as a lifestyle, like all the turtle people we saw on the road. There were times when I looked into a hotel lobby and saw nothing but old couples -- obviously they're the folk that have the money and the inclination and the time to do it. But, even though I joke about joining the "old folk tribe" I don't feel much like them.

I've decided that I don't like the weight I'm at. When I'm home, I'm either in a big fluffy bathrobe or dressed. But in those motel rooms, I saw a different sides of myself. So I'm going to drop the 15 or 20 pounds I "let" myself gain. Also get in some walking exercise for sure.

There is no doubt whatsoever that flying is actually a cheaper option. But then, the trip itself was pretty much the point this time.

I found that Linda indulges my whims maybe a little too much. I'd find myself thinking out loud and or making a suggestion, and she'd take it as a command. Hard thing to correct, because then you get into -------

Sorry. You say you're sorry too much. Sorry. Quit saying you're sorry! I'm sorry that you think I say sorry too much.

----- type territory. We were pretty good about most things, and only lost our tempers a few times when we were lost in finding our motels.

Even though we pretty much only touched the surface along the way, even that much gives some perspective on Bend. As I mentioned before, I'm not in a hurry to want an Interstate in Bend anymore, because they're ugly. I also wasn't terribly impressed with some of the industrial areas we saw. Bend is a tourist area -- so maybe it's cross purposes to wish for industrial growth.

There are a number of towns I could see living in -- if I had to. But why would I? I'm already living in the best town in the best state in the best country in the whole world!