when some buddies and i hitched
cross-country in 1990,
i was such a book hound that by the time we
reached the grand canyon, my
aluminum frame backpack
was stuffed with dozens of paperbacks which
i had to check into a rented locker before
hiking down to the bottom. everywhere we
went, used book stores were our top stops.
with its crowded
shelves, labyrinthine
aisles, cozy
nooks, and obligatory
cat, The Book Trader
would have rated high then, and its stubborn purrassistance
in the age of amazon
makes it even more precious now.