Hey Bus Driver!

What happened to Good Service? Did anyone see where it got off the bus?  It was sitting right there; right behind the driver when we got on the digital highway back in 1985.  I distinctly remember it calmly turned around and said, Relax, as the driver did his best Andretti down the long and winding road of life.  Back then, Good Service could be found at any stop along the way; local gas station or Seven-11.  Palled around with Please and Thank You and Have A Nice Day.  Cash was king and smiling eyes the only receipt necessary.  If you got stuck putting together any of that life-pleasuring stuff you bought down at the new big-box store, well, Good Service was only a phone call away – toll free...  Read On. (pdf)

Where’s The Pony?

While driving out to Mankato, Minnesota in late March, 2006, my travel companion and fellow bibliophile and author, Frank Wydra, started to tell me the story about the little boy who wanted a pony for his birthday. 

We were on our way to pick up a collection of 4,000 books that my antiquarian bookstore, Birchwood Books, had “won” five months earlier.  It’s not that unusual for us to buy up entire estates, but my policy for any books sight unseen is never pay more than a few pennies per volume.  In this case, I added the condition of having until spring to remove them.   I had only a vague idea of what was in this collection.  I knew most of the books dated from the 1950’s and 60’s and dealt with western fiction and lore.  I knew that from the list of 30-odd sample titles we’d based our bid on.  That list had been enticing, with authors like Dobbie, McMurtry and L’Amour – most in dust jackets.  So we took a chance and, damn, if we didn’t win the lot!  The collection included an era and genre that Frank knew and collected, so I was thrilled when he agreed to tag along ...   Read On.(pdf)

The Doctor Won’t See You Now.

Had an appointment with my new doctor the other day; been seeing him for about a year now.  Young guy, bright eyes and eager, came highly recommended from a nurse friend who deals with doctors day in and day out.  Needed to find a new doc ever since my old one retired.  Her practice was 30 miles away, and while I loved the service, and for sure her replacement would be just as good, I didn’t want to travel 30 miles any more, even if it was only twice a year.  A lot had changed over the past ten years.  The drive downtown wasn’t as nice, parking was harder each time, and the price of gas wasn’t ever going to get any cheaper.  So, that’s how I became a patient of… we’ll just call him Doctor Younger.

My last appointment was my 8^th or 10^th in the past 13 months, depending on who’s counting. It was the 4^th or 5^th time I’d been to his new offices in the brand new medical building this side of town.  His office – indeed, the entire building – still had that new-paint smell as I walked in at 9:25 for my 9:30 appointment, prescription card and list of medications in hand, just as the voicemail message instructed.  I couldn’t help but notice that several of the offices were still not occupied.  Doctor Younger and his associates had been in here for six months now...  Read On.(pdf)

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