McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: Bestsellers (Page 38 of 71)

The Great Race. Rose style.

October 7, 2013 /

I’m thinking about hiring sherpas. Getting to the front door of the shop has apparently taken on a difficulty factor equal to scaling Mt. Everest. Or that TV show where teams race from place to place while overcoming outlandish obstacles.

Since the construction began, I’ve mentioned a “Thanks for braving the construction,” on occasion. Normally, the response is something like “Ah, it was no trouble.” Or, “I found a parking spot right in front.” (Several times on that one.) Unfortunately, there are no more parking spaces in front.

There’s a big pit.

So, today, when I thanked the folks who came in for lunch and tackled the construction to get here, the replies were a lot more descriptive. Those hardy folks didn’t just pop in at lunchtime. They set out on a mission.

And it’s probably a good time for me to say “Thanks.”

Trying to keep upbeat about it, knowing that the Rose District is going to be a beautiful shopping area once it is all finished. I’m also trying to remember that there are just a few more weeks for the streetwork’s completion.

The contractors are moving along at a quick pace and are trying to keep access open to the sidewalks. There’s a big yellow dino-bot right at the intersection this afternoon. The orange fence is blocking off the Commercial Street entry.

Hopefully, it won’t be required tomorrow.

So, to those of you who have already found your way in during this construction period, I want you to know it is sincerely appreciated. To those who have been thinking about coming down to see what it is all about – rest assured – there are offstreet parking spaces available in addition to the on-street parking between Commercial Street and Dallas.

The seventh-grade science teacher used to remind us that “Patience is a virtue.” I’m not trying for Sainthood or anything, but I’m certainly stocking up on that asset to get me through the next few weeks. Oh, and my other daily business proverb – that it only takes a couple of good sales to make the day – has proven true once again. What is likely my last sale of the evening has made up for the rest of the day!

It’s all good. Load up the backpack and climbing boots, then come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow OK!

What’s the frequency, Kenneth?

October 5, 2013 /

I’ve dragged out Dad’s radio. An old beast. Single speaker job, pre-stereo. It used to sit on his desk. He was proud of that new FM thing.

I have plenty of gadgets in the office. TV. Computer. But no radio.

And I needed a radio. The OSU Cowboys are playing football on TV. So I need a radio.

Sometimes when you hear someone talk, you just wish they wouldn’t. Maybe if they’d change the subject, it would be more bearable. Maybe if ESPN’s Rod Gilmore talked about tree pruning or gourmet cooking I could listen.

Football?

Sorry, Rodney. I would listen if you were giving me legal advice, I promise.

He’s a practicing attorney in San Francisco, in addition to his television broadcasting chores. A bright guy. Stanford graduate. Howard Cosell was a lawyer, too. Couldn’t listen to him either – but I don’t think it’s the attorney thing.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys radio network is carried by radio stations all over Oklahoma and I tried a list of them that stream their programs on the internet. There must be some sort of legal angle that prohibits the games from being streamed over the internet. Rod could probably tell me.

The TV and the game were on. While I was cringing at his commentary, I glanced over and spotted Dad’s blue-tube stashed on a shelf.

Plugged it in – and it works!

Well, it works as well as the technology from that era should be expected to work. It’s a Philco model 926 from 1962. Sold for about twenty bucks brand new. The technology was different back then – what they called “vacuum tubes.” Those were replaced by transistors, which allowed radios to be produced in much smaller – and portable – versions.

On the back are a couple of posts sticking out that allow a wire to be attached. Amazingly, I just happen to have a radio antenna loop here in the office, which pulled in the FM stations. Turns out the game is carried on KFAQ – an AM station – which didn’t need the antenna.

KFAQ’s radio frequency is 1170, but you can see in the second image that the old radio doesn’t believe it for a second. The analog dial indicator is sitting midway between the 10 and the 11. Doesn’t matter to me.

I get to listen to the home town announcers, and more importantly, I don’t have to listen to Rod Gilmore while watching the TV coverage.
Nothing like going old school. Watching the game remembering my dad and his FM Muzak, symphonic versions of the Beatles. I hope his radio holds up long enough to get through the fourth quarter and the Cowboys hold up long enough to win the game.

PISTOLS FIRING! (a radio announcer touchdown thing…)

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow OK!

Bligh’ me, yer a smart one Weazel!

September 30, 2013 /

Suddenly, Pat hurls himself at the maniac Weazel!

Can’t ask for much more excitement than that, don’t ya know… In fact, before even hitting Page 1, there’s a scary pop-up in which Connie must peel potatoes or lose his ears. Sounds like my childhood! Zowie! (Kidding there, Ma…)

Almost eighty-years ago, a young fellow named Milton moved to New York City. The kid could draw. Got himself a job with the Associated Press in the features department – that’s the bunch in charge of comic strips. The head of a competing art syndicate liked Milton’s work, and hired him to draw a comic strip he had envisioned.

It hit the papers in 1934. Terry and the Pirates.

Loads of action and adventure. Great artwork. Terry was a cabin-boy type on the ship of the worldly Pat Ryan, who had some outlandish confrontations with Dragon Lady, the Pirate Queen of the Orient.

Milton Caniff drew the comic strip for a dozen years, but – back in those days – the publication rights and ownership of the character belonged to the syndication group. Caniff was paid a salary for his efforts.

As anyone who has ever hoisted a Dilbert coffee mug will realize, there’s Gold in them-thar Marketing Rights.

Caniff quit adventure on the high seas and traded it for adventure in the clouds – leaving Terry and the Pirates and creating his own strip called Steve Canyon. The high-flying Air Force hero appeared in newspapers nationwide, enjoyed by millions of readers. He continued the comic until his death in 1988.

A year after Terry and the Pirates made its debut, Caniff wrote and illustrated a hardback book version, complete with three “Pop-Up” pictures. It’s not politically correct these days, but its Oriental dialogue-affectations might be compared to the dialects in Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer adventures.

Needless to say, the book is scarce in any condition. With all three pop-ups completely intact, it’s a rare find and nice addition to the shop’s offerings.

I’ve long been a fan of the newspaper comic strips. As a kid, I aspired to draw that sort of thing for my living. (Bligh’ me, yer a smart one Weazel! …another pipe dream, busted.) I remember admiring artwork like The Spirit, another action hero drawn by Will Eisner – a contemporary of Milton Caniff.

I still read the “funnies” in the Tulsa World, but the artwork just isn’t the same. You can click on the image to compare the portraits of Steve Canyon and “Dilbert” – the creation of cartoonist Scott Adams. (The humor in the Dilbert strip is as sharp as anything out there, and particularly sharp on the modern office culture.)

But it ain’t Terry and the Pirates:

THEN, out of the South came the great terror of the China Sea – TYPHOON!

Here that wind, Limey?” exclaimed Weazel. “We strike now!

And how they struck! They cut the ropes on all but two of the lifeboats, scuttled the ship, took command of the entire crew at the point of guns! Dmitri carried out his foul part of the scheme, too. Drawing a gun, he shoved Mr. Drake, Normandie, and Terry, who had come to warn them, into a closet and tied them up.

Suddenly Connie remembered something. He ran to the place he had hidden the life preservers. “Yipple Dipple!” he exclaimed. “Come now lickity-skip!”

It doesn’t get much more exciting than that, huh?

Come visit, lickity-skip!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main Street, Broken Arrow OK!

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2025 McHuston Booksellers

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑