McHuston Booksellers

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Tag: broken arrow bookstores (Page 47 of 114)

How close, the fame…

August 20, 2014 /

When the three young Dr Who fans squealed, I figured we were about to teleport through time and space.

That wasn’t it, exactly.

They had been browsing the store for some time. Exploring, one of them explained. Finally, they made their way back to the front of the shop. Their eyes went wide, all at once. Then, the squeals.

“Do you know who Kristin Chenoweth is?” one of them whispered. Loudly.

“Sure,” I answered, and was beginning to share my vast knowledge of the KC biography when one of the other young women interrupted.

“She is RIGHT outside your store!”

kristinChenoweth

Sure enough. Crossing in front of the plate glass was the Broadway star, heading down Main toward Broadway. Dangling in front of her was one of those giant fuzzy microphones at the end of a long pole carried by a fellow walking backwards. Another backward-walker had a camera on his shoulder recording the animated hand gestures of Ms Chenoweth.

Bam!

That was me thinking that I should take a picture to serve as physical evidence of her visit, and – of course – she was already well past the store when the idea finally hit me. That’s the reason I’ve been forced to include a red circle and arrow on the image. She has a big voice, but she is pretty small in the picture. In fact, you’ll have to click on it to enlarge it enough to spot her in the distance. (To spot her back, I mean. She’s in the purple dress.)

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Since she did not clear her itinerary with me, I have no idea what it was she was recording or promoting. But it’s nice to have a movie star in the Rose District walking amongst us mere mortals.

Reminded me of the time Alicia and I were introduced to Ron Howard, the movie director still best known to me as Opie on the Andy Griffith show. We were at the airport in New York City and a general hubbub arose around us. It wasn’t a formal introduction. More of a close encounter.

“It’s Opie!” someone whispered. Loudly.

I turned to the side and saw a rear end. It belonged to Ron Howard, who was bent over, waaaay over, attending to his suitcase. I wondered why he was in line with the common folk. It was just about that very moment that he began to straighten up and a uniformed airline employee began calling, “Mr. Howard! Mr. Howard!” As he turned, I recognized the rear end as being attached to Opie, although fully grown. (The man, not the rear end.)

She directed him toward the counter, away from the gawking, shuffling crowd that we were, to a place that was calm and serene and first class, no doubt. And thus ended our introduction to Mr Howard, movie director extraordinaire.

It is only now that I realize how the back sides of famous people are drawn to me. Go figure.

Maybe you’ll encounter a star yourself, when you

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

White Linen Night and I was in Cotton.

August 18, 2014 /

High Cotton, and white linen undies.

You don’t really believe that, do you?

The white linen is under the belt. Sauntering the streets in August, Rose District style. We certainly had the warm evening for wearing linen, even if there were a lot of cotton tees on display. Comfort, first of all.

Linen1

It was a night for the extended McHuston clan to gather, from Great-grandmother to that happiest grand-daughter o’ mine – and everyone in between. Thanks to daughter Kristen and son Dustin for manning the lines, both on the sidewalk and in the kitchen.

The new beer dispenser got its first real workout and came through with flying colors. Boulevard Wheat on draft. It’s a tasty brew even when it isn’t a hot August night. Which it was.

For the first go-round, White Linen Night in the Rose District will be recorded as a success for McHuston Booksellers & Irish Bistro. Sampled some Bangers & Mash in an unorthodox fashion – on a whitebread roll. Sliced the bread, laid in the sausage link all hot dog fashion, then topped it with creamy, handmade mashed potatoes and a little of our special Irish Stew gravy. Maybe a tad messy, but delicious! A thanks to Rachel for the idea and to all who tried one Saturday evening.

After seeing the photograph that the Tulsa World selected to showcase our little operation, I am reassured that the decision to have Kristen at the cash register was a good one. I’d have rather had her picture on the TW website, but I’ll settle for the brother and sister image I’ve attached.

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Next year, we might make some posters. Maybe a few handbills to pass out in the shopping bags. Try to get an article or two in the news, before the event. (I know there were some, because I read a couple. But a couple more might have helped attendance.) As with any new project, there is a learning curve.

But – truth to tell, it was a success for us.

Anytime we can get together as a family and meet new friends wandering the Rose District – it’s a hit. Cotton, Linen, or Commando.

Here’s to bigger and better next year!

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

Old dogs. New tricks.

August 11, 2014 /

There is so much to learn, and we only have one lifetime in which to master it all. At my stage of the game, I’m picking my lessons. Some are more entertaining than others. Today’s learning-project involved beer kegs.

Luckily, I have some life-experts that I can count on for advice. I’ve learned the hard way that I’d rather not learn things the hard way. Ronnie let me know that I could disconnect a full keg without it exploding. That’s important knowledge.

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When a keg ran out in the old days, someone would poke their head in the kitchen and call out that this keg or that keg had blown. I would dash into the walk-in refrigerator and start rocking kegs until I found an empty. Then, there is the little handle. Pop that up, then do the twist-on, twist-off thingy. Remove the valve from one and replace it on another with the same label.

And that was the extent of my knowledge. My partner kept track of that stuff. I had enough work to keep me busy in the kitchen.

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These days, when the handle is pulled and beer doesn’t come streaming out of the spout, I’m the one who has to figure it out. I’ve learned that the CO2 container is important. When the needle points to the red area on the gauge, that’s not good. When a newly-filled container is attached to the line and still the beer isn’t pouring, that’s even worse.

I’ve always thought that – where beer is concerned – the frostier, the better. When I saw the thermometer at 29-degrees, I could not have been happier, knowing that the refrigerator was doing its job so well. The machine believes it’s a freezer. Turns out, when it gets too cold, beer freezes.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened.

The beer was so cold that it froze inside the small line leading to the spout. (It’s still difficult to get mad at anyone or anything for doing a job so well…) It was easy enough to open the door long enough for the line to thaw and then turn the thermostat a notch.

From the internet I learned that beer served from a keg ought to be chilled to 38-degrees. That’s still pretty frosty. Just not freezing-up-frosty.

So, that’s the lesson for today. None of the Boulevard Wheat went out at lunchtime. The line was frozen solid. But tomorrow is another day, and beer & corned beef on rye is a pretty good combination.

Or so I’m told.

Come visit!

McHuston

Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St. Broken Arrow OK!

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