McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: Catoosa (Page 27 of 101)

Walking the Rose. Lofty views.

August 13, 2015 /

He walked to work every day. Maybe it wasn’t as unusual back then as it is today. But Grandpa Ray lived close to the Palace News and was probably halfway there in the time it would have taken to get the car started. I’ve thought more than once how convenient it would be to live in a Rose District loft and just hoof it over to the store.

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They’ve finished the Lofts at 222, the new living space above Andolini’s, and contrary to rumors that all the apartments had been leased – the agent who dropped off some brochures indicated there are several still available. I was surprised at the reasonable base rent amount for what I’d heard described as upscale lofts. Maybe I could sell the Firebird and its related expenses and become a walk-to-work-er.

Of course, with a weakness for pizza I’d have a tough time with the pies cooking right downstairs.

They’ve got the name on the exterior, at last, and the big now-hiring banner must be an indication that the opening of the restaurant is at hand. I’ve heard September, which is closer than we realize, the way the time races by.

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2015 is more than half-way gone (and I haven’t seen a single Christmas ad yet!) and we’ve already had a hint of some fall-like morning temperatures. No doubt there are plenty more steamy days left, and White Linen Night in the Rose District will give everyone a chance to browse the shops in the cooler evening hours this Saturday.

We’ve had folks eating lunch on the sidewalk this week. (They were actually sitting at the table out there, rather than eating on the sidewalk… Where’s the editor, anyway?) And despite – or maybe because of – the rush for back-to-school readiness, Chef Dustin and I have been hopping at lunchtime.

I look at Grandpa Ray in that old WWII era picture and wonder what he would think about his grandson and great-grandson serving up food and drink like he’s doing there. His place in Parsons, Kansas was very similar to what we have here in the Rose District. (Well, I suppose we do have a little more room to spread out here… everyone looks a little jammed up in the photo.) He sold sandwiches and a cold beer or two. Magazines and what not.

Cigars.

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I remember the cigar box as the crayon-and-pencil-holding carry all back in elementary school. Every time that box was opened, I got a blast of Roi-Tan or King Edward. Carrying crayons in a tobacco-product box is probably not politically correct these days, and Grandpa Ray certainly wouldn’t get away with chomping on his cee-gar at the beer tap.

We’ve got Blue Moon on our tap here at the shop, along with a Shiner Bock. Fresh-brewed tea. Soft drinks. And some tasty lunchtime fare.

Come visit!

McHuston

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

The Two-Cents Worth…

August 9, 2015 /

The clerk had already pressed the button on the register when the lady said, “I think I have the two cents.” The young man looked at the machine and then looked at his customer. He hesitantly dipped his hand toward the cash drawer, and then stopped.

“That’s okay, ma’am,” he said to her. And then drew two bills and ninety-eight cents into his palm, set it atop her receipt, and delivered it into her hand – right over the two pennies she was offering.

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Obviously, there were no math requirements for his job.

Or – am I being too critical? Maybe the thinking days are long gone, along with antiques like the ones in the images (one of which is sitting on the shop counter here…)

The ‘Amount Tendered” button is found on every cash register these days, allowing the machine to figure the correct change and display it on the machine and receipt. Maybe there ought to be a ‘Common Sense’ button, too.

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If the clerk accidentally presses an extra ‘0’ when typing in a $5.00 amount tendered, does he give change for a $50 because the machine says he should? I’m pretty sure years ago one of my cashiers made that mistake before I reassigned him to a different position. The daily cash totals that had been out-of-whack since his hiring quickly came back in line.

Maybe I’m clinging to the old ways. Maybe the young clerk believed that the “Amount Tendered’ button would affect his cash drawer, and giving change other than what it displayed might have caused accounting problems at the end of his shift.

It wouldn’t have.

It wasn’t so much the math. Two plus ninety-eight is one-hundred. A dollar. He would have known that. It was the logic of the offered two-cents that threw him.

My good friend Mark will remember the machines we worked with at the grocery store, the ones with the pop-up amounts and tax-totals that we had to figure in our heads. That old machine on the book shop counter reminds me of those days when thinking wasn’t optional.

This afternoon while standing next in line, I had my pocket change in hand and was prepared when the total came up.

It was $13.01.

He looked a little startled when I set a penny on top of the three fives, but he sounded confident when he looked at the screen and declared, “Your change is two dollars.” He handed the bills and receipt to me and wished me a good afternoon. I think the lesson in cash register change-making was lost on him.

Here’s hoping our local bankers are a little more demanding in the screening for teller positions.

Come visit!

McHuston

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

It’s the Day for Night.

August 8, 2015 /

Some of you might be surprised to learn about the Vampire school here in town. Tulsa, actually – or at least an alternate fictional version of Tulsa – where the House of Night is a finishing academy for young Vampyres.

It’s the creation of former Broken Arrow English teacher P.C. Cast, who was first published by a regional press some 15 years ago and since then has had her novels debut at #1 on lists by USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

Back in the day, the genre was called Horror fiction, but it is a little more complicated in this cycle of popularity. There are any number of sub-categories that include Romance and Young Adult fiction – sometimes just grouped under the heading ‘Paranormal.’

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There are horror stories that do little besides scare you out of your socks, but even the original Count Dracula story had romantic overtones. The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer led the breakout of ‘paranormal romance’ stories, but the House of Night series by Ms Cast and her daughter Kristin has had similar success.

A movie option on the stories had been announced, but as is the case with many such contracts, getting it into development can take years – if it ever comes to fruition.

The books in the series have filtered in and out over the years, but series books tend to stay in the home library as a collection. Sort of a rare day when the collection makes its way to the bookstore.

This particular set is one book shy of complete, but it makes up for it by having an authors-signed hardback copy included.

Her fans have most likely found a spot on the book shelf for most of these already, but if that set is missing a book or two, here is a chance to fill in the gaps. (Or pick up the entire series and SUCH a deal I can make!)

Hot weather is so much more enjoyable with a nearby fan, a glistening glass of iced tea, and a book in hand.

Come visit!

McHuston

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

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