McHuston Booksellers

Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: downtown (Page 38 of 97)

The Rising Rose

December 7, 2014 /

Somebody’s going to love living here. Plenty of folks enjoy mowing the lawn and raking the leaves and racing the car for miles down Elm to get to a restaurant. Others will think they have it as good as it gets living in a loft apartment in the Rose District.

And – they are beginning to look like apartments.

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For the longest time, I had a hard time imagining the Rose District appearance changing much, even after the Ross Group’s announcement of the District@222 project, which will feature Andolini’s as the anchor tenant. When I was heading back to open the shop after Saturday morning’s parade ended, it was almost a shock to see the construction progress.

By gosh, it is almost a skyscraper.

Except for the grain elevator near the railroad tracks, the District@222 (couldn’t they have picked a shorter name, though?) building will be the tallest structure in the downtown area.

I’m guessing.

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Could be the new bank building’s spire will be taller, I can’t say for sure. At any rate, the appearance of Broken Arrow’s downtown will be decidedly taller in a very short time.

Those who find themselves as loft-living Rose District residents will be able to come home from work and kick back in the living room or walk a couple of doors down to some of the finest dining around. One of the perks of working in the area is stepping outside and sniffing the great-smelling aromas. Depending on where you are standing at the moment, you might catch a scent of Mexican cuisine from Fiesta Mambo or grilled steaks from BruHouse Grill.

And who wouldn’t love to step out of the living room into the middle of delicious-ness?

I was asked Saturday, “Where is a good place to eat in the Rose District?” That is a tough question to answer, since they are all good places to eat. It depends on your mood and preference, although you can find something for every taste at any spot. I finally just listed everyone on the block and explained their offerings.

People are still surprised. “There’s an In the Raw in Broken Arrow?,” she asked, with a surprised look. Middle of the next block, I told her.

For now, there a few more options at lunch time, since Back Creek Deli and our own McHuston’s Irish Bistro service are currently limited to mid-day. For our part, we have our plans and are working toward that end.

As for the plans regarding the opening of Andolini’s and the loft apartments, I can’t say – but it looks to me like some serious progress is being made.

If you haven’t visited the Rose lately (or even if you have!)…

Come visit!

McHuston

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

That was then.

December 1, 2014 /

He was the old man at the piano. Musicians gathered around him on the stage at S. Arch Thompson Auditorium. Playing the classical pop stuff. I was in tenth grade. But I liked music.

Every kind, pretty much.

It had to have been one of the first legitimate concerts I had ever attended. I mean, he was an out-of-town guy. Had to have been, with a name like Peter Nero. Like I said – he was the old guy at the piano. I had seen my cousin Bill and his band at the high school prom, and he was older. But not old, older.

And what a difference a little perspective makes.

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A song just played in the shop, and it was credited as being a Christmas-medley by Peter Nero. Hey! I thought, “I remember that guy.” And I wondered how long ago he had died. Googled him.

Turns out, he hasn’t.

Another thing. I guess he really wasn’t as old as I thought, way back then. I figure he was about the same age as my boss Marshall, who ran a corner grocery in McAlester – probably in his early-thirties. Back then, I figured Marshall for an old man too.

All these years later, I discover that I was surrounded by a bunch of young whippersnappers, and I just didn’t know it. Peter Nero (and Nero is his real name, just spelled a little different than his birth certificate. It’s the first name that he changed…), well – he is eighty years old as of last May and probably still pounding away at the piano keys.

Mr. Nero attended the Juilliard School of Music and later won a Grammy and has all kinds of credits to his name. I have a hard time imagining him playing our little school auditorium, and I could be confused about the pianist, but I distinctly remember Craig’s mother asking us what we thought of it as she drove us home. (We were still pedestrian age high-schoolers.)

Craig was non-committal, but I just blurted out that I liked it. It was out of my mouth before I could be non-committal cool, too. Heck. I did like it.

The shop was empty when the medley began, so I was able to belt out, in various accents, the various holiday tunes all mashed into one. Loud and proud.

It’s helpful, I think. Remembering people in a new light. Humbling too – in a way.

Gives me a better idea of what my younger reader-customers must think when they plop their books on the checkout counter in front of that ancient old man.

Geezer-up!

We’re still raising the roof in song, Peter and I, and there are music books on the shelf ready for a lyrical journey, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

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

Baby, I’m not foolin’

November 30, 2014 /

Fortunately, I haven’t lost my touch for electrical repairs. That’s because I never had the ‘touch’ to lose. But – nothing ventured, and all that – I decided to give it a go. The project?

My Fender guitar rebuild.

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Some of you will recall my earlier antics, trying to put a music-store-reject guitar back in playing condition. It met with some degree of success. I really enjoy playing it. But it looks a bit of a Frankenstein on closer examination.

It is an acoustic – a Fender Sonoran model that I picked up on the cheap in an eBay auction. It arrived with the guitar body and the neck, complete with the headstock and the tuning keys. I had to find and install all the other parts, including the electronics.

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Got it assembled and love playing it.

Occasionally, I’ll plug in the cord and run the sound through the store’s music PA system, harkening back to my days playing with Led Zeppelin. (What? You don’t remember that? I was in high school, they were on the record player and I was in the bedroom playing along. Badly.)

I plugged the cord in the other afternoon and there was a crink and a snap, followed by nothing. The jack would not go in completely.

It was, as they say…Broken.

In for a penny, in for a pound, so I ordered a five dollar replacement, Genuine Fender Parts. Put the soldering iron on standby and at the ready. Opened the package on arrival, and low and behold – wrong part. As you can see in the image, it is considerably shorter than the broken one I removed. Too short to reach through the body of the guitar, in fact.

As I had already passed my patience-threshold, I decided to connect it up anyway. Figure I can get the right piece later.

There was no mistaking where the first of the three wires connected, so I soldered it into place. There were only two ways for the remaining wires, the right way and the wrong way.

Naturally, after unhooking the first try, I made the connection the only other way and plugged it into the amp. Bingo. Da-da, da-da, dum, da-dum, da-dum, Whole Lotta Love…

So. It has to be considered a partial victory, anyway. It has a lovely tone, which would sound even better in my brother-in-law Dennis’s hands. But there’s that wire hanging out with a soldered-on connector. Not so princely.

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Since the guitar and I won’t likely be making any stage appearances soon, the dangling cord connector really doesn’t matter much. And when Led and the boys call, I can get the little Fender all gussied-up to go.

We had a busy Small Business Saturday! Thanks to all who came out and supported us ‘little guys!’ We’ll be cooking again on Monday, so…

Come visit!

McHuston

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

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