Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: Featured (Page 11 of 43)

Sign O’ Progress

Nothing like a special sale price to spur a little creativity.

Those decal-type letters you see on business windows don’t come cheap. As a result, my front signage project has been on the back burner since getting the front door lettered. In the meantime, I guess I’ve been overlooking the tacky thing I taped up to the inside of the glass.

The artwork for the St. Paddy’s green beer cups looked good enough that it inspired me to replace the computer-paper-printout sign that I hung in the window two years ago. It was supposed to be temporary.

It took a couple of tries at submitting the art. It tends have a different appearance on the computer screen than it does when it’s in your hands and nearly four feet wide.

Luckily, at the sale price, I could afford an error and still come out on the cheap. On the second try, I managed to get a banner that met with approval for inside and a window decal for the front glass.

Of course, I had no sooner peeled the protective backing loose than the Oklahoma winds kicked up and threatened to stick the sticky where it ought not be stuck.

Despite the southerly gusts, it went up pretty well.

The banner is hanging at the front counter for the time being, and inspired one guest to ask if that fellow in the black and white image was me. In my youth, he suggested.

I only wish.

Not for the Bohemian beard or the hairline that is proceeding where mine own is receding. And not for the Victorian-era button-down shirt and cuffed jacket sleeves. Nope.

You see, if I was the gentleman in the black and white image, then I’d be Charles Dickens.

And wouldn’t that be a hoot, after all?

Come visit!

McHuston

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

Jacked up.

Flat tire.

Not the start to the day off I had planned. Aired it up, hoping it would hold pressure long enough to get to the bookstore.

Naturally I hit every red light. Those stolen minutes might have made the difference. Who knows? The noises started as I crossed through the intersection on Elm.

Blam.

In the side-mirror I spotted a chunk of black sailing upward, immediately followed by the smell of burning rubber. Blown out sidewall.

On the bright side, there have been plenty of days lately that I would not have wanted to be stretched out prone on an asphalt parking lot, cranking the jack to lift the car. The little donut tire was sitting in the compartment, where it had waited all these years for a chance to play the hero.

I would have felt differently if there had been snow on that lot, or a pouring rain soaking me down as I swapped the flat for the drive-able tire. Or if the spare tire was no good.

All those things I had hoped to get done on my day off will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, I’m getting things worked ahead for tomorrow morning when I’ll have to borrow kitchen prep time to visit the tire man.

Hello, carrots. Hello potatoes.

Let’s get busy.

What a difference a year makes.

Time was, you could fire a cannon down the middle of Main Street after 5pm and not worry a single soul. It wasn’t that long ago. Before moving the shop into the Rose District, I would occasionally take a slight detour after locking up and drive through Old Downtown BA.

Dead.

You could have parked anywhere, but wouldn’t have had much of a reason to do so. Nothing much was open. I should know. For years, I was probably the last retail shop open after five or six o’clock on Main.

Take a look at the picture. You can click on it for a slightly larger view, if you like. The snapshot was taken about seven-thirty this evening. As you can see, it’s a completely different scenario these days. The image is looking south through the Main and Commercial Street intersection, from in front of the shop. When I looked the other direction, the parking spaces were filled all the way to Broadway.

Since I don’t own an NSA secret-agent look-around-the-corner camera, you can’t see the cars parked east and west along Commercial.

And in the public lot on Ash Street.

The photo was taken about the time of day I would occasionally drive down Main before heading to the house, back when the shop was in the Oak Crest Center. Back then, you could have had your pick of spaces in which to park, but not many shopping or dining options.

That was before Main Street Tavern and the Bruhouse Grill and Fiesta Mambo. And with yesterday’s announcement about The Rooftop (to open in June above In the Raw’s new restaurant location), and the rumored restaurant to be located right next door, the evening activity will certainly make for busy sidewalks and happy, hungry guests.

But no more firing of cannons down the middle of Main.

Come visit!

McHuston

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

« Older posts Newer posts »