#MyChicagoBookstore Adventures on Independent Bookstore Day — Part 2
Usually I wouldn’t spend so much time and money on a shopping spree. I don’t usually go on shopping sprees at all. But how much do sports tickets cost? How much do poets make compared to people who play on professional sports teams? With all the people supporting sports and bars and sports bars, maybe it’s alright that I spent a little on books in bookstores. Maybe poetry needs its fans to give it some love and team spirit like those other sports get.
Anger and Empathy
I remember when I was very little, maybe three or four, my mother said to me, “What am I going to do with you?” I told her she could put me down the garbage chute. I imagined that was where the Sesame Street monsters lived. I thought I could live with them and that’s where I would belong. I also wanted to solve the problem for her.
If you ever want the Ellis Island experience circa 1907, swing into the Chicago City Clerk’s office in Portage Park. The number of different accents is loads of fun and reminds you of the shared American Experience, which is that city bureaucracy is no fun for any of us.