The Bookstore

Although I've been (trying to) have Saturdays off, I still have to take care of the needs of my family. In this case, specifically, it was the dog. She was long overdue for a bath and getting her nails trimmed. I told her it was a salon day as I bundled her into the car.

The pet grooming place is located in downtown Abilene. I don't normally drive down this way and noticed a bookstore on the left. I got to the pet store and the guy said it would be about an hour and wanted my phone number to call me when the dog was finished. Wouldn't you know it, I forgot my phone. So, I told him I would come back in an hour and decided to walk over to the bookstore and check it out. 

I saw a sidewalk sign at the entrance of the bookstore, but its back was facing me. I thought about going around to read it, but then thought, I'll just read it on my way out. I thought to myself that I would buy some books and support a local business. 

I walked into the store and first thing I saw was a rack of cookbooks with bright colored covers. But on closer inspection, they were all cookbooks with the same theme. This one:

I didn't know they had such a variety of cookbooks for wizards. What kind of recipes would be in such a book, I wondered? I didn't feel like picking one up to find out and moved on to the next section. 

I went around the corner and saw a round table with a black tablecloth that had purple swirls and glitter on it. I almost didn't notice the old woman who was sitting behind the table, holding a tiny orange and white striped kitten in her arms.

“Oh! Hello.” I said to her, startled at her presence. “Hello” she answered back. I suddenly realized that it was not a kitten she was holding but some other strange animal that had gray, straggly hair. I couldn't see its face, but I stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. “What is that?” I asked her, “I thought it was a kitten.” She told me it was a poodle chihuahua mix. It was so small that I asked her if it was full grown. “It's about 4 months old” she said. “Oh” I said as I started to walk away. 

“I also do Tarot card readings if you are interested.” she called out after me. “Good to know.” I said and kept walking. 

The next section was filled with books on how to do spells and introduction to witchcraft! The books were all covered in occult symbolism and clearly designed to be attractive to young readers. I felt very sad just then. This is what has become of our world. They are targeting the children in a big way. Mind you, this was a regular bookstore, not some occult bookstore that sold crystals and stuff. I did feel some peace of mind that I was the only customer in the store. Maybe my fellow Kansan's had already decided not to shop there. I decided that I would not be buying anything either. 

As I walked out of the store to go back to the pet shop, I glanced at the sidewalk sign. “Tarot readings Today: 10:30am – 12pm” I almost laughed. Guess I should have read the sign in the first place. 

The rest of the downtown area is like a ghost town. There are a few businesses there, but mostly empty storefronts. I saw a sign for the resource center but when I rounded the corner it was all boarded up. I guess there is no resource center anymore. I felt relief when it was time to pick up the dog and head home.