Slow News Month

The month of August is usually a slow month for news. The people of Georgia may beg to differ, of course, but for me, nothing much is happening.

My brother is visiting from Alabama, so I have been entertaining him and driving him around the island. He has been here for nearly two weeks and is leaving on Monday. It has been interesting having him here, but after a while, I do need a break from him so that I can get some work done. And so I will fob him off on my mother or one of my cousins so that I can have time to do something productive.

I have also started on a writing project that I would like to turn into a novel. The thing that is holding me back is being able to write about human relationships. That is something that does not come naturally to me. I am not doing it in "real time", so to speak, so I do get a chance to carefully craft my words and fit them into the circumstance.

More of Ann Arbor

Aside from the dormitories and classrooms, there is plenty to see in Ann Arbor. One of my favorite spots is the Dawn Treader Bookshop, on East Liberty Street. There used to be two locations, one across the street from the present store, and one on South University Avenue. The stores probably consolidated sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s, because I had visited the current location in March 1994.



This is the exterior of the store. The view is blocked by people setting up tents and booths for the Ann Arbor Art Fair. I was never a fan of this or any other kind of art fair. When I was a student there in the Summer of 1987, the fair was a vortex of bad food and schlocky and insipid "art" made by local craftsmen. Now, it seems that the organizers have spread their net a bit wider, and now there are "artists" who come from all over the country to display their wares.



There is an excellent selection of books in all subjects. I spent something like about three hours there, browsing and picking out titles that I wanted. Here is the Science Fiction section:





There was an unfortunate incident that occurred while I was there. The young lady who was working at the counter had her bookbag stolen from her while she was helping a customer. Some of her schoolbooks and her notebook computer were in the bag. Naturally, she was extremely upset. A policewoman came and took a report; based on the suspect's description, she said she knew who he was and that they would work to track him down.

Ann Arbor is the home of the Borders bookstore chain. Their flagship store is just down the street from the Dawn Treader.