Small Town Adventures: Christmas Shopping Edition
So I went downtown this afternoon to do some christmas shopping. And I hit the usual places: the the shop with transformers, lego and matchbox cars; the asian grocery (every stocking needs pocky); the girly store and the used book store. Where I am a well known customer, who gets a frequent buyer discount. So I'm picking up some books (wine growing, Isabel Allende, and some Douglas Adams, because my copies always seem to have some sort of metaphysical property that either causes them to disappear, or transmute into extra copies of Jeanette Winterson novels).
Anyway.
I commented on how empty the front of the store seemed: he's shipped I don't know how many boxes up to northern communities this week, and the towering uneven piles of boxes were missing. I was a little worried about having a bout of agoraphobia, since I'm used to the whole cramped, books from floor to ceiling used bookstore aesthetic.
The bookstore guy (who is so nice) says he had a woman throw a hissy fit just before I arrived. She browsed around, picked up a couple of books and brought them to the counter. Then she asked why the price was written in pencil in the front of the book. He took a couple of tries explaining to her that the price in the front is the price he sells the books for.... she didn't understand why he wasn't selling them for the price published on the back cover.
Until she realized that they were used books.
...
And that's when she freaked out. You can't give used books as presents! These are used books! She had no idea! Used books! Ewww!
And he tried really hard not to just laugh meanly at her.
Apparently the other customers thought is was pretty funny. I'm kind of sorry I missed it.
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nezumiko
