Linda and Lord Calvert
It was noon on a gray and rainy Friday.
But I didn't allow my mood to match the weather. I was feeling great after dropping off copies of The Old Crow Book Club at the Clackamas Book Exchange, a block off SE 82nd Ave, and its river of concrete, commercialization and homelessness.
Linda, the proprietor of the shop, had earlier expressed a keen interest in distributing the book via the store. She would charge a couple bucks for each copy and retain all profits to assist in keeping this very, very second-hand used bookstore alive. Because if it goes under, where is anyone in this city going to have the opportunity to browse a couple thousand Westerns!
As I handed the books over to Linda, I said the Clackamas Book Exchange would be the only bookstore to carry the book (unless another one reaches out to me, which they won't). Linda loved the distinction and she praised the striking cover of the book, which resembles a bottle of Old Crow, the rotgut whiskey that's a favorite among the characters in the book.
“I always drank Lord Calvert myself,” said Linda.
“Why?” I said.
“So I could say the 'Lord was always with me.'”
We laughed pretty hard at that.
“Then I switched over to Black Velvet,” she said.
“Why?” I said.
“I don't know.”
I said goodbye and the last thing I saw was Linda perusing the book. I'd return to the shop soon and see where the book went through her method of distribution.