Thursday, May 30, 2013

Al's Burnt Book: May 30, 2013

 

For the pedants among you, today is Thursday, May 30.
     Okay, we did that.
     I want to celebrate the return of my friend, Joseph Syzleyko, to Greensboro. Of course, he won’t stay long, probably only this summer, because  if anyone has wanderlust, it’s Ol’ Joe. Here’s a scratchboard he did, a self-portrait, Joe on his bicycle (see below). These days he rides a motorcycle, and he’s a bear, not an elephant. If the pedants are still with us, they’ll want to know that Joe’s untitled scratchboard drawing is from the Guilford College student magazine, The Piper, Winter 2002 issue. I notice a lot of art work by Noah Howard in that issue of The Piper.
     Yes, alas, Joseph left Nadia, the Colombia beauty he met at the U. S. Social Forum in Detroit several years ago. He’s been living with her Florida way. But, well, you know wanderlust.
Me, now, I ain’t got wanderlust. I got turtleitis, stayputness. Hate Moving Lust.
     Jennie asked me what my travel plans are for this summer. She’s off to Holland and who knows where else. (Anya off to Holland next month, too. Is it the free kif in Amsterdam or what?) I answered Jennie I might make it to Aycock & Lee Streets or, again, off to Freeman Mill Road and Florida . . .
     Yes, it’s eight o’clock, and I’m already hard at work. Daniel and Lauren Goans, nice enough to share their home with me, are in D. C. or Richmond, or Who Knows Where. They’ll stop in Sunday, then–you guessed it–off again. Strum, strum, strum on the guitar. Tra-la-la singing. They’ll introduce their first big album at my bookshop August 9 (Nagasaki Day).
     “So, Al, Joseph Syzleyko is back in town. What else?”
     Patience! I’m not through with my friend, Joseph.. He’s gonna build me at least two (2) bookcases. And fix the flourescent lighting better. One reason he returned is the wealthy private school he attended is re-doing another whole building on their campus, and Joe’s the best worker, they asked him to come supervise the operation, because he understands fluorescent lighting.
     Joe came in the shop yesterday and donated a dozen good books to the bookshop cache. Mike Bohlen came in, too, and dropped off a dozen superb books–he brings a carton of books every once in awhile for a twenty dollar bill.
     Jonathan Starch got the job he wanted at The School of the Arts. His supervisor said she had never seen a Reference Letter such as I wrote for Jonathan in her whole life.


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