Pyat's Neighbourhood

[pyat]

Went to lunch at Rankin's with shadow_maze and his son, who is on March Break. We met at Rankin's Grill, a local institution that serves a lot of notable East Enders. I've seen MPs and city councillors there more than once.


Mostly steel workers and retirees today.


After lunch, I went on a ramble around the block. I visited my old highschool. It still looks like a castle...


...it even has gargoyles!


Across the street there is a wonderful/wretched used bookstore, run by a very strange man. I've been there a few times, but I suspect he'd have chased me out if I'd gone in with a camera. So I took some shots from across the street.


That's the interior of the store. The flashlight is because the overhead lights are off - I don't think he actually has electricity. There are very few actual shelves, just weird heaps of books. He is suspicious of people who go in looking for a particular title. The first time I went to his shop, around 1997, he actually slapped my hands and yanked a book from me, claiming it wasn't for sale. Then handed me a Tarzan book with a ripped cover. According to doc_mystery (who has visited a few times) the owner is afraid of "book scouts," people who find valuable books and buy them for cheap, then resell them. In my case the book was a 1980s spelling and style guide for a Chicago newspaper.


Just down the street is "Weird Stuff", the sort of store that sells jazz 78s from the 50s and art deco furniture and coffee tables shaped like dragons. They also sell old pulp magazines and the like, but I rarely go in there.


The alien glows at night. It actually unnerved me for a few moments when I first saw it, late one night.


My friendly neighbourhood comic book guy! I've been going to his store since 1990. The sign, "Blades and Things", refers to a short-lived "swords and bongs" store that used to be next door. Since then it's hosted a parade of sad businesses, including a thinly-stocked market and a very sad clothing store.

And now, back to work with me!

Comments

[zenten.livejournal.com]

I guess it's just a question of how he pays the property taxes, and how he actually does things like buy food.