Gave a “Cheesesteak” to a cafe regular, who wanted it for a friend who’d owned a guitar store in Philly, downtown, north of Market. The cafe guy had bought books from me before, so I figured… Gratitude. Good will.
“Sold” a “Cheesesteak” to a cousin, who also wanted it for a friend. (The quotes are because the cousin is temporarily in Spain, and I don’t take pesos.) Her friend I knew as a young kid in the neighborhood. He went on to become more eminent in his field — rare books — than anyone else I knew in this stage of my life did in theirs. (He’s also the only person I know to be quoted in “The New Yorker.” On two separate occasions, decades apart.)
Finally, just under the wire for this “Adventure,” I sold a “Goshkin” and a “Most Outrageous,” via my web site, to a fellow FOM reader/
writer. He had said such nice things about “Goshkin/Gorey,” I’d offered him a copy of the book gratis, but he sprang for both.
In other news…
1.) A couple months ago, I submitted my first “real” short story in 10 or 15 years to a magazine. It turned it down. Will I send it some place else? I donno. It seems such a mug’s game sometimes.
2.) In recent “Adventures,” I’ve recounted a couple cafe customers who’ve reacted like meeting me was one of their days’ highlights. Neither of them has been seen or heard from since. Isn’t that odd? Or did actually reading my work dissuade them? A scary thought.
So many Bob Levins on the Internet; I'm the Bob Levin who writes.