Greetings!

Rockford caricaturist Chuck Senties set up next to me—well, across the walkway from me—at Janesville’s Rotary Gardens Adventure Day, Sunday.

I liked his display of caricatures and said to Chuck, “How about me being your first customer?”

Well, you see the result. This is the new me.

As Chuck was finishing, he asked if I was left-handed or right-handed.

I said right.

He drew in my right hand and, as you can see, drew it in holding a quill pen. I am, after all, a writer.

Mary Poppins had set up to the west of me. Yes, Mary Poppins . . . this one, a book lady. Her gig is selling surprise books. New books that are wrapped so you can’t see the covers, the titles, or the authors’ names. She does a brisk business.

I told her she needed to see Chuck’s work.

She did, loved it, and became his second customer.

And on it went.

Aye, Matey!

The six authors who were there at Adventure Day did readings in the Gardens’ gazebo. I was up twice, as were all but one.

Up from the gazebo is a turret, like on a castle. A pirate was manning the turret. He waved his cutlass at everyone who came into his area and invited them to come up for a fencing lesson.

He even called out to me when I was on my way to the gazebo for my first reading.

I turned him down, after all I did have a schedule to keep.

Sometime later, the pirate came by my book display, so I stopped him. I asked if he had had any takers for a fencing lesson. No, he said.

Then I asked him what he was doing down here.

“This guy worked his way up to me,” he said, “and asked if he could have the use of the turret so he could propose to his girl.”

So the pirate took a late lunch break.

The young man brought his girl up into the turret, for a good view of the north end of the gardens he told her.

Once there, after some small talk, he got down on his knee and proposed.

And, yes, she said yes.

Love won the day.

Swords some more

Nationwide, 600 new bookstores—small independents—opened last year. A recent challenge in my writers group was to write a bookstore story . . . it happened in a bookstore or on the way to a bookstore or on the way home from a bookstore. Here’s mine.

The Swordsmen

MIDDLE-SCHOOL best buds Cody Debbs and Derrick Wilson dueled with the plastic swords they’d bought at the Five Below store, dueled their way out of the Five Below and on into Connie’s Books for Kids & Teens next door, unaware of Peter Pan and Captain Hook dueling in the stacks above the pirates section—

Or Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader whaling away at one another with light sabers over the sci-fi books—

Or Daffy Duck dressed as one of the Three Musketeers lunging with a rapier at Bugs Bunny above the display of comic books—

Or Edward Scissorhands snipping and snapping at Jack Skellington over the shelves of graphic novels.

Cody, with blood in his eye, lunged at Derrick.

Derrick parried Cody’s sword away. Sidestepping, he retreated, then took the fight to Cody, charging, flailing away, both boys tiring after long minutes of dueling.

Both sweating.

Both breathing hard.

Both slowing.

Derrick at last stopped. He brought his sword to his side. “I’m for a break,” he wheezed.

Cody mopped with his sleeve at the sweat dribbling down the side of his face. “Yeah, how about we go to Mickey Dee’s for a root beer, maybe get a burger and some fries.”

Together, they strolled outside, each with his arm around the other’s shoulders, Cody his sword in his belt, Derrick dragging his sword’s tip along the ground.

“Weird,” Derrick said.

Cody glanced at him. “What’s weird?”

“I know it can’t be, but I sure had a feeling we weren’t the only ones in the bookstore sword fighting.”

Cody laughed. Without slowing further his already slow walk, he squeezed Derrick’s shoulders. “Yeah, suuuurrre,” he said. “Derrick, you’re the one who’s weird.”

________

Where I’ll be

Saturday, I’ll be at the Elkhorn Holiday Craft Bash at the Walworth County Fairgrounds.

If you’re in southern Wisconsin or northern Illinois, come on by. You’ll find me in the Junior Exhibits Building.

This is a big event—300 vendors and visitors in the thousands.

Until next time, keep reading. 

Jerry & the Sheriff