Books In Mind, Burritos In Stomach

Books are important. Family is important. Buying books for friends and family members this holiday season is important. Particularly, if you’re buying them from Broadway Books at 1714 NE Broadway in Portland.
That’s the message coming from Everyday Dude in San Francisco. His mother has owned and operated the independent bookstore for the better part of 20 years. Unfortunately, the store isn’t doing well this winter. So Everyday Dude came up with a motivational pitch that he made via Twitter and on his blog.

There are two weeks left before Christmas. My parents are coming to visit me on Christmas day and I want to see my mother smiling.
One of the “tweets” I wrote on twitter the other day said “if you’re in Portland do me a favor??? Buy a book at Broadway Books. No wait, buy 3 of em. I’ll buy you a burrito the next time I’m in town.” The later it got yesterday the more I felt like making (most of) that a reality. So, here’s the deal… I wanted this to be a surprise to a number of my friends and I haven’t told many of them this yet but I’ll be in Portland to visit January 15-19, 2009. Now, about that burrito. Meet me at Cha Cha Cha on SE Hawthorne in Portland on Friday January 16th at 6PM with a receipt from Broadway Books for over $50 and between today’s date and Christmas and I’m buying your kind ass a burrito. I’ve got about a grand left on my one credit card -told you I was a simpleton- which equates to roughly 166 of you spending at least 50 bucks a pop. That means an additional $8,333 of revenue for a deserving staff at Broadway Books. I’d never feel better about diving into a thousand-dollar hole, all-the-while supporting another local independent business. I suppose I’d have to cap it there, at 166 peeps but here’s to hoping I reach that cap.

I like the kind of vision and sacrifice that’s exhibited here. People are hurting all over this land. My grandma wrote to me the other day to say 60% of her remaining investments were wiped out this year. I know many others are in the same boat. It’s a frightful time, but generous friends and family and a caring community can make it less so.