There were twice as many people as I have ever seen inside of Downtown Books. Text-dotted footprints cut from old books led the way to the stages. People painted and drew in the aisles. People laughed at the stories that were told and nodded along to the poetry and tapped their toes to the rock and roll. People turned to the person next to them and said, "They're really good." They ate cheese. They tried to find their friend and found themselves in the circus section or the dim dog-book corner and laughed at finding great books that they never knew existed.
The proprietor laughed at the nonstop line of folks carrying armloads of discontinued paperbooks and obscure encyclopedias. People proved, against popular conceptions, that they still read and that they value books, and what's more, they value art and the artists that compose it. It was fun....!
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