We miss shopsitter Andrew Whalen’s sensible, stolid presence at the downstairs table, working on his Mac. (He’s the only tech geek we know who has a Mac. We always suspected he had an e-reader, but he either didn’t bring it with him from NYC or never brought it down from his room.)
More than anything, we miss Andrew’s organizational mind. One of our favorite customers came in the other day, a nice guy who favors Westerns. He went back to the man-cave where these are shelved and emerged a few minutes later, a large stack in his arms and a puzzled expression on his face.
“What happened back ‘er?” he asked. (He has a beautiful mountain accent.)
“What? Where?” asked Jack, leaping to his feet in alarm at the prospect of a fallen shelf, pet accident, or other bookselling disaster.
“ ‘S so … neat,” our customer responded. “Like ‘s been cleaned, or sumpin. Just took me a minute tuh find ever’thin’ I wanted.”
Andrew, kiddo, you set the bar too high. We’re not sure how long we can carry on.
Editor’s note: The cookies with which Andrew’s mom ransomed him (scroll back to the blog COOKIE EXTORTION for the full story) were so good, we ordered two boxes for far-away gifts. Best of both shopping worlds: the simplicity of a single click while supporting a small business. (Cookie Glass is her company, if you want to look. We unequivocally endorse all Mrs. Whalen’s products!)
Wendy Welch: Books, Yarn, Cats, Opioids 
Wow, that’s a lot of beautiful cookie choices on Cookie Glass’s FB page! Beneath the unequivocal endorsement, did you guys have any particular favorites?
The peanut butter ones we got had chocolate peanut butter cups with a bit of caramel embedded in them; I ate two, ran around the house for 20 minutes in a frenzy of cleaning, and then sank into a blissful sugar dream of remembrance. They were goooooood. The ones with toffee chips were also lovely, but I will always remember those peanut butter babies.