Category Archives: Big Stone Gap

Our Shopsitter Moved to SC

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confusionToday we have guest blog from Wes and Rachael, our local shopsitter and his wife. They recently moved to South Carolina (WAAAAAHHHH!) Rachael is seated in the photo.

Regular readers may recognize us as the couple that got married in the bookstore.  We recently moved due to a job change.  It was a difficult decision to leave such a tight knit community of loving friends.  But change comes for us all and so it has come for us.

One of the most joyful things the little bookstore community brought us was our monthly Quaker meetings.  As mentioned before we chose a Quaker meeting for our wedding.  Most of our friends find it baffling that we enjoy sitting in dead silence for an hour, but we can’t think of a better way to find peace in the stressful life we lead.  So finding a Quaker meeting was top on our list for the move.  We earmarked this past weekend for a trip to the Columbia meeting 40 minutes down the road.

That morning we were raring to go, but on the drive we were wracked with doubts.  What do we really know about this meeting?  It’s in a church.  What if it’s “churchy”?  We did a quick google search for “Quakers” to get a feel for what we could expect, and found this troubling statistic: “90% of meetings are programmed worship”.  This means standing, singing … in others words “churchy”!  They probably meet in the sanctuary – pews, altar and all…we pretty well worked each other into an anxiety-ridden frenzy convinced this would be a disaster.  Were we prepared to sit through church, or worse yet walk out?

At the run-down church building, the engraved sign read “unprogrammed worship”.  A collective sigh of relief filled the car.  The first friends arrived a few moments later in their hybrid car.  The woman, wearing a comfy crocheted sweater put me in mind of Wendy who often attended still in her pajama pants and cozy slippers. NB from Wendy: I don’t remember pajama bottoms but it’s a fair cop on the slippers.

We were welcomed with open arms.

The woman told us how the building had been donated by the Methodist church, along with a hefty sum to renovate.  She was particularly proud of the energy efficient LED lighting.  A back room held a loom where salvaged fabric was being made into rugs.  You could see their lovely garden from the window.  The sanctuary had been modified too, the altar removed and the pews in concentric squares facing the center of the room.  Shortly after, a man arrived with a small vase of flowers and set it as the central focus point.

And just like that, we were home.  The Quakers began filing in – all walks of life, young, older, teenagers, some children, but all with the joy and friendliness we have come to appreciate and foster in ourselves.  It seems we haven’t left our tight knit community after all.  Rather we’ve opened the door to a world wide community that will follow us wherever we go.  We are eternally grateful to Jack and Wendy, the little bookstore, and the Big Stone Friends for that opportunity. confusion

The Monday Book: NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

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The Monday book is brought to you by guest reviewer Beth O’Connor, a friend of mine.

Fantasy books are brain candy.  I love them – read them almost exclusively – but they rarely offer much in the way of intellectual nutrition.  And occasionally they leave you with the feeling that you need to brush your teeth.

And then I read Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind and its sequel The Wise Man’s Fear.  On the surface, these are well-written fantasy books.  But dig deeper and you’ll see that Rothfuss uses a make-believe world to challenge social norms and address injustice.  Institutional poverty, caste systems, gender roles, bigotry, etc. all are reviewed and dismissed as not only unfair, but harmful to society as a whole.

The fantasy world allows the reader to consider the situations without bias.  Where a non-fiction writer might have a hard time to get a reader to be objective about real-life racial stereotypes, Rothfuss can address those same issues about the Edema Ruh and other groups he has created because no one has ever heard of them before.

Additionally, Rothfuss’ characters spout some wonderful philosophy.  I’ve never wanted to quote a fantasy writer before, but I may have to start using some of these gems:

  • “The day we fret about our future is the day we leave our childhood behind.”
  •  “Books are a poor substitute for female companionship, but they are easier to find.”
  • “Clothes do not make the man, but you need the proper costume if you want to play the part.”
  • “That is how heavy a secret can become.  It can make blood flow easier than ink.”
  •  “Nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.”
  • “Half of seeming clever is keeping your mouth shut at the right times.”
  •  “If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name.  Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher.”

My biggest surprise was how I found Rothfuss – a relative new comer in the fantasy world.  An interview on his efforts appeared in my copy of World Ark, the magazine Heifer International produces for their donors.  Heifer strives to end world hunger through teaching people how to care for livestock rather than just giving them food.  Heifer included an article about Rothfuss because of the work he has done to raise funds for Heifer, including donating most of the income he receives from the sale of his books.

In his own words; “I’ve been poor before, but this time it’s for a good cause.”  Rothfuss pulls together other fantasy authors, publishing companies and readers for an annual event called “Worldbuilders” (worldbuilders.org).  The 2013 event raised over $678,000 for Heifer International.

The first book starts a bit slow as Rothfuss takes a full six chapters to develop the scene, but once the stage is set, the plot moves like a freight train.  I highly recommend reading Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear.  But prepare for disappointment, the third book of the series has yet to be published.