Category Archives: Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap

Selena Speaks Her Mind

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DSCN1814Well Hello There! I’m Selena, and I’ve been rescued from a shelter and am staying at the Litter Bookstore – oh sorry, the Little Bookstore – with my brother. Nobody was looking at us in there because he’s grey and I’m a tabby. I knew we were in trouble when we’d been there about three weeks, and two pretty little calico kittens came in and they were both gone the next day. Sure, they were cute – if you like tiny, fluffy, big-eyed, round balls of light colored fur.

Anyway, my brother Justin and me, we’re waiting at the bookstore for a furrever family. We’re not planning to go together. I like him just fine, but honestly, he kinda gets in the way of my needs. He’s such an attention hog. Always jumping on people’s laps before I can get there. And he’s lazy. All he wants to do is lie around on women’s bosoms with that creepy smile on his face. He’s got no shame. No work ethic.DSCN1822

Me, I plan to earn my keep as a house cat. I can relieve your muscular tension by walking back and forth on your shoulders. You can get on with your work and when I’m done massaging you, I’ll just slide into that space between your arm and lap and rest there. This position gives you support while you’re typing. No, don’t thank me. All part of the training here at the bookstore about how to be a good house cat.

DSCN1837I’m also excellent at household chores. I like to drink running water, so I jump in the tub when I want a drink, and lick the floor of the bathtub until somebody turns the faucet on. It keeps things clean. Again, no need for thanks. Happy to help my furrever family out. Mom and Dad got me spayed so you won’t have to worry about maternity leave either.

For fun, I like to lie in your lap. For exercise, I like to move between laps. For food, I like a lot of it, and that wet stuff is nice but I eat my crunchies like a champ because it’s important that my fur stay nice and shiny. All part of the service of being a house cat – keeping myself beautiful for you. No no, it’s fine. Anything to make my family happy.

So if you’d like to meet me, I can be interviewed Tuesday – Saturday 10-6 at the bookstore. Oh, yes, my brother is here, too. If you want to meet him. I’ll leave that up to you.

 

You’ll tak the high road – –

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Jack’s weekly guest post – –

A question I’m frequently asked since I moved permanently to the US is whether I miss my native Scotland. The strange thing is that I have probably seen more of my homeland since emigrating than I did before leaving. That may seem odd, but it’s because I’ve been running an annual small group tour for the last eight or nine years at the end of June. When I have the great pleasure of showing enthusiastic visitors around then I tend to discover places I just never got around to getting to when I lived there. I also make a point of going a few days before the tour starts to give me the chance to catch up with old pals.

Of course if this was a hundred years ago I would probably not get to go back at all and I think that would be very hard.

Something else that makes an enormous difference is modern technology; the world has become a much smaller place with the advent of computers and the internet. I’m in almost daily contact with friends and family back there, followed the nail-biting news of the referendum on independence and continue to soak up the ongoing political aftermath.

Another constant reminder of where I come from is the repertoire of songs and stories I’ve gathered over many years and whenever I sing anywhere I feel myself transported back to Scotland. It’s very rare on these occasions not to have lots of questions from folk afterwards and that’s always a good opportunity to point out the aspects of Scotland that folk over here tend to forget – the inventors, scientists and philosophers. It’s not all castles, tartan, bagpipes, golf and whisky (although there’s certainly that too).

One of the dangers that I’m aware of (from observing others that went before) is the temptation to become a caricature ‘Jock’ and adopt a false persona, although I suspect that’s less likely here in Appalachia if only because they’ve had to thole a few professional hillbillies themselves, so I try to be careful.

But I’m looking forward to heading back in June again; to drive past Loch Lomond and through Glencoe on the way to Skye and out to Lewis before heading back to drive round the north coast and over to Orkney. Then to Inverness and via Culloden to Aberdeen, my native county of Fife and finally to Edinburgh. Yes, there will be castles, tartan, bagpipes, golf and whisky – probably haggis as well!

Digital Camera

This not my car!

 

slàinte mhath y’all – – –