Not all of my bookstore tales mock the religious, but sometimes those turn out to be the funniest. My last "Re-Tales" post is hard to top, but this one comes close.
The holidays are always stressful in a bookstore. Not only do you have to perform all the same tasks that were required throughout the year, but you also have to help thousands upon thousands of people, most of whom only set foot in a bookstore once a year. These are the people who generally ask the oddball, nutbar questions. I was manning the information desk during the holidays when I was approached by a middle-aged woman. She informed me that she was looking for a book on Noah's Ark. I immediately told her that we had a number of children's books on Noah's Ark and she just as quickly rejected the idea. "I don't want a book on Noah's Ark for kids." Knowing that the only books I had seen in the store on the subject were kids books I asked, "Okay, what kind of book did you have in mind?" "I'm looking for a coffee table photography book on Noah's Ark," she replied. I stood agape. "Seriously?" I asked. She seemed offended. I debated letting her know that I think Noah forgot his Polaroid or Digital Camera that day. I think one of the giraffes might have eaten it.
To this day, I don't know what scares me more, the fact that this one woman seemed to think there were somehow photographs of this allegorical story, or that two-thirds of Americans believe the Noah's Ark story to be true, and that every year people try to form expeditions to look for artifacts on Mt. Ararat. Later, another bookselling friend told me that she had once been asked for a photography book on angels. Sometimes I feel like telling the customers that they should look next to the photography books of the Easter Bunny, Leprechauns and Unicorns.
One man's writings, thoughts, and appreciations of all things cultural.
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