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Dave Eggers' The Wild Things is available for preorder, in regular hardcover and
limited-edition fur-covered.
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- - - - MARCH 18, 2002 [Nick Steele is a some-time Store employee and Brooklyn middle school student.] Nicholas Steele The Sumerian people of Mesopotamian lived in a place where water was scarce. The summers were extremely hot, up to 110 degrees, and there was little rainfall. In the Spring though, terrible flooding would occur, causing much destruction. Therefore, irrigation was essential to the development of civilization in Mesopotamia. Civilization developed in Sumer, on the Mesopotamian plain. A plain is a flat area of land below a plateau. The plain had rivers on either side of it, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Because Mesopotamia was located on a plain and was surrounded by rivers, whenever the spring flooding occurred there were many problems. The land had great disadvantages for farmers, but by irrigating it the Sumerians were able to grow not only sufficient grain for their own needs but also surplus grain. The Sumerian built lakes and canals to store the water in for surplus. Perhaps The Sumerians noticed when plating seeds in a broken down canal that held water from a river that they got a better harvest. This could be how they realized that the soil from the rivers, called silt, is better for growing crops. This good soil enabled them to grow larger amounts of crops. That way they had enough to eat and they had some to store and eat in times of famine. It was a surplus that made civilization possible. Surplus is a stored amount of food to carry over the people when regular food supplies run low. It was up to city to store the food in the ziggurat. The priests would distribute the food. Surplus allowed people to work at occupations other than farming, one of which was administering the irrigation system. Besides farming an artisan class developed. There was a wider choice of occupations, children who once would have grown up to be farmers could learn to be priests. Priests jobs got very small, once they did everything, eventually all they had to do was pray, since there were so many workers available to do other jobs. Surplus also allowed the Sumerians to trade for the wood, stone, and metal that were unavailable on the plain. Since the plain was very barren the trade helped to supply needs. With trading the Sumerians made alliances with other city-states such as Ur, Kish, and Lagash. A city-state is an area where the inside is a city and the outside is farmland. Even though the sun was unbearable and anyone else would decide to move, the Sumerians made their life and their city right where it was. - - - - FEBRUARY 26, 2002 [Tom Mullen is a Store customer and world traveler, and the Store will soon be displaying his found money collection.] A while ago I had the opportunity to pick a city in which to live. Because I travel quite a bit, I simply had to select a home base; somewhere I'd like to be on my days off. I chose Washington, DC. In addition to a wide variety of cultural and dining opportunities, changing seasons and so forth, DC is compact. Similar to New York, I find it far more convenient to walk, rather than drive. For some reason, though, I began to notice a peculiar thing: there was money laying all over the place. I decided to start collecting what I now call "found money". There are a few very important rules which pertain to the collection of found money. Primarily, no specific effort shall be made to find money. If I happen across a coin, I'll pick it up. Simple as that. I do not hang around vending machines, pay phones or parking meters; although I do happen to notice a fair amount of unclaimed funds as I pass by such areas. Also, my found money collection is not limited to Washington. In San Diego recently, I came across two pennies in the airport, a dime close to where I opened my suitcase in the hotel, two more pennies at the trolley stop (one of them Canadian), and another penny in the dirt near a palm tree as I returned from dinner. A typical day's haul. I do not accept coins found by others. You are welcome to start your own collections, though. The money currently resides in a glass, half gallon milk bottle on top of my desk. Should you care to visit the Store, you will soon have the opportunity to see how much I've collected so far. There will also be other monetary displays of mine, though it will take me a while to put together explanations for these items. - - - - AUGUST 9, 2001 A Brief Summary of My Blind Date at The Store Here is how my blind date went: What we had: Things that happened: Assorted trivial details about my blind date: Miscellaneous details and notes about me: An anecdote that concluded the evening nicely: The music, and possibly even the entire night, summed up by the band members themselves: Thank you, My Blind Date, for a lovely evening. Thank you One Ring Zero for a pleasing soundtrack. - - - - AUGUST 4, 2001 Our kindness and curiosity were perhaps too loving and tender. With great enthusiasm we overwatered our future winners of ribbons, and are now in the process of drying them out. The strong ones remain strong, and we continue to have hopes. Please come visit if you have any advice for us. - - - - JULY 31, 2001 After much attention , daily watering and constant rotation, the pumpkins are coming along nicely. They all have the appearance of winners. We appreciate any well-wishing you can extend to them. - - - - JULY 21, 2001 The pumpkins, which have sprouted into tough-looking seedlings, are phototroping nicely in our front window. They have been set inside metal bins under the warmth of growing lights, and are being watched with loving kindness and tender curiosity. We are preparing to separate the stronger plants from the weaker ones, and groom them to win prizes and ribbons. - - - - JULY 18, 2001 Last Sunday, two competition grade pumpkins were planted in the store. The pumpkins will be entered in state fairs this coming fall, but be sure to watch for pumpkin updates and musings here throughout the summer. David Byrne's new book, "The New Sins / Los Nuevos Pecados" will still be available exclusively at the store for another week or two. Copies bought at the store are guaranteed to be better than those bought at other locations. A new shipment of lumberjacking supplies is due to arrive Thursday. The store will stay open late so you can stock up for the weekend. There may also be pancakes. There may also be reading. There will be pumpkins. - - - - JUNE 2, 2001 This past Saturday, another nice family came into the store. A daughter, and a mother, and an aunt and a grandfather. The ladies pretty much kept to themselves, but the grandfather, who had a quiet, gentle way and was immediately likeable, approached the counter. "Shoes rented by the hour..." he said, reading from a sign. "We also rent by the half hour," I said. "Shoes? Like if somebody wants to go dancing?" "No, no. I'm sorry, I can't allow you wear the shoes outside." "Hmm." The gentle man looked a little confused. He re-read the shoe rental sign. He stood in front of the sign for a few minutes, and then he returned to the shoes (which we keep under glass). "I'm sorry," he said gently, "I in no way mean to insult, or make light of your business. But, I simply can not understand why anybody would want to rent a shoe." "They love the shoes." "They rent the shoes? People actually do that? I've never seen anything like that. Except maybe a bowling alley... or a roller rink?" "That's right. It's like a roller rink—but I can't allow you to wear the shoes out." This answer seemed satisfactory. The man stepped away from the shoes and the counter, and browsed around quietly. Later, I heard him whispering to his wife: "Did you see the prices there? Shoes? Rented? And this sign here, did you see this: 'If store is closed you should not be here.'" He turned to his wife and lowered his voice a little further, "I love that." (This really happened.) - - - - MAY 17, 2001 On a rack near the store's entrance, we shelve copies of "Chemical Week," the worldwide news source for chemical makers and processors. Recently, two families came into the store. One woman noticed the "Chemical Weeks" and turned to her friend. "Is this the magazine?" she said. "Now I can't remember," her friend said. "It must be." She touched a copy. Outside, she pointed to the magazines and told her husband, "It's the store of that magazine."
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