Jonny Numb

It’s been a while since I last met up with my stepmom, but Saturday’s schedule allowed for lunch at one of my favorite pizza places (Genova’s), followed by a laid-back visit at her apartment with resident adorable felines Hank and Albert.

For most of my life, I limited myself when it came to weekends. In my mind, Saturdays were made for “running around” and/or doing fun stuff, while Sundays entailed rest, relaxation, and general laziness. But since the calendar rolled over to 2023, I’ve been taking greater advantage of these two precious days off, while still allowing myself enough down time on Sunday to enjoy the solitude of watching movies with a sleeping Kima-cat on my lap.

But back to Saturday and the plan to meet at Genova’s: in a bit of serendipity, my stepmom texted me that morning, telling me she was volunteering at her library’s book & media sale until noon. Since I’ve never met a library sale I could refuse, I made quick tracks down to York and browsed a small table of DVDs and a big room of books. Here’s what I found:

While this sale was on the smaller side, the selection was better than libraries that have double (or triple) the inventory. I mean…a book on Charles Bronson and a Roy Scheider movie (not his greatest work, but still…)? Adrienne Barbeau’s autobiography? My cup runneth over!

After catching up with my stepmom and spending quality time with Hank and Albert, I braved a monsoon to make a stop at Iko’s Music Trade. I went there semi-regularly when I lived down in York, but lately I’ve been lucky if I get to visit a couple times a year.

In any case, owner Paul Hamilton is one of the only people who can talk about the economics of running a small business and the overall state of the world and its potential future and leave me feeling smarter on the way out than I did when I came in. Iko’s has been in business since 1991, and I’ve been buying and trading there since the early 2000s.

Oh, and it was Record Store Day, which has become a big deal for independent music stores. That said, my current audio setup really doesn’t justify vinyl purchases (though I was tempted by the two Girlschool records on the New Release wall).

Luckily, he still has plenty of CDs to choose from.

Waze took me on a scenic route back home. Over the course of the drive, the monsoon relented, and I bypassed the Smittie’s Soft Pretzel roadside stand (I usually stop for at least one plain salted), as I was a man on a mission!

Music Dungeon is a newer independent store located in sleepy downtown Dillsburg (where they drop a pickle on New Year’s Eve); they have a good mix of vinyl, CDs, and even a couple racks of DVDs in the main room. As the day had grown a bit late, I expedited my usual browsing, but still left with a large stack.

I remember hating Elephant when I watched it 20-some years ago, but maybe the passage of time will help it play better? How I could I resist a couple of Uwe Boll “classics”? And apparently, The Circle stars the wonderful Angela Bettis, so I decided to roll the dice.

Until next time…