Friday, July 06, 2007


Old Lady: Do you have this new book by this englishman, Richard Dickins- or Dorkins something- or-other?

JT: Dawkins? The scientist?

Old Lady: I don't know, some nonsense about God being an illusion or something.

JT: Delusion. Yeah, that's Dawkins. It's over here in our "current culture" section, under "religion."

Old Lady: "Culture?" Hmpf. Should be in "sub-culture."

JT: Well, it was one of the best selling books of the year, so that kind of bumps it up out of the "sub-culture" category. Here it is... (arriving at the store's newly created culture-religion section [AKA the "Atheist Section"], which consists of two big shelves packed to the brim with titles like "The End of Faith," "God is Not Great," "In Defense of Atheism," "Coming to Our Senses," etc. etc.)

Old woman scans shelves, eyes bugging out like Wile E. Coyote going over a cliff.

Old Lady: This is just...unbelievable.

JT: Yes.

Old Lady: What is all this????

JT: (Grinning stupidly) Well, we recieved so many of these new atheist books in the last year or so, we decided to give them their own section. We seem to get a new one in every month or so. Big sellers, these.

Old Lady: (Examining a copy of "The God Delusion" up close, as if it were an invasive weed.) Unbelievable!!

JT: Isn't it?

Old Lady heads for the front register, book angrily in hand.
JT returns to the side desk, where an amusing surprise awaits him, buried in the morning's new stock.