jlsathre

jlsathre
Location
Illinois,
Birthday
July 30
Bio
I'm a lawyer in my past life, who got the kids through college and decided to try something different and a little more fun. A used book store sounded like a good idea, so that's where I am for now. I just hadn't counted on a recession or E-readers and am a little afraid there's going to be a third act. In the meantime, I have plenty to read and a little time to write. Not a bad way to spend a day.

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Salon.com
Editor’s Pick
JUNE 25, 2012 10:55AM

Getting Tipped In a Bookstore

Rate: 38 Flag

He comes in most days after school. And in the summer, one or two days a week. I think his mom sets a limit. He's a quiet boy and would follow her rules.

Sometimes he comes alone, but often he brings friends and shows them where the comics are. And the free books. And the gum. They stick their hands in the gum bowl and shyly back away, around the corner, toward the door. He stops them and tells them they have to say, "Thank you." It's our rule.

The last day of school he brought in a rolled up piece of poster board that he got to bring home. I found it later, forgotten near the comics. A half empty bag of skittles was stuck inside. I was tempted to eat the skittles, but saved the poster board for him, skittles intact.

He's never bought anything in the year that I've known him, but he's never brought trouble either. I sometimes find wrapping papers from gum in odd places, but I think that's not him. It seems unlikely that a boy who tries to straighten the comics before he leaves would hide his wrappers. I think his go in his pockets.

A few days ago, he came in holding a five dollar bill.

"Was it your birthday?" I asked.

It was. He had turned ten. An uncle gave him the money.

"I'm buying books today, " he told me.

He brought a few books up and asked how much they were. I showed him how to find prices and he went back to looking. He settled on two that added up to four dollars. 

"Four dollars," I said, paying his tax so he could get a dollar back.

He handed back the dollar. "It's a tip," he said.

I told him that was very nice, but he didn't need to tip me.

"It's a tip," he said again, pausing, and then adding, "for having a good bookstore." 

Another successful day.

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What a cute little creature. OMG, I'd grab him and kiss him. Charming encounters like that make life bearable. Maybe he was overly grateful that you didn't steal his skittles.
oh for god's sake, u gotta be kidding me.
is this a true story, or are you confabulating just a bit, here?

i hope it is true.

little man is gonna grow up to be an interesting fellow, no doubt.
i would kill to know
what books he bought..
Marvelous. Who says all of youth are lost?
A 25% tip? I gotta talk to this kid--he's ruining it for cheapskates like me.
Great kid... great post, both gave me my first smile of the day!!
A charming tale. That little guy has a lot of class.
I have tears... I remember my favorite bookstore in Sacramento, where we would be Loooossst for hours, and we never wanted change, but it bothered her that we would "tip" her. This is brilliant, and touching... and oh, so wonderful. Where's my fire and my blanket??
Children like that melt my rock-hard heart, jl. Your kindness to everybody who enters your bookstore comes back to you tenfold, doesn't it?

Lezlie
fernsy--The skittles were tempting. Glad I didn't eat them.
James--He's still into superheroes and comics, but I have high hopes.
Mary--Agreed
Con--Might as well throw that 15% cheater card away.
jmac--smiles are always good.
Damon--I'm not sure I knew what a tip was at that age....or, from watching my mom, thought it was always 25 cents.
Brazen--What good kids you were.
lschmoopie--He is.
Lezlie--I've found you get a pretty good group of people going into bookstores.
What an adorable kid!
What a classy little guy. Hope he stays that way when he goes through the grinder that is called adolescence. R
good, comics a fine place to..hide..til ready.
That should make your day, your year. They say kids are bad now. Hah! I guess he showed them!
Ahhh!! How cute!!!

Rated!!

(Though I thought this was going to be one of those articles deemed NSFW!! Teehee!! ~blush~ What? :D)
This was sweet. I bet nobody else tips in a bookstore.
R♥
postmormon--Most all my little customers are sweet. Browsers, usually, but sweet.
Gerald--Ah, yes, adolescence. And it comes so early these days.
James--A good place to start, although I have to watch out for the racy ones.
scanner--It keeps me going, for sure.
Tink--Tricked you!
john--You used to be able to find them just about everywhere. Malls, Main streets, storefronts. They were full of books, sometimes had a store cat....
Fusun--It was a first for me.
What a wonderful story. *sigh*
For the 11th birthday, it's Proust.
Durn trickster!! :( :D

And we have bookstores all around here, they opened one just last Christmas.

They even have magazines, and ones you can read in public!! What?

I'M AN IT CAT WHO HATES COMPUTERS!!! I WANNA BOOK I CAN HOLD IN MY PAWS AND FOLD THE PAGES OVER AS A BOOKMARK!!

TRY DOING THAT WITH A KINDLE!!!!

OOPS!! NO MORE KINDLE!! :D
And look, you got an EP that wasn't 6 months later!! Wooo!! ~:D
Oh wow. Now I'm heart-warmed weepy. Thank you so much.
sweetfeet--Too sweet?
Stim--Maybe we could try a little Twain before going to Proust.
Tink--I kind of liked that 6 month late EP. It gave me all kinds of hope for old posts.
l'Heure--Wipe those tears. This was a good thing.
Wow. Reading this, I felt my childhood flash before my eyes! Great story.
Well, just another great post...see, you have to have a bookstore if for only days like these. Hopefully they're not too few and far between.
JL, indeed, ""Another successful day""".
A beautiful story, a lovely kid, and a lovely you, for saving him the taxes... A magical bookstore, the one you have!!! Rated, such a good kid!!!
Such an expansive, generous gesture at such a tender age!
Awwww..... I am tearing up at this bright little soul, and at your generosity and kindness.
I would kiss this man too!

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When will he be old enough to run for President?
well. can't pay for better than that, can you, jl?

fuck. i feel verklempt and i really dont want to feel verklempt today!!

strong work you do, there at that bookstore.
What a lovely story./r
A heart-cockle-warming story if I ever heard one (read, in this case).
Oh, I love this story. Fills me with joy.
I think it was a successful day for him, too, to be able to show you how much your bookstore means to him. Thanks for making an impact on this kid's life!
My 2nd favorite place! How lucky you are. Congrats on the EP! R
That you had the good grace not to argue about the tip!

What a great story!
What a love! Has he been back ? What books did he buy?
What a reassuring story of the goodness of humans.