Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

This afternoon I've been listening to Mozart's Don Giovanni. I love the blended voices and switches in tempo and tone. I'm reading Louise Erdrich's "The Sentence" which is delightful. It's lighter and more joyful than anything else of hers I've read. My Buddhist buddy recomended it to me, though I'd already bought it. But I've waited a while to begin it. It's set in and around a bookstore, in fact, Louise's bookstore. I once wrote a novel where the main character owned a bookstore, and I loved the fantasy of it. I tried to buy a bookstore when I first moved back here, a feminist one, but it was too far in debt and the women themelves discouraged it. The location wasn't great either. But part of me wishes I'd at least tried. Later some women friends bought another bookstore close to me and made it into a welcoming, energetic place. It has a combination of books, gifts and plants. They just retired and sold it to a nice couple, who are doing right by the place. I tried to buy tons of books during the pandemic and they expressed their appreciation. It's like a home away from home for me. I'm so lucky: I can walk to five independent bookstores from my house. I feel surrounded by the comfort of it.