and I, am Tumble Bumble

Today at work, I got a quiet and polite "excuse me" and when I looked up, there was none other than Dan Zanes! I was a fan of the Del Fuegos back in the 80's and I really like the family albums he's put out in recent years, but any joy I may take in him or his music pales beside that of our nephew.

When he was around 2 years old he went through a series of names, meaning, he had decided that he was to be addressed by a new name. I seem to recall French Tape and Tumble Bumble being a couple of favorites for a while. A little after the Tumble Bumble era, the Dan Zanes era was ushered in. It was never that the kid didn't care for his own name, it seemed like it was more a matter of creativity and I guess, giving props to his favorite guy. For that matter, he has a framed photo of Jonathon Richmond in his bedroom.

So I mentioned to Mr. Zanes that he was quite a celebrity in our family and to my nephew in particular. And to my surprise, he pulled out a small piece of paper, wrote "Hello Rockin My Nephew's Name" and drew a little doodley picture of himself on it. Awesome. Considering that I've been casually stalking Dan Zanes around Brooklyn for the past 2 years after seeing him in passing multiple times, I am incredibly excited to finally meet him and get something cool for the little nephew.

these are a few of my favorite things

Every day I get such a wide range of funny, inspired, occasionally ignorant questions from funny, inspired and occasionally ignorant customers. I try to make a mental note to tell Apes about it when I come home, but I often forget. I'm going to try to remember, if only to mention it here.

So far this week:
"Do you have a book on cabanas? Just pictures of people's cabanas?"
"I need a book on how to build a bomb shelter. You know, in case of a war."
"I'm looking for a book. I don't know the title or author, but I think it has the word {happiness, forget, love, the something and the something} in it."
"Where's the non-fiction?" This question is inevitably asked in an annoyed voice. The tone doesn't get any better when I have to explain to them that most of the store is non-fiction and I need more information, to which they usually reply, "No, the NON-fiction." Thankfully, this doesn't happen too frequently.
"Where is a book to help someone learn to read? No, not with words, just pictures. I told you, she can't read!"