Ginkgo opened its gates on Sunday, August 9 for a book swap and reading by Chicago writers. We welcomed literature gourmands and the just plain curious from around the neighborhood, and laid on chilled refreshment both edible and potable. Given the muggy low-90s weather, we took things at a languorous pace, as can be seen by the popularity of the wading pool.
We were fortunate to find enough shade for three tables of books, and we had a pleasant couple of hours of thumbing through paperbacks, trying to resist taking away more than we'd brought.
Around 4pm, nature arranged enough cloud cover for us to start the reading. Thanks to John Cahill, Fred Sasaki, Jill Summers and Beau O'Reilly for sharing their animal stories. I suspect that many who heard Beau's story will no longer be able to pick up a rake without wondering about a certain over-confident rat.
Beau O'Reilly tells of good friends and times gone by:
Jill Summers reads Monkey and Birdie, and breaks everyone's hearts:
Fred Sasaki relates overheard conversations from the zoo (to hilarious effect):
John Cahill reads a contemporary classic from the world-dominated-by-human-sized-pigeons genre:
Many thanks to all the readers, to Debbie and Doug Lynch for organizing the book swap, to Miriam Pinchuk and Dave Snyder for organizing the reading (and everyone else who helped out). And thanks, too, to everyone who dropped by to spend some of their Sunday at the garden (especially whichever kind soul put $20 in the donation box). All proceeds will be turned into vegetable matter, one way or another.
Note: All photos in this post -- except for the kiddie pool shot -- are courtesy and copyright of Lindsay Schlesser.
