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December 2006
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The Gifts of Giving Back, Gifts for Giving
Friends,
We recently had the honor of hosting Barry Lopez, author of Home Ground, Arctic Dreams and many other books. It was one of the best events we've ever had at the bookstore. Lopez is a true American gem, a person of deep intuition and insight with the ability to communicate his views with intense precision and clarity. At one point when the conversation broadened and ventured to our collective future, he said something like, "Hope springs from intimacy. To progress, we need to reacquaint ourselves with the landscape, with our neighbors and with ourselves in an intimate way." Intimacy in this context involves deep listening. While deep listening might be somewhat of a lost art in this age of speed, it is a trait that can be cultivated.
As I ponder the holidays and my frenzied retail life at this time of year, it is my wish that we can all experience a dab (or more!) of intimacy this December.
Related to this theme, I am proud to announce the formation of Local First Vermont, a new non-profit organization that has been created by some Vermonters concerned about the amount of money flowing out of the state. Our mission is to preserve and enhance the economic, human, and natural vitality of Vermont communities by promoting the importance of purchasing from locally owned independent businesses. Whether you are concerned about high taxes, diversity of choice, the strength of the non-profit sector, sprawl, citizen participation or job creation there is reason to support your local businesses. It is in your best interest to at least look Local First before looking online or to a chain store. Please see www.localfirstvermont.org for more information.
One of the reasons we like this time of year is because it is Book Angel time. For those not familiar with our Book Angel program, we have a tree up in the Children's section with paper angels on it – these are the names of area kids who would typically not be getting books for the holidays. We give our customers the opportunity to buy books for these kids and Northshire Bookstore will donate one for every five customers buy. Please consider helping area children get the gift of reading.
From the Northshire Bookstore family, Happy Holidays!
