I’m sharing some photos from visits to two local businesses last weekend. On Saturday, I traveled to my hometown of Rome, New York, stopping for coffee at Café Vinci, which is owned by my good friend Bill Vinci. I caught up with Bill and other friends from high school. It was so much richer talking to these guys in person instead of on social media. And it’s a strange, magical phenomenon that the bonds you construct with classmates when you are still young and unformed hold up in adulthood, despite a large gap in time. The connection is stamped permanently, and you can pick up right where you left off.

Bill asked me to bring some books to sell at the café, and he took my picture before I left. For those in Central New York who want to visit it, the business is located in Griffiss Business and Technology Park.

On Sunday, I was the guest of the “It Really Happened” nonfiction book club at Parthenon Books on Salina Street in downtown Syracuse. It was fun and rewarding to talk about my memoir and connect with readers. They asked some good questions, and I found their insight helpful, especially as I work on my follow-up memoir.

A bonus was seeing copies of my minimalistic poetry collection, Poecabulary, on the shelf—in both the poetry and “staff recommended” sections.

Poecabulary on the shelf at Parthenon Books.

And whenever I go to Parthenon, I always buy books. The store is beautiful, and the layout is clean and welcoming. The shelves are not jammed, and you can tell the staff curates the selections.

Here are the books I purchased:

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Atom and Void by Aaron Fagan
And The Troublesome Tooth by Jacqueline Pilon, who is a member of the book club.

One other note: I am currently running a free Kindle promotion for Poecabulary. You can grab a free digital copy through Oct. 19.