Filming and a Phone Call

I'd like to start this post by thanking those who have been reading the blog and following my updates on Facebook and Twitter (KatieGPainter). I love the comments I'm getting on my Facebook wall, via e-mail, and on the phone, and I love hearing that friends and clients have passed the link to this blog onto their friends and family. I'm really learning how much reading, and buying books, means to the people in my life. But--as much as I adore hearing your comments through other mediums--for the love of literacy, throw out a couple of comments here! And follow the blog. I like seeing the little pictures on the left side of my screen. :) And also, what is reading and writing if not a conversation? So let's have one!

Entreaties aside, today was a productive and eventful day. I worked on a newsletter for a new telecommunications client and then had lunch with a former client, a fantastic biography writer. She had visited the blog and, curious woman that she is, had a million questions for me regarding my plans for the bookstore. So I enjoyed talking with her about that. It never gets old.

Yesterday, though, I found out from my aunt that I'm not the only one in Laredo moving forward with efforts to open a bookstore. Mary Benavides, who managed B. Dalton for the better part of 30 years, is also working toward this goal. My first thought, of course, was, Where does that leave me? Swiftly followed by, Oh, crap--I put my plans on the Internet too soon! They're all gonna laugh at me!

It was this state of mind that Courtney Sames found me in this afternoon. Courtney is one half of the documentarist duo I mentioned a couple of posts ago, and she wanted to come get an update from me on what I've been working on since our last talk.

"I wanted to talk to you about something off-camera first," I said. "I just heard that Mary Benavides is also trying to open a bookstore."

Courtney smiled, a little sheepish. "Well..." she said. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that."

I had to laugh. Sneaky documentarist!

"She called me on my way over here," Courtney said. "She'd like to talk to you. She's so nice," Courtney assured me. "The warmest person you'll ever meet."

I told Courtney that my aunt had given me Mary's number (the two have been good friends for years--such is Laredo) and that I intended to call after our interview. Courtney's eyes lit up. She looked at her camera. "Would you mind if...?"

That's how, after I updated Courtney and showed her this blog and the grant site, I ended up being filmed while I spoke to Mary.

Courtney was right about Mary's warmth and friendliness. After a slightly awkward start, I felt at ease, and we talked to each other about our plans and ideas. It was clear that Mary is as passionate as I am about bringing a bookstore to Laredo and fostering a community of arts and culture.

So where does that leave me? Right where I left off. We ended the call by promising to keep each other updated. More importantly, we vowed to find a way to achieve our goals in a complementary, rather than competitive, way. What, exactly, that means remains to be seen. But you'll know when I do!

As for the photo? He's the brains behind this operation.

And...Action!

On Saturday, February 6, I was interviewed by Courtney Sames and Fede Cavazos, two fellow Laredoans who have been filming a documentary about the closing of B. Dalton. They have sat and talked with high school teachers who broke into tears; librarians who vowed to increase circulation; a bus full of orphanage children who shopped at B. Dalton one last time before it closed; and a fourteen-year-old girl who has collected thousands of signatures on a petition to bring another bookstore to Laredo.

As the cornflower sky began deepening and the air turned brisk with evening, we sat out on my back deck to have a long, frank discussion about my plans. I was asked about my family, my life in Laredo and since I left, and what books and literacy mean to me. I was also asked how I would tailor the bookstore to Laredo’s unique demographic and why I’ve chosen to take this risk. I guess my answer is this:

Without a bookstore, without a focus on the importance of reading and writing, Laredo is a city at its most vulnerable. At its most exploitable, corruptible, and defenseless. Never have I felt more moved to make a change than I do now. What was once a “life dream”—something I intended to pursue after achieving my own success as a writer—has become one of those rare passions. A mission. A knowledge that this is a problem I can help solve, and which my heart feels a duty to amend.

After the interview was over and we were all chatting in my kitchen, Fede admitted, “You know, before we started this project, I was skeptical about whether Laredo is capable of sustaining a bookstore. But after interviewing all the people we have, I know, without a doubt, that it is. There are a lot of people in that city who want and would appreciate a good bookstore.”

It’s what I believed already, but those words were so validating! There is a community of ardent readers in Laredo, and a community that would like to be.

Being interviewed was an honor, and I can't wait to see the documentary when it's done. Thank you, Courtney and Fede!

Are you from Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, or South Texas? What would you like to see in an independent bookstore?