Ephemera: The Death Star

Where were you in 2008?

Gordon & Corinne & the Devil Cat

Random House runs a million-square-foot distribution center in rural Delaware. Some parts are so vast and dimly lit that people call it the Death Star. In near darkness, people move up and down in lighted elevators—they move vertically and horizontally—and pluck books from towering racks.

Elsewhere, small Bobcat-type bulldozers push around mountains of doomed, unsold books. Primarily children’s books and cookbooks, I’m told. The former because kids tend to touch and dirty books so badly that stores can’t sell the stock. The latter because… (shrugs).

You must never see any of this. Nor sit and sign your name to the pallets and pallets of books. A solid week of ten-hour days. But that’s just another part of the job.

Gordon and Corrine are some of the nice people thereabouts. The cat’s name is Fred.

Was Fred.

Hindsight Story Night in an hour or so.

Fingers crossed for Randy in New York. Send him good vibes.

I’ll name a winner(s) for the “Parroting” contest tomorrow.