Crossing Borders

Adventurous reader,

We took a little drive south this past weekend to soak up what delights the town of Buffalo had to offer us (beyond just saying “Boooffaloooooo” over and over). And what delights there were! Delights that included what may be the best falafel ever made from a place The Workhorsery would not have discovered were it not for Canzine buddy, Courtney Brent, who just happens to live in Buffalo and was glad to play the role of our guide. 

Delights also included the venue itself. As fair organizer Chris Fritton told us, it was once a church that had been reworked into a museum. We also learned that the top row of the pipe organ looming over us was in fact fake! Nothing but wood! Only the bottom ones were real pipes that actually played music.

We were surprised at how quickly the enormous church filled up. In our meagre book fair experience, people start to trickle in about half an hour after the official start time, but they don’t really appear en masse until mid-afternoon. But right from the noon start, the church was filled with people. So many people asking about Jocelyne’s puppets, so many children approaching the table with jaws hanging down to the floor. Parents, take note:　Children love wire people.

Author Jocelyne may have gotten a little camera happy faced with such a gorgeous space. She returned from her American adventure with photo after photo of the inside of the church. We will spare you having to sort through them all the way we had to. But we cannot resist sharing her Manekineko shot. We took the presence of this golden cat as a powerful omen, a welcome from a country that is not our own. Mostly though, it made some of us miss Japan.

The day passed quickly, not only because of the many interested strangers but also thanks to neighbour/poet/maker of books JodiAnn Stevenson. We watched with fascination as she built books up from nothing but paper and thread over the course of the afternoon.

As the day wore on, fatigue started to rear its ugly head. Media Pony Todd is almost immune to the effects of fatigue, so great is his socializing power, but author Jocelyne is accustomed to a more secluded life, days spent typing on a computer keyboard and so a full day of human contact wore her down quickly, glad though she was to be talking with fans and introducing her work to new people. When the crazed look appeared in her eyes, Todd knew he was in trouble and tried to appease the mad author with the candy meant for fair visitors. But to no avail! Jocelyne had lost touch with reality and started rambling incoherently about emus. Fearing for his life, Todd made one last valiant attempt to soothe the tired author with an external shock to the system; a flashbulb. Fortunately for him and all the fair attendees, his strategy bore fruit and within minutes of this photo, Jocelyne was shaking her head with confusion and asking if there was any coffee left. Disaster averted!

Advertisement