RUDIMENTS, pt. 1,137
(something suddenly fuse-lit)
I don't know the memories of
most people, but long about
1980 I was on West Broadway
down by Spring or Greene St.,
in a little grocer's, in line to
wait being checked out and
at the front of the line was
this local who - with a booming
(and quite recognizable voice),
was heard to exclaim 'Two bags
please!' With his Jamaican type
accent it came out as 'Two bahgs,
please!' with a long 'a' I guess
that is. Anyway, it was Geoffrey
Holder - he was, for those years.
and at that time - the voice of
Seven-Up and their 'Uncola'
campaign. Uncola was the idea
that, unlike Coke or Pepsi,
Seven-Up was not brown, or
dark. It was clear, an 'Un-cola.'
Holder's specific voice and clearly
unmistakable being was the
backbone of the ad campaign,
which was hos claim to fame -
a lone claim maybe. In those
early-trendy days of old Soho,
he was a dweller there, probably
riding high too on commercial-money.
Seen around often enough, in this
instance it was cool to see him in
local action, asking for his merchandise
to go into two bags, not one, for
his walk to home. There was some
consternation because the line was
slow and a few people long; he'd
held it up a bit for re-packing, but
everyone stayed put and tolerated
nicely the local intrusion.
-
At the same time, as I recall,
there was a nice bookshop nearby
- 'Prince Street Books' - and a
postcard store. We frequented both.
My friend had a recording studio
on Greene Street, and I was doing
some assist work and printing for
a few of his productions. I was also,
at that time, doing some work, and
trying to get a job with, 'Thunder's
Mouth Press,' which had just started
then, on some nearby corner. The
job never came through, but I did
any number of print jobs with them.
The postcard store was the very
coolest ever : it was about 20 by 40
feet wide and deep, always quite
cold in Winter, but had the most
amazing assortment of postcards,
designated and separated, like a
vast card-catalogue, by subject;
any subject at all : cars, cats, art,
artists, fashion, people, famous
people, street scenes, landmarks,
literary cards, author cards, etc.
I could go on and on. Many of
my favorite subjects were from
there collected - as I read or
came across a book, or an author
or a place or a name, I'd make
a note and amass a few and then
go to the postcard store and spent
some time, usually always fruitful,
finding the appropriate illustration,
of person or place, as a postcard.
They were like 8 cents each, maybe
the better and larger of them went
to 12 or 15 cents. It was crazy, and
at those prices I never knew how
she met the rent or kept the place.
Let alone heat it. She was about
75 or 80 (old to me then, not now),
and always quiet and intensely
going about some sort of work,
sorting or cataloguing. One time
she had to leave for something,
and she asked me to watch the
place for her while she was gone.
Perhaps five or ten minutes. There
were only two or three other people
in the place. I said OK; but nothing
occurred while she was gone, and
I had no need even of doing a
transaction. (There was no cash
register; she just wrote down each
card and its price, at check-out;
a mean way, I suppose of seeing
what sold and knowing what to
re-stock). The entire place could
have been a nightmare for factors
of theft and mis-sorting, but it
was always in good order and
people were always nice. It
was surely a unique place.
(Before this, as I recall, she'd
had a previous location, at
another spot, near but not close;
it was larger and more well-lit
too). I guess this had been her
downsizing for old age.
-
Next to her, there, was Spring
Street Books - another great,
crazy place. Far more intense and
lethal, and commercial too. But it
was perfect. They had great art
magazines and tons of literary
journals, etc., as well. One night, I'd
stepped in there to buy a copy of
'The Possessed' and 'Crime nd
Punishment,' and the check-out
guy said, 'Boy, those are depressing
reads. Enjoy your time.' Those days
of old bookstores and postcards
are so long gone now it makes
me sad to remember. The world
has changed greatly : Run by
mental 9-year olds, mostly.
-
Back in those days, early West
Broadway was something to
be experienced. Soho as a NYC
concept had just taken off -
all the old industry was gone,
and the illegal lofts and artist
studios were just hanging on
as the street and environs took
n their new, flash-color of
blazing hip. Mostly through
the 1980's. The time when Etan
Patz was kidnapped, and Laurie
Anderson had her illegal loft.
Then, like something fuse-lit
and suddenly gone-off, the big
time hit and even that version
of Soho was gone, to be then
replaced by high-fashion : shoe
mongers, jewelry, trendy styles,
dining, and then art galleries and
gourmet stores. No direction; it
all just happened. Stalls and flea
markets one day, Barone's and
Comme des Garcons the next.
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