Whitman's Beard

Rama Bauer and I worked together back in the early aughts at a humble little bookstore in South Jersey and look at him now! All growed up and co-running a charming second hand bookshop in Westwood. The above photo was kidnapped from The Daily Bruin which featured an article focused on the Arts ReSTORE LA project. These two comments from Rama are the very same reasons that I seek out used book stores.

“I can’t tell you the number of times I went to a used bookstore looking for one thing, and on the shelf above or below, my eye catches something,” Bauer said. “I mean you pick up a used book and maybe someone wrote something on the margin or someone’s name is in there and it’s something that has its own history.”

“Being able to pick up authors and read something by Henry Miller, (Ralph Waldo) Emerson or (Jack) Kerouac, these were hugely influential in my life because I found that I’m not just this entity that’s floating around,” Bauer said. “They were other people who had felt like me, and I think that’s really important, a sense of connection.”

I seriously could not be happier for these two fellas and I hope it's an incredible success that brings each of their lives a richness they might never have otherwise known. I miss ya, Rama, and I still love ya like crazy!
 
(photo of Rama Bauer and Stephen Rohal by Felicia Ramirez)