I have a close friend in San Francisco who had a run of bad luck with health problems last year, who now needs a job pretty desperately. (Short story: he was out of work with a slipped disk for several months — surgery,the whole deal — and thanks to Bush’s economy, his job was no longer there when he recovered, and he hasn’t been able to find another.) He’s got fourteen years of bookstore experience as well as wide-ranging and eclectic musical knowledge. If you own a bookstore or record store in the Bay Area and have any sort of opening, or have any other appropriate job leads, please let me know. I would be in your debt.
…in the meantime — I know you all don’t know this guy and there are a million hard-luck cases in the world, but he’s a friend of mine and I’m trying to keep him from getting evicted, so if you’re feeling charitable, I will pass along any donations you make to the tip jar (follow link, button at bottom of page) until he gets back on his feet. You can’t change the world most of the time, but in this instance, you can change one person’s life. Even just a buck or two will make a huge difference here. Readers of this site have proven their generosity in the past, and I’m hoping you will again. I wouldn’t ask this if it weren’t important.
…just to sweeten the pot, anyone who contributes more than five bucks will be eligible to win a signed print. I’ll have a random drawing in a few weeks and give out, say, ten of them.