The BOOKMARK in Dolega

A STORE IS BORN

There seems to be some opinionated ignorance about the purpose and existence of the BookMarK, which could have been clarified if anyone had the courtesy or sense to ask. Thus, (TA DA DRUMROLL) the Birth, Growth, History and Purpose of the humble BookMark, a Used book store in Dolega, Panama…

It was a dark and stormy… no, that’s not right.

In 1998, when my friend Jim MacLeod was dying in Anastasios, he asked me if I would buy his boxed book collection and a dozen revolving book racks, and arrange monthly payments to his widow, as his assets were pretty much gone. I agreed, and after he assured me there were three thousand paperback novels, the entire contents of a book store. he said, in Texas (I should have sent up a red alert at that) I hauled the books and racks to a friend’s house in Dolega, while I looked for a location to sell therm. Several months of false starts, and disappearing contractors, finally led me to the bungalow on the highway in Dolega (three miles from my house in El Frances, and an easy commute with dog). The eleventy- leventh “Ropas Americanas” had just gone out of business there. and I was somewhat discouraged by a family living in the back, but unconnected, part of the building. I borrowed five hundred dollars from a friend, and had some metal shelves made, and made use of the dozen revolving racks, and opened, in September 1999, the BookMark, used books, trade, sell, galosinas, helados, sodas, cafe and banana bread, sometime lemon meringue pie. The swimming pool was open across the road, and life was good…. until I opened all the book boxes and found I had over a thousand Historical Romances, and even more westerns, including complete works of L’Amour, John Jakes, the White Indian series, all of Westward America, and several others whose names I really want to forget. A most uninspiring start. (Except for all 88 novels of John D. MacDonald, which, alas, has diminished sadly). I would go to Costa Rica, scouring the bookstores (there were many more nine years ago) and hit the 12th Street bookstalls in Panama City (again, books were plentiful then) occasionally trying to talk Pa nama booksellers into discounts.

I started to buy books from Exedra, after Sheila Teran offered to provide me titles, but she gave me only ten percent discount, which didn’t pay for the bus trip. At the time, internet book sales were in their infancy and a problem, as I had no U.S. credit card, having been in Central America more than a decade at the time (Mexico ‘87, ‘89, Costa Rica 1990-1993, Panama 1994 until?). My best business was from Costa Rica and I would return from trips laden with books. At the time, I had planned both Spanish and English areas for books; however, locals didn’t buy books other than Harlequin romances or Vaquero novelettes. Then, the swimming pool was closed down, horrors, what to do?

I found a partner, I thought, in Peter Preminger, who had fled here from Colombia. Curmudgeon I may be, but this guy….anyhow, that lasted about three months, and in court for about six. I even ended up letting him take a personal selection of books (like having your one remaining lung removed).

This may be the moment for a personal interjection. After nine years in University (and I must say the library at the University of Illinois, with nearly three million volumes back in the late 50s, was what a great library should be.) In my doctoral studies of the 18th Century, I was able to work from original editions, pamphlets and penny sheets from the time; scholarship is easy under those circumstances. I later had the opportunity to use, briefly, the Bodleian. In no way, when I eventually moved to Panama and found myself in the book business, was I under the impression that I was running a research library, or a scholarly book store (In Panama in 2003 and 2004, there were NO scholars, real, or effete pretenders, for that matter)

What I had was a mess of books, and the rare tourist or local would stop by and “help me along” by buying and trading a couple of books. What the majority of customers wanted was light fiction, the best selling authors in Airport paperback. Already having a glut of Grisham, to this day, every stack of trade-ins has its share of Grishams. I began to dispose of the historical romances (even prolonged sales at fifty cents didn’t move them, so finally, many went to the shredder for packing orchids, probably the best thing that could happen to them) The books, not the orchids.

It wan’t until 2003 that I began to buy on the internet, when Banistmo offered an E-card, an internet debit card. I wasn’t able to obtain a Visa card until 2006, as I refused to aska Panamanian to co-sign for me. Indeed!

The store began to really grow then, as I could start buying in areas I had never been able to locate books, i.e. natural history, economics, military history (of the world, Joyce, there is another war besides the 1860-1865 conflict) self-help, gardening, decorating, cooking (I purchased the cooking library of a gourmand last year, over 300 volumes, from Beard to Broccoli Garden.) As customers would ask me to find books in their areas of personal interest, I expanded the store to include these requests.

The purchase of the last 3000 rag-tag books from the Panama Canal Zone, after the world had finished with them, filled up a lot of gaps,and i started an Old books section,which I then began to fill with modern classics, from Abe to Zola. Books on world religions followed naturally, then world history, and I admit to a weak biography section (no one cares about Prince Ruprecht), but have set a credo for the store, if we don’t have your book, we will get it if it’s available. And that has pretty much been the basis of how the topsy BookMark has grown to where it is. There is really lots more to tell, but this gets boring, I know.

I simply want to add that I have built this store, outside of the original 500 dollar loan, repaid many years ago, with no money from any source except my Social Security penson and the few buck I mad when I sold the house in El Frances and moved into the apartment I built in back of the store. I owe no one, will bow to no one, as I know who I am and what I have done from scratch. I am proud of the BookMark, and believe it serves a very important. and necessary function here in Chiriqui, especially now when I actually have customers of varied taste and inclination. I have recently spent nearly two thousand dollars (Mine, baby, mine) on banana, coffee, and surfing books, because these are areas which people indicate they have an interest. I have always carried Used travel guides, because until we developed this new crowd of residents who MUST have the latest, my customers Wanted used travel guides. It takes me ten days to get a new guide here, and you still get it for less than you would pay on Amazon. I don’t appreciate having the store disparaged by people who have strong opinions, usually backed by hearsay, ill-founded rumors or simple ignorance (disguised as snobbery)!

That’s All, FOLKS!