Sunshine, Schuler's, and Baba Ghanoush

The other day I drove my roommate Tori to the airport. After wishing her safe travels, I hopped back into my Saturn and went to explore my city. February is genuinely a gray and dreary month in the midwest, but this particular day was clear skies and all sun. If it weren't for the two feet of snow on the ground, one would think it was late spring. Cruising down 28th street and jamming to The Weepies, I felt my cheeks turning pink from the golden rays shining through my windshield. Could life get any better than this? The answer, of course, is yes.

After signaling and merging appropriately, I turned into the parking lot of Schuler Books and my day sky rocketed from a ten to one hundred on a ten point scale. Before this excursion, I had been to Schuler's only one other time for a book reading, but never had the opportunity to explore the store. Schuler's is a bookworm's dream come true. The store is surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books both new and used. There are big plush couches and cozy arm chairs to hunker down in for the day, a working fireplace, and a cafe where you can order beer. Does Barnes and Noble supply any of these luxuries to their customers? I think not!

After  twenty minutes of walking among the books like a child in a candy shop, I finally wandered over to the poetry nook and plopped down on a bench. Here, I leafed through the works of Pablo Neruda, Anne Sexton, and Henry David Thoreau. Then, a familiar title caught my eye, Jack Ridl's Losing Season. Dr. Ridl is a literary idol on my college campus. He is the Brad Pitt of West Michigan literature. I replaced my other titles and read through his book. To my surprise, the title page was autographed by the author and the date listed below was my birthday. It was as if Jack knew I was to come sit among the poets and decided to leave me a welcome gift. The whole experience was eerie and extremely thrilling. The cosmos must have been aligned that day in order to receive such a gift. I should have bought a lottery ticket. Winning the lottery would have done me some good. When I flipped the book over, I noticed the lavish price tag and nearly died. Sixteen bucks for a skinny poetry collection! As a college student, I am anything but loaded. It was either the book or groceries for the week. While I have pushed my grocery limits in the past to buy literature and wine, this time I couldn't do it. I had to put the book back on the shelf. Maybe it will still be there the next time I visit.

After leaving Schuler's a little disheartened about the poetry book, I ventured over to my favorite little food place on Kalamazoo Ave. Mediterranean Island is a small authentic grocery store that carries a number of European and Middle Eastern items. While I have not explored all the products in the store, I am no stranger to the deli counter. After walking past isles of freshly baked pita and a rainbow assortment of vegetables, the deli counter is located in the back of the store. Behind the glass panes fresh cheeses and meats await purchase along with a wide selection of homemade salads and sides. Everything is colorful and looks appetizing. The green and maroon olives are nearly as big as clementines, the samosas are perfect triangle pastries, but the best item by far is the baba ghanoush. Once I approached the counter I ordered an entire pound of the smoky eggplant dip for myself. It is heaven in a plastic tub, I am not even joking. I have been known to polish off a container in a matter of days. Sharing this Mediterranean gem is hard to do once  you have tasted the epic combination of eggplant, garlic, salt, and tahini. It is just that delicious! I hope one day I will become great friends with the owner of the store and he will give me free baba ghanoush as often as I want. Maybe someday.

Back in my car, I turned the tunes on once more as I drove the stretch of highway back to my tiny campus. It had been a good day. Sunshine, Shuler's, baba ghanoush, who could ask for anything more?