Richard Turner, owner of Diesel Bookstore in Brentwood, which he bought last year from founders John Evans and Alison Reid, said the store is continuing "to support the community in this time of need and terrible tragedy. Diesel is a touchstone in the neighborhood and seems to be providing a small sense of normalcy for those displaced by the fire. In addition to those who've come in for the comfort the bookstore provides--some of whom aren't even looking for a book, just a friendly and familiar face--many just call to hear the news that we are intact and open.
|
|
| DIESEL owner Richard Turner with author Robert Crais, whose signing at the store was postponed because of the fire. | |
"Three of our booksellers have been evacuated and each of them have come to work a shift or two (or many more) to gain a foothold, find their routine and feel useful. And they have indeed been showered with love and affection and some serious support from customers and booksellers alike."
John Evans, co-founder of Diesel, visited the store on Saturday and reported: "Customers, displaced by the fire, or on the edge of being evacuated, came in to the store as a refuge. Several I spoke with had lost their houses and came to the store for comfort, one staying in an empty apartment, with an air mattress and her dog, picking up a couple books to read over the coming days. Another testifying to her love of Los Angeles, as many of us have, and the tragedy of the loss of their communities, neighborhoods, and homes.
"The booksellers were solid, handling with compassion and kindness, the confusions and confessions of the customers coming in one after another to share the trauma of the fire--had you lost your home; where are you staying; have you heard yet or I lost mine on Tuesday; I had to abandon my car; I never got to my home before it burned down.
 |
|
| John Evans | |
"One customer offered money and support to a bookseller he heard lost her home. Another bought a $1,000 gift certificate to be used to pay for books being bought for children who had lost theirs in the fire. It didn't take long for a man who lost his home, his children so upset at the loss of their favorite series of books, to come in to purchase them. When he came up to the counter and went to pay, Joey could say, 'It's covered.' Everyone was very moved and touched by this simple, but telling, event.
"I know this is happening at every bookstore throughout L.A., but there was a special poignancy of it being a bookstore we built and love, and which Richard Turner is capably carrying on with the help of tried and true booksellers. I know, too, this is happening with all sorts of businesses outside the evacuation zone throughout Los Angeles and Altadena, so heavily hit by the fires but trying to do their best to buoy a community beset by such horrible devastation.
"The gratitude, relief, and reassurance the customers felt at Diesel being open, and what Diesel had come to mean to them and their community was palpable. And this where so much of what they knew and loved had gone up in smoke.
"It moved Alison to tears and we were so proud that what we had created was continuing to serve the community in its time of need."