The Visitor from Elsewhere

For the last few weeks, Mike Nussbaum and John Mahoney have become regulars at my bookstore.

Mike Nussbaum was the first one I saw. I first saw him in the bookstore’s coffee shop. Mr. Nussbaum was seated on a high chair, elbows on the counter sipping a latte or what have you and I was arrested by the sight of him because he was immediately familiar to me as one of my favorite actors but someone whose name didn’t immediately spring to mind. Plus, he was wearing these quite unusually large, rose colored eyeglasses. I really didn’t know what to make of them. They were very cool glasses. Maybe hunters wore eyeglasses like those or — pimps. I must not get out enough because I really had never seen anyone wearing glasses like that.

The next time I saw him, he was looking for a book by the British historian, Max Hastings. On the way to show Mr. Nussbaum where the book was, I had by then, put his face to his name and I told him how much I admired his work. He was very gracious. I told him how much I liked in the film, “Things Change”, a classic, under appreciated picture written by Shel Silverstein and David Mamet and starring Joe Mantegna and Don Ameche.

When I said I loved him in it, he said, “Well, you can’t go wrong with Mamet!”, and laughed. Several days later, I heard that John Mahoney had started coming in as well. I heard that he had become a regular in our Music department

It’s a funny thing about actors. They can play villains or heroes, sexpots or shrews but whenever we speak of them, we usually have a smile on our faces. With John Mahoney, people smile like they have just won the lottery. It must be because of the pleasure actors give us in their performances.

Anyway, one night, it must have been almost 10 PM, John Mahoney came in again as he often does now and he sidled up to me. He smiled at me with that brilliant smile of his before he said a word to me the way I have often seen him do on TV and in movies and then he asked me, “Do you sell incense here?” I was a little suprised to hear the question from him, actually. I mean of all the things he could ask! I said, “Hello, Mr. Mahoney. No, we don’t but I do think there is a place in the mall that does, let’s see….” I couldn’t remember the name of the place that did although I tried as hard as I could to remember. I was kind of embarrassed at being at a loss for words. “I can’t remember the name of it but it’s closed by now.” Mahoney gave me that smile again, waved his hand and said, “Ah, forget it. It was just a thought!” And smiling again, he wandered off. It sounds like a super play. I hope everyone who can goes to see it.