"your blog is a comfort to us, but it is painful too"
Today I recieved a letter from a reader of this blog. It completely railroaded what i was going to write about tonight. Thank you.
But first, The Tennessee Distribution center closed today, according to facebook. That DC had become the heart of the east coast, without it and more importantly without the people who staffed it, we wouldn't be able to sell a book to anyone. When the Pennsylvania DC closed i felt like, it just kind of pffted out of existence. Well that sucks. Good Bye fine people of the distribution center, you made any success we could ever have had, possible, and I never took the time to thank you properly. You will be missed.
I'm directing this to you now, the two of you, who wrote me that letter. I don't want to say who you are without getting your permission and...well...it's late. So i probably wouldn't and i want to write this. Every comment means so much to me. Every nod of approval, every response to a facebook post, every comment on the blog. Every time it's posted on a random website and someone takes the time to give me a shout out. It all means so much to me. I can't...i don't have words, to explain the connection i feel to people who understand where i am coming from. But a letter (note: i'm not calling it an email or a message, because i feel like those things have become so ubiquitous and noisy that they have lost any power to move, but a letter, that still sings of feeling and thought put to paper with intention, so a letter it is), the time spent to thank me for writing this, when it is me who should be thanking you for reading it, it just...it lifts me up. It's magical. And it was entirely unexpected.
In the letter you said "your willingness to put it all out there is making a difference". I believe i have something to add to the discussion, thats why i began this. I believe that i have experienced and lived the full spectrum of what Borders has given and done to us, and i think that is what compels me to write this every night. But i never, for a moment, thought that anyone beyond a handful of people i know personally would read this. The fact that i'm over 15,000 views now blows me away, but nothing so much as i am blown away by hearing that i am making a difference for you. It wasn't my intent because i believed it was more than i could hope for.
Thank you so much, to all of you who read and take the time to have this conversation with me. You all have transformed me.You have transformed this experience for me. The inevitable awfulness of the end, while it can never be less inevitable, is without a doubt, less awful thanks to all of you folk reading this right now.
True Story.
We love you Cory!!
ReplyDeleteI believe what you are documenting is very important. You are writing about things that people need to know about but don't think about (many b/c they just don't have time as they work their multiple jobs to support their families). You get to the point quickly, but in an engaging fashion. And what you write isn't just about the Borders experience, it's about what is happening to the whole global economy of which Borders is a part. I'm glad others are recognizing it. I'm also glad for your acknowledgment to the distribution people. People who work at distribution centers do a lot to make industry happen but get very little credit, pay & benefits. And they are almost always the first to lose their jobs when a company closes.
ReplyDeleteWe had a moment tonight, my husband and I - while talking about Borders. We just had to stop talking about it because it was just too sad. But Cory, you are brave. You just keep putting it on the line for everyone to read. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how many people you are touching, Cory. For those of us who've worked with you not so long ago, or those at 2664 who worked with you long ago, or those who have never had the privilege of working with you... I even sent the link to Anne after your post in her honor. All booksellers, regardless of the name on the paycheck, are devastated by what is happening to such a once great company. Every entry of your blog, every post on the Borders Class of 2011 post and every call for a reference I get feels like I am losing someone I love, even after more than a year of being gone. And the bad behavior? makes me want o come and be a bouncer for a day and kick every ungrateful, I'll mannered, entitled asshole who walks through the doors. Much love, Cory. The impact is far greater than you know.
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