Writer in Residence

I was in The Book Garden (https://www.facebook.com/frenchtownbookgarden) a few weeks back when a guy came in and told me his name was FAB.  Now, stay with me, this isn’t a joke. 

“Okay,” I bit, “what is FAB short for?”

“Mr. Fabulous.”

Right, just what I needed, another lemming who gives himself a moniker and thinks he’s someone, has some talent or who knows … whatever.   But he did have a nice smile and dreadlocks that made my balding pate envious.  So I relented, gave him the benefit of the doubt and conversed.  This was easy, and I was extremely fortunate to have done so.

Now FAB is like a resident artist at The Book Garden.  He has a story to tell and the telling is what he is good at.   The story brings to mind a song I am very fond of written by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and used in one of my all time favorite movies (Harold and Maude). 

And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
'cause there's a million things to do
You know that there are.

I have spent a great deal of my life wondering what it would be like to change tack, you know, put on a different pair of shoes.  Wondering what I would see from a different angle or, even better, to easily swing from one state of being to another, just because … I can.  Now I’ve met someone who has done this via his own choosing and, it seems to me, he really understands ‘There’s a million things to do.’   Mr. FAB has realized that if you sit and ponder instead of get up and walk, well, there will still be a million things you haven’t done tomorrow.

Other people have traveled along different paths in their life but the question is, simply; did they do so on their own volition?  Many, like me, have landed in strange new worlds by accident but like Mr. FAB, if you put your foot out and test the new water you will grow fuller with the experiences.  And, in that journey comes new friends which allow you to build your own community grander than it was before.

Mr. Fabulous was a name given to him early on in his Appalachian Trail journey.  If you want to know why just stop by The Book Garden anytime Mr. FAB is in and … talk with him.  It is a very interesting experience.

Saverio Monachino

Saverio is the other ‘writer in residence’, the one who is relegated to the basement.

Saverio's web page