08/27/2026
🔥 A MATCH MADE IN THE DARK IS KEEPING THE PAGES TURNING IN WELLSBORO 🔥
As a writer, I’ve tackled books, columns, and plays. But twenty years ago, while working a grueling manufacturing shift in Corning, NY, I made a desperate bid for freedom: I tried out for a community theater play at Hamilton-Gibson right here in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.
I was cast as a fireman in an absurdist comedy. The premise? A hotel room is actively on fire, but everyone is too polite and British to panic. My big special effects moment required lighting a cigar off the "burning" building.
Because our production budget was approximately four dollars, the stage magic was entirely manual. Crouched precariously in the pitch black behind the flat scenery was a young woman. Her entire purpose in life at that moment was to strike a match and pass it to me through a fake window without burning the theater down.
I didn't know it then, but I had just met my future wife, Kasey. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I fell in love with a woman hiding in a dark corner holding explosives. 🧑🚒❤️👩❤️👨
Twenty years later, we are still together and running From My Shelf Books & Gifts right here on East Avenue. She lit my cigar that night, and somehow, I haven't managed to annoy her enough to put the fire out.
Running an independent bookstore is its own kind of beautiful madness. We love providing a cozy spot for readers, advocating for children's literacy, and trying to survive under the strict, judgmental gaze of our resident bookstore cats, Caol and Finn. Their job performance metrics are entirely based on how many laps they can warm and how many empty cardboard shipping boxes they can occupy.
We are entering America's Favorite Couple contest, and we need your help to win it! Winning this isn't just about a title—it will directly help keep our indie bookstore going so we can keep serving the Wellsboro community (and keep Huck and Finn supplied with premium cat food and prime cardboard real estate).
Here is the battle plan:⏰
The Freebie: You can cast a free vote every 24 hours. Put it on your calendar. Set an alarm.💰
The Power Move: If you want to fast-track our victory, you can donate to the contest’s charities, which buys us extra votes. Charity wins, our indie bookshop wins, everyone wins.
Now, because Facebook's algorithm aggressively hates true love, literacy, and external links, the voting link is hidden safely in the first comment below! 👇
Please click, vote daily, and help two local book nerds prove that a match made in a dark, sketchy backstage corner can build a community hub that lasts a lifetime! 📖✨🐾
