Chad Torp, Survivor!

I'm not one to dwell on things that didn't pan out the way I wanted them to, so let's just say that the sandwich board idea didn't work. It started off okay, even though the board I had made was too large to fit me but too small for me to get easily in and out of. After struggling with it for 20 minutes, I was finally able to slip the board over my head and get my arms inside the straps, which it turned out were too tight.

I walked around the downtown Alta Coma area wearing my "Alta Coma Typewriters" board, and for the first hour or so, nobody bothered me.  In fact, for that one hour, nobody paid any attention to me at all. After that, though, things got strange, then rowdy, then dangerous.  I don't want to get into details because I still don't fully understand what went wrong, even after reading the riot police lieutenant's official report.

Some lessons were learned, though, and that's the important thing. Here are a few, mainly for my own benefit:

• It's near impossible to run for your life while wearing a sandwich board.
• A sandwich board provides only minimal protection against rocks, bottles and shrapnel. 
• Innocent, seemingly insignificant (but well-meaning) actions on my part can have disastrous consequences in a very short period of time.
• I am claustrophobic. 

I think it's good that I know the Alta Coma area well, because once I regained consciousness I began to recognize certain landmarks that eventually led me back to my store.  It was well after 11pm by the time I got back. The sandwich board, my wallet, my tray of free samples of ribbon, my shoes and my handbills are all gone, but my sense of determination remains intact.

Alta Coma Typewriters is open for business!

Disregard That Last Post

I have to apologize for the post I made late last night (technically early this morning!). I had woken up in terror as I do from time to time, worried about the business, and wanted to get quick word out to any of my faithful readers that I was still open and ready to sell typewriters, even in the middle of the night.

With the light of day, I am back to my usual optimistic self.. along with some fresh, new ideas on how to drum up new business.

I figured out a cheap way to advertise: a Sandwich Board! You know, where you hire a person to walk around outside wearing a two-sided sign that advertises your store. All they have to do is walk around and make sure the foot traffic on the street sees the sign. I believe that if people know I'm here, a bell will ring for them (get it? a typewrite joke!) and they'll think of me when they need a new machine.

I will begin the hiring process tomorrow. This will be exciting!!

I'm Open For Business - PLEASE COME IN!!!

It's well after 3:00 in the morning, and while the front door of the store is locked for security purposes (gotta keep the drunks out), I'm still open for business.

I hate to use the word "desperate" here, but please, folks, I'm nearing that point of desperation. I'm stacked from floor to ceiling with unsold inventory, half of which is the typewriters from the now-closed Chesterton location. I haven't made a sale in months, and my complete lack of even "casual browsers" to the store makes me wonder if the street out front hasn't been closed off for some reason.

So again, if you need a new typewriter, please please please come in and buy one from me. Just knock loudly on the door, as I might be sleeping in the back room.