Different Slants

Here is an inspiring true story about the kindness of strangers. It is forgotten Chicago history, but not by me: 
When I was in my battle between my tiny independent magazine distribution company (1975-1980), against America’s largest distributor, as time went on I was becoming overwhelmed by the impossible odds.

I drove one truck and my wife, Joyce, drove the other one with our newborn son David (now 40, this week) sleeping in a cardboard box lined with soft blankets next to the step van’s vibrating stick-shift, helping me servicing 60 accounts. 

I won’t say any details except when my situation was at its worst, I wrote a somewhat dramatic but true full-page explanation using the last of our funds, about the consequences of my losing the battle to stay in business, and all the money we had invested in trying to make our lives better. It would also end Bob’s Newsstand after twelve years in Hyde Park. 

I had learned that in life, if you really need help, don’t worry about pride or embarrassment, damn-it, just ask for it.

I asked the Hyde Park Herald and the University of Chicago’s Maroon newspapers to please put my plea for help from the surrounding community on their back pages for two issues. I know that today, no one remembers any of this, but I will never forget what followed, and neither did Joyce.

The response of support, both financial and emotional, even from the U of C cops, was so sudden, so incredibly overwhelming, that Joyce and I couldn’t believe it. 

One man offered to pay for the Sunday New York Times in advance for a year. The sales at the newsstand, by then a brick store, became almost too much to handle.

I had to hire more kids to work the drive-up newspaper curb service, then I had to build a new counter for a cash register, and then hire more cashiers–all from the neighborhood–to keep up with the mob of new customers. 

The financial losses stoped. 
The situation swiftly turned around
. 
We were able to buy a larger truck to handle more accounts in one day and I hired another area man to help me carry the heavy bundles of magazines in and out of all the stores.

The outpouring of money from my sales at the newsstand and also Chicago accounts from all over who read the story and decided to switch sides in the competition not only helped me survive an impossible situation, but created employment for a number of kids and adults in Hyde Park.

The intense competitive distribution battle lasted three more years, and ultimately, we won.

Bob’s remained in Hyde Park for five more years, and Joyce, gone almost two years now after forty-two years together, had a second child, Rachel, now thirty-eight. 

The concept of “kindness of strangers” was a real thing, not just some phrase from a movie, and that letter printed in a total of four newspapers was the most effective thing I ever wrote. So many people gave a damn.

“Rocky” was playing in the movie theaters at the time. I saw it alone several times, because his fictional fight against great odds mirrored my real one, and gave me a feeling of hope, that impossible things were still possible.

I have never really gotten over the tidal wave of kindness and understanding coming at me and my store from all sides, and I never want to.  But one of the single most amazing moments in my life about the kindness, and this case real heroism, was not discovered by me until years later.

To read about this phenomenal man, go to “Silent James”: https://www.differentslants.com/?p=607

You may not be able to accept what this man told me as real. It is his story, and told in his voice. If the link doesn’t work, type it in.

There are so many good people out there. If you ever are in my long ago circumstance, desperate and hopeless, if you really need help, just ask people. You might be be surprised what happens. More than you know, people want to help. 

Merry Christmas to any of those long ago people who are still alive and remember, and to those who read this heartfelt story today. Uncountable strangers read my story, wanted a fair fight, and with their help, mine became one. God bless them.

I hope readers will share this story. People need to believe in something. I sure did.

Publishing News! 

Bob Katzman’s two new true Chicago books are now for sale, from him!
Vol. One: A Savage Heart  and Vol. Two: Fighting Words

Gritty, violent, friendship, classic American entrepreneurship love, death, heartbreak and the real dirt about surviving in a completely corrupt major city under the Chicago Machine. More history and about one man’s life than a person may imagine.

Please visit my new website: https://www.dontgoquietlypress.com
If a person doesn’t want to use PayPaI, I also have a PO Box & I ship anywhere in America.

Send me a money order with your return and contact info.
I will get your books to you within ten days.
Here’s complete information on how to buy my books:

Vol 1: A Savage Heart and Vol. 2: Fighting Words
My books weigh almost 2 pounds each, with about 525 pages each and there are a total together of 79 stories and story/poems.

Robert M. Katzman
Don’t Go Quietly Press
PO Box 44287
Racine, Wis. 53404-9998                                                                                                                    (262)752-3333, 8AM–7PM

Books cost $29.95 each, plus shipping

For: (1)$3.95; (2)$5.95; (3)$7.95; (4)$8.95 (5)$9.95;(6) $10.95

(7) $11.95; (8) $12.95; (9)$13.95 (10)$15.95 (15)$19.95

Shipping by air to most of Europe, due to the weight of my books is $99.00

I am also for hire if anyone wants me to read my work and answer questions in the Chicago/Milwaukee area. Schools should call me for quantity discounts for 30 or more books. Also: businesses, bookstores, private organizations or churches and so on.

My Fighting Words Publishing Co. four original books, published between 2004 and 2007 are now out-of-print. I still have some left and will periodically offer them for sale on my new website.  My hour-long story reading at WGTD 91.1 NPR Kenosha, Wis is now a podcast. The interview and story can be heard here:

Speaking of Our Words – June 30th, 2017 With special guest star and featured writer Bob Katzman. Bob reads his memoir, “Audrey, Pink Bunny Slippers, Her Cat and the God’s Eye” and talks about his w…   Your comments are welcome, below, and please tell others I can be found here as a writer. I can also be hired as a speaker for organizations, etc, both here and in Europe. Seeking an agent. robertmkatzman@gmail.com Poet & Storyteller for hire for organizations, schools or private events   www.DifferentSlants.com to view recent and older examples of my work

847.274.1474     Attachments area  

Preview YouTube video Speaking of Our Words – June 30th, 2017

Speaking of Our Words – June 30th, 2017