When I was working at Quakerbooks of FGC in Philadelphia Mark Dodson came to be known (and was) “our'' best customer. The bookshop sold, mostly by mail order, books by and about Quakerism but also those “of interest to Quakers” and those books also appealed to many of Liberal predispositions both religiously and in social issues.
In the early 2000’s it was a golden time for “publishers remainders”, overstocks of books on all manner of subjects that had been printed in too large a quantity and needed selling off to avoid the considerable and escalating storage or disposal costs.
By trawling through the lists of merchants like Powell's Books Wholesale and Daedalus you could spot bargains like The Quaker Tapestry Book, or theology by John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, and Dominic Crossnan. Plus any number of books on the Underground Railway, Civil Rights, Slavery, Ecology, Pacifism etc etc…
Jerimy and I began to notice lots of phone calls from Sun City Arizona ordering these and a select few Quaker Books. We soon got to know the voice at the end of the phone with a large order - and then in 2013 we got a letter with an obituary of his mother, Dorothy Dodson, an incredibly dedicated and popular librarian from Illinois and as a bonus a Starbucks coffee card for us in her memory.
Mark read prodigiously on History of all sorts, Social Issues, Biographies, a few novels and humour - he had a special liking for things English.
Thus began a series of letter exchanges with orders and packages of books - and many more coffee cards from Mark. Shortly after my son Simon was born Mark became Uncle to triplets! And we began to learn more about him. It was obvious he had some difficulty moving around and didn't have the full use of his legs, we also learned that Sun City was in part a sort of retirement community.
Mark continued to write when I lost my part time job at Quakerbooks and made my other part time job in a Quaker Burial Ground a full time one - actually more than full time. He did not celebrate Christmas but always remembered St Nick’s day at the beginning of December.
Mark took an interest in my son Simon’s brief, covid influenced, brush with University and a massive Coffee card he sent would have kept him in coffee for years - if he drank coffee - but it did keep him hydrated and full of vitamins.
When I moved back to England in 2021 we kept in touch, I was delighted to send him Shawn Blythell's Diary of a Bookseller and in return I got a massive box of local Honey, books, chocolates and other assorted nic nacs. Sadly he told us Jason his brother in law, and father of the triplets, died from COVID.
Then in mid 2023 the letters from Mark stopped, and my last letter to him was returned to me marked “deceased”. I have searched online for any obituary or information about him but found nothing. Mark must have looked at our website in his local library, but he had no email or internet at home so just dropped out of the modern information world.
Mark had shared many creative writing projects with Jerimy and I, sadly most got left in Philadelphia when I moved back to England but I have tried to gather a few that he sent me in England just to record something of what was his remarkable life onto that world wide web..
Here I transcribe some of these onto this blog… starting with :-
2023: A Year of the Rabbit {Jack Rabbit, that is ...}
Sun City Version
Jack Rabbit, Patron of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit 2023 in Sun City Arizona.
Tradition has it, that within a 12-year cycle, a different desert Critter names the year and is "responsible" for the fortunes of the people born in that year, forever after. The Critter's own characteristics are also transferred into the people born in its year, in very much the same way that other Folks accrue the traits of people born into the Greek zodiac {except for single people born under Gemini who are not born as 1 of a pair of twins; unless they have a split personality}.
Flamboyant and gifted, Jack Rabbit is also hard-working and determined; but is more often a Chief than an Indian. Jack's meticulous nature means turning-over every stone: in order there is Order. A perfectionist, Jack can be puritanical, and bruises are more likely caused by Jack than suffered by him. A leader, not a follower; initiator, not a plodder but surely a crower of his own self. Jack makes sure people know his worth, even if {or because he has to tell them so.
But here in Sun City³, Jack has a problem -- bunnies. They're everywhere! Golf courses, front yards {grass or xeriscape}, patios, coyote menus. These funny, fuzzy, fast, frightened animals run half-way out into the middle of the road...stop, and then run back; they're playing "chicken" with the golf carts. How can they be serious and have a Lunar New Year? They can't; so it is left up to Jack to shoulder the burden, face the music, and hop the hop. No "What's up, Doc?" from Jack; he's more apt to tell You than ask. "Give a bunny a carrot and feed it for a day; teach it how to run, so it'll live another day."
Why is there no Year of the Cat?
In one telling, the Jade Emperor called animals to Himself, stating they would be named patrons of the twelve-year cycle, in the order by which they reached Him. The Cat and the Rat (not good at swimming) were intelligent enough to figure out the best way to cross the river would be on the back of the Ox. The Ox was kind (and naive) and agreed to carry them. Just as the Ox was about to come to land, the Rat pushed the Cat overboard, jumped off the Ox, and reached the Jade Emperor first, with the Ox coming in second. Several animals later (ten), the Cat failed to reach land, drowned, and did not become part of the Lunar New Year Cycle.
Another telling was that the Rat stowed away on the back of the Dog (who eventually only came in 11th), who did not see the Rat was on its back and wound up fighting the Cat who had attacked the Rat, but got the Dog instead (maybe that fight took up so much time that the Dog barely made it ??? -- which is why Dogs and Cats still do not get along, to this very day.
Another telling was that the Rat fooled the Cat about the race's timing and so the Cat showed up too late to run.
Or, it's simply because when the Race was run, there were no Cats in China at the time. But in Vietnam, the Cat takes the place of the Rabbit, possibly because the ancient word for Rabbit (Mao) sounds like Cat (Meo).
Knowing Cats, that one just couldn't be bothered, having better things to do. The best definition of what is a "Cat", is probably "Diva". Diva began as a compliment, based upon a great female singer, almost divine, although more used now for someone who thinks they are. Like a true Diva, Cat has High Standards (which You'll never match); is always Perfectly Groomed (Naturally); not always liked by other (no doubt, lesser) Cats; quite High Maintenance (and worth it!); oblivious to other non-Cats; and, like the Sun, the natural center of the Universe. Maybe the Jade Emperor gave the Cat nine lives as compensation?
Tradition says Jack Rabbit is wild {yet tender), scruffy {yet kind), inept {yet clever), and as the saying goes "Rabbit has three burrows". This surely brings to mind Sun City's Winter Visiting Rabbit, with a home in the U.S. Midwest, his condo in Sun City, and the RV that drives him between the two. As a result, 2023 promises to be an inflated year for movement {and not only with the money supply), with travel and vacationing; perhaps increasingly along the Border.
The Japanese story of the "Man" in the Moon paints a different picture. He once came down to earth {probably another great year for travel} disguised as a beggar; where he met three animals: a fox; a monkey and a rabbit. Seen seemingly to be somewhat starved, the fox brought the Man fish from a lake; the monkey gave him fruit from a tree. But the rabbit is a herbivore {which Moon Men probably aren't) and had no flesh to offer. Instead, the rabbit threw himself into the flames the man had made for cooking the fish, offering his body for food. The Man was touched by this offer, spared the rabbit, and drew his picture onto the face of the Moon as a sign of lovingkindness.
Do You want proof that this is a good year?
Lionel Messi is a Rabbit. 5
2 As noted, Sun City is not incorporated as a city, but it surely has Sun
3 See the previous foot-note
4 Dad's Mom had a great recipe for milk gravy, but then she fried her rabbits
5 Lionel Andrés Messi, also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team
A travelogue of his regular trips along the dusty New River
in Sun City.
Here I am, all dressed-up and ready to go, hopping down the (Dry) River Trail. It's called the New River; I think because it mostly runs dry every year and only occasionally floods. Each time it does run --- well, I guess You could say it's a "New" river. Ancient philosophers used to argue as to whether or not anyone could step into the same river, twice. Knowing philosophers, they are probably still arguing that -- I'm not.
I recently changed my Medicare provider to Cigna. My Aunts belonged to Cigna and I sometimes drove them for appointments or medication-refills next to an entrance to the New River Trail.
Now, Cigna has just finished building a huge new office building (with attached Urgent Care). Since I was walking there and parking in their lot, I figured joining them was the polite thing to do. So far they haven't restricted parking to "Members Only";
nor have they built a Wall -- so I have free parking; at least when it's not flooded.
The most water I've ever seen there has just covered the rubber tip of my crutch --
more of a trickle, than white water or rapids.
I've seen many sights while hopping along. There have been other walkers, (although I haven't any other hoppers, except for the jackrabbits, or bunnies), Bicyclists galore pass me by, some of them with courtesy saying "On Your left. They have been regular bikes, hand-cycles,
Low riding foot - pedaled bikes, fancy race bikes (with riders fancily - dressed); a tandem bike apparently owned by a Mormon bishop and his wife (even a three seater) and bikes like the Mean Old Lady rode to put Toto away back in Kansas {Yep we get visiting folks from Kansas as Snowbirds and they do bring their own bikes}; plus even some of the tricycles that NOWL's {Nice Old Widow Ladies} ride to the grocery store.
I've seen people on horseback; and joggers; (some jogging with their dog leashes tied to the front of their fanny packs) - - - so I'm not sure if that's jogging or a simplified dog sledding. Wilder animals I've seen have been coyotes, one bobcat, and even kids on skates.
This is where I've heard the coyote 'a capella singing group "Critters of the Nite" as well as an ordinary ambulance's siren as it pulled up to Cigna's Urgent Care for someone needing some urgently ~ more care.
When I'm hopping along the riverbed, I frequently converse with Fluffy, Fido and Fifas - dogs from the houses built nearby that are shocked (and vocal) to see me pass.
I now buy more crutch tips in bulk from Amazon, I actually bought an entire case (well, one small box with lots of smaller boxes containing two tips per box), at the same price I would have paid for just two of the smaller boxes from the medical supply store (Medicare won't pay for them).
Forget about those crutch tips from the drug store, I wore a pair of them out before I finished just one hop (Would this be the time to mention that I go to IHOP (International House of Pancakes for non-US citizens) when I'm done, so that I can put back on the calories that I just hopped off? Of course, I can also stop by the New York West Pastry and Bake Shop --You know, "Shop Locally, Shop Often").
Here you can see my "special" Canadian Crutches...
. 
But I use them here in Arizona 12 months per year rather than the 6 months of the year Canadians must actually spend living in Canada lest they lose their medical cover. I customize them with the following:-
1/ My Tea
2/ A Book (in this case my passport in case I get stopped by any border patrollers).
3/ A festive hat, depending on season or sunshine.
4/ Some paper for notes in case I think of something while hopping.
5/ A pinata, well actually some lemon drops in case I need to wet my whistle while hopping.
6/ Trash can, so as not to pollute the River bed.
7/ A Coyote wacker - so far no Coyotes injured during any of my hoppings.
