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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2016)
Open 7am Daily! GRAB BAG book shelf • glimpse • wildlife • pop culture • words • q&a A G LIMPSE I NSIDE Photo by Matt Love Video Horizons is starting to retire its OKI Microline 320 Turbo dot matrix printer, which prints receipts for customers. An occasional feature by MATT LOVE S E R V I N G B R E A K FA S T, LUNCH & SUPPER European Style Coffeehouse by day, intimate bistro offering neo-regional cuisine by night. Regional selection of beers, wines and vintage cocktails available. 243 11th Street, Astoria, OR 97103 503-325-1787 www.AstoriaCoffeeHouse.com We cater your event! Follow & “Like” us on Facebook Weekly Specials: 5-8 PM Sushi & Martinis Mondays Taco & Margarita Thursdays (3 Buck Tacos) PAPA Once Upon a Mattress Video Horizons On my irst night living in Astoria — Nov. 13, 2013 to be exact — I rented a DVD from Video Horizons. I was enor- mously pleased that my new hometown had a real, old-fash- ioned video rental store of the variety almost disappeared EASTER BRUNCH Sunday, March 27 th • 11 AM - 3 PM For the rollicking, sidesplitting spin-off of The Princess & the Pea! Not your average hum-drum fairytale! Lemon Pepper Salmon with Poached Prawns Roasted Pork Loin with Mushroom Gravy Honey Glazed Ham Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Glazed Baby Carrots Scrambled Eggs & Fried Potatoes Bacon & Sausage Links Waffl es Biscuits & Gravy Assorted Salads & Rolls Homemade Desserts from the American cultural landscape. As I later wrote, “I filled out the rental agreement and the clerk processed it through an ancient DOS application with its blinking green text and cursor. I handed her two dollars, she pushed a few but- tons, perhaps pulled a lever, and one of the dot matrix printers chugged to life. The machine was printing my re- ceipt and I could not believe my eyes or ears. I love the sound of dot matrix printers in the evening; they sound like victory.” As luck would have it, I became friends with Neal Cummings, owner of Video Horizons, and I continued rent- ing DVDs and VHS tapes from this charming establishment. When my book about Asto- ria came out in 2015 and was summarily banned in multiple retail outlets around town (by people who didn’t even read it), Neal gladly carried the title and displayed it prominently at the front counter close to my beloved dot matrix printer. In the last year, I’ve sold close to 40 copies out of Video Hori- zons, which has to be some kind of unoicial literary record for Oregon. It was to my everlasting horror last month when I walked into the store that Neal casually announced the dot matrix printers were i- nally going to be retired. I couldn’t believe it! Was this another terrible story of Asto- ria’s ongoing gentriication? I told Neal I wouldn’t stand for it! I had to hear that soothing matrix sound in a digital world gone mad. Neal sympathized with me. He said several other custom- ers felt the same way. And then we worked out a deal because that’s the kind of store Video Horizons is — you can’t talk to a Redbox, and Netflix streams mostly endless crap. Neal told me he’d rig it up so that when I rented a tape or DVD, I would continue to receive my receipt courtesy of the trusty OKI Microline 320 Turbo printer. He wouldn’t scrap the machine. Now that’s real customer service in Astoria and one small victory against gentriication. Matt Love is the author/editor of 14 books about Oregon, including “A Nice Piece of Astoria.” His books are available through coastal bookstores or his web site, nestuccaspitpress.com Adults $ 25 95 • Seniors $ 23 95 Children $ 12 95 (Five & under: Free) Milepost 18, Hwy 26, Elsie RESERVATIONS ACCEPTED 503-755-1818 • 800-874-1810 www.camp18restaurant.com Lyrics by Mary Rogers and Marshall Barer Book by James Thompson, Dean Fuller and Marshal Barer 22 | March 17, 2016 | coastweekend.com Find us on Facebook ART CARDS, ARTISAN CRAFTS, GALLERY & WORKING STUDIO 1133 COMMERCIAL ST. ASTORIA 503.468.0308