Joseph
“God made bees and they made honey.
God made man and he made money.”
There may be a few competitors for people who represent the spiritual heart of Victor Rose, but you’d certainly find Joseph at or near the top of the list. If you’ve come into the shop at any point and seen a wise older gentleman with a serene smile and a twinkle in his eye, then you’ve seen him.
Joseph is most likely the only customer at Victor Rose who has trained in France under a famous Zen master, only to become a Dharma teacher himself. He’s also very likely the only person in the shop who’s had four books published by Penguin Random House.
Tell us about yourself
I’m a lot of things… But the part of me that’s a good fit with Victor Rose is that I’m a writer, with several books to my name and a book of songs published by Parallax Press. Most days I spend a couple of hours hunched over my computer trying to tell a story or untangle an idea. This goes better with a cup on the table.
How did you first discover Victor Rose? And what keeps you coming back?
I had a lot of author’s copies of my books cluttering my bookshelf. Terry kindly put them on the counter. It turned out that Victor Rose was as good a place to sell books as Chapters, so I kept coming back to replenish the stock.
I enjoy sharing a common space with others who like company while they are chatting with someone, or just working on their own.
Have you made any personal connections with anyone while you were at Victor Rose?
Yes, I’ve met someone with the same name as me; another person who turned me on to a waterfront coffee bar with homemade lunches in Vaudreuil-sur-le-Lac called Café de l’Anse; a biker from Lachine who told me about the best places to stop at while biking along the canal.
What’s your preferred drink and/or snack there?
I’m either ordering an allongé simple decaf, or a cup of chamomile tea. I see the place as a coffee shop rather than as a caffeine shop.
Have you had any particularly interesting or inspiring moments at the shop?
Yes, I remember seeing a dog that looked like a lion, finding a very lovely artwork that I fell for which still decorates my bedroom, and discovering Stories for People of all Ages on the shelf under the TV with my cookie-loving grandson. I consequently bought that book at Babar, and we read every page together.
