I know, I promised this would be a book(s) review, but something pretty big happened in the city this weekend: Joe Ades died. 

Who's Joe Ades, you may be asking. He is - was - a salesman who hung out in Union Square across from the Barnes & Noble and the Petco, selling a vegetable peeler. Now, I never bought from Joe (though I did get one of his peelers as a gift - and it's one of the greatest things ever). But I know plenty of people did. He would always put on a show, and I always watched for a little while before moving on. He had prime real estate in the square, simply because he was always at the edge of the farmers' market. Plenty of potential customers. 

I always figured he'd be there, perpetually in the background, like a loud swatch of aural wallpaper. But now he's gone, and Union Square - for all its its purple broccoli, bright yellow carrots, dark green leafy greens - is a little less vibrant.