Where am I? Answer

In a little town off of the 10 freeway, sixteen miles past the Colorado River in Arizona is a little town called Quartzsite. The town sports a little over 3,500 people in the summer which balloons to over a million people in the winter as the snowbirds flock to enjoy the warm weather, cheap camping, and Flea Market Shopping. There you will find the most unusual bookstore named Readers Oasis. Each of the thousands of books and magazines there are individually wrapped and each one individually priced. You can tell that the owner loves his books, the selection is amazing, and well priced. It is one of the few establishments in the town that runs year round.

Naked Bookstore Guy

Known as the Naked Bookstore Guy, Paul Winer is happy to take a picture with all who enters his store and he is not ashamed of his nickname nor of his lack of clothing.  The above picture shows him on a cold day where the nighttime low was just above freezing. But most days Paul wears nothing but the small sack that covers his unmentionables, in the front anyway. Walk up from behind and you may not see the small strings that hold the cloth in place and you will catch a glimpse of his full moon.

At one time the town elders tried to get Paul to put on some clothes but his beloved customers brought in quite a bit of business and they came to his rescue. Since then the town folks have pretty much left him alone to do his thing, well so long as he keeps his toys in the sack.

Quartzsite, Arizona

What everyone may not know about Paul is he is an excellent piano player, a true artist. Sweet Pie as he was known back when he was younger, got the bug from a concert he saw when he was a mere eleven years old. From then on Paul knew that was what he wanted to do and went for it. At one time he shared the stage with a young Jay Leno.

Twenty year ago he and “his Old Lady” settled in Quartzsite and he has called it home since.

If you ever stop in Quartzsite you must take some time to visit this fascinating bookstore. The selection is amazing and it is quite the topic of conversation among the snowbirds as they sit around the campfire at reminiscing “Hey, did you go to the bookstore on main street to see the naked guy?’

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