Why’s it named “Odyssey”?

After Homer’s Odyssey, the ancient Greek work of literature. The Odyssey is about a man, Odysseus, who suffers and strives and aspires for one thing.

No, not a thing.

A who.

His wife.

Her name is Penelope. She’s very wise.

Odysseus and Penelope remind us that humans don’t suffer for things, we suffer for people. This means the question is not so much what are my goals, but who are my goals?

Can you recommend a translation of the Odyssey?

If you want a verse translation, get Allen Mandelbaum’s for Bantam Classics. If you want a prose translation, get E. V. Rieu’s for Penguin Clothbound Classics.

What is a seaside refuge?

I’ll answer this FAQ with a small poem that I wrote for you. Whisper it aloud to yourself.

—

What is a seaside refuge?

A place away from the noise

A few blocks from the sea

Where you can think your own thoughts

Pray your prayers

And be

Will you fly my flag in your window, share my flyer on your tables, put my ad on your counters?

No. Odyssey is no one’s billboard. It’s a refuge for thinkers to think their own thoughts. We don’t display flags or fliers of any kind.

Why don’t you put out newspapers and magazines for me to read here?

Seaside refuge means a place away from the noise. Flyers are noise. Newspapers are noise. Magazines are noise.

Odyssey is free.

Do you mind if I hang out here for a while?

Please hang out. That’s literally why Odyssey exists.

Can I use your bathroom? The ones on the boardwalk are closed.

Definitely. And you don’t even have to buy anything. Our bathroom policy is “anybody anytime”.

What’s up with the tables? They seem unique.

The tables are very special since they used to have music flowing through them. A dear friend and I hand-crafted them out of organ pipes from the famous organ in Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium.

Can I order online and then come pick it up?

No.

Can I call in my order and then come pick it up?

No.

Who came first — Plato or Aristotle?

Socrates, then Plato, then Aristotle.

[My turn to ask a question: What if American citizens started reading Plato and Aristotle again?]

What’s your Instagram?

We don’t have Instagram.

Why don’t you have Instagram? Everyone’s on it, and you might get more business by putting stuff there.

Odyssey is a vigorous refuge for thinkers in the real world designed and curated for embodied Homo sapiens who need a place away from the noise.

What about all the other social media — like, Facebook or TikTok or X? You could do cool coffee videos, or connect with your community in unique ways.

No thanks. Odyssey is for embodied human beings.

Also, is Aristotle on social media? Because one of my main goals in life is to get better at reading Aristotle (and the Torah, and Homer, and Plato, and Thucydides, and the NT, and Aquinas). It takes a lot of time, and it’s harder than most people think.

But also infinitely more beautiful.