23rd and Dexter: John Krause, Tilting At Windmills

by Jack Farrar

I first met John Krause when he started volunteering at the Park Hill Community Bookstore eight years ago. His volunteer duties have expanded considerably over the years, and he now serves as interim president of the board of the nonprofit bookstore. He takes this position very seriously, as he should. He insists, to the consternation of those of us who are allergic to organization, that we run the monthly meetings according to Roberts Rules of Order. He allows only one person at a time to speak! Strangely, this system seems to work and we get things done.

Krause has lived in Park Hill with his wife Kathy, since 1980. He is a prolific reader, especially fond of fiction, so I was anxious to find out what literary figure he would like to be sitting next to. Don Quixote. “I like the way he sees the world,” Krause says. “He’s an idealist. Ideas are real to him. They are important. He sees the best in people. Unfortunately, the state of the world right now seems to be cynical and suspicious. People are increasingly self-centered. I think Don Quixote teaches us to live more for each other.”

What would he ask Don Quixote? “How is Sancho? And Dulcinea?”

What are his favorite Quixote mis-adventures? “Oh, the sheep, the windmills, Dulcinea. There are so many. All fascinating.”