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Different universes converge
Different universes converge
Alana Perullo's shop Good Karma is next door to The Ammo Can, Lu's store
By JULIA O'MALLEY
Anchorage Daily News
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/8447861p-8342047c.html
Published: November 28, 2006
Last Modified: November 28, 2006 at 01:17 AM
Answer: Aromatherapy candles and AK-47 assault rifles.
Question: Name two things never found together.
Actually, not so fast.
In a small strip mall off Dimond, Alana and Lu Perullo are living proof of that old saying about opposites and attraction.
Alana owns Good Karma, a peace-loving store that dispenses incense, Buddha statues and psychic readings. Her husband, Lu, owns The Ammo Can, the gun shop next door. They've been together 12 years, married for six. They have two kids.
Alana's studied spirituality from Buddhism to mystical Christianity. She can't remember the last time she fired a gun. She's not registered with a political party but she leans left. She supports the troops but not the war.
"I support humanity. I do support global peace," she said. "I think it starts microcosmically and spirals out."
Lu's a conservative Republican. His spiritual philosophy: When you're dead, you're dead. Just bury him face down, he says, so everyone can kiss his you-know-what. And, he's got a simple answer for problems in the Middle East.
"I think we should turn it into one big glass parking lot," he said.
What they share is a sense of humor.
"I think we find strength in being opposite," Alana said, laughing. "I usually say, 'Hopefully (his customers) will find my store before they go postal.' "
They've found balance in their married life and family businesses by letting each other follow their own passions.
"(My business) is in my heart. Hers is in her heart," Lu said. "I support her 100 percent, I think she supports me too."
They met in the early 1990s, when they both worked at the Alaska Club. Alana was the romantic, Lu the pragmatist.
"For me, it was love at first sight," Alana said.
His version: "I thought we were a lot alike. After we seriously were together, probably six months, I saw the differences. ... She was always very positive, where I was more neutral. I wasn't sure."
And, so far, she's been right.
Lu doesn't go into his wife's shop too often, though he admits it smells better than his.
"I notice a lot of her customers are anti-gun, anti-war," he said. "What would you call them? Birkenstock-wearing hippies?"
He gets a particular kick out of it when they accidentally mistake the entry to his store for hers. It's usually older women with crystals around their necks. They turn around quickly when they get a whiff of army surplus sleeping bags and an eyeful of ammo.
"It's interesting sometimes the looks you get," he said. You could hear the smirk in his voice.
Alana doesn't like his shop. either, with all the firepower and regulars yakking up conspiracy theories, she said.
"It's dirty and masculine and boring and cold. ... Occasionally, I'll sneak in there with sage."
But there are some commonalities. Once a young Marine bought a case of bullets and a case of incense, she said. He was headed to Iraq and looking for all the protection he could get -- physical and spiritual.
"Whether it worked or not, that's not for me to say," she said. "At least it made him feel better."
Lu agrees the shops get some cross-over customers.
"I guess people call them gun nuts -- survivalist people; they're into nature," he said. "She sells natural products and natural things."
Often couples visit the stores at the same time. The husband goes for the guns, the wife for the incense and bath salts. Or, the husband might buy a candle for his wife to help break the news that he's just bought a very expensive gun, Lu said.
It's not always been smooth, but over the years Alana has learned a lot about tolerance.
"Pick and choose your battles wisely," she said. "Some things are important to match on, other things aren't."
She doesn't put her foot down unless it's to make Lu spend time with the family, she said.
Since he helped her open her business two years ago, Lu has discovered a few things about his wife that surprised him. Once in a while, on the way to the bathroom, he'll even pick up one of her spirituality books.
"The more you know about your partner," he said, "The better it is."
Alana Perullo's shop Good Karma is next door to The Ammo Can, Lu's store
By JULIA O'MALLEY
Anchorage Daily News
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/8447861p-8342047c.html
Published: November 28, 2006
Last Modified: November 28, 2006 at 01:17 AM
Answer: Aromatherapy candles and AK-47 assault rifles.
Question: Name two things never found together.
Actually, not so fast.
In a small strip mall off Dimond, Alana and Lu Perullo are living proof of that old saying about opposites and attraction.
Alana owns Good Karma, a peace-loving store that dispenses incense, Buddha statues and psychic readings. Her husband, Lu, owns The Ammo Can, the gun shop next door. They've been together 12 years, married for six. They have two kids.
Alana's studied spirituality from Buddhism to mystical Christianity. She can't remember the last time she fired a gun. She's not registered with a political party but she leans left. She supports the troops but not the war.
"I support humanity. I do support global peace," she said. "I think it starts microcosmically and spirals out."
Lu's a conservative Republican. His spiritual philosophy: When you're dead, you're dead. Just bury him face down, he says, so everyone can kiss his you-know-what. And, he's got a simple answer for problems in the Middle East.
"I think we should turn it into one big glass parking lot," he said.
What they share is a sense of humor.
"I think we find strength in being opposite," Alana said, laughing. "I usually say, 'Hopefully (his customers) will find my store before they go postal.' "
They've found balance in their married life and family businesses by letting each other follow their own passions.
"(My business) is in my heart. Hers is in her heart," Lu said. "I support her 100 percent, I think she supports me too."
They met in the early 1990s, when they both worked at the Alaska Club. Alana was the romantic, Lu the pragmatist.
"For me, it was love at first sight," Alana said.
His version: "I thought we were a lot alike. After we seriously were together, probably six months, I saw the differences. ... She was always very positive, where I was more neutral. I wasn't sure."
And, so far, she's been right.
Lu doesn't go into his wife's shop too often, though he admits it smells better than his.
"I notice a lot of her customers are anti-gun, anti-war," he said. "What would you call them? Birkenstock-wearing hippies?"
He gets a particular kick out of it when they accidentally mistake the entry to his store for hers. It's usually older women with crystals around their necks. They turn around quickly when they get a whiff of army surplus sleeping bags and an eyeful of ammo.
"It's interesting sometimes the looks you get," he said. You could hear the smirk in his voice.
Alana doesn't like his shop. either, with all the firepower and regulars yakking up conspiracy theories, she said.
"It's dirty and masculine and boring and cold. ... Occasionally, I'll sneak in there with sage."
But there are some commonalities. Once a young Marine bought a case of bullets and a case of incense, she said. He was headed to Iraq and looking for all the protection he could get -- physical and spiritual.
"Whether it worked or not, that's not for me to say," she said. "At least it made him feel better."
Lu agrees the shops get some cross-over customers.
"I guess people call them gun nuts -- survivalist people; they're into nature," he said. "She sells natural products and natural things."
Often couples visit the stores at the same time. The husband goes for the guns, the wife for the incense and bath salts. Or, the husband might buy a candle for his wife to help break the news that he's just bought a very expensive gun, Lu said.
It's not always been smooth, but over the years Alana has learned a lot about tolerance.
"Pick and choose your battles wisely," she said. "Some things are important to match on, other things aren't."
She doesn't put her foot down unless it's to make Lu spend time with the family, she said.
Since he helped her open her business two years ago, Lu has discovered a few things about his wife that surprised him. Once in a while, on the way to the bathroom, he'll even pick up one of her spirituality books.
"The more you know about your partner," he said, "The better it is."
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