Used Bookstore

Used Bookstore January 24 2010


Through those doors,

A treasure waits –

Attic chests of time gone by –

Filled with information, fantasy, and feelings.

A hundred chariots and more

Wait to carry me in curiosity through marks on paper

To days of yore, or yesterday, or yet tomorrow or next year.

I push the door.

A small bell tells my entry.

The kindly man and woman, together half a century or more,

Raise their heads and smile “welcome”

To their world of wonder.

I have stepped from modern time and momentary dailiness

Into a magic place of mystery and awe.


Reflection:

I was always accustomed to thinking of time and place and experience as predictable – plannable. This past year has taught me another layer of truth – that in a chance moment, everything can – and often does – change. The solidity of material reality is an illusion. Things are not necessarily what they seem. Life, health, and wealth – and also sadness, anger and despair – change as readily as a spring breeze. The only constant – the power of love -- derives not from physical life but from the world of spirit. From one moment to the next, life-changing news may arrive – from winning the lottery to the illness or death of a dear one. From one moment to the next, we can also step from solid everyday reality, to a place where fantasy or love take over.

Last evening, a friend and I were strolling along a city sidewalk, after a delicious restaurant dinner. We were enjoying the clear, temperate evening air. We passed the used bookstore, and realized that it was still open, despite the fact that the posted closing time had passed several hours before. We opened the door to the brightly lit store, as the bell tinkled, and the proprietors welcomed us and asked if we had any questions. We found ourselves in the midst of an astonishing store of collectibles – posters, post cards, containers that had held products discontinued 50 or more years ago, and a hand selected library of thousands of tomes, each of which was, in its time and on its subject, a classic.

Arcane, antique medical books sat next to historic volumes of contemporaneous biography of great 19th and 20th century figures, next to an amazing selection of local history books – slavery, integration, tobacco, fashion, manners and mores, prominent families – all from much earlier times; these juxtaposed historic cookbooks and world travel tomes from 50 to 100 years ago. Further into the store appeared a library of first editions of many of the great works of fiction from the last two centuries. The collection of contemporaneous picture books of great artists of the 1800s and 1900s was astounding. Each new view brought beautiful surprises, one more fascinating than the next.

On an evening when two dear family members were in deep distress and I had been disturbed for and with them, I found this magical spot that led to an experience of wonder and delight – for which I felt grateful. Life is full of surprises!