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Life, actually…

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JUST ANOTHER  FRABJOUS DAY

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Here at the center of my little universe, I busy myself sifting through all Mortal Confusions, in search of sweet moments of pure human goodness.

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Looking for small kindnesses is not as hard as it sounds. It’s simply something you decide to spend your time doing. Or not.

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Two things I do on days when I am at my best: 1. Listen to visitors who pop in and out of my life; 2. Sort out the best parts of what they say and do, leaving aside what can at first glance seem negative and wasteful.

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As I conduct this unscientific research, I find that basically what is happening is that I am trying to cheer myself up.

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Being of good cheer is nice in any season of the year.

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For instance, I listen intensely to a longwinded orator whose every word causes his long nose to reveal more of itself. Later, I try to recall what he was talking about. Since his streaming verbal delivery is so tumbleweed random, I notate his accentuations and flourishes and digressions and usages and gestures and volume…they are more memorable than the content of his monologue. I mainly visualize the content of his characteristics. 

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Next time, I’ll record his ramble so that I can actually hear what he was saying.

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A visitor to the shop asks where the “classic” books are, causing me to jokingly retort, “All our books are classic.”

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To me, I’ve spoken a truth. To the browser it’s more important to tell friend and family he just obtained a work of “classic” literature.

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All I’m really wondering is whether he will display the book or actually read it.

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Using my pseudoscientific philosophy, what I should be doing is focusing on the positive—if the customer purchases a book, he’s doing the world a favor by not ignoring it, by making sure it isn’t tossed, by showing it off to others who might want to read it, by contributing to my income so that I can pay the rent and continue offering books classical and nonclassical to future perusers.

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And so on and so forth.

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Judging a patron by appearance and performance is just as dangerous, just as fun, as judging a book by its cover. Customers carry within them hundreds of stories and wisdoms. I like to turn their pages and appreciate their contents, before they are remaindered and forgotten.

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Come judge my books by their interiors. While here, appreciate all the unclaimed unconscious baggage each peruser carries down the aisles.

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Maybe on your good days you will reminisce about the marvelous tales that can only be known and appreciated by those who cruise slowly, carefully listening to the paginated whispers

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© Jim Reed 2023 A.D.

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