.

Life, actually…

.

LOST MARBLES, WISE EGGS AND THOUGHTFUL PENNIES

.

Today is not book-caretaking day at my little shop of wonders. Usually I spend time re-shelving and tidying up when I enter this cathedral of books.

.

But now and then I open the big loudly-squeaking front door and begin my chores by checking on the supply of wondrous surprises and random wisdoms.

.

This is not your stereotypical bookstore, you know.

.

First off, I fetch a cylindrical key, the one that unlocks an old orange ironclad vending machine. Into this orange vending machine I insert a dozen freshly-packed plastic eggs. Each of these plastic eggs contains a number of surprises and oddities, the kind you don’t find just anywhere these days.

.

Once arranged, the eggs are loaded and locked, awaiting curious customers and kids both overgrown and under-old.

.

Shoppers who head straight for the big orange vending machine bring their quarters and try to imagine what they will come up with, once the metallic crank is turned.

.

Today’s first vended egg contains: a set of black-dotted white dice, a pink-streaked seashell, one rose-colored self-adhesive monkey sticker, an old military-insignia pin, a Happy Camper sticker, one very large red marble…want me to go on? It is amazing how much joy one can pack into one small egg.

.

Also within the egg are: a plastic leaf, a set of yellow Top-Value trading stamps from ages ago, a fortune-cookie-type strip of paper with one of my wisely witless thoughts (“Filling time is anything we do or do not do.”), and one small marble, a companion to the big one.

.

Each egg is packed with different joys. You take your random pick.

.

Cheap thrills, guaranteed to puzzle or entertain, for the down payment of two shiny quarters.

.

A few feet away, a clear jar is filled with small wisdoms, hidden comforts, unexpected joys. These scraps of paper float about, covering over the very small plastic eggs you can obtain for a measly twenty-five cents each (just Two Bits, if you are old enough to know this slang term).

.

Inside each egg in the big jar: two pennies, one small marble and one strip of paper with yet another of my wise, sometimes silly, original sayings.

.

The idea is, The two pennies represent my two cents’ worth. The marble indicates that I have not lost them all, just yet. The strip of paper is evidence that even the most random of thoughts can be preserved and meaningful if you take the extra time…

.

There are other surprises here and there throughout the Museum of Fond Memories and Reed Books, some easily findable, some secreted so that only the most observant will see them.

.

This is a way of spreading my love for words and books and child-like fun. It’s my little world and I love it when you enter and “get” it by cruising around and remaining open to the concept of laughter and giggles, swirled and stirred among books and books and books.

.

Hey, I’m just an elderly dude sharing my memories with those who need a break from the harshness that life can sometimes heap upon us.

.

I mean you no harm

.

© Jim Reed 2022 A.D.

.

 

 

 

 

 

.

eToday is the the day that I head straight for the orange metal vending machines near the front door.