Adios, Libros

My Dad taught me to love books. He was a self taught educated man, and from an early age instilled in me the magic of being able to hold something in your hands on, say, Long Island, and somehow be transported to ancient Israel, or the English Cotswolds...

Through college and grad school and early married years, I gathered thousands of books -- paperback as well as hardcover. I always took them when I moved, along with Wifey's much more modest collection. She was always more of a film and magazine sort...

I have a library in our house, D1's former bedroom, and it has several large bookcases. Wifey "borrowed" many of my nicer, leather bound books to use as decorations around the house -- many in an antique cabinet we bought together years ago, at a place called Lucky's -- now long gone...

Well, Wifey is in the midst of updating, largely getting rid of old, high quality furniture and replacing it with much lower quality new stuff. That means the Lucky's wood and glass cabinet has to go.

She gave away most of our furniture to Gloria, the woman she hired to suegra sit a few years ago. Gloria feels like she won the lottery -- she is totally redecorating her house with the stuff Wifey "can't stand to look at" anymore. I did make one demand, as Wifey just had the house repainted. Gloria needed to hire professional movers, lest some well meaning nephews and friends bang the crap out of our walls as they remove large leather sectionals, and heavy wood cabinets...Gloria agreed -- she's probably getting well over $20K worth of stuff for free -- having it professionally moved is quite a bargain.

Anyway, Wifey brought me about 25 of the leather books -- I needed space for them. So today I set about getting rid of the paperbacks -- many of them 30 to 40 years old, by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Malamud...

Piling them into boxes was easier than I thought. They brought back memories, of college or even high school, but I romantically hope someone else will now read them -- and be transported to the Spanish Civil War, or East Egg, NY, or just to the mind of a great thinker like William James...

I called Pinecrest Library and asked if they accepted paperbacks. They did -- except for encyclopedias, or text books.

I filled the first box with about 50 volumes, and drove over. The young man happily accepted my long time companions. I walked away without a tear.

As I was packing them, Wifey said "Wow -- you read ALL of these? No wonder you're so smart." Well -- book smart, at least.

Meanwhile, the house is still in tumult -- an electrician was here installing a new kitchen fixture, and apparently there's a delivery of a new liquor cabinet. My 40 bottles of wine stand waiting on the kitchen counter...

I told Wifey that whatever activities she has scheduled, we must be out of the house by 5. We're going to a wedding at the Rusty Pelican -- D2's BFF Catherine is marrying Jacob. They live in Atlanta. Catherine finished her conversion to Judaism, and their rabbi is coming down from the City too busy to hate...

It'll be a great mixture of folks -- suburban Atlantans, as well as Cath's mother Mireya's people -- Panamanians, along with her Dad's folks -- born and raised Miami gringos...

I have a feeling the ceremony will be breathtaking -- the sun setting over the glorious skyline on Biscayne Bay, followed by a lit party, as the millennials say...

So adios, libros. Nice to clear the clutter. Nice to have the memories of times past...