11.03.2006

Book Sale Eve

Tomorrow will be the culmination of all the work I've been doing at my notjob: The Book Sale. If I have to take away only one lesson learned from all of this it is that I should never again waste my time inscribing witty and heart-felt messages into books that I give as gifts. I now know what you people do with them. So many of the books that we're selling have inscriptions from loved ones, spouses, grandparents, children, and friends written in the front. And every time I see one I feel bad for the giver who took the time to write it when their pieces of crap friends and relatives are just going to get rid of the book anyway. I mean seriously, who even raised these people?

Today I got to boss around a bunch of teenaged cadets. They call me "ma'am" and "ma'am yes ma'am." It was kind of awesome. Their job was to load the shelved books onto carts and then wheel them to their designated book sale area. One cadet was loading the books onto the cart one . . . book . . . at . . . a . . . time. He would pause to look at the front and back of each one. Eventually I asked him if he liked reading. His answer: "Not really." So then I was all torn, because the reader part of me thought, "Maybe one of these Oprah book club books will catch his eye and he will want to read it and it will be the start of a whole new life of knowledge and light and non-delinquency, and so I should not do anything to damage the tender plant." The other part of me thought, "Okay, MOVE IT, kid. Or I swear I will take that copy of A Million Little Pieces out of your hand and beat you with it."

7 comments:

Lippy said... [reply]

Ok you write a great blog. Just discovered it tonight, and if it's ok I'd like to become a regular reader! (I ask 'cause I love to comment when I read, sooo...)

Snow pics are a killer, though. I'm not ready to let go of the summer!

Jimmy

Anonymous said... [reply]

Glad to see all of that power is going to your head.

Th. said... [reply]

.

Perhaps you could beat him and then deliver books to the ICU.

AmyJane said... [reply]

Pahahaha! You make me laugh a lot. Good luck with the sale.

April said... [reply]

I love book sales. It's one time I don't mind people being pushy about getting what they want. At least it's not over Tickle-Me Elmo.

Books and cadets. *drools*

Cicada said... [reply]

I wonder where all my lost books went... I shipped my precious books to my Maryland address from Utah before my mission but because USPS only treats insured packages nicely, all of my precious books were lost.

And maybe they're now being sold off at library book sales and people are reading the inscriptions that my friends wrote to me. So, you know, don't judge. Maybe the books with the nice inscriptions are lost books, not donated books.

Mrs. Hass-Bark said... [reply]

Oh, Cicada, that's the saddest thing I've read today!

**

Nem, but what if the book sucked? Or you're embarrassed to keep it on your shelf? Do you have to keep it just because someone wrote some pithy message in the front cover? I mean, REALLY WOMAN WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME!?!?!?

**

WV--atwow. That's what she said.

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