Inscriptions

I love the site Book Inscriptions Project dearly – so glad I discovered it! I love to just scroll through there, reading, perusing – it makes me feel like I’m snooping, or something. Maybe that’s part of the appeal. But it’s not just that.

I have some second-hand books that come with random inscriptions (the one from 1912 is my favorite) – and there are a couple of books in my own collection with inscriptions that have huge capacity to transport me back in time. Antonio and I always used to sign the books we gave to each other – so there they remain, in my collection – ghosts of that relationship, years and years gone by.

The book that really ‘got us together’ was The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler – Antonio was reading it that summer, and he gave a copy to me to read, before we even started officially dating – and wrote in it (in response to a joke I had made, I guess), “No. We are not just two attitudes bouncing off of each other. Tonio.” There was something about that book – and its portrayal of an unconventional woman, and a quirky relationship – really spoke to him, and made him see me in a new way (his words). We had known each other forever – and it was as he was reading Accidental Tourist that the thought occurred to him …. what about Sheila?

I remember reading that inscription and feeling a little crinkly thing in my stomach, like: hmmmm, this FEELS like something is there … Am I reading into that inscription? Or .. is he saying there is more between us than just jokes and banter?

I always think I’m reading stuff into everything, but the thing is: I am usually right. My instincts have rarely been off – even when friends have tried to say, “You’re being paranoid”, etc. Nope – I know. (The weirdest example of my intuition being here.)

The gift was symbolic – and I still have it – inscription and all. Strange. None of the feelings remain from that time – he’s one of the few guys I DID get over with no lingering regrets – so when I look at that inscription I feel strangely distant, and poetic almost. Like – wow. Look at that poetic thing that happened to someone else. Look at that poetic romantic thing that means nothing to me.

Snippets, fragments of humanity, of connection – missed or otherwise- Human beings writing to each other, to themselves … I don’t know, I find it very touching – like Dr. Frank’s ongoing found objects series. latest here. Or this one

There’s something about The Book inscriptions project that really speaks to me. Hieroglyphics, remnants, ghosts, echoes … and yet oh how important these messages were to someone, once upon a time.