Jottings: Slice of life - 1

Jottings: Slice of life
Each month, a nearby senior housing facility brings all its inhabitants ( or those that are interested) to a Goodwill store close to my home. The Saturday they arrive is usually a bustling day at the store. There are on an Average about 25 of them, dressed casually in Pants and light tops, wrinkled skins of different ethnicities ,covered with white or grayish hair tucked with no specific care, leaning on Walkers or walking sticks, walking through all aisles with the intensity and joy of a five year old, calling aloud to their friends when they spot something interesting or identify an item they have specifically been looking for. All around, there is tremendous enthusiasm when they are there. On the day they visit, Goodwill takes on a facade of high class store with all eager elderly shoppers romping around with eyes wide open and chattering incessantly, when on other days, the same store wears a subdued look of a charity house where people mostly with long , morose faces come to buy or donate used stuff, purchase things cheap and nothing else. The vivacity and exuberance of these elderly ladies will be hardly be seen in normal shoppers. It is indeed amazing to observe each time these aged denizens pick a thing they like, there is a visible sparkle in their eyes,as though, it was the one important thing they wished to possess or hoped to find. For most of us, drowned in surplus of materialism, that kind of joy and energy is hard to define, imagine or emulate.
I make it a point to visit Goodwill every Saturday ( or sometimes twice a week) to look at books. Over the years, I have found some real great gems lying on those racks. First editions, rare books, out of print volumes, complete collections of stories and novels, beautifully leathered copies of precious manuscripts and many more. Among all the second hand book stores I visit, this is one place that continues to surprise me every time. They somehow seem to be getting a constant replenishment of great books. Considering, this is just one of the many Goodwill’s in this area, it is almost miraculous. But it suits me. Well coming back to my narrative. Among these Elderly ladies, there are couple of them who spend most of their time in the store at the Book section. I have been seeing them for three years now, almost every month. They pronounce my name as “Bali..” ( Somehow the last “ a” eludes their grasp). Julia and Ruth are always together, exchanging notes on books, excited over finding an author, and it always seems to me they complement their reading well. They come with a specific budget of Twenty dollars, and intend to spend to it only on books they can read during the coming month. The problem with Goodwill is that books are not organized or stacked in any particular order ( not surprising!!), and hunting for specific volumes is almost next to impossible, if one is not regularly reviewing the racks. And that I where I pitch in.. My unwavering regularity to this corner has given me a photographic memory of almost all books available on the four lines of shelves, and if there is anything new for that week, it immediately strikes my eye. So when Julian and Ruth talk about a book, or find it hard to locate related volumes, I help them locate it instantaneously. That is how I got acquainted to them. And over a period of time, they have come to expect me there when they arrive to help them find books. They would give out such a guffaw of welcome as they see me ( sometimes it is embarrassing) but I wonder, if I would be ever be greeted with more sincerity and innocence by anyone else in this competitive world.
Yesterday, there was new stock of Den Koontz novels on shelves. Eight paperback volumes were stacked together, and Julia was certain (I don't know how?) that “Odd Thomas”, supposedly one of the very best detective stories of Dean Koontz should also be here somewhere. It was not alongside other volumes. When she saw me, she waved frantically, and asked me if I could quickly check if “odd Thomas” was placed In any other shelf. I sure did. It took me less than five minutes to walk along the aisles, allowing my eyes to pick new insertions into shelves, and spotted the book she wanted in the bottom rack snugged between two college text books. When I handed the volume to her, she was ecstatic. She triumphantly held the book aloft, left go of her walker and did a short tap dance in joy. Her face was beaming with happiness, and she leaned over a gave a warm long kiss on my cheek saying “Thank you Baliiii……” I have never seen anyone so filled with joy over a book. For a moment , I was profoundly moved, but quickly regained my composure.
As I drove back, It stuck me how easily all of us take things around us for granted. Have we ever felt that kind of profound joy over anything at all? Living our lives Half-dazed and lost, very few things genuinely interest us. But for Julia and rest of them, each day, every thing acquires great significance because there is an unconscious understanding of impermanence that embroiders their rich, aged lives.. And once that feeling seeps deep within, every act will be total and immersive in itself. Our petty lives, lived in selfish competition over impermanent things will start falling into perspective, and more importantly , there is deep healing that follows such a transformation. A realization, relaxation and giving into small joys and acts with everything we have got, holding nothing; because there is nothing to hold onto, except this passing, beautiful moment..
God bless…
Yours In mortality,
Bala

Comments

Unknown said…
Thanks Bala, nice post.

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