"so what do you do for a living?"
this is a very common social question...used mostly in middle and upper class social circles as a way to gather much information about someone by asking one simple question...it is used with many intentions, but overall it is used to place someone into a certain socio/economic category based on preconceived assumptions...we are consistent to compartmentalize things in to pre-arranged categories...this is not always good or bad...it is what it is...
i say that, to say this...i love peoples reaction to the answer, "i own a used bookstore"...i have heard everything from:
"like, as a full-time job"
"can you make a living doing that"
"cool, do you sit and read all day"
"you must have to really love what you do"
etc... and so many no responses...i guess coming up with something was to difficult or taxing, seeing how there might not have been a pre-arranged compartment for used book dealers...anyway...to me these responses are my social dessert many days...
I LOVE MY JOB!
for a long time i really thought i would be in the vocational ministry...i turned down a handful of opportunities to do such (there were also a few i coveted but never received)...who knows, God might have it lined up someday for that to happen, but for now i am a used book dealer...and widely regarded among my peers as a really good one...(OMG i can't believe he just said that!!!)...listen if you are not good at what you do, God is not happy with you...if you are marginal...you are really lousy as the donald would say...
i love buying books...even traveling hundreds of miles to buy books...i love walking up to an estate sale knowing there is a possibility of turning a silver george into a benjamin...i love it...i love the smell of old books...that is my choice of car scent...i love shipping books all around the world to people who appreciate them...i love the fact that anyone in a 200 mile radius who has a rare book usually ends up talking to me...i love stacks of books...i know exactly how many books i can fit into my car...i could closely estimate the amount of books that could get into your car just by looking...there is much knowledge in my head that is absolutely useless to the average person, and i love it!...i love selling expensive books to collectors...i love selling chapter books to kids who are just beginning to experience the world of print stimulated imagination...
i am a bookman...and i love it!
later from 3rd St.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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5 comments:
dear bookman,
i do not care for my job, and i'm pretty sure i'm not very good at it. does that mean God is doubly unhappy with me?
you might not care for your job...but i doubt that you are bad at it...you have a job that very rarely manifests positive results for hard work...if God is unhappy with you it is because you verbally committed to getting a tattoo if you were to go to africa...
My husband and I will be down to see you one of these days. We recently found some extremely old books in our attic that belonged to my grandfather. I was amazed at how old some of them are and will see if it is something you might be interested in. Do we need to call ahead for an appointment?
call ahead just to make sure i am here...ty!
Will do. Thanks.
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