Fragments
David Michael Newstead | The Philosophy of Shaving
I was scouring through used books. Sometimes, mixed in with the rest, there is a definite theme to what the store is trying to unload from their inventory: books about the First World War, for example, or trains or boats or cookbooks or Germany and so on. For a short time, at least, one topic rises above the randomness. But the other day something unique happened. While the genres varied, it became clear that dozens and dozens of books on the discount rack all once belonged to the same person who had inscribed his full name, the date, and his city of residence on the interior cover of each publication. The years spanned 1956 to 1970 or thereabouts. Armed with this information, I had a surprisingly difficult time determining what happened to “Sam.” My mistake was assuming that he was dead. I came to find out though that Sam is very much alive! And through his discarded library and the dates listed in it, it was possible for me to see his university career unfold from its early days in the 1950s up to the present. I took note of three titles among many:
Russia: A History by Sidney Harcave (Sam, September, 1956)The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918-1939 (Sam, September, 1966)World War I at Home: Readings on American Life, 1914-1920 by David F. Trask (Sam, April, 1970)These books are what he was reading and teaching right at the start of his time in higher education. Decades still lay on the horizon. Then, somewhere along the way, there’s no reason to keep every single book. And there certainly isn’t the space for it! Careers and lives progress. He advanced in his profession as an academic and the 1950s are a distant memory. Now, Sam is an old man. This isn’t a biography, just a glimpse at a life. I closed one book and went about my day. Weeks went by and I returned to browse the shelves again only to discover a few more books from Sam’s past. It was a good reminder how we’re really only the caretakers of many things that will outlast us. I bought one of Sam’s old books for $4 and ever since I’ve wondered where it might be 70 years from now.
