Books and family

It has been a whirlwind of a few days for me. Saturday Joel and I drove to Burnet to attend Mike Lewis' retirement party. I didn't think Mike was much older than I am, but I guess he had built up many years of teaching and can retire. He has had a wonderful career as a band director and teacher, as exemplified by the hundreds of pictures on the walls at the band hall and the hundreds maybe thousands of students who thanked him. I also treasure his friendship and have always held him in high regard. Fine Christian man and a great teacher for sure.

Sunday morning I drove to Brady and back. Napping and relaxing I received a text from youngest son Jordan wondering if he needed the original music for the state solo contest. The answer was yes. We found the music and proceeded to drive to Austin to deliver it. We arrived home around 9:30, got up early Monday and drove to Denton to deliver more furnishings and clothes to our oldest son and his fiance. We spent the day in Denton, bought a bed, ate lunch, swam in the apartment pool, and came home.

While in Denton, I went to Recycled Books to see if they would buy my two forged first editions I own. This is a source of great stress and consternation for me. I bought two signed first editions for quite a bit of money from a bookstore going out of business. But after further study and comparing signatures, I have determined they are forgeries. The store has a no return policy and now I am stuck. If I sell them as real signatures, I am breaking my own ethical integrity. If I inform a buyer I believe they are forgeries, I will never be able to sell them even as regular books. I could just use them as examples of poor judgment on my part for purchasing them in the first place. Not sure what to do. Recycled Books did not want them and I understand completely. I am embarrassed to have purchased them and almost see these books as evil examples of a terrible form of crime--forging signatures. I may end up circling the signatures in pen and stating they are forgeries. Then turn around and sell them. Mostly I wish I didn't have them. Great books but fake author signatures. Yuck.

Joel was funny yesterday. We pulled into the parking lot in Weatherford between Wendy's and Starbucks. It must have struck a memory tone for him because he proceeded to tell me with great excitement about all the shops in the area. He said two years ago we had parked in the same place. I never know what will trigger his brain into activity. Certain sparks of memory, sound, places, events seem to hyperdrive or give him a brain turbo boost.

Joel is always an adventure is trying to figure him out. Will it ever happen? Doubtful but the journey to that end is filled with joy!