Weighted Wooden Bookshelves

His bookshelves stand far above the ground and are weighted with a lifetime of thought, enjoyment and study.  A frozen biography of the man he was.  Each seems to hold a purpose, a story beyond the writing on each page.  I cannot resist standing in front of them, gazing at their covers, then opening them to look upon the mysteries stored within.  I find favorites of my own -- Wallace Stegner, John Irving, Annie Dillard.  There are others too, both familiar and new.  Some immediately capture my attention and others I skim quickly past.  And I want to sit with a cup of coffee and go through each shelf with my friend, who now has me fascinated by his books on the weighted wooden shelves far above the ground.  To hear now the stories, the passions and the learning he has found within.

Italian, Spanish, Annotated California Codes, Steinbeck, the Old West, an unabridged dictionary, chickens, a Bible, birds, natural history, algebra, calculus, Greek mythology, Cheyenne Indians, novels too.  There are books with cobwebs and dust thick upon them and ones used for research and reference with notes and dog eared pages. Few have been left unopened, most studied and read, some glanced at not long ago.  They hold a life of their own, a history joined together of a man and a view into who influenced his thoughts and ways. 

Within moments I know we share interests but they diverge as well.  Yet still, I am now more curious to know the man whose house they lay within.  Educated in the way of life, who knows his mind and his thoughts, who studied and wasted not time in his actions and is patient. Someone I like to have as a friend.  The kind of person with whom I want to talk and ask questions.

The story he has left open for me to see by his weighted bookshelves far above the ground.