Another day, another trip to the bookstore.

There is little that inspires me more than a neighborhood's local bookstore/cafe. It was a particularly busy day there today and I couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging among the other people reading, chatting, studying and drinking tasty beverages.

My sister and I have joked about my inability to really SEE my surroundings. Listening to my sister and husband, you would think I went through life in a perpetual "Celly Bubble". We all laugh about it, but the truth is that I really DO have a kind of tunnel vision that is rarely penetrated! For some reason the hustle and bustle of the bookstore breached that bubble and I was struck numb for just a little while. Sitting there in that comfy leather chair with my husband sitting next to me peacefully engrossed in his graphic novel, I SAW.

I saw a mother and daughter team inspecting the young adult bookshelves taking notes of what books they (BOTH) had already read in a series. A grandmother telling her granddaughter that they didn't really have to ask her mother about their book choices before buying. A man looking up biographies to see which one he didn't already own so that he could use the 40% off coupon. A middle aged couple holding hands while strolling the store. Four well-dressed gentleman having a slightly too loud conversation in the cafe. A GIANT mess in the children's section, with books and games strewn all over the floor. A man drinking coffee, staring out the window for what seemed like hours. And I hope that to whomever happened to notice us sitting there side by side, saw a couple that a first glance appeared at odds with each other: the husband reading steadily for hours with a stack of graphic novels at his elbow, the wife busily coming and going with stacks and stacks of books, flipping through pages, making notes, and even taking a few pictures with her cell phone. That the more they looked, the more they saw the complete and utter contentment they exuded in each other's presence.

Above all, I experienced a sense of wonder at how a bookstore unites people! Reading books, magazines, comics, newspapers. Chatting, studying, working, eating and drinking. Coming and going. There is a great debate out there about what the new electronic age and technology are doing to THE BOOK. I say that the great love of books is alive and well and will PERSEVERE!!!