I helped run a garage sale this weekend. I’m a big believer in garage sales and recycling your stuff. When my kids were young I loved to shop garage sales to find good toys and baby items at a fraction of the cost I would have to pay in the store. Alas, they’ve since grown up and are too savvy to pass of something as new when it isn’t. This weekend’s garage sale was a charity event to help adults with autism and we posted a sign letting our customers know where the proceeds would go. Not only did the sign generate good will and a few extra donations but it also opened a conversation with several of our customers about people with autism who had touched their lives. Some of our customers had relatives with autism, some were teachers searching for materials to use in their classrooms. Joining the conversation about helping others was very therapeutic for me, and probably for many others I met that day.
We had a great number of books and books on tape at our sale, and I watched with great interest as customers perused the title selection. One customer I eavesdropped on spent time convincing her friend to get a particular book, “I love that author. I’ve read everything she’s written. You have got to take this home and read it.” The friend agreed and we made another sale. Watching the elation when people found books they just had to have – and at a bargain price – made me think about the lives our words possess. Long after we’ve received our advances and royalties, our books can continue to inspire, delight, and inform new readers. Whether a book goes to a library and circulates through many hands, or passes from one friend to another, its life continues as long as someone reads it. And if my books some day end up in charity garage sales, I will be pleased to know that part of their lives was spent helping others.
Comments
1 C. Lee McKenzie // Nov 18, 2009 at 9:02 pm
That’s a wonderful way to look at this writing business. Thanks.
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