Godel, Escher, Bach
2004 04 15
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How I ended up with my copy of the GEB, something I'd been looking for for quite some time at that point.
One day, my friend Maureen and I happened upon a previously empty store downtown, which was currently being used for a book sale. We wandered around picking up this and that. I went to the checkout first, she wasn't done yet, so after I payed for my books I wandered over to where she was, a section I hadn't bothered checking because it contained books that were on a topic I wasn't interested in checking out. So, I just stood there waiting for her to finish her perusing, and I leaned on the table, putting my hand on top of a pile of books. When she was done, I proceeded to stand up straight, and happened to look down under my hand, and lo, there it was - the GEB in all its fine, hard-covered, perfect condition glory - and what was so odd about it was that it was in a section of books that it shouldn't have been in, some area with either cooking or historical fiction.
I immediately snatched it up (it was only $4.99!) and flew like the wind to the register to purchase it - which I, many years later, left in England by accident - and which is now in the possession of my friend Anna who, after hearing I'd lost my copy, sent me another as a gift - this before the lost GEB was found somewhere in the depths of our friend Tal's house along with a pair of boots I'd also forgotten.
That's about the only thing I dislike about travel besides the crampedness of airplanes - you always forget something. My first trip to France, I left behind a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and Milton's Paradise Lost. I really should get them back one of these days. It's been about 20 years. My how time does fly. In Hungary, I forget a batik housecoat my mother had sent me from Africa.
Still, the whole story had a satisfying ending, and my old, serendipitously found copy of the GEB is now in the hands of one of the few people I know who could truly appreciate it.