119 years

 I took a true trip through history and time today. Perusing my bookshelf, I came across Goethe’s Novels and Tales, a collection of stories with the main one being The Sorrows of young Werther. The remarkable thing about this book is that the writings were published in the 18th century with Sorrows being publish in 1784 when Goethe was just 24 years old. My copy of the book was printed in 1907. Thus, it is a 119-year-old print of a 252-year-old publication. To me, it gets even more fascinating… I purchased the book in the early 2000s from a second-hand bookstore in Guildford, Surrey, England, and the inside sleeve is signed by one of the previous owners in 1943 in Canada. This means that the book was printed in London in 1907, was signed by someone in Canada in 1943, came back to England where I bought it 55 to 60 years later only for it to then travel with me to Madrid, Spain, and then cross the Atlantic once more with me when I moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Now it sits on my bookshelf in Dallas, Texas. 

As evening approaches, and the heat is back up, but not as much as before, I prepare to walk over to The Ginger Man to meet colleagues for a beverage. It is pleasant to meet but it also causes some anxiety as most of them don’t drink alcohol, they are all married with children, and they live vastly different lifestyles to mine. The story is old… but it goes on. 


AI depiction of the article 

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