So let's speak of books. First, one of my possessions I've come to prize most is my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. I have pared down my library significantly. I still have boxes full of books and a couple bookshelves full, but only about a third of what I had. While I love the feel of a real book and being able to mark up pages, being able to have a library at hand is really incredible. It is especially useful if one is packing a bag of their prized possessions and loves books as much as I. Asking me what books I would save and what I would leave to burn is like, well... I'm not talented enough to work a Sophie's Choice joke in here. Let's just say it would be no simple decision.
I decided to include my old edition of Great Expectations as a representation of all the old books I have. It is in two volumes published by the New York Book Company in 1909. Not the oldest books I have, but Great Expectations is one of my favorite books.
I chose my Men's Devotional Bible, New International version from amongst the variety of Bibles I have. It is a good version and probable the most portable Bible I have. I have several Bibles that have more sentimental meaning and are definitely less portable including one that belonged to my grandfather. I have A LOT of Bibles. I'd do well to just use one of them. The Bible will always make my list of desert island books and not because I'm religious. It's just a really good read. There are plenty of the boring this-guy-begat-this-guy-who-begat-this-guy parts, but then there are really interesting parts like Samson just wiping out the Philistines or Daniel and the lions, Jesus and his parables, angels playing trumpets causing hail and fire mixed with blood to rain down upon earth, and the entire book of Leviticus with its craziness. The entire bibliography of Stephen King doesn't have so much imagination.
What the Buddha Taught is honestly a little closer to teaching what I consider my religion. Really, the lessons I've come to through it were probably the same as what Jesus was trying to teach me as a child. It's a straightforward look at Buddhism and its core teachings.
My final book is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It's a marvelous book, not about Zen (and not so much about motorcycle maintenance either.) I can't say enough about it. Someday I will devote an entire blog, not just a blog entry, to it. My edition is underlined and highlighted and has tons of those post-it flags, and that is just from reading it through twice. That's the reason I can't leave it behind - all the work I've put into it -- But then the next time I read it will be like the first and I'll rediscover it all over anyway.
I could go on for a while explaining the books that I didn't pack, but as I said, I think I'll leave what got left behind for another entry. I should mention Phaedrus here. I mention Phaedrus because that is the name the narrator of Zen gives his old self. It is also the name I gave my betta fish. All my pets get literary names. Well, not the chickens. Chickens don't get named. I've had Phaedrus since August of 2020, making him the longest lived betta I've had. If you get a betta, don't put them in a tiny, tiny bowl. Yes, they can live in a puddle, but they aren't meant to. Also, get a heater. I have a good heater now to keep his tank at a nice temperature and he gets regular water changes with distilled water. I think this makes a difference. Anyway, enough of my soapbox about betta fish. Still, I guess I would have to leave Phaedrus behind. I am rather tempted to put him in a big ziplock bag and try and carry him onto a flight just to see if I can do it. Supposedly TSA will let you bring a liquid onboard so long as there is a living fish in it. Who knew? Still, I think he'd rather just battle it out in his little warm fish tank until hopefully I returned.
I have enough space here too to add that I also packed my Kindle Fire. It is a little superfluous I think packing the Paperwhite AND the Fire. The paperwhite is just way better for reading with. I like using the Fire when I get in the habit of using it. It is also kind of redundant with my phone though as well. I think if I didn't have access to a laptop, though, I would probably appreciate having the Fire with me. Anyway, it makes me want to get into the habit of using it more often.
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