Last weekend, two of my daughters and I went to an adorable antique shop in Ridgeland, MS called Antique Aly. We wondered aloud if Aly was the owner’s name and sure enough, when we walked in, we met a cute little southern girl named Aly. Aly helped me make a difficult decision. The first thing I spotted was a Eudora Welty book that was bound in leather and signed. It was locked in a glass cabinet, so I asked her about it. She opened the cabinet while I told her how I met Eudora Welty when I was in high school. I attended a reading and spoke to her afterwards because I was doing a paper about her. I remember her kindness and willingness to talk to a shy teenage admirer.
Aly wasn’t all that impressed, but she was willing to text the seller to see if he would come down on the price of the book. I paid the high price anyway because it was a hard day, and I wanted it. Of course being a woman of my generation, I immediately felt guilty about spending that much money on a single book.
This week I talked with a friend about it. She understood retail therapy. She said, “You deserve to do something good for yourself, something that has a special meaning to you. Go home and give the book a kiss.”
I used a clunker from Linda: “Catch a falling word, hold onto it.” And wrote this little poem:
I Bought a Signed Eudora Welty Book at an Antique Store
Catch a falling
Margaret Simon, draft
Word, hold onto it,
Love it,
Covet,
Share some tea with it.
Understand the word
is not yours to own forever,
so kiss it
with lipstick on
and set it free.
I am still fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of my mother’s 87th birthday. If this touches your heart, consider a donation. I’m making beaded bracelets for a donation of $50 or more. Here is a link to my donor’s page: http://act.alz.org/goto/honordotgibson
Reflections on the Teche 