"Orbit"

It seems to me that everything large, and everything microscopic, and everything in between acts the same.  Electrons orbit around nuclei, and moons orbit around planets, and planets orbit around suns, and the entire universe is spinning.  This can all make you kind of crazy if you think about it too much, and I don't even do drugs.

A former coworker once told me she was unfriendly and uncooperative when I started my job because she had really wanted her college friend to get the position.  How could I know her friend applied for the job?  How could I know my coworker's misguided loyalties would make my life difficult?  There were invisible orbits of people around me, and all I knew is that I was trying my best with inexplicable obstacles in my path.

Jennie Cramer was my Grandma's mom, Thomas L. Lee was my Grandpa's dad.

I don't know why I started remembering this, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it.  All this time later, I want to yell "I won't do crazy with you!"  This woman is still in the outer orbit of my life.  She puts effort into looking and acting professional.  You'd never know she'd sabotage her own job for the benefit of someone who didn't qualify for mine.

Sometimes we have to accept that there are invisible forces around us, and we may or may not learn what those forces are.  We just have to do our best despite it all.  I'm glad this woman confessed her motivations to me because she illuminated a life lesson that these people walk amongst us.  They look normal, and I don't think knowing her thoughts would've been helpful at the time.  What could I do?  Quit my job so her friend could be rejected again?

Don't judge my lit -- these are my popular light reading when I have a bad day :)

This is the kind of stuff I thought about while consolidating my library this week.  I built a bookcase because I had a vision of the perfect bookcase -- which of course nobody sells ready-made.  I'm not saying it's the best bookcase, but it's the best for my space.

Advertising on the back of the textbook.

I gathered my books from around the house (which are HEAVY by the way) and hauled them upstairs.  Then I had to sort them all, then of course I had to alphabetize them... well okay, I'm my own kind of crazy, but I was a great page when I worked at the Columbus Library, and now I can find any book in a moment, and all of my series are together.

Anyway, I mused about the old coworker and I handled my treasures, which include these old schoolbooks from my ancestors.  I love seeing the signatures of my great grandparents on the fly leaves and the old illustrations...  It takes a long time to shelve books when I have such lovely distractions along the way.

These books aren't in good condition, but I suppose they could be in worse shape.  To put it in perspective, they're from not long after the American Civil War.  You know, like when people were slaves.  That seems long ago to me -- or maybe the flip side of it is that slavery really wasn't long ago at all?  Which puts the idea of crazy coworkers into perspective, doesn't it?

You can see the bindings on the old books at left are gone or falling apart

If anyone knows the best way to store these books, please let me know.  I'd like to prevent further decay.  I'd like to put them in boxes, but not sure if I should wrap them up in something first?