My girls convinced me to take them to a local Barnes & Noble because they were searching for something called a Squeezy Squishy toy — or something like that. So we braved the unseasonably cool, dreary, rainy weather to drive the short distance to our nearby B&N so that they could seek out their treasure.
As they scoured the store for any signs of Squeezy Squishy things, I wandered around, looking at the various tables of books. I couldn't recall the last time I'd been in a Barnes & Noble, but as I browsed through the various themed tables, I noticed something: at every table I looked at, no matter the theme, there was at least one book that I had read. At some tables, there were three or four. I pointed this out to the girls. They pointed to a random shelf (World History) , asked if I'd read anything there. I immediately pointed to Churchill by Andrew Roberts. It was an bit of an odd, yet oddly satisfying experience.
It was a less satisfying experience for the girls. There were no Squishy Squeezy things to be had in Barnes & Noble.
I've always admired prolific people, whatever their profession. For a time, I was even mildly prolific writing here on the blog. But I was never a prolific writer of fiction, for instance. It would take me a month or more to write a story, and that is a non-starter when it comes to being prolific. Yet somehow, slowly, but steadily, I became a prolific reader. This pleases me, as silly as it may seem. I've written before that my hobby is learning. What pleases me even more is the range of my reading. No matter what area of the store I wandered through, there was something I'd read.
Once we realized there were no Squeezy Squishy things at Barnes & Noble, we headed out home.
And yet, the story has a coda. Being prolific runs in the genes. The girls are prolific shoppers. They located Squeezy Squishy things at a nearby Target. So I drove them over there and the store indeed had the Squeezy Squishy things, stored in a cabinet at guest services. Mission accomplished. With that success in hand, I took the girls to lunch at a diner next door.
It was a prolific morning.
