Monday, July 18, 2011

A Gift For Me

I have a birthday this month and so, last week, I bought myself a present. I don't usually buy myself gifts because I am a very thrifty saver and don't buy something unless it's very practical. At least most of the time. To give you an idea of how practical I am, I need to tell you a story that took place when I was fifteen.

My father's cousin Louis came to visit us from South America and I had never met him before. He spent the entire Sunday afternoon with us, enchanting us with stories of his country and mesmerizing us with his sparkling personality. When he was going out the door to leave, he pressed something into the palm of my hand. After he had left, I realized that he had given me a one hundred dollar bill. Now at fifteen, I did not use the money to buy clothes and I did not use the money to buy shoes. I used the money to buy myself a sewing machine.When Louis found out how practical I was and how sensibly I had spent my money, he gave me another hundred just to blow on anything frivolous I could think of.

But I digress. The birthday gift I bought for myself is a Kindle. Now, mind you, I don't "need" a Kindle. I can certainly carry a book around and read from a book and turn the pages of a book. But the Kindle just fascinates me to pieces. Just think, it can hold 3500 books, magazines, and newspapers. I can't carry all of that around with me. And I can adjust the font to accommodate my aging eyes. What could be better than that? And it is the size of a paperback book and weighs almost nothing. So I bought Kindle and a very cute little lime green leather case to protect it. And I have already purchased three of the latest books and downloaded several free ones.

I know I will love having the Kindle with me as I travel in our tiny little travel trailer. There is very little space for books in there. And I can have the latest books with me on the road and not have to wait in the virtual queue until it's my turn at the library. I will be 68 years old this month. I think it's time to be a little frivolous.

2 comments:

Jane said...

Good girl! I think you'll really enjoy the kindle. I have one and for 37 years I was a bookseller, so it was with a certain feeling of guilt that I bought mine, but if for no other reason, the ability to adjust the font size makes it a worthwhile thing to own. Enjoy!

Connie said...

I'm interested in your experience with it. My excuse is I have too many books here I want to read and I'm a Library user (surprise!). But I do think that as we start to travel it will make taking books so much easier. Maybe someday I'll get one too.