“Where does this go?” I wrote in the margin. The margin tempts the page to have an extended edge, a river of open space that exists in parallel to the page. In all my attempts to include margin notes, do I try to dissolve the edge of the page so that another story blends into this experience? Some readers quietly delight to resolve the duality of the printed page and the margin with margin notes of the thoughts evoked while reading. It could even be marks, lines and squiggles. Still others might resolve this quite differently. The invitation stands. I had to stop writing in a book when a five year old visited; he was just learning not to write in books. I had forgotten that rule and quickly put the project away until later. I have a weakness for children’s books with crayon annotations. In the small community where I spend summers the library is a community social center, so it is not uncommon to have loud greetings and conversation. I found myself wondering if the silent library will become something described historically.
Maybe I do need a point of view ad absurdum. Comparing apples and oranges. Like not favoring universal heath care because of the level of abuse. That’s a given in any social system where education is lacking, and scarcity promoted. The right to equal care in a wealthy country should not be negotiable. One is an apple the rest are oranges. The arguments are absurd decoys of reason. We fail each other. I’m sorry.
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