Repeat

Listened to a book club discussion this morning. These were professional authors and reviewers judging several books for an award. Each has been assigned a book to read and give their thoughts of the work. Each said they had read and reread the book several times.

That got me thinking.

I’ve purchased, been gifted or otherwise collected thousands of books on various subjects. The text books were quickly out of date and became ancient history. The instructional books were read and tried and placed on the shelf to gather dust. Artistic reference books were occasionally checked for techniques, but soon forgotten on the shelves. Holiday and travel location books were brought out on special occasions to remind the reader of previous adventures and spark fond memories. The classics were read once and put on the shelf never to be read again.

To make a long story longer, I looked at all these books and decided to free the space and donate for others to enjoy.

Some I passed onto people I knew who might appreciate the subject and cherish the reading. Some were blindly donated to libraries around the neighborhood and to my old employer the city Public Library. Many were boxed up and given to the Goodwill with an estimated value of each that could be taken off taxes for my generous philanthropy. My only request was for the recipient to appreciate the gift or pass it on to another who might enjoy a new read.

Listening to the book reviewers talk about rereading a book started making sense. The first read presents the authors editing process hoping the reader will understand the point of the book. The second read, with the familiarly of the first read, can delve into details and conversations between characters first glossed over to get to the next page. A third read can find the philosophical meaning of why a person is compelled to convey a time and place and image to others. As a species we produced language to share our thoughts and lessons by word of mouth. With the invention of type, these ideas could be spread further than the sound will carry. Interesting enough, each reader, with their particular background, and interpret the words in a variety of ways and understanding. Bible study groups comes to mind.

Back to the point of ‘Repeat’ makes me think of things we enjoy repeating. Being a lazy visual species, we enjoy re-watching a favorite movie, not so much to learn something new or catch an easter egg, but to remember the first time watching it and who you were with in a dark theater. What would Christmas be without “Home Alone” or “DieHard” or “It’s A Wonderful Life”?

We repeat looking at photos, each time embellishing the story of when it was taken trying to remember the names of the people in it. Now, with video and sound, the snapshot of time becomes an elaborate production that could capture the moment or be interpretated by software?

Music. We replay our soundtrack of tunes we grew up with. No matter the sound quality and how hard new technology tries to refresh the sound coming out of a 3” speaker in a metal dashboard, the notes spark a time in life when dancing and drinking and the party of youth collected around the jukebox. Songs have been covered and manipulated for years and converted into other genres but the original is still the best. No matter how the song is taken apart and examined, it cannot replicate the intention of the artist at that particular time and how those words and notes related to your life. What I find interesting in re-playing a long-forgotten song is hearing it with the years of listening to other methods and versions. An old song becomes new again.

To take ‘repeat’ one step further, think about our friends.

We interact with lots of people, sharing language and ideas and experiences. Some pass by for a brief moment, but others with want to spend more time with. For whatever reason, we wish to ‘repeat’ the experience. If enough boxes are check, we have ceremonies to make the connection a public declaration. The daily repetitive adventure can become a vista of sharing the experience of life with new and interesting conversations or becomes a drag.

To meet another inhabitant of this planet that had cross paths before is an interesting occasion. The appearance has changed and each have their own separate lives, but the conversations turn to what was remembered and ‘repeat’ foggy recollections.

There is one certainty. The person in the mirror will repeat every day. The face may age, but it sleeps in the same bed, eats the same food, goes to the same stores, wears the same clothes and follows the same routine day-after-day.

Rinse, and repeat.