Turn Around

From the Kabbalah..."First we receive the light, then we impart it. Thus we repair the world."

Robert Rabbin..."If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Mother Teresa..."If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Deep in the Heart

Maybe the best thing to say is that you had to have been there. There’s no better proof to a small businessman plying a trade built around selling goods that no one has to have—that’s the art and antiques market. I keep reminding myself that I do this not so much for financial reward as for the love of treasure. Of course, investing in treasure necessarily reaches its limits, and then it’s time to pay the piper. And that’s what I did last week. As tough as it was, I give thanks—and after catching the Oprah show today (maybe more on this later), I especially give thanks that I am whole, able to walk without assistance (even though an injury to my left foot continues to aggravate me), in my right mind (mostly), and that the rains have come to Texas after a long, long, hot and dry summer. I reminded myself of this as my friend Jim and I waded through a driving rain—along with all of the other dealers loading out of the Round Top Antiques Fair—to load our trailer for the trip back to Leon County Texas. Earlier in the afternoon I had recounted for my dealer neighbor the last hard rain on a load out day I had been through at Round Top. That was another life, 20 plus years ago, and an experience that caused me to take stock seriously as I bit off and spit out the tiny piece of flesh hanging from my right index finger after I had slammed it in the trailer gate. I was soaked to the skin. I remember what I was wearing—a drab green long sleeve shirt that had been one of my favorites for a long time, Levis (of course), and a pair of boots. Things changed that afternoon, but they really didn’t. Ebb and flow, come and go, up and down, breathe, breathe, breathe. Yes, I give thanks.

Deep in the Heart—Normangee, Texas (October 7, 2009)
R. Harold Hollis