All I've Got Is An Autograph

I bought a book the other day.

You don't read.

You barely listen.

Hey, it happens.

I like to buy ones you can't find digitally.

Oldish ones.

Obscurish ones.

Hidden gems.

And so I found one I already own, online but in analog form, and ordered it.

Two is one.

And it came in good shape.

Always a win.

And, surprisingly, it was autographed by the author.

Now if you buy a lot of tangible books intangibly, you'll notice this.

Signed copies.

Unmentioned.

At bargain rates.

Often, they are personalized.

To Milton,

Reach for the stars!

And sometimes, they're autographed by, not the author, but the gifter.

I don't really think of individual copies of books having their own unique stories but they do.

They have unreplicable tales.

Outside of its internal contents.

It has its own external contexts.

What was a print run of X number is really a unique 1 of 1.

With a story all its own.

And I suppose we're all like that.

Massive print runs, but really a one of one.

A unique take on an old story.

With our own personalized, autographed, version.

Hey Numbnuts,

Don't screw this up.

Love,

Al

[Thinking while staring at you intently.]

I'll give you...three dollars.

📕

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