She walked into the house after work and saw her husband, who had the day off, sitting on the parquet floor surrounded by 100's of old books. Several six foot tall built-in bookshelves stood against the living room walls, mostly empty, and as she glanced around the room, she noticed particles of dust in the air, exposed by the sun's late afternoon rays which streaked in through the far kitchen window. She winced at the untidiness of the scene and asked, "What in the world are you up to?" She did not try to hide the sternness in her voice.
"Well you see," he spoke, not looking up from his task of stacking books, "Our library, it's in such disorder. There was no system, no logical classification, so I've decided to use a simple database theory. I'll arrange the books with four criteria: By author, First name first, last name last. Then by book title, excluding of course the article "The" when it comes at the beginning of the title. Last, if we have two books by the same author, with the same title, we'll stack them according to ISBN number, and if neither has such an identification, we'll stack them according to date. "
His wife stood, her arms akimbo as he described his plan for alphabetizing the bookshelves. She looked around at the disheveled apartment: the floors unswept, the dishes in the kitchen unwashed, the furniture obviously not dusted.
Her lips and eyes which seemed frozen during his explanation, suddenly softened. She moved her arms from her hips and began to unbutton her coat. "Oh yes, that's fair enough!" she replied, tossing her jacket haphazardly onto the sofa and walking toward the books. She sat down next to her husband, grabbed an armload of dusty volumes and began categorizing them into neat stacks. He looked at her for a moment as she meticulously placed one book on top of another and he smiled, content that he was understood.
In a list
A Shocking Tale Of Horror!
Comments
1 - 37 of 37
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did you change this yemm? last time i read it; it ran differntly in my mind.
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Aye, she is diplomatic and kind not to mention his insanity and ask when he last took his meds.
She is waiting to capture the moment when he is "a danger to himself and others" so she can justify calling the police. 
That might well be when the bookshelf falls over on him. 
I always feel rewarded when I read your stories, Yem. 
BRAVO! 
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What is that third emoticon doing? Eating potato chips? That is cute.
Yes, he is insane, I can vouch for that
Thanks, your comment is funny.
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"Oh yes, that's fair enough!"
the rest is such fantasy, I can hardly believe my eyes. First of all, if I come into the house, and my husband was home alone, there'd be no way I would walk into a clean house anyway, he was a slob..any room he was in was a pigpen, and I'd never in a million years come home to anything different.
Second, I've never in my life taken instruction without argument, unless I was earning an hourly wage
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C.(), even if I did there'd be no way I would help him because I would think he was an absolute nutcase and walk away. lol, did that alot towards the end, even during the good times.
Alas, what is my opinion of this here write, whoever this man is, he should consider himself lucky-he's got himself a keeper.
love,
jin
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" Suddenly softened" and " Content" are the key words within this story for me which precariously balances priorities. Perhaps the story reveals that it's not so much what a couple are as individuals but how they bridge differences, perhaps we are known more by how we react than any other configuration of fact. To be understood, to be tolerated, accepted, these are gifts we either gift each other or are unable to give to each other.
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Organization ...
and a story that not only considers the books but also the love that applies patience and understanding in a world that is generally chaotic at best. I could use the both of them to stop by my place and help me get not only one room of bookcases organized but more like 4 rooms of them organized! It's an ongoing project that keeps me baffled and yet I keep getting more to add to the confusion. Thanks for sharing this tale as it came close to my reflection only with role reversal. jy
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Thankees madam.
Set me at the books, I'll try my darndest to get them organized. Big talk for a guy who only has his books alphabetized to "T". I never have finished the rest, lol
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I honestly would do that.
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This is great..to finally realize that what is important to the one you love should also be of importance to you and then to know it will be returned twofold..what a lovely relationship that makes....I loved this so don't change it oo much when you start revising...
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When I read this for the first time, I without thinking took a look at my book case. No special method there, only Paulo's and De Lima's are together. Books in Dutch stay in a different shelf though.
With books I have 2 different ways of looking at the 'how keeping them'; one is keep because I like to read some books more than once, and the other is pass them forward for books weren't meant to stay in shelves collecting dust. But that is so off from your history...
The fact the woman went there to give the man a hand shows that 'for good and for bad' marriage thing. She frowned and probably though, 'damn, now I'll have to clean the rest of the house too', maybe even coursed the man in silence, but still...the offered her help just because was the nice thing to do.
I liked it, it is a simple story without the usual ornaments you add to your stories, but made its point
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It needs some work. I want to show more the similarity between them, that once she sees his logic she understands it, that these two have an understanding of the importance of doing things even if they seem odd or trivial to others. That they have that connection.
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I think you show that understanding when she joins him and the books, well to me reads that way
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I read this story like 3 times since you posted it, but now am too sleepy to make any comment that makes sense or even a senseless comment....tomorrow
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That's ok, it's just a silly little story. Thanks for leaving your foot prints .
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Oh, the horror, the horror. I have 7000 + books in my library - if the stacks fell, I would never be heard from again. I keep them in order of color. It's prettier that way.
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See now, that makes sense to me. I only keep orange colored books...the color of Moxie's label.
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Oh, gosh! You have found your way into my sickness! I am not comfortable in a messy house, BUT I do understand ridiculous organization to feel in control of other, more overwhelming tasks/situations. You have portrayed a bit of beauty here, I think. To find connection, and understanding with someone you love is far more important that the stuff of life that we so easily allow to sidetrack us from what is important. Probably, in such a situation, many more dishes would be washed, and surfaces dusted if we would only take time to understand someone else's language..
I find no horror here. You will have to try again.
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A comment that is ten times better than the story. Thanks!
No horror? Well, 5 minutes after the scene I portrayed, she dropped a 16 ton anvil on his head. Unseen horror is always the worst kind of horror, lol
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Ah, to accept what is important to another--
to UNDERSTAND---and to be UNDERSTOOD--
what nirvana.
How many times are feelings hurt,
dreams quashed because priorities
are not aligned, because silly,
unimportant things get in the way?
(And whose judgement prevails
as to what is important and
what is not?)
The dust particles in the air--the atmosphere
of reality---great job Yem-man!
M-C
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There is something to being understood. That's why so many of us stay on AP. We find a little group that understands and accepts us. Not much different in a one-on-one relationship. It's nice when someone understands the quirks that make us tick. Thanks.
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I remember reading a column or letter
years and years ago---probably Ann Landers
or Irma Bombeck---about a woman
who spent all day washing
the kitchen windows, the curtains---drying,
ironing and rehanging---so proud, finally,
the shining gems, no streaks, perfection.
When her husband came home all he could
see was the kids' toys all over, lunch dishes
still in the sink---could not even see the shining
window--her accomplishment! -
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Or what he didn't know -- she had murdered the milk man earlier that day and had to meticulously get rid of all the blood stains! Sorry, too early for Shocking Tale Of Horror! this morning I guess, lol
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Aaaaggghhhhh!
Have a good day!!!
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That is a cool thing you mentioned . I guess it can be viewed two ways: That she messed with the less obvious things, or that he didn't understand or appreciate her meticulous side, not seeing how much work she put into each aspect of her cleaning. Ah, we both know she has some weird obsession on her walls, lol
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It's something one puts off--and then one day
decides--to do it or else--and with small children
around to tend to, waiting till youngest naps before
ironing---it would have been a big accomplishment!!
Back in days when we still ironed!! -
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It's like that at work. Some days we just need to accomplish a more time consuming task and anyone that doesn't understand what we are doing will wonder what we did all day because there doesn't appear to be much work done. But some tasks are accomplished tediously and can't be rushed. So, same with the curtains and walls. The husband didn't understand the work involved.
I'm gone. Bye -
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Bye!
I hear that story almost every nite from my buddy--the
time-consuming job---not understood by others!
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I wanted to shout "Yay!"
"... quirks that make us tick."
Personality--Yemishness!!!!!
Super-great piece, Yem-man!
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We all have our own set of priorties but it's important to step outside our own realm to recognize and respect someone else's. Something to be mindful of that is easy to forget.
Nice work here Roy.
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Who said my name was Roy? You know darned well it's Percival! And don't call me Percy!
What can I say? I like to play at useless stuff (like writing stories) and leave practical stuff like washing dishes for later. It helps to have an enabler.
Feel like drying for me later?
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The dishes told me they like chillin on the drying rack and prefer when you put them away. Far be it from me to not abide by the wishes.
The dust is another story. I think I'm going to sneeze.
*ahhh choo* Got a tissue?
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Tissue? Use your sleeve!
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Nevermind, I found a Celtics jersey to use.
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That would be funny if the Knicks or Nets actually played basketball.
Thanks for reminding me, they are on in a couple hours.
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It was VERY funny and you know it.
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This is a great story. I think you show the connection between the couple extremely well here, the similarity, that level of understanding. However she might want to argue the point of excluding the article "The" when it comes at the beginning of the title, knowing, of course, that it is the customary way of doing this, but finding it not quite tidy enough
Having said that, there also needs to be a logical order – is there a section for reference books? And she might want a separate shelf for foreign language books. I’m sure she is sorry to mess up his system
“Fair enough,” now who would ever say something daft like that, it’s just silly
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First, it's a wonderful comment. Second, the "The" issue -- he doesn't even practice what he preaches, go look at Webs, he has his poems and stories alphabetized with the "The." So he's just a bag of wind!"
Reference books? Of course! He has a lot of books about writers, encyclopedias etc. And I guess she has her Egyptian books.
I think they might need his and hers bookshelves to avoid arguments. lol
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