Farewell to Second Look Books

In 2001, when we decided to move from northern Virginia to a semirural county in southern Maryland, I had some concerns. Sure, on the positive side the school system was one of the best in the state (we had a 2 year old at the time), our new home sat on a big, nicely wooded lot, the community was nice, and we were near the town center, so we had quick access to grocery stores and various small shops and eateries. All of this was great. But I had one critical concern: What about a bookstore? I mean this was a serious concern for me. Being a guy who enjoys books I was hoping I’d have somewhere near-by to satisfy my desire to browse, thumb pages, and read bits of prose in search of a good book.

(Photo by Gary Deshotel)

Well, I got lucky. Not long after we moved in, while shopping in the town of Prince Frederick, not far from our new home, I came across a used bookstore. There, in big letters, was the sign: “BOOKS.”

Just a tad bit excited about my find, I immediately headed over to check it out. Now, having a used bookstore is great, but the real test is the owner’s inventory preferences.

I couldn’t have been more pleased. The inside of Second Look Books was a charming and quaint little bookshop with a large selection of books from a broad range of genres. As it would be for years to come, a perfect place to spend a half hour browsing while my lovely wife bargain shopped at other stores.

Second Look Books, center section (Photo by Daniel Cleary)

The bookshop was owned by Richard and Liz. Two very nice people who know their books and are just great people to chat with. Over the years my wife and I got to know them pretty well and enjoyed a number of conversations about books and kids and various other topics. Their bookshop was a valuable part of our community. I have dozens of books I’ve bought from them over the years and, more importantly, a lot of great memories from their charming little bookshop.

Well, this past October, after about 3 decades in business, they closed Second Look Books. We were, of course, saddened by the news. Their children are grown and doing very well and it was time for them to move on to other projects in life.

My wife and I stopped by after the store had closed down and Rich and Liz were cleaning up and tearing down shelves. We talked for a while and raised a toast (we brought wine) to them and to the fond memories of Second Look Books.

“the true meaning of Christmas lies…

The Polar Express — “The North Pole!”

Like so many of you, I’m sure, we watch a lot of Christmas classics during the season. Last night we watched the Polar Express. You know it’s amazing what you can learn when you’re not distracted by so many other things and actually paying full-time and attention to the entire movie! Of course the kids are typically glued to what’s happening. They’re taking it all in, and while younger children can’t usually tell us afterward exactly what the message of the movie was, they do know how it made them feel…which, of course, is what all good Art is ultimately about—affecting our feelings (our heart), and thus hopefully our perspective…and from that flows our behavior and actions.

The Polar Express is about faith and the power of imagination, and how these can sustain each of us in a world where magic is still possible, in a world where we can still believe in a deeper, more connected meaning to our lives and the world around us. The Christmas season is reminder that it’s up to each of us to keep and sustain this faith.

“Just remember,” Santa said, “the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.”

“the cause…we never faltered in defending”

Here, without contemplating consequences, before High Heaven, and in the face of the world, I swear eternal fidelity, to the just cause, as I deem it, of the land of my life, my liberty and my love—And who, that thinks with me, will not fearlessly adopt the oath that I take. Let none falter, who thinks he is right, and we may succeed. But, if after all, we shall fail, be it so—We still shall have the proud consolation of saying to our conscience, and to the departed shade of our country’s freedom, that the cause approved of our judgement, and adored of our hearts, in disaster, in chains, in torture, in death, we never faltered in defending.

— Abraham Lincoln

Amen.

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Fitzgerald’s lament

F. Scott Fitzgerald:

Once one is caught up into the material world not one person in ten thousand finds the time to form literary taste, to examine the validity of philosophic concepts for himself, or to form what, for lack of a better phrase, I might call the wise and tragic sense of life. By this I mean the thing that lies behind all great careers, from Shakespeare’s to Abraham Lincoln’s, and as far back as there are books to read — the sense that life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat, and that the redeeming things are not “happiness and pleasure” but the deeper satisfactions that come out of struggle.