To my favorite Knot Wit,

Just as in life

Learn to hold fast to that which you don't want to lose, let slip that which you can afford to,

& whip all your loose ends into some kind of order.

Love,

Mom

That's what I read when I opened the book What Knot (150 different knots) by Geoffery Budworth & Richard Hopkins. It was a previously owned book, one I purchased at a library book sale. It's not the author's dedication but a handwritten inscription written by someone I've not met but want to know. Whoever she is, I've never looked at the knots the same, and I continue to marvel at her wisdom.

Since that day, I've been on a pilgrimage for hand-written inscriptions, primarily found in books I find in used books stores, sometimes from more familiar shelves.

I was admiring a beautiful edition of Carl Sandburg's Early Moon when I realized what a prized possession it was. The inscription reads -

Awarded to J--- F---,

Annual Declamation Contest,

High Hill School

May 1981

Kathleen Ryerson, Principal

Robert Wolf, Principal

1981 was a time when we awarded books to those who excelled rather than trophies for showing up. Remember those days? I do.

I don't know what became of the young woman so adept at speaking with clarity, emotion, and persuasiveness. As for Principal Kathleen Ryerson, there is an elementary school in Madison named after her.

An epigraph from the author is meant to set the tone for the reader and suggest its theme. Inscriptions are not so different; what one person writes to another in a chosen book can be the window into the tone and theme of their relationship.

Here is a love story in six words, nearly 95 years old, found in the book Sailing Alone Around the World, by Captain Joshua Slocum.

For both of us

from

me

November, 1930

Evidently, they were passionate about the sea but not about going it alone.

A budding romance is found inside "Good Poems," selected by Garrison Keillor.

It's me.

Giving you a book of poems.

Really.

(see pg. 103)

On page 103, you will find The Changed Man by Robert Phillips

The poem concludes with the following lines:

"I'll greet enemies with a handshake, forgive debtors with a papal larges. It's all because

Of you. Because of you and me,

I've become a changed man."

This couple, I know, are still together.

What could possibly be found inside the book titled

Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair.

On the once-blank page is written –

Christmas 2020,

To G--,

Whose compassion and vision make the World a better place.

Love Mom

Whoever G. is, I know she is out there fighting the good fight- with her mother cheering her on. Thank you, G!

M.C. Escher, known for his mind-bending drawing combining reality and fantasy, saw the world like no other.

His book The Magic of M.C. Escher by J.L. Locker was bequeathed to another whose observations on life are a gift.

Dear C-,

To the boy who sees things.

Aunt M-

I know this nephew. He's my son. He does see things that others don't: a baby owl on a branch, a stray cat in the woods eating pizza, and rainbows before they arrive. Words don't come easily, but seeing things does.

Forty years ago, I still can recall the brisk September wind that stung my face on the day I met the incredibly talented photographer Annie Leibowitz. She gave me her time and eye contact, we even laughed. When I asked her to autograph her newly released book of photographs, she obliged in a manner I'd never seen before or since.

The revered Annie Lebowitz rolled her substantial hand in wet ink and imprinted it onto the blank page. Encircling the image of her hand are the words.

September, 1984 Minneapolis

For Lisa,

I couldn't say it any better…continue to look with your heart.

Annie Leibovitz

Flyleaf, that's what it is called - the blank page at the front of the book meant to protect the title page. The space may be blank, but it is full of possibilities. An inscription can celebrate, console, make light it may even leave an imprint on your heart. It all depends on how you fill the space.

If you have an inscription you would like to share please do so by emailing lisa@allennee.com. Nothing will be published without your consent.