Wipe-Out

Wipe-Out is the title of an old instrumental (guitars and drums mostly) rock'n'roll song. There were no lyrics, just someone saying Wipe-Out!, in a high falsetto voice every once in awhile. The term Wipe-out came from surfing (standing up on a fiberglass board while riding big waves in the ocean). When someone was knocked off there board by the wave, or fell off, it was called a wipe-out. We also use the expression wiped-out to mean we are physically and mentally exhausted, which is what happened to me by Sunday morning. As a few of you may know, my apartment has books everywhere. Literally. I'm not kidding. So, last week, starting on Wednesday afternoon, besides keeping my usual schedule, I started boxing up books to take to my favorite used bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island, Cellar Stories. By Friday night I had eleven boxes of books. Unbelievable. And these were just the books I either no longer was interested in reading, or I knew I would never re-read, and also would be too much work to sell on ebay for the value I would get for them. Anyway, Saturday morning I loaded up the car, and drove them down to Providence. Luckily, Mike, who owns Cellar Stories, was able to loan me a few of his employees to help unload the car. Which my poor back and shoulders greatly appreciated. And then, of course, I spent some time wandering around that wonderful bookstore, and bought some more books. After all, it was Cellar Stories annual Spring Sale. The sad part is, those eleven boxes of books barely put a dent in all the books I have. I'm going to need a couple of hundred more years if I plan on reading everything I have. Sad, but true. I just love books. Maybe too much. After all that, I spent the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday laying on the couch moaning and groaning. But I got no sympathy from Edgar, who still insisted on getting his head rubbed as often as possible. I'm almost recovered now. I did go out jogging this morning, and went to the Post Office and the grocery store. And now, I am going back to a reclining position on the couch, and plan on only moving for an emergency. And it better be a really big emergency. Enjoy, my friends!