Shortly before leaving San Diego, I decided to have a “treat yo self” kind of afternoon. That meant:
- having a cappuccino at the Pannikin in downtown La Jolla with all the cute umbrellas hanging around, and then
- walking next door to the D.G. Wills bookstore.
Inside the D.G. Wills bookstore. I’m looking out from the literature section.
The owner is D.G. Wills (or Dennis if you’re on a first name basis). The first time I met him he was watching a football game on an old analog TV with an antenna. I forget who played who, but it must have been important. He has something to say for just about any book I decide to get, which makes me wonder about how much reading he’s done over his lifetime. This time it was The Complete Essays of Montaigne, translated by Donald Frame.
“Thirty-seven years ago I challenged myself to read an essay from Montaigne each day. Then the phone rang.”
He didn’t challenge me to read an essay from Montaigne a day, but I’m going to pretend he did. 107 essays total sounds like a lot, but with titles like “Of Friendship”, “Of Smells”, and “Let Business Wait Till Tomorrow”, what’s not to look forward to?
All I know about Montaigne is that he's a French nobleman who fell off his horse during the 1500s, nearly died, and then took on a more irreverent approach to philosophy, writing, and life. He's been dead for centuries, *and* his thoughts on everyday matters are fun to read. Can the same be said for this blog? uhhh maybe if I have grandkids or something.