Traveling Through Time – Forgotten Messages

There is something incredibly captivating about the smell and feel of old books. The pages are slightly tanned and silky smooth from the years of use. The scent of the pages, ink and dust swirl together to carry the reader back in time. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming rather than reading when I am holding an old book. I can’t help but wonder who else has held this book, read the same story, and how did it apply to their life?

I few years ago I started a new tradition. I was in a used book shop in Washington, DC, engulfed in a story about a book of adventure from the late 1800’s when I came to a page that had a personal note written from one friend to another. From how faded the ink was I am sure it was written decades ago. It was that faint bit of ink that inspired me to start a traveling book collection of my own. Every trip I have taken since, I have made it a point to visit a flea market, yard sale or book store in search of the next addition to my collection. I add a personal touch to each book by writing a special note somewhere in the book for future generations to discover. I hope that someday, another young traveler will stumble across a piece of my collection and travel back in their mind to discover a world as it existed long before them.