Biblio P.I. Day 7 SOLC 23

[Collection Jules Beau. Photographie sportive] : T. 33. Années 1906 et 1907 / Jules Beau : F. 41. [Major Taylor];

Place: Public Library
Time: Sunday, 1 pm

I circled the perimeter of the stacks three times and finally decided on the older gentleman in the corner on his computer. It was a bit out of the way, so if we had a discussion, we wouldn’t be overly annoying to the other patrons.

When I asked if I could ask him a few questions about reading and books, he said, “I don’t know if I’ll be much help.” His demeanor was not welcoming. I felt I had made a mistake in my selection of today’s subject. Not one to back down easily, I continued on with my line of questioning. “Do you have a favorite book?” He did not. He worded his next few comments so strangely, “She liked reading books,” he muttered. “I’d drive her over to little libraries and she’d swap out books.” I didn’t pressure about who ‘she’ was as I sensed this might cause some hysteria on his part.

There was a moment’s silence and a contemplative look on his face. “There are two books I read recently. I got them at the library book sale.” He went on to tell me about an autobiography by “Major” Taylor. Marshall “Major” Taylor is a Black athlete and cycling legend who was one of the greatest bicyclists of his era, setting numerous world records and winning a World Championship and multiple national championships–all while battling racism throughout his career from the late 1800s to early 1900s (information from the internet.) This lead to a conversation about biking and that he purchases bike parts from ebay. He was waiting on the results from an auction as we were talking.

The other book he mentioned was an autobiography about Johnny Mercer. A famous song writer known for “Moon River“, “Days of Wine and Roses“, “Autumn Leaves“, and “Hooray for Hollywood“. 

He warmed up after describing these books and began talking about his reading history. He really didn’t have one; he was a systems analysist for a major banking corporation in Chicago and had been retired for quite some time. He had thought about the spokes of a bicycle being a trigonometry problem and he had considered writing a book on the subject. His area of expertise was in math, not reading. He continued to talk about his working history and told many personal anecdotes.

I was starting to sweat in my winter jacket from standing there for quite a while. I reasoned with myself that this is part of the price I deserved to pay in exchange for personal information. A few anecdotes later, I said I really had to go. I quickly exited and went to my car immediately, hoping I hadn’t involved myself in a situation that could end up dangerous.

My sense of the situation was that he was a lonely retired man who may either be at the beginning stages of Alzheimers or maybe he had a slight mental health issue. However, from my experiences with other older people who are lonely, his behavior seemed mostly typical. I imagine that when my career is over and many of my current relationships have disappeared into the ether, then I would want someone to listen to me and my stories. Otherwise, if someone were to look at my shell of a body without hearing my stories, it would seem like I was never seen, that I was no longer viable.

My subject said, “They’re naming a park in Chicago after “Major” Taylor. Can you imagine? He was a World Champion in bicycling, but he couldn’t compete in the U.S. because he was black.”

I know this is weird to say, but by interviewing random people it makes them more real to me. It is making more empathic for everyone I see. Sometimes it seems that we pass people all the time wherever we go and it feels like they are extras on the movie set of our lives. By stopping and talking, it makes my life richer and more vibrant. It is not easy for an introvert to do this. It takes some energy away from me, but then, later, I find it make me whole.