have strange one-minute conversations with a SunRail ambassador (another word for the station agent who helps clueless commuters find their ways on and off the trains). I knew her before I retired. And now that I am, I still ride up to my happy bicycling grounds on the north side of town by train. When my train pulls into her station, I pop my head out the door and there she is – we have a minute to chat about books we are reading and then slam goes the doors and off I’m transported.

Heard an interesting one from her the other day – she was walking along with a young woman with an Oriental cast to her. I poked out, she bid her friend goodbye and turned to me. “I’ve got to read a book called Berlin Alexanderplatz.” When I asked why, she (quickly – clock running) told me how she talked books a lot with the girl who’d just passed, and how that was her favorite book. Then I found out how she knew that.

The woman had that title tattooed across her chest.

Really?

Wow.

That’s a commitment to a book, I suppose. If you find a book that moves you so much you get a tattoo honoring it means it must be the deal for you. And this girl wasn’t inked up. Maybe she had a turtle or a moon somewhere on her body, but the book title was apparently noticeable enough to start a conversation.

So, yes, I guess that shows how much a given book means to someone. But two thoughts come to mind.

One: What happens if she finds a book she loves even more?

And two: I wonder if there is someone with “Early ReTyrement” tattooed across their chest?

>>>MAYBE ONE OF MY BOOKS WILL END UP INKED TO YOUR SKIN. CHECK THEM OUT HERE<<<

P.S. I have the book on order from the library. Watch for the review in a couple of weeks (once I get and read it)!