A to Z 2026 - N - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures

“Oh my gosh,” she said to Michelangelo, “humans love pockets. And they love stuffing things in them. By far my favorite thing to put in them is notebooks. Notebooks come in all sizes, too, of course, so here I’m talking the small ones, and there’s a large variety of even those to choose from. 

“Like everyone humans had a choice, when their civilizations matured, whether they wanted to continue the art of physically writing, and some of them decided to keep the art of it alive, not because they believed in beautiful handwriting; if anything the ones who do have the worst forms of it. Doesn’t matter!

“I find myself jotting down every idea I have, everything I think will be useful to remember. I’ve filled whole series of notebooks, since I settled into the practice, since I settled among them. Sometimes I just doodle in them, and of course there are doodles of you! I can’t help it. You have a notebook and suddenly you’re compelled to fill it.

“Not all notebooks are created equal. Some that look like they’re a good idea start falling apart at such a rapid rate you have to stop using them, but you buy cheap and you get cheap. Everyone likes to argue, well, then buy the expensive ones, but then the expensive ones tend to be a little bulky, right? So you tend to cheap and then have to contend with the consequences.

“Sometimes they can begin to feel like a diary, a journal. I date every entry, and sometimes the note really is just a reminder of how I was feeling in a given moment. I know the day I realized Shelby, over there, was eavesdropping, there’s a note for that. I don’t mean to complain, since I really like her. She’s obviously an exile. Still hasn’t remotely made peace with it. Maybe she never will. We all have our egos. Her culture built up one as a matter of course. It’s not her fault. I’d certainly like to find out her story. 

“This notebook is filled with ideas about what we can talk about. I hope I’m not shattering any of your illusions when I say these little sessions of ours have been intended to draw her out. I sometimes think we’ve been too formal about all this. But then I see it working. 

“But where it all leads…We’ll see. She’s a good person. I suppose the biggest fault of my kind is that despite every reason to believe we’re surrounded by enemies we still insist on seeing the good in others. Or at least trying to foster it.

“Well.”