I'm a writer and a bibliophile. My husband and I have upwards of 10,000 books in our collection. Every few months, we do our "rounds." We visit the local used bookstores and see if they got anything new in. We only do it every few months, because usually the stock is pretty stagnant, and we walk out disappointed.
Last week, we visited one of the used bookstores on our "rounds." We volunteer for a non-profit global poverty organization called RESULTS, so when I saw a first edition of Jeffrey Sachs "The End of Poverty," I snapped it up. I did notice that it was signed and inscribed by Sachs, but I didn't think much of it. That was an added bonus, but not a big deal, as modern author signatures are not that rare.
Later that day, I was reading a book when my husband walked in the room with "The End of Poverty" and told me "I wasn't going to believe this." I made a few guesses as to what he was talking about. Did one of our friends from RESULTS happen to be pictured in the book? That's when he handed me the book and told me to look again at the signature and inscription. It was signed "to Angelina," and it was thanking her for "her efforts for the world's poor and dispossessed." There were lots of Angelinas in the world. But it wasn't just any Angelina, the book was the personal copy of Angelina Jolie.
To make the story even stranger, tucked inside the book was a piece of stationary from the office of Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. There was a signed note to Angelina from the Senator that said he hoped she would enjoy the enclosed. But stranger yet were the two candid, original photographs tucked inside. Pictured in photo one was Angelina Jolie with Senator Leahy and in photo two Angelina Jolie with Senator Leahy's wife Marcelle. The photos were taken in early 2005 at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. So, not only had we found Angelina Jolie's copy of "The End of Poverty", we had found a note to her from Senator Leahy AND two original, candid photographs of her at an important world event.
But many questions remain. How did these personal items of Angelina Jolie end up in a used bookstore in Atlanta, GA? It seems very unlikely she would give the book away, as Jeffrey Sachs is a friend of hers and the photos are originals of her. If she didn't give it away, did she lose it? If so, how? And in Atlanta? The whole thing is a great big mystery and certainly this is the weirdest thing I've ever found in my used bookstore adventures.
So, Angelina, if you're out there, and you come across this post, I want you to know that I have your book and photographs. I'm sure you want them back, so just let me know, and I will return them. And since we do volunteer for the same causes, I'm going to throw it out there--it'd be really cool to meet you.
; - )
