Insert Ferris Bueller Quote Here

For the first time in a long while, I found myself enjoying a day where I didn't have a single commitment on the calendar. After the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks, I haven't been happier to just do my "Seinfeld"-ian thing, which was absolutely nothing.

I woke up late, showered, answered a few e-mails, got my morning coffee and brunch at the Mudspot, and then debated going to an early afternoon showing of "The Departed". (An aside: The order of showering and the answering of e-mails might actually have been reversed, but I don't want to give you the mental image of me typing an e-mail in my boxers. Ha, happy Monday!)

But -- after deciding to save the flick for another day -- I was able to indulge in one of the simplest joys, to spend an afternoon perusing the Strand Bookstore, a voluminous used bookstore just below Union Square (16 miles of books!). Usually, I do a "quick hit" when I'm in there, looking at the newest releases, the bestsellers on the front table and, my personal favorite, the mystery cart. For those who are frequent visitors to the Strand and mystery fanatics, they probably know about it-- it's located towards the back on the main floor, a single cart loaded with paperback mysteries, teeming with authors like Chandler, Hammett, Leonard, Lehane and the like. For a mystery lover like myself, it's a must-visit.

But today I did more than hit up those three quick areas. I perused the store from top to bottom. And in doing so, I picked up a book I haven't put down since I started typing this-- Luis Alberto Urrea's "The Devil's Highway". A true tale, it tells the story of 26 Mexican men who scrambled across the border in 2001 and into a harsh and deadly area of the Arizona desert; only 12 made it across. It's a heartbreaking and amazing work.

And finding a treasure like this is what a nothing day is all about.