Si no el presente, amigo

It’s impossible to visit Portland without stopping at Powell’s Bookstore , which is where I left a couple of hours ago. The damage: $80 and change. I didn’t need the books I purchased. I have so many at home already that I can’t fit them on bookshelves that line the walls of two rooms and one along a hallway. But that didn’t stop me. I’m powerless in the lure of literacy.

The difference is that in years past I would have bought nothing but literature. Of the books that I ended up with today, only one fits that description: six David Sedaris pieces collected under the title “Holidays on Ice.” Three others are language-oriented: two Spanish, including a nonfiction study by journalist Jorge Ramos titled “La Ola Latina: Cﾗmo los Hispanos Estﾇn Transformando la Polﾒtica en los Estados Unidos”; and an Italian grammar text. The other is media-themed: David T.Z. Mindich’s “ Tuned Out : Why Americans Under 40 Don’t Follow the News.”

Here’s what I’ve learned so far: In 2002, the number of latinos in the U.S. surpassed the number of African-Americans. By 2015, the number of latinos will surpass the number of Anglo-Americans. By 2050, Anglo-Americans will be a distinct minority.

So you can see why I’m trying to learn castellaﾖo. Es el idioma del futuro.