"The office was seldom swept and almost never scrubbed.

Some garden seeds that were lying on top of the bookcase had started to sprout and grow there, in the dust and dirt." (Dale Carnegie, Lincoln the Unknown, Forest Hills, N.Y.; Forest Hills Publishing Co., 1932, p.80)

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My office, on the other hand, is in fine order (there’s something about a Board of Director’s meeting that helps in getting the place under control).

The blurb above is about Abraham Lincoln. There’s more to it, plus some photos of the home office/study of James D. Bales, longtime prof. at Harding, here: http://www.jonbales.com/family/Office/Office.htm

When Laura comments about my study at home, I remind her of Bales’ book house. That’s right, an entire house: next door, backyard, I forget, but he had an entire house. Actually Laura is very gracious and understanding. She has a collecting bent of her own (holiday plates among other things). And our children do very well. I’ve got a few books with crayon scribbles in them, but they are not from my children. Having plenty of books of their own keeps them well-occupied. It also helps that one of our house rules is that Dad’s books are not toys. Another is no jumping in Dad’s study. Laura is afraid the books on top of the shelves will fall off, not a totally unfounded fear.

I’ll post a couple photos of my own when I can get around to it. I may even submit one to this site: http://yourhomelibrary.wordpress.com/