Ringing PacBell on Its Rare Phone Books

Old telephone books would make great building material. After the last mass-delivery date, I looked down the alley and saw at least four or five old directories stashed next to each trash bin and wished I had the time to collect a few truckloads of them.

Uniform in size, telephone books could be laid in interlocking rows like bricks and turned to make walls either 9 or 11 inches thick.

Each book could be sloshed in water, which would set it into a rigid block. Or, just as easily, the books could be dipped in a thin varnish solution, which would dry rigid and waterproof.

The page-edge sides could be on the outside for a uniform yellow building, or the backsides out for a more colorful design.

Where else could you get solid but relatively lightweight building material, available on schedule, ready-shaped and free for the picking up?

LAWRENCE S. GURNEY

Santa Monica