Turmoil at the Library! and, Photos from Around Town.
Here are some photographs from around town:
This weekend I went to the downtown library to browse the stacks. Two interesting things happened.:
First, I was in the women's restroom when a man walked in. In movies when a man enters the women's restroom all the women shriek hysterically. Usually there is one particularly gutsy lady (Usually a woman in her forties with a sassy personality and a no nonsense approach to life) who begins to swing at the male intruder with her purse. The man then shields himself from the blows as he depart out the door, walking backwards while stumbling over his shoelaces. In real life, no one batted an eye. I think what happened is without thinking, the guy walked in the ladies bathroom thinking it was the men's room. When he found himself among women, he thought "Well, I'm already here. Might as well commit."
Later on, I was on the eighth or ninth floor browsing through books when a heated argument broke the accustomed silence that all librarians work feverishly to cultivate in every library around the world. What I could gather from careful eavesdropping was that a man had been working on a very important document for several months all while using the libraries computers. He saved it in the library computer system under his own code so only he could get to it. But on this particular day, the document was missing. The angry man insisted a library employee was to blame. A very mild mannered librarian explained that he did not believe any library employee would do such a thing. The angry man said "Just because you wouldn't, doesn't mean nobody would!" The mild mannered librarian said "Nobody would have any motivation to steal your document." The angry man said "This is a conspiracy and I demand a thorough investigation into this affair!" The librarian, who probably chose his job because a love for the written word where all confrontations are constrained between the comforting pages of books, was obviously out of his league. He hustled off to find a more assertive co worker to assist him. Meanwhile, two other library patrons who had also been eavesdropping chimed in to offer their two cents. They basically told the angry guy that he is acting irrational and that nobody stole is document. The angry man wanted these two other men to mind their own business. Thus, a new argument ensued. Most arguments seem to go in loops with the same argumentative points being readdressed in different words. This is definitely how this argument was going until the angry man said "Wait! I found it." He had found the missing document that caused such an uproar! The angry man was actually quite humble and sheepish about the way he had behaved and apologized to all that were around him. The two men he'd been arguing with were not having it and did not accept his apology. The angry man said "I have to go apologize to the librarian!" and he rushed off. It was a much more dramatic day at the library than I had expected.
This weekend I went to the downtown library to browse the stacks. Two interesting things happened.:
First, I was in the women's restroom when a man walked in. In movies when a man enters the women's restroom all the women shriek hysterically. Usually there is one particularly gutsy lady (Usually a woman in her forties with a sassy personality and a no nonsense approach to life) who begins to swing at the male intruder with her purse. The man then shields himself from the blows as he depart out the door, walking backwards while stumbling over his shoelaces. In real life, no one batted an eye. I think what happened is without thinking, the guy walked in the ladies bathroom thinking it was the men's room. When he found himself among women, he thought "Well, I'm already here. Might as well commit."
Later on, I was on the eighth or ninth floor browsing through books when a heated argument broke the accustomed silence that all librarians work feverishly to cultivate in every library around the world. What I could gather from careful eavesdropping was that a man had been working on a very important document for several months all while using the libraries computers. He saved it in the library computer system under his own code so only he could get to it. But on this particular day, the document was missing. The angry man insisted a library employee was to blame. A very mild mannered librarian explained that he did not believe any library employee would do such a thing. The angry man said "Just because you wouldn't, doesn't mean nobody would!" The mild mannered librarian said "Nobody would have any motivation to steal your document." The angry man said "This is a conspiracy and I demand a thorough investigation into this affair!" The librarian, who probably chose his job because a love for the written word where all confrontations are constrained between the comforting pages of books, was obviously out of his league. He hustled off to find a more assertive co worker to assist him. Meanwhile, two other library patrons who had also been eavesdropping chimed in to offer their two cents. They basically told the angry guy that he is acting irrational and that nobody stole is document. The angry man wanted these two other men to mind their own business. Thus, a new argument ensued. Most arguments seem to go in loops with the same argumentative points being readdressed in different words. This is definitely how this argument was going until the angry man said "Wait! I found it." He had found the missing document that caused such an uproar! The angry man was actually quite humble and sheepish about the way he had behaved and apologized to all that were around him. The two men he'd been arguing with were not having it and did not accept his apology. The angry man said "I have to go apologize to the librarian!" and he rushed off. It was a much more dramatic day at the library than I had expected.