Library chapters...

As seen in our libraries.....

When I got to work on Thursday morning there was a possum in a trap cage on the sidewalk in front of the front doors. We don't know if the cage was set and the possum just walked into it or if someone put the possum there in the cage. (The area is not visible on the surveillance video.) I called AA County Animal Control and they referred me to DNR so I called them but they were on the other line so I left a message. (They never called me back.) At about 10:30 we saw a possum out back (a man was trying to feed him) so we looked and determined that someone had let the possum out of the cage. No one ever came to retrieve the trap cage so we disposed of it.

Ok..I thought this was a bit unusual (a day in the life), but when I read there was a man FEEDING the possum...what the hell?



Around 12:35 pm, a patron reported that there was a woman passed out on the floor in the restroom. Ms Angela Thompson (PZ 21997063179008) was found slumped over on the floor over a McDonald’s food bag. She did not respond to me after several attempts, so Peggy Levee called 911. In the interim, she came finally came around and was able to get up and leave the restroom, she then attempted to leave the building. She was very unstable on her feet and her speech was slurred making it difficult to understand her. Police/Fire arrived and spoke with her – she refused medical treatment. She told the officers that after her meth treatment each morning her boyfriend drops her off at the library to look for jobs. The officers searched her and found no evidence of drugs in her possession.

I think maybe McDonalds might be the culprit.

Patron asks strange questions
Just before 11:00am, Ms. Howell returned to the Adult Information Desk and started asking questions about the library’s security video footage and how one would go about getting the footage. Ms. Dean was immediately on guard and probed for information on what Ms. Howell was looking for and for what date. Ms. Howell implied that it was a while ago, and Ms. Dean explained that we would not have footage from that long ago.

Ms. Howell then took the conversation in several strange directions. She talked about bad police officers who are dangerous and violent. She mentioned her children’s father, and seemed to indicate that there was an incident where the father was at the library with the children. She pointed around the building, as if the incident happened at WCO. She also told of an incident in the parking lot when her husband or boyfriend’s car got lipstick on it. Ms. Dean asked if they talked to library staff at the time of the incident, and Ms. Howell said no because it was his responsibility. Ms. Howell went back to the questions about subpoenas for video footage several times during the conversation, which lasted about ten minutes. She backed away from the desk several times during the conversation, but then would come back. Ms. Dean tried to determine what Ms. Howell wanted, but was unsuccessful. Ms. Dean offered several times to have her talk to the Branch Manager, but she didn’t want to. Ms. Howell seemed to know who I was, since she described me, but did not know my name until Ms. Dean gave it to her. I arrived at the Adult Information Desk at 11:00am. Shortly after that, Ms. Howell agreed to talk to me.

What is the story about the lipstick on the car? Did someone draw a pic? Kiss the car?

holiday insanity

After my eventful weekend in Greenville SC enjoying good comapny and alot of football, its time to give some thought about the holidays. More directly, Christmas. Shopping is not my thing. I do lots of it online. What was recently brought to my attention was the Williams Sonoma catalog, which, truthfully, are for the folks who are in the 2% income bracket. But what fun it is to read---and think people might actually purchase these items...

Item #02-741009 Callie's Charleston Biscuits

Williams-Sonoma says: "Flaky, buttery, and made by hand by celebrated caterer Callie White."

Price:$72 (set of 24)

Now, really. 72.00. For biscuits. At Popeye's, the biscuit comes free with your order. At Williams-Sonoma, it costs you the rough equivalent of your phone bill. How good could these biscuits possibly be? There's a threshold past which biscuits cannot improve. Even the best goddamn biscuit in the world isn't $72 better than a Popeye's biscuit. Unless that biscuit can make you teleport.

Item #02-2719136 Chef'n Panini Spatula
19.95


Williams-Sonoma says: "Wide platform with a slot simplifies slicing then lifting even the largest sandwiches."

OMG....my sandwich is sooooo huge!! I can't possibly lift it using only my hands or a common spatula. If only someone out there would invent a unique tool that would allow me to lift my panini and then transfer it to a plate. I'm not just gonna pick it up myself, like a DOG. There's hot gruyere in that sandwich! It could burn.

Item #02-410423 Assumption Abbey Fruitcake
39.95


Williams-Sonoma says: "Baked by trappist monks at a monastery in the Missouri Ozarks. Order early. Supply is limited."

Okay...this all wrong on all kinds of levels.There are trappist monks in the Ozarks? Do they brew artisanal meth? I don't trust fruitcake to begin with. I sure as hell am not trusting fruitcake that comes from a redneck friar. They'll swap out uppers for candied fruit. And yet, supply is limited. Apparently, the market for $40 Ozark fruitcake is ENORMOUS. White women from Bridgehampton ALL THE WAY to Westhampton rely on the monks to deliver their holiday fruitcake every year. In Arkansas no doubt.

Item #02-9691155 Found Grain Sack Stocking
39.95

Williams-Sonoma says: "NEW & EXCLUSIVE. Crafted from 70-year-old Hungarian grain sacks made of burlap and linen. Made in Hungary."

40.00 for a sack??? Oh, wait, its a HUNGARIAN sack.

Where's my Walmart catalog??????

Superstorm no more

Yep...the big one was brewin. A superstorm. Frankenstorm. There was quite a roar of media information since Monday about this one..and I admit, I was caught up in the terror of it all. They were reporting they have never seen anything like it...it was the perfect storm..one that will go down in the history books. A storm of the century. Two unusual things that do not normally happen, happened. Instead of behaving like a good hurricane and heading out to sea, Sandy proved to be a juvenile delinquent. She is took a sharp left hand turn into NJ where she hooked up with a rather large system who prefers to remain anonymous that dropped down on us from Canada.
(Is there anything good that comes out of Canada?) Romantic sparks flew as Sandy and Storm Doe partied like there's no tomorrow and well, this was one party no one wanted to host.

Our governor spoke on Sunday to tell us to stay home. People WILL be killed. If you are asked to evacuate, don't hesitiate..get out. Jim Cantori from the Weather Channel also shared his thoughts...and we in Maryland were glad he was not broadcasting in Ocean City or Cambridge cause when Jim is at your door, you are in deep shit.

Don't get me wrong. It was a terrible storm-Maryland's eastern shore got most of the damage. And quiet Western Maryland just started ski season 2 months early with 2 feet of snow. But nothing compared to New Jersey and New York. Sandy and storm Doe took their party to Atlantic City...guess you can't blame them. But it brought the jersey shore to it's knees..and may never be the same again. Here's the question people keep asking...is this a new normal? Are superstorms an annual occurance now? Maybe it time to move to the mountains.