Mom

I have spent the last few days gathering up my strength to put this entry out, as i continue to realize my emotions are very close to the surface still. Mom died October 5th, well really the 4th, but declared on the 5th. This morning i went to mail her application for copies of the death certificate and actually came back to work and smiled, despite being close to tears when in front of incompetent service people. I turned into her. Me at the post office, "I need stamps for this envelope-it has to be self addressed and there will be 10 pieces of paper in it." "Post office worker' "I can't tell you that-it needs to be weighed". Me, "Well, i can't really weigh it, can i??? There are no papers in there yet." "How bout you put a slew of stamps on there and call it a day?"

Yeah, they say she is always with you. Those moments make this true. I heard her yelling after Ben Carson said the people of Pompeii should have run away from the lava and they could have saved themselves. I opened a package that contained special scissors to assist you in opening a package, yet you can't open the package to get to the scissors. She purposely left the package closed. I smiled.

The thought of not being able to pick up the phone everyday is overwelmingly sad. I need to tell her how Andrew's job interview went. Or Maddie's experience with 3D printing. Or just to bitch about neighbors who ask the board to do impossible things. Or to simply help me deal with this grief and sadness. She was my go to person for everything. She was my best friend, my confidant, my biggest supporter. It's a bitch to lose your mother.

I try to focus on the happy memories. her quirky habits-she had plastic boxes and pretty hat boxes for everything. We found her box of ornaments for her Queen Elizabeth tree she put up in the dining room every year. And I don't know what we will do at Thanksgiving-no one has the celery salad recipe. Nor will we be able to share her silliness when we played Quelf. I have to find that video of her acting like a whale.

So, this might not be the last of my entries of Mom. But this is all the strength I have for today. I look forward to an afternoon of celebration for her lust of life, her incredible humor, her intelligence, and telling it like it is. Especially on the streets of New York.

I love you Mom.

library stories

NEAR BEER???

At approximately 3:00 Meg reported to me that there was a Solo Cup sitting on the grate by the entrance with a suspicious liquid in it. I walked over and the red solo cup was filled to the brim with a yellow foamy liquid...either urine or beer. I put on gloves and took it into the bathroom to dispose of it. The smell indicated it was beer. I poured it down the toilet and threw the Solo cup into the trash.

A few minutes later the patron checked out his items and asked the circ staff what had happened to his cup. They told him it had been disposed of, as alcoholic beverages were not allowed in the library. Mr P. became very upset and I was asked to come out and speak to him. I reiterated that alcoholic beverages were not allowed in the library and neither were uncovered cups. He asked for his cup back and I told him that it had been disposed of. He got very belligerent with me at this point and said that the cup contained "near beer" and that it was my responsibility to go to the liquor store and replace it. I informed him that I have no way of telling if something is "near" or "real" beer and that it was still an uncovered container in the library. At this point he started yelling at me directly, said "Fuck You" and I asked him to leave. He refused to leave and Don dialed 911. he kept disputing the rules and I asked Leslie to print a copy of the library Rules and Regulations for him. I told Mr P. I would highlight the rules he had broken and he needed to leave.

Mr P. said "You can highlight my ass!" and left. A few minutes later Officer Connor responded. He had seen Mr Pastor walking down the street and asked if we wanted him brought back to the library. We said no. Officer Connor left to speak with him.

Cowboy stops by the library


At approximately 2:20, a cowboy named Doc stopped off at the library during his excursion towards downtown on West St. When we discovered his presence, he had hitched his two horses to a light post on the front lawn. A Capital reporter was interviewing him and several people were gathering and taking photos. Several staff went to check it out – it was very exciting! I was on the desk and asked for help from Kate and Heather. They went out to observe. A few minutes later, I noticed Heather at the main doors telling Mr. Mishler that he couldn’t leave his horses unattended. Mr. Mishler started asking staff if they would stay outside and watch them for him and was told that we can’t do that for him. Mr. Mishler said he would find someone to watch his horses because he wanted to come in for a minute to check Facebook.

I went inside to phone Dana and she gave me guidance on asking him to leave the grounds. We could allow him to complete the interview, but then he would need to leave because the horses were blocking the path to the library and we had concerns about safety of library customers. It turns out that while we were on the phone, he had successfully found a volunteer to watch the horses and came inside and briefly used the computer. By the time Kate, Heather, Evelyn and I returned, he was back outside, finishing up with the Capital Reporter. He mounted and rode off down West St. As he was leaving, Heather said “Thank you for stopping by” and he responded “Sorry for breaking the rules, but we need to keep our hearts open and let go of our fear.”


Intoxicated Half Naked Man

On Monday, Sept. 21st., at approx. 3:23 pm a gentleman came up to me to tell me there was a man on our property showing his genitals. I went outside and saw this for myself. I phoned 911 and a policewoman and then 3 more officers came out to this police call. While I was waiting for the police to come, a father was going to have a chat with the disoriented man and I explained to him that I had called police and politely advised him that he might just want to let the police handle the situation, so he listened and left. The middle school age children approx. 7 - 8 of them came down the small path through Rose's parking lot to our parking lot like they do everyday after school. The intoxicated man dropped his pants and was yelling at the children, who inturn started screaming. Another gentleman who saw the nudity came and stood with me, while waiting for police to come. The policeman had mentioned that the intoxicated man will probably be banned for this incident from school, library areas. Police took the intoxicated half naked man in handcuffs with them. I and the other gentleman as witnesses, may be called to court for this man's indecent exposure. The half naked man's name is Wilson.