I’ve been more productive than expected at my local Connecticut libraries these past two weeks. I’m up from Florida visiting mom, and since I work remotely, I might as well continue working while I’m here. I can’t work at her place, so the only other option is the library.
I’m fortunate to have an excellent, peaceful library nearby, and it’s big with lots of places to work. It is the most extensive library I’ve seen in the area and the most accessible. Traffic is not bad, there’s plenty of parking, and there aren’t many people who use it.
I’m in a senior-dominant area, so the clientele at the library is favorable to getting work done. Most patrons still observe quiet in a library like in their childhood, and they aren’t big on using their phones. Perfect!
I can’t, however, imagine a day of going to a library and just reading. People still do that. I see that the newspaper and magazine area is a big hit here. Poor Emily at the Reference Desk is very thorough, but if she doesn’t get those newspapers on the display case first thing, those seniors are coming for her, and they want answers.
One thing I don’t like to do is sit in the same place each day, as I don’t want to be noticed as the guy working every day doing something on his laptop. Nobody wants to be that guy: He must be a wannabe scriptwriter.
"Yeah, I’ve got this thing in the works for Sean Penn’s brother, and Disney’s looking at….”
Whatever dude!
In a library of seniors, you get some whistlers, a lot of coughers, grunters, sneezers, and throat-clearers, which comes with the territory. They are all carrying their own linen handkerchiefs, so they’re considerate.
One thing I’m careful not to do is to arrive right when the doors open. Nothing reeks of a boring lifestyle more than the guy waiting for the library to open. The only thing worse is the guy waiting for the liquor store to open.
All that said, I’m glad I was only here for a few weeks because then I’d get a rep as the guy that hangs around the library, which I may already have. But it’s time to go now, and I’m so glad we’re had this time together - just to have a laugh or sing a song. Seems we just get started, and before you know it, comes the time we have to say ‘so long.’
It’s official. I’m an old guy hanging out in the library. Somebody get me a root beer. What do you mean you don’t have it? Alright, I’ll take a grape soda. Do you have any Mallomars?
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