Odd reversal of shushing
It’s very warm in the library this evening. Our air conditioning is out *again*, but our custodial staff has been excellent about keeping us as comfortable as possible with rented portable units, and keeping us posted on the status of the fix (the town is in charge of that bit). Currently, it’s 86.5 degrees and humid here at the Information Desk, but somehow it’s all relatively tolerable. (We’re closing tomorrow, due to the predicted severe heat.)
With the heat comes a certain level of general insanity. Patrons, staff, computers, everything just goes a bit wonky, slightly askew, or all-out mental. The staff is ever courteous and patient, and we all end up being a bit more entertaining than usual. Not a bad way to be when you’re in a generally bad way.
A man came in with five children, looking for the spiggot so that his daughter, a member of the local Girl Scout troop, could water our plants and flowers. While Kathy, one of the other fabulous reffers, was searching for the spig (none of us knows where it is), while the five kids in tow were hanging about in the library.
All the while, they whispered and shushed each other.
No joke. And not like they were making fun or anything, like they really meant to be very quiet in the library. Even the man spoke to me in a whisper, despite the fact that I spoke to him at a normal volume.
Two of the children, the man mentioned to me as the kids trompsed up the stairs to the Children’s Room, were from Florida, and his three kids were so *proud* of their library, they wanted to give the Florida kids a tour. So sweet, it makes your teeth hurt. But in the good way.
Tags: work
