A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

"I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. I will not serve that in which I no longer believe whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I allow myself to use, silence, exile, and cunning."
-Stephen Dedalus, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Rosa Back From Beyond the Grave?

    Alright. Can anyone tell me when Rosa Tarbutton came back from the grave? We had a random lady (Let's just call her Jane Doe for now) come in today and demand that a certain catalog be put into our library because Rosa wanted it in there. First of all, our library is a MEMORIAL of Rosa Tarbutton. We kindly asked her if she wanted to speak to Nancy Tarbutton, who is indeed still very alive. After what seemed like a long speech from Jane (the lady), she said that she did NOT want to talk to Nancy, nor was this catalog approved by Nancy, but that somehow Rosa (pointing upward, either pulling a John Travolta, or proposing that Rosa had somehow spoken to her from out of Heaven) had told her that she wanted that catalog in the library.
    So, what do you do in a situation like this? I tried to be as polite as possible, as well as the other ladies, who were all trying to (again, very politely) tell the lady that Judy was now the head librarian on duty. We asked Jane if she wanted to speak to Judy, to which she stated, very abruptly, that she did NOT want to speak to Judy. Then one of the ladies took the catalog and told Jane thank you (again, trying to be patient) and that she would ask Judy about it.
    After all that jazz, you would think the woman would finally leave, satisfied that we had taken her ordering catalog and promised to check into it. But no...that was not enough. She shouted out, as the other patrons in the library watched, that we were going to purposely lose this catalog, and that we had no interest in Rosa's wishes. (Again, with Rosa back from the grave. Huh?)
  Well, finally Jane looked one of the ladies in the face and told the truth. Jane said, "I'll tell you the truth. I'm arm-twisting you. I just want this fine literature in this library because I don't want to buy it myself. I don't know who funds this library, but...who funds this library?"
  After this crazy admittance of trying to manipulate us into putting her catalog in the library, she asks this question, to which we reply that we do not know. We have various donors.
  Then she proposes something that she shouldn't have dared to say, after putting us all through this nerve-racking conversation. "Well, if this library can't afford to order this literature, then the managers can." Yeah, like library managers are rolling in money. LOL. So, that was the exciting event today at the Rosa M. Tarbutton Library. Yay us... :)

5 comments:

  1. LOL, this was hilarious, and fun to read! Thanks for sharing your interesting work day!

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  2. LOL.. Working with the public can be so funny and frustrating!! I had a horrible night as a waitress one night, a customer was drunk and wanted a $14 steak. When I tried to tell her we had a 14 oz steak, but it only cost $9, she started beating the counter really loud and screaming at me that I was refusing to give her the most expensive steak because of her color. Nothing I could say would make her understand we did not HAVE a $14 steak, so i finally told her that I was sorry that I upset her, that I would give her the steak at a discount, and let her have it for $9, but if she WANTED to pay 14 I'd let her....

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  3. Lol! Oh gosh Jennifer I wouldn't have known what to do. I'd have been like, "Uh Wendy, Judy, could you guys come over here a second." Crazy lady! Yet I still want to work at the library. Go figure. tehehehehe . :P

    ~Briana

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  4. LOL...I totally didn't know what to do! I was kinda scared to start with. Shortly after this confrontation, she came up to Wendy and asked her (in a sinister tone) what her last name was. It was freaky! Wendy and I both said we thought she might be a serial killer or something crazy like that. It was weird. But, I have to say, I wouldn't want to work anywhere else. :) I LOVE my job! I love the people that I work with and what I do. Not even a crazy lady could make me change my mind. :)

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  5. It is such a blessing to have a job that you love! You have a great attitude towards life, laughing at even the frustrating moments. Hold onto that, it will get you far!

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Comments are always appreciated! :) Thanks!