It's chilly here this morning -- 38º F (or 3º C), according to the trusty weather app. I was just out in the garden and BRRRRR. One of these days, spring is really going to arrive.
You may be wondering about the results of my marathon effort on Monday and Tuesday to e-mail the parents of kids with overdue books. (I'm sure you are.) We have indeed gotten a lot of stuff back -- my overdue list is down from 18 pages to 12 -- and I expect more. Twelve pages is still a lot, so there's more to be done, but I'm hoping people will take the weekend to find whatever items they've mislaid.
I had a major victory yesterday when the kid with the dubious distinction of having the most extremely overdue books in the entire library paid for them. He checked out two books in December 2019 and January 2020, failed to return them, and then ducked every attempt I made to e-mail or contact him. I finally had to go stand outside his classroom one morning about a week ago and wait for him to emerge to talk to him in person. Anyway, he lost the books (I am consistently mystified about how this happens, but it does) and yesterday he cleared his account. Whew!
It's funny -- when I first started this job back in 2013, there was a girl (let's call her Suzie) who was terrible about returning books. I had to chase her over and over to get stuff back, or to get her to pay for lost things. I was always rolling my eyes and talking about Suzie to co-workers, and she became symbolic of the bad library patron. I was so happy when she finally graduated. But in the years since, I've come to realize that every school year, there's a Suzie.
I ordered flowers for my mom for Mother's Day, and I'm hoping they arrive because I'm not sure how deliveries work at her retirement center. We shall see.
I also bought some jimsonweed seeds for our garden. You may remember I found one growing wild last summer and tried to get its seeds to sprout without success. (I think they weren't yet mature.) So we'll try some from a seed store. Yes, I know it's a poisonous plant. Olga won't bother it -- she's not a plant consumer, with the exception of grass.
Oh, and the electrician stopped by on Wednesday evening and picked up his forgotten drill. So at least that's gone. The roofers still haven't come for their abandoned ladder.
While I was cleaning out my clips several days ago I came across this one, which I saved just for the photo. Yes, my feet are in that lineup! A friend recruited me and several other people to be "foot models" to illustrate this wire story about foot health. It's kind of funny, given that the story appears to be about older feet, and at the time we were all in our early 30's -- not quite the intended demographic. Every once in a while I'd find myself in a picture published in a newspaper, which is inevitable when you're a reporter and turning up at well-covered news events, but this is the only time my feet got published!
(Top photo: A blooming tree along the Grand Union Canal, about two weeks ago.)
You may be wondering about the results of my marathon effort on Monday and Tuesday to e-mail the parents of kids with overdue books. (I'm sure you are.) We have indeed gotten a lot of stuff back -- my overdue list is down from 18 pages to 12 -- and I expect more. Twelve pages is still a lot, so there's more to be done, but I'm hoping people will take the weekend to find whatever items they've mislaid.
I had a major victory yesterday when the kid with the dubious distinction of having the most extremely overdue books in the entire library paid for them. He checked out two books in December 2019 and January 2020, failed to return them, and then ducked every attempt I made to e-mail or contact him. I finally had to go stand outside his classroom one morning about a week ago and wait for him to emerge to talk to him in person. Anyway, he lost the books (I am consistently mystified about how this happens, but it does) and yesterday he cleared his account. Whew!
It's funny -- when I first started this job back in 2013, there was a girl (let's call her Suzie) who was terrible about returning books. I had to chase her over and over to get stuff back, or to get her to pay for lost things. I was always rolling my eyes and talking about Suzie to co-workers, and she became symbolic of the bad library patron. I was so happy when she finally graduated. But in the years since, I've come to realize that every school year, there's a Suzie.
I ordered flowers for my mom for Mother's Day, and I'm hoping they arrive because I'm not sure how deliveries work at her retirement center. We shall see.
I also bought some jimsonweed seeds for our garden. You may remember I found one growing wild last summer and tried to get its seeds to sprout without success. (I think they weren't yet mature.) So we'll try some from a seed store. Yes, I know it's a poisonous plant. Olga won't bother it -- she's not a plant consumer, with the exception of grass.
Oh, and the electrician stopped by on Wednesday evening and picked up his forgotten drill. So at least that's gone. The roofers still haven't come for their abandoned ladder.
While I was cleaning out my clips several days ago I came across this one, which I saved just for the photo. Yes, my feet are in that lineup! A friend recruited me and several other people to be "foot models" to illustrate this wire story about foot health. It's kind of funny, given that the story appears to be about older feet, and at the time we were all in our early 30's -- not quite the intended demographic. Every once in a while I'd find myself in a picture published in a newspaper, which is inevitable when you're a reporter and turning up at well-covered news events, but this is the only time my feet got published!
(Top photo: A blooming tree along the Grand Union Canal, about two weeks ago.)
I am guessing that your feet belong to the hairy legs?
ReplyDeleteHa! Yeah, mine are readily identifiable. :)
DeleteIs not getting overdue books returned and paying for a book more about bluff than anything else? I am not surprised about books not being able to be found. Some people live in utter chaos.
ReplyDeleteIn a Youtube video, I saw a canal boat crash into a canal bank and the boat was called Jimsonweed. I thought maybe because Jim's on weed might be the reason he crashed.
Btw in reference to my Tuesday post, you may know boot scooting as line dancing.
I can see losing one book, maybe, but how does a person lose multiple books? Maybe I just don't understand that level of chaos. (Fortunately.) Line dancing I DO know!
DeleteIn my subject - English - it was often a challenge to get vital coursework assignments from some of our students. By rights we should have been saying to these kids - "Sorry! You have missed the deadline so your exam entry has been cancelled". Instead, because entries and results mattered enormously to me and my staff we gave chance after chance, phone calls, letters, detentions - devoting more energy to the harrying and persuasion than the irresponsible exam candidates put into their writing. I do not miss all that one jot.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much work it takes to "bring the horse to water," as the expression goes. But in the end, you can't make it drink!
DeleteYou and your staff were much more dedicated than mine in school. They just flunked us and moved on.
DeleteAhh, I see that you have (probably) answered my question when you replied to Frances. I was going to ask which feet were yours, but she has already picked them out. Thanks Frances. Cool photo BTW.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good photo! Considering the subject matter, LOL!
DeleteI've still got a library book from 1976 (not one of yours!)
ReplyDeleteOh dear God. My librarian heart just stopped. You aren't alone, though, not by a longshot. Years ago someone mailed us a book that had been checked out from our school in 1971!
DeleteWhen I was a child, our shelves held books borrowed from the high school library by one of my older sisters. I don't know if she liked the books so much that she didn't want to give them back or she was too lazy to return them. I don't know what happened to them, but I'm sure they never went back to the library.
DeleteSadly, my feet are camera shy so my modeling career went nowhere!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're more a hand man.
DeleteI had a friend who stole books from libraries and gave them as gifts.
ReplyDeleteI still have one.
Oh, Lord.
OK, that is my nightmare. LOL
DeleteThat foot photo is sort of an optical illusion - it took me longer than it should have to sort the pairs of feet out. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI used to get palpitations if I was afraid my book would be late back to the library. Then one time it WAS late & I was only charged a dime. I still felt the shame, but it turned out I could afford the fine after all.
It's a good pose -- it DOES make you look at the photo longer, doesn't it? You must not have been very late if your fee was only a dime! Maybe a day or two?
DeleteNow I have to google "What happens to your feet after 60" because I need to know. Should I be worried? My feet are 65...are they on t eh verge of Bad Things?
ReplyDeleteOur local library made a new policy of not charging late fees because the librarians said that collecting late fees was the worst, and hardest, part of their job. I rolled my eyes, but now I kind of understand. But me, being me, I would LOVE that part -- I love seeing justice being done, and I would happily hunt down those who think they are above late fee rules and collect every last dime, and I'd banish those who didn't pay up, and maybe I'd even make a Wall of Shame and hang up the names of those who owed money right at the circulation desk. I'm petty that way, and a true Capricorn.
Yeah, too bad I didn't save the article itself! I'm guessing bunions and plantar fasciitis and stuff like that. We don't bother with late fees at our library, and in some ways that makes things harder because people really DON'T have anything compelling them to return books -- except their basic dignity. But I wouldn't want to have to try to collect fees. That would be a drag.
DeleteI don't know why it never occurred to me that some people lose or simply don't return library books. The library was a cherished place when I grew up. When we could sign our own library cards the library would finally issue one. I remember my little sister learning how to write her name just so she could get a card and be like her older siblings. It was quite a moment at the library for us. We didn't go to go houses of worship ever, but we did go to the library!
ReplyDeleteLove the photos, especially the feet.
I felt the same way -- a kind of reverence for our local libraries. I just don't get losing books. I mean, I can see leaving one on a plane or maybe on the tube, but these kids lose them at home!
DeleteI can't believe it's still that cold in London. Here we are supposed to reach 100 this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat "feet" shot is very clever but like Vivian, it does make me wonder what the problem is. My feet are well over 60 and they still function well. Maybe they aren't as pretty as they were in my 30's but they still work just fine. :-)
Count your blessings that your feet are working well, I guess! :)
Deletewhen I was younger I would return books eventually but I would never pay my fines to the point I was afraid they wouldn't let me check out books so I would go to a different library and get a new library card. I confess we have two books on glass making and engraving that we stole from the library. I do intend to deposit them in a night book drop the next time I go to Houston.
ReplyDeleteI have two jimsonweed plants, one that I blogged about volunteering in a pot which I transplanted and I noticed one has come up in one of the flower beds. not the flower bed where the parent plant was.
DeleteI love how everyone is confessing their library crimes here. LOL!
DeleteThe library has probably long since taken those books out of their collection, but if you return them they may add them back. That's what we do when items come back after a long time. (Assuming they're still relevant.)
I'm excited to try the jimsonweed! I hear they re-seed quite readily.
Your feet seem to be working quite well, which makes you especially well adapted to chasing down your over due books.
ReplyDeleteYou were destined to be a librarian!
I must admit it's kind of fun to track stuff down and try to get it back, though of course it can be hugely frustrating too!
DeleteOur public library has stopped collecting late fees but will charge if the item is never returned ($20 or cost of item whichever is less). They realized late fees discouraged children and lower income customers from using the library or returning late books because they couldn't afford the late fees. They have since discovered that more items are being returned and items are not being kept. Better for circulation of items and less time for staff chasing fees and charges.
ReplyDeleteGreat feet!
Our library recently moved to this strategy, with the same results. Encouraging!
DeleteChris from Boise (on Mike's computer)
We've never collected late fees. I have a hard enough time getting people to pay for lost items -- I can't imagine having to collect fees on top of that.
DeleteOlder feet don't usually look this good! :)
ReplyDeleteI give the credit to the photographer, for posing us in an interesting and photogenic way!
DeleteThat is the weirdest photo. Feet, when you really look at them seems so alien, like ears...Weird looking body parts!
ReplyDeleteThey are strange when they're disembodied and looked at by themselves, I agree!
DeleteWhat size are your shoes, Steve?!! No wonder you can walk so far. I could never be a foot model, unless it was for the REAL old feet photo. I think I could be a hair model, though. Don't be jealous :)
ReplyDeleteHa! My shoe size is 10 1/2 EEE -- my feet are very wide.
DeleteBut which feet are yours? I immediately wondered (nit-picker that I am) why, given the subhead, the feet looked so young. Then I looked down at my feet and thought, "Well, they could pass." Hope the flowers get to your mother. A great new library campaign: "Don't be a Suzie." (maybe not so great)... I just read the comment from Frances about your hairy legs. So, now I know!
ReplyDeleteThat first photo is beautiful. Interesting, three of the four pairs of feet have painted toenails. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDelete