The Anecdotal Life Part: 21

I have been a bad blogger....but not intentionally. I have been caught up in the labyrinths and rituals of family and the "Fourth", plus caught between two dueling, small town libraries. One library belonging to the Village of Benzonia is at the top of a long hill and the other is down at the bottom of the same hill in the town of Beulah, both way "Up North" here in Michigan. At the onset I thought, "How nuts can you get?" So it seemed until I tried getting a blog written in each one.
The group ensconced in the library at the top of the hill, having seized an historic building from which to operate, apparently seized the attitude and the high ground that went with it. They offered the internet on two machines that log one off in 30 minutes exactly whether anyone is waiting or not. The timer they gave me was faulty and neither registered a change nor an alarm. I became absorbed in my work and my entire blog went down cybernet tubes before my eyes. The attitude of the officious, snippy blonde reluctantly running this service was-- so what and who cares? Well! Obviously, not I any longer.
Contrast that with my perception of the diminutive Beulah library. Always understaffed due to financial straits, it is run by compassionate professionals toiling away in such a laughingly small space that it should be an embarrassment to said community. The librarian said she paced it out once, sans books, and it was approximately 24 by 24. In this active arena they keep four computers going, continually upgrade their book collection, hold story hours in which they host real authors who also illustrate their story as they go, and treat patrons with loving care. I was given thirty minutes on the computer, but never thrown off if I hadn't quite finished, nor given a timer. One noon I stumbled in the door having misunderstood that the place was actually closed. A flustered librarian explained the schedule to me, then changed course abruptly, took pity on me, booted up a computer in a corner and left me in peace as she ran around doing sixty- seven things on her break. There is no comparison between the two places, or at least no kind one. The Beulah librarians are popping their buttons trying to fund a decent space on top of everything else they have to do. I ended up being proud of the "hole in the wall" gang as I began to call them. I couldn't believe all the endeavors they were making on behalf of a community indifferent to their physical environment and financial constraints.
I am sending, as soon as I can, a tax deductible donation to the FRIENDS OF THE BEULAH LIBRARY (definitely a non-profit organization) P.O. Box 469, Beulah, Michigan, 49617....in case you're looking for a good cause.
Copyright: July 6, 2006.