Let me take you back...

Let me take you back to a time, a long time ago, way back on the last day of 2007.

The library was scheduled to close at 6:00 pm in honor of the holiday. We usually close at 8:00 pm, so this was a treat for those of us who usually work Monday nights until 8.

Our computers in the library stop making reservations 25 minutes before the library closes, and they automatically shut down 15 minutes before the library closes. However, the IT people forgot to set the computers to shut down early due to the holiday.

At 5:45, there was still one man sitting on the computer, so I asked him to log out due to the library closing. He was very upset because the computer had just asked him if he wanted to extend his time, and why would it do that if we were closing. I explained the reasoning behind what happened, but he just wasn't interested. Since he pretty much refused to log out, I told him that I was going to have to log him out myself. That still didn't get him moving, so I went to my computer, and logged him out.

On the way out the door, he complained to another staff member, which I kind of expected. I happened to walk up when he was complaining, and the other staff member asked me to help. So I explained what happened once again. He finally left, but was still obviously upset.

A couple minutes after he left, I realized I still needed to go outside and bring in the American Flag that we fly outside the branch. As I was bringing the flag down, the disgruntled library patron who had just left came zooming out of his parking spot - and straight towards me. Now, he was 'getting around the speed bumps' that were right next to where the flag pole is, but he was going pretty fast - and I was nervous that he wasn't going to turn away. Lucky for me, he did turn away before he got TOO close (I'm talking 3 feet...)

Happy New Year, buddy!! Sorry you didn't get to send that last message on MySpace.