The Dr Doolittle Memorial Library

“Were you here the other day when the man came in with a parrot on his shoulder?” This was a question from one of my co-workers.

Dang! I wish I’d been there. I could have added parrots to my list of animals I’ve seen in the library.

My list does not include animals brought in for children’s programs. It is a list of animals brought or carried in by patrons.

The definition of service or companion animals has become a very gray area. One need only say, “This is my companion animal,” and our hands are tied.

But, really, sometimes it’s a big stretch.

Service dogs usually wear the little vests. They are fantastic and seriously trained. We even had a children’s program called Paws to Read where the children got to read to service dogs.

But some people bring in dogs who are obviously not trained service dogs. We are allowed to ask them to leave if the dogs bark, growl or snap at patrons.

Untrained dogs – check.

One woman brought in her “service cat”. I have nothing against cats, but cats don’t always “sit” or “stay” on command. Thank goodness, my allergy to cats is not pronounced. But it may have driven some of our patrons away, crying and sneezing.

Cats – check.

Perhaps you’ve read my bat story (Gotham City Library). Yes, a live bat. In a young man’s armpit.

Bats – check.

Outside the library, I saw a young man playing with a pet ferret. The ferret then crawled up inside the sleeve of young man’s coat. About fifteen minutes later, I saw the young man in the library.

Ferrets – check.

We had a mouse running around inside the library once. One young patron offered to catch it for us. Sure enough, he caught it in a drinking cup and came to show us. He said he was going to let it go outside. I hoped he was not going to use the drinking cup again.

Mice – check.

Then there was a man who put a small, plastic container containing a black widow spider right on the circulation desk while he looked for his card. Why put it right on our desk? And why carry around a black widow? I held back from asking sarcastically if this was his companion spider.

Spiders – check.

Libraries are not the place for all these animals. Libraries are the places to read or research about these animals. It’s a library, not a zoo. We may have copies of My Family and Other Animals, The Zookeeper’s Wife, and If I Ran the Zoo, but we don’t mean for you to act them out.

Cross-Cultural Cooking

Our French son-in-law recently made us crepes. I thought they were fantastic. He was slightly disappointed with them. Not his best.

Cooking in another person’s kitchen with different utensils and slightly different ingredients is always a challenge.

Adding in another country multiples the problems.

My mother came to visit me in England. She made Southern Fried Chicken. It was really tasty, but she was disappointed with it. She didn’t think it was her best. The ingredients were different; not what you’d find in Memphis. And I didn’t have a cast iron skillet.

For me, I like making Shrimp and Grits. Forget the grits if you are in some other country. They’re not usually even in a dictionary. If I asked for grits in a grocery store, they may think I’m wanting to buy some dirt.

After our daughter’s wedding, the new French in-laws stayed with us a few extra days. The dad, who is originally from Cambodia, is an excellent cook. He was going to make us a meal.

They spoke almost no English and we spoke no French. Their daughter spoke English fairly well. It fell on her to try to translate various cooking ingredients and techniques.

Try explaining Cambodian ingredients from French to English. And then at one point it was like a game. We were trying to figure out a thickening ingredient for a sauce.

Do they have cornstarch in France? Does arrowroot translate? I’m wondering what they thought I meant by “arrow-root”. I hope they did not think I was threatening them.

He had adapted Cambodian dishes to France. Now he had to readapt to what was available in Colorado. I can’t remember exactly what he ended up using to thicken his sauce, but I do remember that the meal was fantastic. (He probably thought it wasn’t his best).

So if you are cooking in someone else’s kitchen or country, give yourself a break. It might not turn out exactly as you plan. It might not be your best.

Shrimp and polenta with Asian hot sauce, anyone?

A Puppy?

Our niece planted the idea of our getting another dog. She has a very cute, little dog that hardly sheds. She says a dog like hers would be a great companion for our older dog.

Our dog is definitely mature. She has hip issues and takes doggie glucosamine and chondroitin. When she goes to sit down, she can’t quite manage the muscle control and lands with a thud.

Her walks are shorter. She enjoys them just as much and still whines and bothers other dogs, but she comes home more worn out.

I can relate to my mature dog. I also take glucosamine and chondroitin (the human variety) because my knee has started making rice krispy noises. But I still enjoy my walks and swims.

There are some things to consider in starting all over with a puppy though.

It’s true our dog would enjoy the company.

It’s also true there would be a lot of work involved. We’d have to be at home at certain times to let the puppy in and out and to train it. It is a commitment. A big commitment. The dog could easily live for 15 years. I am 60. Are we ready to make a commitment to a 15-year relationship? I hope I would be happy with this theoretical dog when I am 75. I think I would be, but that seems a long way off.

My husband is all for it, I think. He likes dogs a lot. I like dogs too. But I’m not sure I like puppies as much as dogs.

Puppies do all that chewing and peeing and yipping. On the other hand, there is the cuteness factor of puppies that goes a long way to offset the work involved in dealing with all the chewing and peeing and yipping.

We’ll see.

If my husband and niece see this, they might realize there is hope. So let’s keep this from getting out- keep it on a leash, so to speak.

Does There Have to be a Rule for Everything?

People do weird things.

We have a code of conduct for our library patrons. It includes certain basic rules for what behaviors are not allowed in the library building.

But if it says not to bring in large bags or bicycles, someone will ask about wagons or shopping carts. Because it’s not on the list. They don’t necessarily pick up on the spirit of the code of conduct.

The other day my co-worker said that someone had reported that there was a patron in the men’s bathroom peeling an avocado.

Because the statement was so absurd on many levels, I must admit that one of my first thoughts was, “Perfect. I could just write that one sentence on the blog and I’m done.”

I think we have a rule against using the public restrooms for bathing. They are not shower rooms.

But we don’t have a specific rule against using the public restrooms as a kitchen. Perhaps we should make a longer list.

If the guy was not necessarily cooking or eating the avocado, though, only peeling it, maybe there needs to be a more specific rule: No peeling avocados in the men’s room.

And the thing about not using the restrooms for bathing. Ok. What about hair and nail care? And what if the hair and nail care take place outside of the restrooms in the larger library areas? Is that permitted?

We’ve actually had someone dying hair in the non-fiction area (it’s true…). There was an odor we couldn’t quite identify. It just seemed out of place.

If they went into the restrooms to rinse out the hair dye, they would be breaking the non-bathing rule. But we don’t have a specific rule about using hair dye in the building. Perhaps we need to add that one as well. No dying hair in the library.

I could write a very detailed list. It would be as long as a dictionary. You could go to A and find avocado and all the rules about avocados and then go to H to find all the rules about hair care.

Or else, there could be just two words in very large letters- Behave Yourself!