A Library Christmas Poem

Twas the hour before closing and all through our floor,

Three men were sleeping – and one with a snore.

The Hold shelves were filled alphabetically with care,

The patrons had hopes that their books would be there.

The children were noisy, they’d read to the dogs,

They carried home books about princes and frogs.

And Jon in his new watch and me – who is Flo,

Kept looking at the clock, “Is it time yet to go?”

A fight broke out on computer number eight,

Somebody call Dispatch! And I hope they’re not late.

But then from Children’s there arose such a clatter,

We all looked around to see what was the matter.

Some children went racing to their mom and their dad,

They were so excited about the books that they had.

Then a man came to Reference all dressed in his best,

To thank them and tell them that he’d passed his test.

He had a new job and things were going well –

So it’s a reminder that you never can tell,

When a little thing we might do or say,

Will help someone along their way.

And a book or a movie might be just right,

To help some lonely person get through the night.

And so for the Holidays I offer these verses,

To all at the library (including Tech Services).

Here’s to everyone in every library,

I hope that your Christmas this year will be merry.

 

 

Driving Into Old Age

As people age, it’s really hard to put the brake on driving. I hope I’ll know when to stop. But since I feel like I’m in my 30s now, when I’m over ninety, I’ll probably feel like I’m in my 60s. And sixty-year olds can drive just fine, right?

My father had problems with his neck as he aged. He couldn’t turn his head very easily. I’d be in the car with him and he’d say, “Is there anyone over in that lane behind us?” Yikes! I tried to figure any way I could not to be in the car with him driving.

My mother just restricted where she drove. She stayed in her “district”. That way there were no surprises. She could plan her route ahead and not have to worry about last minute lane changes and such.

I’m sure she got this plan from my grandmother. After my grandmother quit driving, my brother got her ’54 Plymouth Savoy. He said that he really enjoyed driving it, but that the steering wheel got kind of caught whenever turning it to the left. “Well,” she said, “that’s because I never turned left.”

She planned her entire outing making multiple right-hand turns. It is possible.

I certainly hope I’ll know when to hand over the keys. Otherwise, I’ll get an ever-increasing number of hints from my kids. If the hints don’t work, then it will be “the talk”- with or without the doctor or the DMV involved.

I have one friend who was concerned over having to have “the talk” with her mom. It’s hard. In our culture so much independence is connected with our ability to get around. And we get around mostly in our cars. This friend was about to start the process. And then it was taken out of her hands. Her mother backed into a car. It was a police car.

So, kids, when my turn comes, please give me plenty of license. Don’t speed things along too quickly. I’ll try to notice the signals. And when it really comes down to it, I’ll try to get into gear and not drive you all crazy.

Camping

My husband proposed a camping weekend.

We used to camp when our children were young. They have many happy memories of that time. I am glad they do. My memories are a bit…dusty…messy…lumpy.

We dragged a carload of equipment and provisions out to a campsite, set up tents on bumpy, uneven ground and cooked on a tiny, little camp stove and then tried to clean up without leaving a mark upon nature.

Speaking of nature – we’ve always tried to respect nature. But nature hasn’t always answer in kind.  We’ve had wind blow over our tent. We’ve had rain drench us.

I remember lying in my sleeping bag, trying to sleep on the rocky ground, and hearing the rain on the tent. I knew that in the morning I would be exhausted, wet and in need of a shower that would not exist.

So at sixty years old, we decided to try again. I have my limits. I agree to camp if: (1) we invest in new air mattresses, (2) I can have my tea and dark chocolate, and (3) we go to a cushy campground with showers.

It wasn’t so bad. We went to a KOA campground and set up our tent on a seemingly flat surface with our new, air mattresses inside.

We have some camping equipment. My husband has camped many times. I noticed though, that the people at the site next to us had first class camping equipment. They seemed to be very relaxed as that sat in comfy chairs next to a huge tent enjoying a gourmet meal and a glass of wine. Where did they get all that stuff? How exactly did they pull that off?

My first night of sleep was not my best. I realized that although my new air mattress is very comfortable, I sleep better on a horizontal surface. Apparently the seemingly flat ground on which we had set our tent was really at an angle. I did not notice this angle until after midnight.

I kept waking up to find my body on the very edge of my new air mattress. I felt like I might roll off. I was not sure whether to sleep turned uphill or downhill. I woke periodically in the night. Every time I awoke I thought, “Oh, yes, we’re camping. Oh, yes, I’m in a tent. Please, God, can I have just a few hours of sleep?”

Morning came. This we knew because suddenly the tent became roasting hot. We got up and made our breakfast. I had my tea and dark chocolate.

We hiked that day to a beautiful Alpine lake. Then we took showers and met some friends in the nearby mountain town. We watched a storm approach. The wind was incredible. I kept looking toward our campground in case I saw a blue tent sailing across the horizon. I did not.

The second night we turned our new air mattresses and sleeping bags around so that our heads were uphill and our feet were downhill. This was much better. I actually slept through the night (not counting the call of some buzzard in the wee hours).

That day we hiked and fished. We saw a beaver and a herd of antelope. Heading back home we talked about how much we had enjoyed our weekend away.

Will I camp again? Possibly. But I sure would like talk to those campers next to us and get an idea of that first class camping equipment they had. I like the idea of semi-roughing it.