I'm thankful for water

We woke early this morning to a bevy of heavy machines on our street and no water in the house. It was exciting to watch the crew dig a humongous hole in the street to repair a broken pipe and give us clean water once again. I was grateful for our supply of water in the garage and impressed we managed through two meals using only two gallons of it (postponing morning showers and dishwashing). And so, I am grateful for running water...

excitement at the library

Last Thursday during our computer class at the library, a patron went berserk. Not one of our class-members, but another patron with an issue about the library’s computer policy. We have two officers at the library at all times, one inside and one outside. Brandon, our inside officer and a big and strong guy in his late twenties, remained calm as he tried to deal with the unhappy patron, an older man with a cane. He explained the policy and the reasons for it, but the patron just got madder and madder, following Brandon around the library, screaming obscenities at him. Finally, the old man raised his cane to hit Brandon. We all watched as Brandon grabbed the cane and held tight, the patron also holding tight, then escorted the still-screaming patron outside and to the ground. Meanwhile, page Terry calmly called 911 and Karen the Librarian (who teaches the computer class) calmly hit the panic button. Three more police cars arrived just as Brandon and the patron got outside. I’m not quite sure what happened after that, but I sure was impressed with the calm and quick thinking and actions of everyone involved.

I wondered how the incident could have been avoided altogether; was it frustration over a simple misunderstanding, had the man had such a horrible day that this was the thing that finally sent him over the top; did medication (or lack of it) play a role? Will he be all right; will he want to come back to the library again?

Library workers are still talking about the incident. Terry shook her head in amazement, “I’ve worked for the department of corrections and never seen anything like it (of course there you know who the enemy is, and the good guys all have guns); I’ve been attacked twice when I worked for 7-11. I sure never thought something like this would happen at the library!” I guess anything can happen. And I guess that’s why they’ve hired Brandon…