McDONALD'S introduced the Big Mac in 1968." Dana swiveled lazily in her chair at the library's resource desk. "Yes, Mr. Hertz, I'm positive. The Big Mac went system-wide in '68, not '69, so you've had a year more of the secret sauce than you thought. Looks like Mr. Foy got you on this one, huh?" She laughed, shook her head. "Better luck tomorrow."
She hung up the phone and crossed the Hertz/Foy daily bet off her list, then meticulously noted today's winner on the tally sheet she kept.
Mr. Hertz had nipped Mr. Foy at the end of last month's round, which netted him lunch at the Main Street Diner on Mr. Foy's tab. Though for the year, she noted, Foy was two points up, so he had the edge on bagging dinner and drinks at the Mountain View Inn, the coveted annual prize.
This month, they were neck and neck, so it was still anybody's game. It was her task to officially announce the winner each month, and then, with a great deal more ceremony, the trivia champ at year's end.
The two had kept their little contest going for nearly twenty years. She'd been part of it, or had felt like part of it, since she'd started her job at the Pleasant Valley Library with her college degree still crisp in her hand.
Key of Knowledge
_______________
By Arnoldius - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7341429
“Knowledge
sets us free, art sets us free.
A great library is freedom.”
“If
librarians were honest,” Joseph Mills wrote in his delightful poem celebrating
libraries, “they would say, No one spends time here without being changed…”
For
Thoreau, books themselves were also changed and fertilized by their
cohabitation, “as if they were making a humus for new literature to spring
in.”
“When people don’t have free access to books,”
Anne Lamott asserted in
contemplating the revolutionary notion of free public libraries,
“then
communities are like radios without batteries.”
_______________
"Excuse me." A woman stopped at the desk, with her hand on the arm of a boy of about twelve. The grip made Dana think of the way Flynn held Moe's leash. With the hope that she could keep him under control and the certain knowledge that he would bolt at the first opportunity.
"I wonder if you could help us. My son has a paper due ... tomorrow" she added with heated emphasis that had the boy hunching his shoulders. "On the Continental Congress. Can you tell us which books might be the most helpful at this stage of the game?"
"Of course." Like a chameleon, Joan's cold fish of a face warmed into smiles. "I'd be happy to show you several sources in our U.S. history section."
"Excuse me." Unable to help herself, Dana tapped the sulky boy on the shoulder. "Seventh grade? Mrs. Janesburg, U.S. history?"
His already pouty bottom lip drooped even further. "Yeah."
"I know just what she looks for. You put in a couple of solid hours on this, you can ace it."
"Really?" The mother laid a hand on Dana's, gripped it like a lifeline. "That would be a miracle."
"I had Mrs. Janesburg for U.S. and world history." Dana winked at the boy. "I've got her number."
"I'll leave you in Ms. Steele's capable hands." Though her smile remained in place, Joan spoke through gritted teeth.
Dana leaned forward, spoke to the boy in a conspiratorial whisper. "She still get teary-eyed when she teaches Patrick Henry's 'Give me liberty' speech?"
He brightened up considerably. "Yeah. She had to stop and blow her nose."
"Some things never change. Okay, here's what you need."
Fifteen minutes later, while her son checked out his books with his brand-new library card, the mother stopped back by Dana's desk. "I just wanted to thank you again. I'm Joanne Reardon, and you've just saved my firstborn's life."
Key of Knowledge