February 29

I couldn't pass up the chance to blog on February 29. After all, you only get that chance once every four years.

Since it only appears once every four years, I don't think the date gets much respect. I distinctly remember the old rhyme from elementary school - Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31, except February which has 28 and then my memory is completely gone. It was just too hard to remember, even though it probably rhymed. Poor old February 29 is just like Rodney Dangerfield and it can't even try harder. I have not seen any movements afoot to have it every two years, for instance.

There is one benefit, however. If you are born on February 29, you only have to celebrate a birthday every four years. That could come in handy, except for those occasions when you really do want to own up to your age, like turning 60 and not having to pay library fines anymore. So everyone who turned 15 today make sure you get your library record updated!

Good bye February 29. See you again in four years!

Hard to Say Good Bye

Kathy Drury has been the library secretary forever. Well, maybe not forever, but it seems like she invented the position. She was there when I first worked at the library in 1988 and there when I returned in 2000. After today, she won't be there. The Ledyard Libraries will never be quite the same.

Kathy didn't just type letters, create catalog cards and spine labels, process books, order supplies, pick up papers and the mail, file and do video/audio swaps . Kathy kept us all from taking ourselves too seriously. She always had a remark to cover the occasion perfectly. I will always remember her glee when I sat down at the computer next to her desk to struggle with the library commission treasurer's report. My fledgling computer skills and frustration were her entertainment for the day. Or how she continually asked if I had gotten that boy a cat yet. For the record, that boy is 23, so I guess she has been here almost forever.

Kathy has been both the backbone and the heart of the library. We will try to stand strong without her. We will welcome her replacement and look forward to her expertise and style, but it just won't seem quite right without that impish grin and chuckle as we go about our day here at the Ledyard Libraries.

I welcome others to post their Kathy stories.

Keep Your Chin Up

So your season didn't turn out to be perfect after all, Patriot fans. In a few days, or weeks, 18-1 won't seem so bad, but right now I know it hurts. Fortunately for me, I don't have to feel that hurt, being a New York Giant fan. And not having won a Super Bowl since 1991, unlike three in the 2000's, it seems only fair. Of course, I could be a Cleveland Brown's fan and never had a taste from that "bowl." As some talk radio hosts suggested, however, the Giants victory in no way makes up for the Red Sox comeback in 2004! Football and baseball are two very different things. I doubt all Giant fans are Yankee fans or Patriot fans are Red Sox fans. The Mets must have a few fans out there.

While I have been rambling on about Giants and Patriots, I think I may have come up with a theme for the Adult Winter Reading Program next year. So cheer up Patriot fans, there is always next year. While you are waiting, stop in at either library and answer the quiz question to enter the weekly raffle. You never know, your luck may be changing already!