There Certainly Are A Lot Of Inquisitive Idiots

It was eerily quiet on Thursday morning when I arrived at the library. I looked around and realized that all the computers were down. I knew at that moment that it was going to be an interesting morning. Sitting on the desk in front of me was a sign informing the patrons: "The computers are down, but you can still read the books!" I was surprised at how many people either A. didn't notice it or B. didn't find it funny. All morning patrons came in asking if the computers were working. I mean hello! They obviously missed the eight signs on the entrance doors, not to mention the sign on my desk, the signs on every computer and the blackened screen on the monitors. I think they thought that we might make an exception just for them. Not likely!

One guy came back to the desk several times telling us he was an IT repairman and blah blah blah blah blah is what we should do to fix the computers. My coworker told him, "Sir, I don't care what you think is wrong with the computers. I'm not fixing them, I don't know when they'll be fixed and I'm not passing your message on to the library IT guys." After that, the man finally left us alone. But seriously, if he was such a great IT man, why the heck was he at the library at 10 in the morning? Doesn't he have a job?

Another man thought he was witty by trying to make a poem out of our signs. I'm still shaking my head at that one.

Another man walked right up to a computer, ripped the sign off and started messing with the computer. Oh, my coworker was mad! He went up of the man and said, "Sir, why in the world are ripping my signs off? Haven't you read the signs? The computers are down! Move along!"

At one point out of sheer frustration, when someone came up to us asking if all the computers in the library are down, my coworker said "Nope. I think that there's one of the 4th floor." Then the man hurried to the elevator to check it out. Can you imagine if we'd had only one computer working what the line-up for that would be? It's staggering how stupid people can be.

My favorite patron of the day had actually nothing to do with the computers. There was a man sitting in the browsing section reading a book or newspaper. One would pass him without looking twice, but for the dime stuck to the side of his bald head. Yes that's right. It was a dime. What in the world . . . why . . . I have not the words to explain this oddity. Did the man think that the aliens wouldn't be able to read his mind or something? It was just weird!