Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Something else you don't see every day

Meant to post this yesterday; got caught up.

One of our less than pleasant regulars was just here. He's this retired guy who lives in the neighborhood and visits once or twice a week in order to glare crustily at us and to read the new Barron's. Other staff have reported incidents in which they have run afoul of this fellow. He tends to get a bit grumpy when his choice periodical is a day or so late in the delivery. Sometimes he complains about various minutae but, ordinarily, he isn't too difficult to sate. I always remain on my guard around him, though, as his vaguely threatening demeanor suggests unhappy consequences should the encounter not go as smoothly as expected. In short, I barely tolerate the guy as long as he behaves.
Today, at the conclusion of his mid-morning session in the reading room, he walked over to me and handed me two magazines bundled together and fastened with a rubber band. Before I could acknowledge him with more than a nod, he was quickly out the door without a word. He had handed me two Playboys.
Needless to say, I'm a bit confused. I don't imagine he intended to donate them. Either he found them laying around the library or maybe he thinks I'm a little lonely these days.

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