SSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH...this is the library!!!!
Perhaps I am old fashioned...
Perhaps I am cranky...
Perhaps I am one who expects too much...
Perhaps...oh come on now, I don't think that expecting other to attempt to behave properly at a library is asking too much...or is it???
Yesterday evening I dropped off my son at Boy Scouts and that gives me an hour an a half of "ME" time each Tuesday. Sometimes I shop, sometimes I park my sweet self at the local Starbucks for a chai tea latte and a good read, sometimes I park myself near free wifi and work on real estate stuff and sometimes I walk at the local park and just enjoy the great outdoors.
Last night I decided to visit the New Braunfels public library because I am researching for a new MCE class that I am authoring. They have a beautiful facility complete with the latest technology, comfortable leather chairs, Starbucks coffee and a convenient location not far from the Scout Hut.
I placed my phone on silent, walked in, did some research, found the books I wanted to review and take notes from, parked myself in one of the wonderful leather chairs, and began to formulate an outline for my class and gather notes for support material and that is when it happened.
The automatic sliding doors at the front of the library opened and the heartstopping screams of two small children and their loud talking adult companions filled the entire library. It brought my though process to a complete stand still and as I looked around me, everyone was looking at the doors.
Now one would think that the mere fact that 40 or so people are staring at you might deter you from continuing in your barbaric behavior, but NO! They proceeded to walk through the middle of the library, kids screaming and now running amok and adults continuing to converse about nothing in partiulcar in an "outside voice!" Unreal!!!
I remember thinking about growing up and being taught that libraries are quiet places and you show respect for others by speaking in a whisper and keeping conversations to a minimum. I then thought to myself, "those children need to be taught library etiquette" and then remembered that their adult companions seemed to need the same lesson!!!
They finally left, thank heavens, but not before disturbing the entire library and everyone in it. None of the staff seemed interested in asking them to "keep it down" and the pinnacle of this public disturbance was when the kids held the bathroom door open while the adults used the hand blow dryers and conversed in voices loud enough to be heard over the roar and the sound of this exchange filled the library.
One person sitting not far from me did manage a "SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH....this is the library" directed at them during this disturbing interlude, but it only seemed to slow their momentum briefly. This is a sad testimony to how insensitive our society has become!
Rant over...
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