Mondays are crazy, run around town with my hair on fire type days. Mondays are usually the days I can squeeze in a trip to my local library. I know, I know....I'm SO last century and possibly last century and a half...with my love of actual books and libraries. Today's entry is proof that technology is not always "all that and a bag of chips." (HA...that's funny...chips....technology...technology is made of chips...microchips...which is a pretty good name for all the little pieces of chips at the bottom of the potato chip bag. Anyone...anyone? That's ok...I'm used to laughing at my own jokes.)
Back to the story...this past Monday, I made a trip to the library. When I got the circulation desk, the following conversation ensued:
Librarian: Oh, you picked some good ones! I just love this author. She's a Southerner, you know? Her stories are all about The Low Country. So good! I hope you enjoy them!
YB: Yes ma'am. Thank you. I hope I do.
Librarian: (gesturing to her right) Did you notice our fish?
YB: Yes, I did.
(The fish in question seemed much too large for his tank and was swimming around in rusty colored water. What I thought was, "Poor fish!")
Librarian: He's an Oscar. That's not his name. That's the type of fish he is. His name is "Edward," but I call him "Oscar." Just makes sense.
YB: I suppose it does. He's an Oscar? He's huge!
Librarian: He was donated to us. His former owner used to hand feed him.
YB: A hand fed fish...huh!
Librarian: He's got some sort of pop-eye condition, which is why his water is colored thataway. It's the medicine.
(This relieved me because I thought water that color would surely make a body...be it fish or human...sick.)
Librarian: He's real peculiar, that one. We tried to put him in a larger tank and he wouldn't have anything to do with it. He took to pouting.
YB: The fish...was pouting? How do you figure?
Librarian: He started laying flat of his side, on the bottom of the tank. Scared us, because we thought he was dead! Someone tapped on the tank and he just flipped over and started swimming.
YB: Wow! Never heard of a pouting fish.
Librarian: Oh, yes. We had some little decorations in the bottom of his tank. He didn't like them. He'd push them around, flip them over. He pouted a lot and when we took the decorations out, he stopped pouting.
YB: Really?
Librarian: He's not a friendly sort, either.
YB: No?
Librarian: No. We tried to put other fish in with him and he just chased them and tried to fight with them. He even tried to fight with the poster we had hanging behind his tank.
YB: How's that?
Librarian: Well, he took to bumping the back side of his tank with his head. We were afraid he was going to beat himself to death. We took the poster down and he quit ramming the tank.
YB: Well...
Librarian: And he really needs a larger tank. We tried putting him in a bigger one. He didn't like it.
YB: How did you know?
Librarian: He spent most of his time pouting on the bottom of the tank.
YB: My goodness!
Librarian: Well, you have a good day...enjoy your books!
Can't get that kind of local color from any of your fancy e-readers, now can you? Score one for libraries...and librarians...everywhere!
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