Library Gifts and Mr. G.

Library life has its ups and downs. The strange and infuriating make the best stories, of course. Our mouse thief is just the latest oddity in a stream of weirdness that ebbs and flows from day to day, but remains ever-present to some degree. Anyone who has worked with the public can attest to this fact of life.

I don't want to give the impression it's all bad, though. Far from it, in fact. There are a lot of library patrons we are happy to see. Today, one family brought a still-warm loaf of home-made banana bread, and even made sure to bake it without dairy for me! Another brought cookies doubtless made by standard recipes with butter and milk, so Ms. C and Ms. A were willing to handle that snacking burden. But those are just small happy stories. I also have a slightly longer tale.

Back in March, I wrote about library patrons I like, including an elderly gentleman I called "Mr. G." Some time after that post, Mr. G just... stopped showing up. It was odd. At some point we checked the obituaries, but there were no death notices. We supposed maybe he moved? But then, after months of silence, one Saturday while I was running the library Dungeons & Dragons game, I saw him hobble through the front door with a walker.

Now, Mr. G is definitely old, but he was looking positively frail that day. I don't know the details, but I think he had suffered a stroke or heart attack or similar debilitating medical problem, and had spent a long time in the hospital. We were glad to see him, but saddened to see him in such a state.

Since then, he has visited with far less frequency, and under the supervision of a caretaker. He still likes to head straight to the newspapers to scan the headlines and chuckle at the comics though. He also sometimes borrows a large print western or mystery again. He always looked haggard, and often leaned heavily on that walker.

Today was another milestone. When he came in this afternoon, he was walking on his own, without any cane, walker, or other assistance. He's slower than he used to be, but it looks like he is regaining his independence one step at a time. If you're of the religious persuasion, please say a prayer for Mr. G.'s continued recovery.