June 29, 2007
Politics
Some stories are so easy, they’re difficult to tell. Like this one.
CP was director of our town’s public library system and its NPR station WPLN before her retirement a while back. Our current mayor recently announced an $800,000 cut in the forthcoming library budget, bringing about weekend closings in most of the branches. Knowledge of this caused some consternation around our household where the public always comes first, and the weekends would be the “absolute last and most stupid time to close.”
A few days ago, we were returning some books and DVDs to our customary branch library. As we were walking out the door, a young man met us, said he was a reporter with our town’s daily, and that he was doing a story on the library and its proposed closings.
Not knowing CP from Andrew Carnegie, he asked her opinion. (He ignored me. It’s usually like that. I’m slowly and reluctantly getting comfortable with it.) She told him and pulled no punches. He scribbled busily. When I told him who she was, she glared at me, and he scribbled even more swiftly. The story, including her quotes and a brief professional resumé, was in Sunday’s paper.
Tuesday, the news related that the $800,000 had been restored to the libraries, and that the parks and recreation budget had been cut by $800,000. The first response was in an email from a friend and former colleague saying how clever it was of her to “happen to be walking into the branch library on Saturday.” After a dozen or so more responses by phone, by email, and by encounter, her currently waning reputation as a machiavellian metropolitan department head was swiftly being restored. The director of parks and recreation has not called.
And all we were doing, honest, was returning a few items to beat the overdue fines.
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Hey, Lane - Tell CP I said “Thanks a million….or rather, $800,000.” Love the library on Sunday afternoon. cya round, Linda
Comment by Linda ClenDening — June 29, 2007 @ 2:50 pm