Where is it AGAIN???

"It's Here Somewhere..."

It's the story of my life. Truly. But I have a tale I had to share about that elusive "it."

A patron came in, worried because she'd received a notice saying her book was overdue. But her son had turned it in at the main library, she assured me.

It's our branch's book, but I told her that I'd look on our shelves, but that it wouldn't be here unless it had a routing slip (which means it would be checked in at the main library and sent to us), and so I checked and of course didn't find it. I called the main library and this was how it went down:

"Hi, this is Terry and I'm trying to track down a book that might be still at your library. The book is "It's Here Somewhere.""

Yes, that's the book's title. Honest to God.

So the woman said, "I'll give you to someone else to talk to."

All right. So I repeated my dilemma. "I have a patron here who has an overdue notice for a book she said her son turned in at the main library. "It's Here Somewhere" is the book."

"If the book is there, why are you calling us?"

I smile with the phone to my ear, raise my brows at the patron, who is biting her nails, hoping we can find it. I start over again. "The patron's son turned in the book titled, "It's Here Somewhere," which is our book, but never arrived here. Can you check on the shelf and see if it's there?"

She gave me to someone else.

I started over again. The librarian said, "How old is the son who turned in the book?"

What? What difference does it make? All I needed was for her to look on the shelf for the book. I sighed, asked the patron, she said 21, and I told the librarian.

"Well, if he's 21, we need to talk to him. We can't discuss this with his mother."

Huh?

I said, "The book is in the patron's name, who is standing before me. Her son turned in the book at your library, but it wasn't checked in. Can you please look for the book?" I felt that the only way to get this resolved was to drive downtown and look for it myself!

"Oh, it's the patron's book."

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll look for it and call you back."

Thank heavens. A few minutes later, she calls me back and voila! The "It's Here Somewhere" was actually "There Somewhere." Eventually, it will make it back to our branch and again it will be "It's Here Somewhere." The patron will be glad because she says it's her favorite humorous book and wants to check it out again. I wanted to recommend she buy it and then it will be somewhere in her house and not lost between libraries--somewhere.

The librarian with a smile in her voice said, "Seems appropriate, doesn't it?"

That's what I call Humor in Real Life. :)

Ever have that problem where: "It's Here Somewhere?" And have a funny resolution? Hat on head? Glasses on head? Bag hooked over shoulder? But where in the world has it gone???

Hope your lost items are always easy to find!

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male."
www.terryspear.com