Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Breaking all the Rules
Everyone knows the rules in the library. No food or drink. Be quiet.
This Saturday, Shelly and I went across the block to the newly opened Cambridge Public Library. They have closed down the main library bulding for renovations, and over the process of the past couple of months have moved all the books to an old elementary school. It's really a nice setup here, and we're sad, because it takes about two minutes to walk to the new site from our house.
But when we went there on Saturday, we weren't expecting what we found: a Dixieland band in the hallway of the library. A clarinet, a saxophone, two trumpets, three trombones, a banjo, a bass drum, a snare drum, and a tuba. Playing very loudly in the library.
There was cake. Buckets of Hi-C boxes on ice. Baskets of suckers. Not too far from the books. Librarians were encouraging us to eat up and get down to the music. One short old lady actually planted herself right in the middle of the band and boogied with uninhibited glee.
What it was was the celebration of the opening of the new library location. But it shattered every concept I've ever had of a library. Now I know what I'll say the next time I'm playing Two Truths and a Lie. I ate moist chocolate cake while listening to live tuba music in the public library. No one would ever guess that's the truth.
This Saturday, Shelly and I went across the block to the newly opened Cambridge Public Library. They have closed down the main library bulding for renovations, and over the process of the past couple of months have moved all the books to an old elementary school. It's really a nice setup here, and we're sad, because it takes about two minutes to walk to the new site from our house.
But when we went there on Saturday, we weren't expecting what we found: a Dixieland band in the hallway of the library. A clarinet, a saxophone, two trumpets, three trombones, a banjo, a bass drum, a snare drum, and a tuba. Playing very loudly in the library.
There was cake. Buckets of Hi-C boxes on ice. Baskets of suckers. Not too far from the books. Librarians were encouraging us to eat up and get down to the music. One short old lady actually planted herself right in the middle of the band and boogied with uninhibited glee.
What it was was the celebration of the opening of the new library location. But it shattered every concept I've ever had of a library. Now I know what I'll say the next time I'm playing Two Truths and a Lie. I ate moist chocolate cake while listening to live tuba music in the public library. No one would ever guess that's the truth.
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