No keys left behind

Cleaning out the library over the past two weeks has been exhausting on many levels.  By Wednesday, I was so tired I could barely lift a garbage bag into the dumpster anymore.  So I had the bright idea that I’d just drag that bag across East Milwaukee on its way from my car to the dumpster.   Obviously my brain was about as operational as my muscles.  You have probably already guessed what happened.  Yep.  This is where the rubber (well okay, plastic) hit the road and caused a wee little hole to become wide and gaping, letting loose a string of trash across the street.   And the cars didn’t appear to mind driving over it as I stood there trying to decide how I was going to collect it all as it was being carried on toward Main Street.  And what timing on this unfortunate event as I was five minutes late for a meeting by then.  Even in nearly catatonic state, I know enough to call for help when it’s the best course of action.  I quickly enlisted the assistance of some of the faithful library cleaning crew and they managed to clean up the street while I heaved the bag into the dumpster once and for all.

And darn if that wasn’t all I threw in the dumpster.  Unbeknownst to me, I’d also tossed in my key ring.  The keys to my house, my car, the old library, the new library…my access to the world as I know it, just pitched right in.

I didn’t realize it until about two hours later when I was set to leave the library following the construction committee meeting.  I couldn’t locate my keys anywhere.   Because the library was virtually empty by then, it wasn’t like they could have been hiding in a mug next to the microwave.  Two trips around both floors of the library and I started to panic because my keys were nowhere to be found.

“Okay, just retrace your steps,” I called forth the words of wisdom I’d heard more than once before.  I finally spotted them peeking out from underneath the exploded garbage bag near the bottom of the dumpster.  I am happy to report that Kevin Becker from Yerges Van Liners, Inc. is a talented dumpster diver.  And he is so darn good-natured to boot.  He never said, “That’s not in my job description.” (I’m quite sure dumpster diving is not in a professional mover’s job description.)  He just smiled and scored my keys in record time.

So now you know.  The old library is so empty you could even find misplaced keys in a jiffy.  That is, if you’d actually left them in the building.

The temporary library opens on Monday, March 29th at 9 a.m. at the corner of Janesville and Rockwell Avenues.   We’ve been closed for two weeks and working very hard to make our new home ready.  Come and see!  I should have a much better grip on my keys by then.