Feeling very honourable once I noticed my library book was due yesterday I added "drop book" to my list of after dinner rounds which included "take carrots for visiting with Slipper, my donkey buddy, then hike with dogs." Not wishing to be weighted down with a purse we simply traveled light and hopped into my Jeep.
When I arrived at our library (a beautiful, new library in downtown Vernon) I was delighted to find it was still open. I thought myself so smart that now I could also check out another book! Arriving at the counter I asked the gal there if my return slip I'd used as a bookmark would suffice as my check out number as I was without my library card. Alas, no. She was genuinely sorry and perked up to say that my driver's license would do. Ahem....I don't have that either. She again was genuinely sorry not to allow me to take the book. I looked honest enough in my shorts, and non matching top especially donned with animal drool in mind -- and with the surplus carrot sticking out of the pocket! I put the book away.
Never passing a biffy I didn't like I made a detour and had another thought. I returned to the check out and asked, "how about my vehicle registration papers?" "Yes!" she happily replied. Out to my Jeep I went assuring my hounds that our walk would commence before they knew it.
Over a moment of shared victory with the librarian I successfully left with book under arm!
What was most delightful was that she was SO happy to find a win. Odds were good she could have looked down her nose at me in my barn-ish attire and officiously lectured me on the library policy of lending. But she didn't! I should have gotten her name to include it in my story. You, dear gal who was helping me at the library shortly before 7 pm on August 30th, thank you!!!
As professionals how refreshing it is to lend service creatively! No one loves a bureaucrat! While we all have rules and procedures (Lord knows we're steeped in law and contracts in Real Estate) the best person is the most creative with how to create a win within the limitations of rules!
When in doubt take it as a personal challenge to find, in the words of my buddy, Don, an "elegant solution" to any dilemma big or small!
When I arrived at our library (a beautiful, new library in downtown Vernon) I was delighted to find it was still open. I thought myself so smart that now I could also check out another book! Arriving at the counter I asked the gal there if my return slip I'd used as a bookmark would suffice as my check out number as I was without my library card. Alas, no. She was genuinely sorry and perked up to say that my driver's license would do. Ahem....I don't have that either. She again was genuinely sorry not to allow me to take the book. I looked honest enough in my shorts, and non matching top especially donned with animal drool in mind -- and with the surplus carrot sticking out of the pocket! I put the book away.
Never passing a biffy I didn't like I made a detour and had another thought. I returned to the check out and asked, "how about my vehicle registration papers?" "Yes!" she happily replied. Out to my Jeep I went assuring my hounds that our walk would commence before they knew it.
Over a moment of shared victory with the librarian I successfully left with book under arm!
What was most delightful was that she was SO happy to find a win. Odds were good she could have looked down her nose at me in my barn-ish attire and officiously lectured me on the library policy of lending. But she didn't! I should have gotten her name to include it in my story. You, dear gal who was helping me at the library shortly before 7 pm on August 30th, thank you!!!
As professionals how refreshing it is to lend service creatively! No one loves a bureaucrat! While we all have rules and procedures (Lord knows we're steeped in law and contracts in Real Estate) the best person is the most creative with how to create a win within the limitations of rules!
When in doubt take it as a personal challenge to find, in the words of my buddy, Don, an "elegant solution" to any dilemma big or small!
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