Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The Return of Sticky Stinky

At New Belfast, where I got an unexpected and horrifiying surprise.

Like I mentioned before, I'm now going to school full-time. Thankfully, the Big City Library system has been awesome in working around my class hours. However, in exchange for such flexiblity, I have to work some strange hours and shifts. Case in point, I'm here at New Belfast working 4 to 8. Anyway, just as I walk in, the busy sheep hits the fan. The place is super busy, with several families getting library cards for their children.

I don't mind giving young children library cards, heck it's one of the real pleasures of the job, but the task can take a little while. And it's not very fun when you have a back log of 6 applications to fill out for a gaggle of kids who understandably are getting antsy staying by the circulation desk when Clifford and Junie B. Jones are beckoning them in the children's room.

After using my "jack-rabbit on a date" skills, I finally get my head above water and go help a father who has patently been waiting to get some assistance. It turns out his kid wants to get on the computer. As I start getting the child squared away on the computer, I hear a voice calling for me.

I turn around, and there he is. Stinky Sticky.

He pulls a lollypop out of his mouth and that old aroma fills my nostrils. I don't really understand a word he's saying, due to the fact that I'm keeping myself from retching, but I'd be willing to bet good money that he wants an extension on his computer reservation.

The best way I could compare this sense of impending doom with Sticky Stinky's appearance is like the return of Omar on "The Wire." Every season, you know Omar's going to show up, and bad stuff is going to happen. However, instead of whistling "Famer and the Dell," Sticky Stinky's gonna have his ever-present lollypop and horrific stench.

Needless to say, I gave him extra time on his computer.

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