This afternoon I went to my neighborhood library, the Cleveland Neighborhood library, in Washington, DC. Brian, the head librarian. was wearing a soccer shirt. I thought it was unprofessional for a supervisory employee of the DC government to be dressed so casually. Then I overheard him say he wasn't on duty today. He just came in to do some paperwork. Such dedication!
Then I overheard Brian say to a patron, "You know I'm leaving, don't you?" At least that's what I think I heard. Is Brian leaving the Cleveland Park Branch? He's been here since 1988, 21 years ago. I think he became a supervisor in the following year, 1989. Dr. Bash, my old psychotherapist, said it was probably a case of "vitamin P." That's an Israeli term for someone who gets a promotion because of family connections. Dr. Bash was from Israel.
Be that as it may. I wonder if Brian is really leaving. Where's he going? Will he be staying in the library business? Maybe he'll hang up his shingle and open his own library. I think Brian was born in 1960, so he's about 48 or 49--about the right age for a midlife crisis, I'd say.
I can remember the first time I saw Brian. It was during the first week of March, 1988. I had just been terminated by my old employer, the law firm of Hogan & Hartson. I was home and had nothing to do, so I stopped off at the library. It was just before I started working at Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Brian was sitting at his desk. I thought, "I never saw that guy before." That may have been Wednesday March 3, 1988. I think I started working at Akin Gump on Thursday, March 4, 1988--the 55th anniversary of FDR's first inauguration. How fitting! I started at the firm as an agency-supplied temporary employee. I was hired directly by the firm effective Monday June 13, 1988, the same day Jesse Raben, a coworker, was hired. June 13th was the anniversary of Franz Kafka's bar mitzvah. Again, how fitting! My next three years were certainly a Kafkaesgue experience.
You need to be a member of TBD to add comments!
Join TBD