Monday, February 23, 2009

Yelp!

I don't know how to begin this tale of woe. It starts out simple with such good intentions and ends miserably. I keep a bucket of water with Mr. Clean or something similar in it under my desk for cleaning the unmentionable books that often arrive at the desk. Today, I reached for the Handi Wipe in the bucket to wring it out and thought I felt something. Then, as I was cleaning the book, I moved the rag and there was a huge, albeit dead, cockroach (hear the Psycho music that is playing in my head right now for dramatic effect) stuck to the rag. I didn't really scream like a girl because I'm really a tomboy. I'd call it more of a yelp. After several seconds of doing the creeped - out shake, I retrieved it and placed it in the trash. Now the moral to this is not don't clean the books. Although I have to admit, that was my first inclination. Just check the bucket before you put your hand in. My question is why do roaches like the library so much? Should I call MLC reference and ask them? It doesn't seem to matter if the building is old or new, they still seem to show up. I even found one in the paper tray of my printer one day. (That definitely earned a yelp because it was alive.) I mean it's a library, not a grocery store. I know they can live like a year off the glue of a stamp or something crazy like that, but what are they living on here. I guess Mr. Clean when I'm not looking. The only food here is in the refrigerator or sealed containers. What's an entomophobic librarian to do?

3 comments:

maggie moran said...

Ick! I can happily report that the beetle size (the car not the insect) roaches in our library are rarely seen crawing, but rather napping on their backs with rigor.

Elisabeth said...

OK, first let me say that I have a total roach phobia. I have convinced myself that when I step on one to smish it, I will miss and it will go scuttling up my pants leg. I pull up my pants leg a little to step on them-very goofy. I DESPISE roaches.

My other comment is that I think that like the book glue and all the dirt/dust. Yummy crumbly old things! Ick indeed!

Michellem said...

Remember when we saw a cockroach on the all of a certain chain restaurant??!! Remember how we did good when we could see it cause then we knew where it was and how we freaked out when we couldn't see it!!