(Author’s note - I’ve had this draft on the backlog for so long that the opener which was intended to be shown at the beginning has already bypassed long past it’s relevant sell-by date, and has been moved further down after my personal story.)
I should mention that I’ve been preoccupied with other things, and haven’t exactly had as much time to write as I’d like. Part of this is focusing on my WebNovel, but the reality is that I joined another library to my reading list, and I’ve been taking out loads of books at a time. In essence, I’ve been going twice a week, and been taking out too many books, more books than I normally read.
In fact, I’ve been taking out so many books that I haven’t even been able to read the books that I bought for myself, which is really annoying.
On one particular library trip, my backpack was bulging more than usual. Somehow, despite being overloaded, I still decided to go shop for some cucumbers to take home. I was also carrying an umbrella, and figured in order to leave my hands free, put the bag inside my backpack on top of all my books.
However, due to the weight, I had missed the last bus by mere seconds, seeing it leave the terminal without me onboard. Now normally, I would wait for the next bus, but it had been a long day, and it was cloudy. I figured that rather than wait the extra twenty minutes for the next bus, I could simply walk home.
The first few blocks along the way went by rather uneventually, until I felt an uncomfortable sensation around the back of my legs. I turned, and saw that the cucumbers I’d carefully packed to avoid bruising had fallen out of my backpack. In addition to which, the weather had chosen that very moment to start drizzling.
I started packing up what I could, trying to coordinate the vegetables and the books that had spilled out. It was hard enough trying to carry everything along with the reading book I kept bundled under my jacket to protect it from the rain. I always like to have something to read when using public transportation, and had learned from past experience not to leave the pages open when the first drops start to fall, as it only warps the pages.
Looking back, I could see the bus coming my way across the distance. But I was on the opposite side of the street, and nowhere close to a registered bus stop. In desperation, I ran across the street risking the chance that the driver would notice and take pity on me. All I wanted was to go home so I could dump everything and rest.
Fortunately, the driver slowed down long enough for me to get inside. After registering my fare, I mercifully placed my backpack on the nearby seat and started organizing my stuff. It was then that I noticed that one of my library books was missing. I could’ve notified the driver, but there was no way to let him know without running the risk of leaving my backpack behind. I’d had nightmares about this scenario.
The only other option was to go home and then pedal by bike back here. But it was starting to rain more, and I began to worry profusely about the damage that would occur. Not to mention the bus seemed to be taking longer than usual to get to its destination.
When I finally got out, there was still the path leading to the front door. And moving was notoriously difficult, since I was carrying not just my backpack, but also the book underneath my jacket, and my umbrella handlebar was carrying the bag of cucumbers, which kept swinging with every step. Not to mention my book jacket was also at risk of sliding down.
Somehow, I managed to make the trek to the garage, where I quickly dumped all my supplies on the table, then took my bike out to dash past the last known location where I likely dropped my book. It had already been a long day, and I wanted some rest. And I wasn’t a fan of rain either. The sensation of randomized water drops plays havoc on my senses.
I went out in a mad hurry, yelling against the elements that seemed to constantly conspire against me. If I hadn’t bothered to leave the bus terminal in the first place, I wouldn’t have been as stressed out in the first place. That’s what I get for trying to get a little exercise.
I went down the path, wondering if an unsuspecting walker might have stumbled upon the fallen book and taken it for themselves. This had happened once in the past, and I was fortunate that the good Samaritan had taken upon themselves to return the missing book back to the proper library. But I still hadn’t read the book in question yet.
When I reached the area where I’d spilled my cucumbers, I didn’t see any sign of the book on the sidewalk. I wondered how I could’ve possibly missed it the first time around? That was when I looked across the street and noticed a certain hardcover volume lying diagonally in the middle of the road, being just dodged between the wheels of passing cars.
After a long scream, I ran out in the middle of the street and snatched the Manga off the road where it wouldn’t suffer any further indignity. Fortunately, it hadn’t been damaged at all in all the time it’d been exposed to the elements. Only when I tucked my library book inside my jacket did I allow myself to relax and make the trip back home.
I had this draft of my personal experience all written up and ready to go, save for the fact that I was missing a single image from an Archie comic. The digest I saw the relevant comic in was at a weekly cooking seminar (this was before the pandemic) that had a section of secondhand books that was far more interesting than trying to mingle with people I wouldn’t understand.
I figured that since I saw this particular comic at least twice in 2 different digests, it wouldn’t be unlikely to find reprints elsewhere. It didn’t occur to me that instead of flipping through multiple Archie Digests trying to find a single Professor Flutesnoot story, I could simply enter the relevant terms in a search database. Only problem was, any results I inputted didn’t ensue what I was looking for. The summaries from www.mycomicshop.com/ were helpful, but since every description had a full roster of the Archie cast, whether they appeared or not, it didn't help narrow my
Finally, out of desperation, I decided to expand my search terms to include "Flutesnoot" and "locker", until I finally found the anti-slapstick comic (which turned out to be in Pals 'n' Gals #95 and titled The Destroyer). If it weren't for that singular result, I wouldn't have been able to post this at all.
I also had another recent mishap involving spilling a container of vinegar that wasn't as securely tightened as I thought it would be. Vinegar in my backpack containing not just my personal books, but also my library books, some of which were recent, and would've been very costly to replace.
After going to the trouble of separating the spilled material from my backpack and making sure that the offending liquid was kept in a separate location far away from harm, I was surprised to find out that despite my expectations, the vinegar hadn't affected the books at all.
It seems that despite sharing similar properties, vinegar didn't warp the pages. The only real aftereffects was a noticeable smell, but that was vastly preferable compared to the damage that could've been done. The things you find out...
No comments:
Post a Comment