3 DEC 04: CHECKED OUT
Today marks the end of an era in Columbus, as the W.C. Bradley Library closes. It's one last opportunity for library patrons from Lumpkin to come north, and show off those brass knuckles.
The Bradley Library has served Columbus for decades -- but in one month, a new library building will open on Macon Road. Some cities have formed lines of people, to hand off books from an old library to a new one. But in Columbus, too many restaurants are in the way to risk getting grease on the pages.
The Bradley Library was one of the first places I visited in Columbus, when I moved here in 1997. I went to the newspaper section, and checked apartment listings in the Ledger-Enquirer - then discovered how different Columbus and Atlanta are. In Columbus on a weekday, they don't even fill one page.
The setting of the Bradley Library probably was unlike any other in the country -- with the sweeping driveway, where 13th Street becomes Buena Vista Road. This library was so well hidden from main roads, it's no wonder few beggars camped outside it.
There was only one road into the Bradley Library, and only one way out. But that didn't stop a few drivers from trying to turn off Wynnton Road, and go in through the exit. Those are the people who probably check out books like "Heather Has Two Mommies...."
The Bradley Library had only two lines of parking - the shady and sunny side. The shady side faced a steep hill with lovely flowers during spring and summer. The sunny side came in handy on those January afternoons when the temperature barely
topped 40 degrees.
Most of the time, my trips to the Bradley Library took me to the reference area. I used the public access computers for projects and web surfing. I consulted reference books on religious questions. And the last couple of years, I marvelled at
the scantily-clad pictures of actresses in "TV y Novelas" magazine.
The Bradley Library had a unique mezzanine level. Walk up the stairs, and you could watch people in the reference area below. Take some binoculars, and you might have been able to spy on someone's small business plan as it's prepared on a computer.
But the second-floor layout of the Bradley Library wasn't always best for the books it stores. Windows shone sunlight into one stack, making the covers fade noticeably. But some of those books are about computers, so the information inside
them probably is out-of-date already.
Many of the shelves on the second floor of the Bradley Library were empty, when I took a last look around Thursday night. Either books already have been moved to the new building -- or people rushed to check them out, because they simply can't stand the syrupy holiday specials on TV over the next month.
So what will happen to the Bradley Library building now? It will be turned into office space for the Muscogee County School District. Who knows how many executive assistants Superintendent John Phillips will try to hire now....
So please don't panic, library lovers - come January 3, Columbus will have a new main library. Let's not have any rumors about W.C. Bradley outsourcing thousands of library books to China.
BLOG UPDATE: I've needed the Bradley Library every night this week, because my home computer still isn't working quite right. Remember the "Restore CD" I was going to run the other night? [1 Dec] My computer is ignoring it! It's treating that CD like all the females who jog by me on the Riverwalk....
When I restart my computer, the system blows right by the Restore CD and starts Windows 98 from the main C-drive. When they say it's a "HARD disk drive," they aren't kidding.
I called Computer Discounters Thursday afternoon for further guidance -- and the man there said I needed to buy and install a new CD tray. I guess I'm not the only one to face this problem. After all, Direct Optical Center had to keep its lasik surgery program going year-round.
I'd been thinking about a CD upgrade for awhile, anyway. So I bought a CD-RW. But I wondered why the store didn't have the opposite - a CD-Left Wing, for liberals.
All I had to do when I returned home was open my computer case and undo the old CD tray. So what happened? I couldn't open the case - because one of the three screws is on so tight, I can't undo it. Whoever wrote the book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" must have written it on an old typewriter.
The pesky screw was coated with WD-40 a couple of times - yet as I write this, still it refuses to budge. Once again, I show what a limp-wristed wimpy blogger I am....
(I suppose I could call for assistance in loosening that screw - but does Ken Nugent "The Strong Arm" do house calls like this?)
For want of a screw, I can't install a new CD tray. For want of that tray, I can't restore my computer system. For want of that restoration, I still can't go on the Internet at home. Yet I still haven't learned my lesson - and exercises Thursday
evening by jogging, instead of lifting weights.
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: For want of all these things, blog updates are unlikely this weekend.)
Now let's rest my weary hands, and consider other odds and ends from Thursday:
+ AFLAC unveiled new signs atop its tower - explaining the old sign had "come to the end of its life." What ARE the symptoms of a dying corporate sign? In some cases, I suppose it's a rush of cash from a buyout....
(The new AFLAC logo has the company duck in the middle, obscuring the letter L. If that duck starts talking to me from the top of the tower, I'm seeing a doctor immediately.)
+ The annual "Night of Lights" event occurred at the Phenix City Amphitheatre - ending with a fireworks show above the Chattahoochee River. Once again, Alabama reminds Georgia how much money it's losing by not allowing fireworks sales.
+ A FoxSports.com projection of college football bowl games predicted Troy will get its first invitation -- to face Northern Illinois in San Jose's "Silicon Valley Classic." When a pairing like this occurs in a place like this, you know there are too many bowls.
(The same projection has Alabama-Birmingham heading to the Hawaii Bowl - for a showdown with Akron! Akron's nickname is the Zips, and the attendance in Honolulu might match it....)
+ Instant Message to WXTX: About your News at Ten ad saying, "Get your news, weather, sports and go to bed" - did David Glisson's attorney come up with that?
(And what if everyone does what this ad says? What's the point of even showing "Seinfeld" at 10:35?)
COMING SOON: I stumble upon a crime in progress....
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