So I'm going to try some writing
prompts for when things are a little slow to result in inspiration.
Tonight's is whether I'd rather be deck hand on a ship or librarian
at a prestigious university.
While I don't care much about the
prestigious part, nobody who knows me will be surprised to find out
that I would choose librarian over deckhand. While I can appreciate
the traveling life of the deckhand, the purity of keeping a ship
afloat and moving, I prefer the idea of building a library, a
collection of books, and helping people find what they need in them.
Part of it, of course, is my mother's
influence. She was a librarian for over thirty years, everywhere
from grade schools to universities to public libraries and taught
Library Sciences for a time. There was a certain glow on her face
that came up whenever she talked about being on the Research desk.
To her, the best part of the job was someone coming in looking for an
answer to a question she never would have thought to ask for herself.
In helping them find their answer, she found part of the answer (or
more) for herself.
I think it was that moment of
discovery, of hearing someone frame a question for the first time
that she enjoyed most. I think I would enjoy most the finding of
answers, of knowing such a place well enough to feel where the answer
to a particular question is. Of building something that could
perform that task of answering questions and supplying information to
the people who need them.
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