This week during a shift at the library reference desk I was asked about the following: Information about bipolar desease because a friend of the patron had just been diagnosed with it. What the meaning of “exousia” was. Whether or not I had an pencil eraser. (I didn’t.) What the zip code was for a small town in W. Virginia. The address and phone number for the magazine Better Homes and Gardens. Where the bathrooms were. What the email address was for a former University President. How to use a Spanish/English translation dictionary. Who lived at a particular address in Ann Arbor in 1910. What the results were for a water test done on a specific drain system. Where the bathrooms were.  (again) Whether or not the library subscribed to a particular magazine. (We did not.) How to get the library to subscribe to a particular magazine. If I had a stapler. (I did.) The phone number for a friend who had moved across the country years ago. How to get annual reports from particular companies. Where to find maps of bicycle paths in Washtenaw County. If I could order a book in Spanish from another library. (I did.)

And then I got to go home.

Heard on the radio while driving home: “Walking’s easy when the road is flat but those dang hills will get you every time. The good Lord gave us hills so we’d learn how to climb.”