American Library in Montpellier

Wednesday February 16, 2011 Day 231

It was apartment cleaning day, so we got that task out of the way and went out for a walk for a bit - no place special, just around our neighborhood in the city centre. When Roger left for chess, I went out to find the newly-reopened American Library. It is near the train station, in the back part of an old building. It is an interesting walk to the library itself once inside the building - I went upstairs and was greeted by a clerk for some business. I told her I was there for the library, so she led me down a hall, turned to the right, another long hall, a threshold over which we had to lift our feet because it is probably two inches high, then through a kitchen area, then another long hall, then she pointed to a door down a ways, and indicated “a droit,” so I went in the door on the right. There, an English lady was helping another lady check out a couple of book. I asked “Are you Patricia Robb?” and she asked how I knew. I told her that I had looked her up on the schedule. I browsed while she finished helping the other woman, then we chatted a bit and she explained some of the procedure. Some of the books are for sale for a Euro or two, others are available for checkout only. I selected three books for Roger and one for myself. Patricia told me that, while the books are actually due in two weeks, there is no penalty and no pressure to return them promptly. She indicated that, if I wanted to check out a book, I must be a member, and that the fee is 25€ for a family. I joined, and checked out the books. I asked several more questions about procedure, then left.

At the grocery store the other day, I saw some soy milk, which is very low in carbohydrates. So I went from the library to the grocery store and bought a dozen eggs and a four-pack of ultra-high-pasteurized soy milk. From there, it was a short walk to the chess area, so I went to see how Roger was doing. He was not playing at the time, just watching. We talked for a few minutes, then I left him and returned to the warmth of the apartment.

When he got back after chess, I asked him if I could give him his birthday present early. He said “of course,” so I did. He seemed puzzled about why I was giving him a canvas bread bag, but seemed pleased that he would have something more substantial and sturdy to carry his chess stuff in. Now if only it didn’t have pictures of talking bread painted on the front of it!