"You are coming to a sad realization. Cancel or allow?"

They say to beware the Ides 0f March. They weren't freaking kidding.

So on Thursday, March 15 (that would be the evil ides), I was working at the CA library. This is the one where I work alone. Normally I don't work there on Thursdays, but I was filling in for a co-worker who was on vacation.

I begin performing normal opening procedures. Turn on the lights and computers. Open circulation program. Put away returned books. Then I go into the second room to type in the passwords on each of the public access computers when I notice a giant puddle of water on the computer desk. My eyes beginning to widen in horror, I notice that there is also water on the keyboard and all down the monitor.

Had someone spilled a drink the day before and not reported it? Had I not noticed it when I'd closed for the day? Splash! I look up. There was a leak from the ceiling, dripping down onto the computer. Oh, if only that were the worst of it. The leak had started puddling in the light source, which I had turned on only moments ago.

The Ides of March were trying to kill me.

I quickly shut off the light, run into the bathroom, and grab paper towels. I sop up the puddle quickly, then rip up plastic bags and cover as much of the computers as I can. I know you're thinking, "Uh, April? Maybe you should also unplug the computers?" Well, I would have, Ms. Know-It-All, if all the cords and power strips hadn't been locked in its quad cabinet with the key nowhere to be found.

Boss not answering phone. Call Village Hall, who calls Public Works. Then call back to say that Public Works has their own problem to deal with, no idea when they'll shop up. Call Boss again, who finally answers and heads over. Public Works shows up with tarp to protect computers, but there's no way to empty the light source because of a conduit that is blocking the freaking thing.

So, it's 2 days later, and we still can't turn the light on, just in case. No idea where the leak is from because the building is 100 years old, and the roof has been sealed so many times that it's mostly just tar anyway.

And the sad thing is, there are still a few people in this community who believe that we don't need a new library building, which my boss has been fighting for years to get. They think it's a waste of money.

Walter Cronkite said it best. "Whatever the costs of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation."