Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Things are serious when Dead Celebrities Lady (DCL)calls during the week! Dead Celebrities Lady has only ever called on a Sunday, yet she called tonight, and why? You ask, dear reader. The Michigan budget. Our conversation: DCL: They raised the taxes, didn't they? Me: Excuse me? (our phone is a piece and notoriously cuts in and out) DCL: They raised the taxes, didn't they? Me: Do you mean the taxes in the state of Michigan, ma'am? DCL: Yeah. I heard they raised the taxes. Me: Yes, they did raise the state income tax by somewhere around 0.4%. DCL: They're trying to starve us, aren't they? Me: *laugh politely* DCL: How is that going to affect us? Does that mean that they take out a lot? Me: Well, it means that they take that percentage from what you make, so the amount taken is different for everyone. DCL: Well, I don't work that much. Does that mean they won't take out a lot? Me: They will base what they take out by what you make....

In my earlier post of today, " And another one bites the dust ," I mentioned how Dead Celebrities Lady called this morning (I am noticing that she calls on Sundays). She called again. Thurgood Marshall died on January 24, 1993. He was 84 years old-just in case anyone else out there wants to cross him off their lists.

Dead Celebrities Lady just called. Today she needed to know when Ross Barnett , 53rd Governor of Mississippi (1960-1964) died. Answer: 1987 Other questions that came up: Q: Did he have kids? A. Two daughters and a son Q. Who was the 54th Governor of Mississippi? A. Paul Johnson Jr.

For those of you who may remember me writing about Dead Celebrities Lady , some months back, well, she called again today. She is the woman who calls the library occasionally to get information on when famous people have died. I imagine her sitting at home checking the names of dead people off a list, maybe crotchetting their names onto doilies, or possibily just thinking up ways to bring these dead celebrities up in conversation. "Did you hear that it is going to rain today?" "No, but did you know that Eleanor Roosevelt died in 1962 of 'aplastic anemia, tuberculosis, and heart failure .?'" Today Dead Celebrity lady wanted to know the years that Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt died ( Eleanor in 1962, FDR in 1945). While I was typing this she called to let me know that she was looking through her uncle's records, and wondered when Cab Calloway died (1994). Had to smile in spite of myself. I realized how much I had missed talking to Dead Celebrities L...