Maybe it’s the weather; maybe it’s the holiday season; or maybe the wait for work to begin at the library is taking its toll…whatever the reason, the Adrian Branch Library has a few activities going on that are a little on the unusual side.
It all began when my boss, Clint, had to remove a set of shelves at the library – which left six tall bolts exposed coming up through the flooring. The bolts were too well-secured to twist out, and we lacked the basic tools to cut them to be level with the floor. “Let’s cover the bolts with Styrofoam cups, right-side-up, over the bolts,” suggested Clint, “that way the bolts will come up through the cups, keeping them secure, while warning people to avoid walking there.” That sounded like a perfect idea…but once the cups were in place, the floor started to take on the look of a game of ball pong.
We did what any responsible adults would do – we located some bouncy balls and tried our hand at seeing if we could bounce a ball into the cup. Very quickly we had to come up with some rules:
1) A point system (thank you, Clint) from 50 points to 10,000 points;
2) A starting point;
3) The player must begin by bouncing the ball off the floor.
We gave it a try. Gotta admit, neither one of us was very good. The thing about bouncy balls is, they are really bouncy! “I think we need ping pong balls,” was my brilliant observation. A few days later, I secured the necessary equipment.
That’s how Library Pong was born.
Clint and I gave it a try with the ping pong balls. Clint, well, he was not good at it at all. I had three balls go into cups, and promptly bounce right back out, knocking over the cups. “We need to find a way to secure the cups so they don’t fall over,” suggested Mr. Boss. (We are still working on that.)
A civilian stopped by the library and managed to bounce a ball directly into the farthest-away-cup, worth 10,000 points… on his third try. I’d like to say there was cheating involved, or that things just weren’t fair, but since it was my better half, there was nothing to do but watch the ball sink into the cup. Argh!
So, just to let the public know, you can stop by the Adrian Branch Library and try your hand at Library Pong. We will be rewarding those who manage to make the most points. So far, someone else earned 100 points. Are you up to the challenge? Stop in and see how good you are. Everyone gets three tries at a time. Good Luck!
So, while that’s been going on, I realized that as we remove shelving, we have more floor space. More empty space. AND I have permanent markers….
Everyone is encouraged to stop by the library and sign their names. Our first two signers were Ellia and Mikaiah, and their Mom, Now it’s YOUR turn! Stop in and sign the floor.
Why? Because it’s there (but not for long!).
