Opening day

The library is now open.

Hello world. My name is Margaret Hurtubise, and this is my little corner.

We all know the world is drowning now in a chunky stream of self-indulgent barf called the blogosphere, where anything from a queasy gag to a full-on pea-souper can get published. Still, small-town life must have its place on the map too, and who better than me to promote the sights, sounds, and--above all--safety of Melford, Ontario, right off the beautiful Niagara Escarpment.

Life in Melford is rewarding but busy. My work at the library is a seemingly endless list of demands that scarcely leaves time for the simple pleasures of reading, cataloguing and filing. But Melford, like all good towns, needs an effective public library if all its folk are to learn and recreate with the written word. And so I toil.

Yes, the Melford Central Library is a bustling little place. As Deputy Director of Security, I share responsibility for oversight of the Security Program with the Director, but most of my work is taken up with the direct management of the Tactical Response Squad and their various activities. Albert, Yussuf, Perry and Leo are a fine and dedicated bunch, but they need a firm hand to guide them and, at times, restrain them.

Melford is a lovely town, it's a real pity so few Canadians have taken the time to visit us. We have wonderful lakefront views and charming old buildings. The only thing holding us back is an unfortunate group of people with excessive late fees at the library. They are a vile scourge who should be blotted out--or so Albert tells me. But I suppose every small town must have its discontents, sponges and wastrels. What a mercy that the town council has seen fit to fund my work.

Well, I must be going. Yussuf and I have fallen behind on the annual Ballistic Vector Analysis report, and must catch up. I do hate climbing up the church steeple to take the sight lines, but goodness knows what loss of life there could be if I left the boys unprepared during an intervention.

Safe reading,
Margaret