Health & Fitness
When A Family Member Thinks You're an Expert
Why is dad calling long-distance to ask about an air rifle malfunction?
My dad called me the other day at work. “Oh no,” I thought, “something’s happened to mom.” Dad, who has always grumbled about the cost of a phone call, rarely calls me at work.
“How’s it going?” he asks conversationally.
“Oh, just fine,” I say, trying not to sound anxious. “Is anything wrong?”
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“No, no, but I wondered if you had time for a question?”
It must be the annual “what do you want for Christmas” question, I guess. “Sure dad, what do you want to know?”
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“I’ve got this air rifle I’ve had for a bunch of years,” he begins. “And I bought a new cartridge for it the other day, but there must be some kind of leak, because it isn’t working correctly.”
An air rifle? What’s my dad doing with an air rifle?
“So I called the 800-number, but it’s disconnected, and the local sporting goods store couldn’t help me,” he continues.
Why is he telling me all this?
“Anyway,” he goes on, “I wondered if you could do a search on the internet and find out if there’s a service center anywhere near here. It’s called a Crosman air rifle.”
It’s a reference question, I suddenly realize. Dad is calling long-distance to ask me, the librarian in the family, a reference question. I feel a sudden surge of pride and importance. When a family member thinks you’re an expert, you know you’re somebody.
My parents still live in the Santa Clara house where I grew up and, though they receive several thousand television stations, they have not acquired internet service.
“Sure, I can look it up right now.” And in about two minutes I had found the Crosman website, and a service center in the San Jose area.
“That’s great,” he says. “I’ve been wanting to get this thing fixed for awhile. There’s a huge infestation of squirrels in the back yard, and I’m going to wipe out as many as I can.”
Squirrels? My dad is going to kill cute little squirrels in our backyard? Mom is going to have a fit. She actually trained their cat not to chase them.
Most of the time librarians receive a reference question, they have no idea how the information they provide will be used.
This is one of the dangers of freedom of information. In our country, information is not a crime.
If I have to pit freedom of information against the fate of the squirrels, guess which one wins?
Sorry, mom.
