It’s Only Some Books
The Messenger 05
Denise Arnault
Copyright © 2024 Denise Arnault
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
This story was originally published as an e-book short story at https://www.storystar.com/profile/23692/denise-arnault#stories
All stories published on StoryStar are free to read. I usually try to publish a short version of my stories there before publishing the longer version on Amazon.
Dedication
All my Messengers stories are dedicated to Monica and to Master Po. This unlikely duo provided me insight into the possibilities available.
Introduction
With help from a Messenger, Rachael learns how to listen to the opinions of others while dealing with misogyny from her local U. S. Representative. She decides to take a stand for what she feels is right, but ends up modifying what right is.
This story, as do all of the tales about the Messengers, provides an uplifting history of an event or group of events concerning a particular theme, as related to me by the sometimes feisty, but always loquacious, Scottish Messenger Doohan MacDonald. Even though he is not MY Messenger, he seems to delight in sharing his stories with me, knowing full well that I will pass them on to my readers. I do my best to pass along his words, as given by him to me, and fault any inaccuracies to the glass of Laphroaig Scotch Whiskey that he bids me to drink in his honor as we talk. He has told me many times that his only regret in his current existence is the inability to enjoy for himself the peat smoke aroma and flavor of this product of his home Isle of Islay.
* * *
Rachel Jackson was so excited when she got the phone call telling her that she had been accepted to the position of the School Librarian at Encanto Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona. True, it was a small school, but Rachel had only just graduated with her Master’s in Library and Information Science from Syracuse University, having finished several years ahead of her peers due to completing so many of the prerequisites while in high school. She had always known that she wanted to work with children and with books.
Originally from New York State, she was not at all used to the dry, hot climate in New Mexico, but to actually have a position in a school library right out of college was very rare. She did not care if the school was small or that it was in a city more like an oven than she was used to. It was a Library! Her Library now!
Classes were to start in a little over a week, so she had a few days to familiarize herself with the library and the school. She dove into organizing the rooms with the zeal of the freshly graduated.
It was on the Friday of the first week of school that a Second Grade class came into the library to check out books for a lesson that they were to have the following week. Rachel hit it off instantly with the class teacher, Paula Malborne. Paula, it seemed, also hailed from upper New York, and was working her first year of her first position out of college as well, so the two had a lot in common. Over the next couple of years, they became closer to each other.
* * *
"Lord of the Rings!" Rachel said incredulously to her friend Paula.
"They said that it was too Satanic," she continued.
"That's crazy," Paula replied. "It's no more Satanic than Harry Potter!"
"Oh, they banned that entire series too," Rachel explained.
The two friends were sitting in a popular local coffee shop, The Beanery, sharing their concerns about the recent announcement from the school board listing the books that were being banned from the school library. The wonderful aroma of coffee, along with the undercurrents supplied by the other delectable goodies, looking sumptuous in their bright display cases, did nothing to salve their increasingly dark moods. Rachel, a school librarian, was filling in her friend Paula, a second grade teacher, on the details of the recent edict.
The two had become fast friends a few years before, almost immediately after being hired at Encanto Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona, when they were fresh college graduates. Both were in their late twenties, well groomed, of average height, weight and appearance. Paula, in spite of her name, was Hispanic with the normally long, dark brown, straight hair, while Rachel was a blonde southern belle with long wavy hair. They shared a passion for education and helping their young students to excel.
"It is just incredible that this censorship can be happening here, In Arizona, in 2024!" Rachel said a little more vehemently than she intended. Other customers were starting to take notice of the conversation, which was increasing in volume to match the incredulity of its participants. "This is not 1933 Germany!"
"Ja, ist wahr!" Paula quipped with a smirk and a wink.
"There has got to be something that we can do," Rachel stressed. "It's just not right that a couple of fanatics, who snuck on the school board when no one was paying attention, can inflict their brand of morals and censorship on an entire school district like that!"
The friends finished their coffee, and agreeing to try to come up with something, departed to head to their respective apartments.
* * *
Representative Robert Charles Thurgood’s office seemed dark. It may have been the result of coming into the dimly lit, darkly paneled space from the bright, sunny day outside. Sounds appeared to be muffled also. All and all, it was not an inviting place. It gave the impression of a 1950s masculine cave.
Rachel was visiting her local United States Representative to seek his help in overcoming the book banning imposed by the school board. She was still incensed that such a thing could possibly be happening in her community in these current times. So many had died ensuring that freedoms should be protected. Freedom of Speech was the first on the list!
Robert Thurgood was just what she had expected him to be, a white man with immaculately combed, mostly grey hair, clearly beyond retirement age, but healthy looking, though a bit overweight. He rose from his comfortable, padded, high backed swivel chair as she entered his office and extended his hand over his desk for her to shake. When she reached for his hand, instead of fully grasping it, he adroitly nabbed just her fingers in his manicured grip and squeezed lightly in lieu of actually shaking it.
“Good morning, Ms. Jackson,” he said in an even tenor, which was just a little on the bass side. “What can I do for you today?”
Looking down to where he held her fingers for a moment, Rachel took a calming breath. She was feeling a bit uneasy with how the meeting was beginning, but responded, “Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice Representative Thurgood.“
"I am the Librarian at Encanto Elementary. I wanted to share with you my concerns about censorship at the school library, and to see if you could offer any assistance," she continued, as he finally released her fingers and indicated the padded chair on her side of his desk for her to sit in.
"Censorship! What's this about censorship?" he said, a look of concern crossing his regular features as he also took his seat again, clasping his hands before him, in a practiced gesture in the center of a blotter which covered about half of the surface of his desk.
Rachel answered, "The school board has banned a number of books for what seem to be spurious reasons. As you know, censoring books is one of the first steps to authoritarian rule."
"Yes, yes, of course, school board," Robert Thurgood said, ignoring the principal subject of her statement in fine political form. "As you know, the school board voted to give itself the right to question whether any book should be accessible to children in the school library. All part of parent's rights, you know."
"But Representative Thurgood, surely the way that they are carrying out such censorship is wrong!" Rachel continued.
To which he responded, "Now little lady, no need to get all up in arms about this. Parents have the right to determine what their children are exposed to."
Rachel, who was taken aback by his condescending 'little lady' comment and blanked out on the rest, started to say, "But…"
Standing up, signaling that the meeting was over, Representative Thurgood stepped around his desk and held a hand out to help Rachel from her chair, at the same time clearly indicating with his body language that he was helping her to exit the office.
Seeing that there was little else that she could do, she rose from her chair also, and let him escort her out the door.
As he closed the office door behind her, she could hear him saying, "I will look into the matter for you." She knew that was not going to happen. His receptionist looked up from the papers that she was working on and smiled wryly, as Rachel crossed the office and exited. ‘He was the definition of misogyny,’ she thought to herself.
* * *
Alone in her one bedroom, second floor apartment in the Wexler buildings on 7th Street, Rachel curled up on her couch with her cat, Lemon, beside her, purring contentedly. The cat was obviously either unaware of the turmoil that her human was experiencing, or it just did not concern her. So much for cat intuition, or was it just true that cats were aloof.
Her parents had told stories of how they had successfully protested "the Establishment" in the 60s and 70s, but she had no idea what that really meant, or how to go about doing it. She just knew that she could not sit by idly while her students were stripped of their chance to get a good education like this.
The Riesling in her glass was neither quieting her racing mind nor lending her any hints, as she had hoped. 'Maybe I should take my hint from Lemon and just not care so much, but that is not who I am,' she thought to herself. It was just that she could come up with no method of swaying the school board, her local State Officials, or anyone else to turn things around for her students. According to the ordnance that had just been passed, she would have to remove the banned books from the library shelves in only a few more days, if nothing was done.
Gaining no insight from either Lemon or the Riesling, she decided that maybe sleeping on it might help. To this end, she headed to her bedroom, planning to take a hot shower, catch a little bit of the Olympics, and hit the sack. Simone Biles and her teammates were going for the team Gold tonight in Paris. That might give her some inspiration!
* * *
Over her breakfast of coffee and a cream cheese covered bagel the following morning, Rachel was morosely continuing to consider her possibilities.
Erasmus, the Messenger sitting on the chair across from her was invisible, an ethereal being of pure energy. He remained quiet, waiting for Rachel to process the problem and come to a conclusion. Messengers can be very helpful, intruding their thoughts as whispers into the minds of those in need of advice, but generally preferred to let things take their course. There were no Infidels around, the equally ethereal, but mischievous beings who loved to stir up conflict, so Erasmus felt that Rachel should be allowed to solve the problem on her own, unless she asked for help.
"God, what am I supposed to do?" Rachel finally asked the empty room forlornly.
'That did not take long!' Erasmus thought to himself, grinning inwardly.
Moving behind Rachel, Erasmus whispered, 'Are elections not coming up?'
When this thought occurred to her, Rachel sat up a little straighter. She wondered how she could use the elections to help her change the ordnance. Like most everyone else, she had no idea how politics worked specifically on problems like this, but she was more than dissatisfied with her meeting with her misogynistic representative.
Erasmus continued, 'Maybe you could find another a way to be heard. Let the public know about the book banning. Get people to band together to change things. Democracy in action!'
Rachel looked down at her coffee cup. This stuff was really making her brain work more clearly this morning! She was starting to get excited about the direction that her thoughts were taking. She had additional thoughts of her Mom being proud of her, with no help this time from Erasmus.
How she was going to get started with her new plans, she did not know. Again, on her own, she decided to look up when the school board would be meeting again. Reaching for her phone, she quickly typed in a query and was rewarded with the information that the school board would be meeting that very night.
Finishing her coffee and putting the cup into the sink to wash later, she grabbed the bagel and headed for her bedroom to get dressed for work. She would have the day to come up with arguments to present to the school board at the meeting tonight!
* * *
It was time. The school board meeting would start in fifteen minutes in the school administration building, which was only two blocks from her school. Rachel carefully closed up the library and left the building. It worried her momentarily when the outer doors of the school locked behind her, closing with what seemed to her to be a final sounding click. It was probably just her nerves!
Rachel reviewed the arguments that she had prepared in her mind as she walked the short distance. She alternated between feeling confident that the board would see the reasonableness of her arguments and with feeling like she was putting her job on the line and would never return to the library that she loved again.
After she entered the building, her first stop was the ladies’ room. She checked that the wind had not misplaced her hair and that her makeup was correctly understated. Then she made her way to the room where the meeting would take place, with two minutes to spare before the meeting was scheduled to begin. It was crowded to overflowing, so she took a small spot against the wall at the back, just inside and to the left of the entrance. In spite of the visible lack of space remaining, the room was crawling with the unseen forms of Infidels slithering between the packed men and women in the audience.
The School Board Meeting started prosaically with a reading of the prior meeting's minutes. Then the Chairman started on a long discussion of procedural minutia that seemed endless. The seated people began squirming in their seats to the accompaniment of the shuffling of feet from the standing room only attendees.
Rachel almost missed her moment as she zoned out leaning against the wall, numbly only half following the monotonous words of the speaker.
A small part of her subconscious heard the speaker say, "There being no further business before the Board, we will ask for a move to close the meeting."
She perked up, her blood rushing to her head, when the words penetrated her haze. Looking around, she did not see anyone really paying attention. It seemed that the meeting was about to end and she had not yet presented her arguments!
Pushing her way forward between members of the packed audience, she held up her hand, like a student in a classroom. Somehow she found the words coming out of her.
"Excuse me, Mr. Speaker," she said. "Excuse me, I have something to add."
The people nearest her looked over and tried to make a gap for her to move closer to the center of the room. Others looked around mildly curiously, obviously wondering what the interruption could be.
"Mr. Speaker, please. I would like to address the Board," Rachel continued as she finally made it closer to the lectern.
The Chairman’s eyes bore into Rachel's, seemingly not appreciating this interruption. "Yes, ma'am. What is it that you have to say," he eventually asked, after what seemed like a year's worth of dead silence in the room.
Rachel, her mouth suddenly dry, her mind going blank, took a moment to answer. She looked around the room at the sea of faces, all of them seemed to be questioning her right to be preventing their leaving and getting to their respective dinners.
Finally, Rachel found her voice. “I’ve come here tonight to question the banning of books from the school library,” she started timidly.
This may not have been her best choice of opening arguments. There was an ominous shuffling of feet, accompanied by a swell of murmurs, and then one loud shout from the back of the room, “Go home cat lady!”
The speaker banged his gavel on the lectern in front of him, as murmurs from the audience started to increase.
“Order!” he said firmly, loud enough to be heard over the rising din. “We will have order in this meeting!”
After a brief pause, he continued, “That topic is closed, madam. It was discussed last month, voted on, and is no longer open for discussion.”
Rachel blinked rapidly as she looked around the room awkwardly. This was not the victorious way she had seen this meeting progressing in her mind! ‘What did he mean that the topic was closed? And how did that guy know that she had a cat!’ she wondered.
Seizing on the easier problem, she turned and asked the crowd behind her, “What does my cat have to do with this?”
“I know you,” the disembodied voice from the back answered. “You’re that librarian at my kid’s school. You got no kids of your own. Just cats!” This last bit was delivered with such bile that it made the entire surreal scene even more unbelievable.
Still totally not understanding, Rachel continued, “It’s true. I am the librarian at Encanto Elementary, but what could my cat possibly have to do with this?”
Another voice, a woman this time, from a different corner of the room interjected, “No kids, no say in this matter!”
She looked dazedly from one corner of the room to the other, still not getting this unusual cat argument.
Erasmus chose this moment to whisper into Rachel’s ear, ‘They question your right to speak of the book ban, since you do not have children of your own.’
That thought burst to the fore of her comprehension like a searing poker!
“What, in God’s name, could my family status or cat ownership possibly have to do with my constitutional right to speak up about the wellbeing of my students?” Rachel asked the assemblage in an lower than usual, firm, icy voice.
“Get the cat lady out of here!” was the only reply.
The Chairman interceded at that moment, “As I have said, the matter is closed. We will not discuss it further. This meeting is now closed!” He punctuated these remarks with two loud bangs with his gavel.
People started filing out of the room, leaving Rachel flustered and frustrated, alone in the center. As Infidels followed people out the door, more than one took the time to offer Rachel a comment, "You should go home." "You cannot impede these proceedings." "No one cares what you think."
Once the room was cleared, leaving Rachel alone at the lectern, seemingly unsure of what to do next, Erasmus, stepped up behind her again and whispered, ‘Your voice will be heard. It magnifies each time that you use it. You must continue your task.’
Feeling a little more steel in herself, Rachel stood up straighter and departed.
* * *
The next day, Rachel was eating with Paula at one of the sidewalk tables at Tony's Italian Delicatessen on Dunlap, not too far from either of their apartments. The weather was picture perfect with almost clear skies, so intense you just wanted to make everything that wonderful shade of blue. The light wind kept everything cool, but did not disturb items on the tables. Both ladies wore brightly printed sundresses for the occasion, and looked very European sitting among the crowded tables with their legs crossed, glasses of iced tea collecting condensation in their hands.
Rachel glanced around at the other guests, a few single diners, but mostly young families with one, two or three excited children, out on lunch adventures. Tony's was famous for their sandwiches and other imported Italian goods, even in this southwestern city where Mexican themed fare predominated. She marveled at how so many people were happily spending their day enjoying each other's company, sharing casual conversations punctuated by the occasional sip of wine, blithely unaware of the pressing political issues going on in their community.
Turning once more to Paula, she said, "A part of me is so pleased for all these people, seemingly not a care in the world, happily spending the day together chatting and eating good food, oblivious to how their children's future is being so restricted, apparently without their knowledge."
"I know," Paula replied. "I just think most people don't worry themselves too much about what's happening in their government as long as it does not directly restrict their day to day lives."
"That must be it," Rachel agreed.
Anyone watching the two would not have thought that they were enjoying the beautiful day any differently than everyone else. The observer might have caught the undertone of intense outrage and fervor that the two felt about the book banning, if they looked closely for the signs of tension in their foreheads, or the firm set of their mouths when not speaking. Neither was eating from their shared Special Italian sandwich, which sat untouched between them.
"Look!" one of a group of men said, as he and his friends approached Tony's from the parking lot. "Cat Lady and her friend are having a treat!"
The epithet, now becoming more familiar to Rachel, attracted her attention immediately. She had discussed with Paula earlier how the phrase had been used last night, but neither could come up with an explanation for its meaning. She decided that the best way to handle the situation was to ignore the cretin and his pals, but they did not seem inclined to let that happen.
Leaning on the post next to Rachel's table, the man stared at her intently and continued his tirade, "Meooooow," he mimicked. This began to attract the attention of the other diners, also.
Standing up from her chair with slow deliberation, Rachel turned and stalked right up to the offender, leaning forward, pushing her nose to within an inch of his.
"What have you got against cats, young man?" she said loudly. Paula had also gotten up and followed her friend, standing closely behind her right shoulder.
The man stammered a bit as he backed away from this show of strength, "G-Got nothing against cats, little lady."
Looking around for support from his friends, he continued a little more firmly, "It's you! You got no kids. You shouldn't oughta be trying to tell us what our young-ins should learn!" He stuck his chin out at Rachel because of what he must have thought was rather witty repartee.
"First of all," she responded. "I am NOT trying to interfere with what any child should be learning, but as the school librarian I MUST take exception to banning books from the library for frivolous reasons. Secondly, why bring up my cat, which has nothing to do with your argument?"
The other diners seemed to be getting behind Rachel on this also. There were comments like, "She's just doing her job!" "Leave the lady alone, Mike!" "Let people eat in peace!"
The man, whose name was apparently Mike, now no longer being an anonymous heckler, glanced at his friends, who did not seem disposed to continue the fight, then turned and left without another word, to the growing applause from the customers dining in front of Tony's that day.
An older gentleman that Rachel did not recognize patted her on the back lightly and told her, "Well said, Miss. You should be in politics with that masterful use of words."
"I have been thinking about running for our local Representative's position. Robert Thurgood was no help in this matter."
The man's wife also stood up and contributed, "You would probably make a fine politician, but you need to get your facts straight on the library book situation.”
"What? I don't understand," Rachel said, looking the wife in the eye with concern on her features.
Seeing that Rachel was open to suggestion, the wife continued, "It is the right of each parent to restrict what books their child is exposed to."
Rachel stiffened a little. Messenger Erasmus, who had been watching and listening calmly, whispered into her ear, ‘Do not make the mistake of refusing to listen to someone’s opinion, just because you do not like them or do not agree with them. Hear them out. Think about what they have said, and then decide.’
Rachel relaxed her stance visibly, and said, "I don't think I fully understand why you say that. Could you explain it to me in more detail?" She deliberately did not use inflammatory words like 'banned' in this request.
"Why, yes dear," the woman responded, warmly, obviously pleased that her opinion mattered to this stranger. "Parents should be able to request that books containing ideas that are not appropriate to the age of their children not be readily accessible at school, especially in a location where they can stumble upon them with no one to supervise and explain."
"But banning books is the first step to authoritarianism," Rachel countered.
"Yes, yes, but the books are not being banned from the public. They are still available in the town library and in book stores. Parents just do not believe that they should be in the school library, which carries an extra weight of acceptance. Surely that seems reasonable."
"That does sound reasonable, when you put it that way," Rachel agreed. She was glad that she had decided to listen to the woman's argument. Maybe she had been a little overboard in her own zeal. "I will definitely think about what you have said some more."
"See, I told you that you would make a great politician," the man interjected. "Compromise and understanding are the hallmarks of a true representative of the people. Not this divisiveness and theatrics that we have these days. You go ahead and run in that election. You will have my vote!"
Epilog
Rachel did enter the election for U.S. Representative for her district. She went on to meet everyone that she could in the district at town hall events, social rallies and get-togethers which promoted hearing from all sides on the matters that concerned the community.
As Rachel was being administered the Oath of Office, after her landslide victory over the incumbent Robert Thurgood, Erasmus whispered once more in her ear, ‘You make your community proud. Never forget that it is about more than just a few books.’
