Gravestone by Kent Barnard

Author:Kent Barnard
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kent Barnard
Published: 2019-04-02T22:00:00+00:00

August 1992 - Ellensburg

Michael James went into the library taking the stairs to the basement level to where the newspaper archive room was located. Not much had changed in eleven years, he mused, and here I am again. But wait, things had changed. He could not locate the microfilm readers. He strolled over to the Seattle Times file cabinets that still occupied their space along the entire west wall, and grabbed some reels. “Hmm, where are those film readers?”

As usual, he thought, no one was around wasting their summer in the basement of the library. He looked for someone who worked there and finally spotted a guy filing some documents in the reserve section. “Excuse me, I’m trying to find the film readers.”

The archives student looked at him for a few seconds with a confused look, as if Michael has asked him where the hot dog stand was in Greek. He answered in an east coast accent, “Film readers? We don’t use film readers anymore, not since we scanned all the films into the computers. Check the computer’s index file for the subject you want and a menu of articles should come up on the desktop for you to select. The terminals are on that table over there.” He pointed to a set of four televisions all lined up in a row, but not turned on.

“Thanks,” Michael said, and placed the film box on top of the nearest cabinet. He walked over to the computers. This was the first time he had ever been this close to a real computer before. It reminded him of Star Trek or something he’d seen in the sci-fi movies. He knew he’d never be able to figure out this machine on his own and he was embarrassed to ask how to use it.

There was a blinking dash in the top left-hand corner of the screen, and a small four page ‘quick start’ instruction manual on how to operate the computer. He began to read the cover page and accidentally placed his hand on the keyboard causing the ‘screen saver’ to turn off. The screen displayed a bright blue and white display with a list of options numbered one to five to select from. The sudden light from the computer screen made him jump and his pack hit the floor drawing the attention of the library assistant.

“Everything ok? Need any help looking for your subject?” He walked over to Michael and saw the blank stare as the screen shined against his face. “Why don’t I show you how to locate a subject, then turn it back over to you?” It wasn’t uncommon for students to be intimidated by a software program they were unfamiliar with.

“So,” he said. ”What topic are you looking for?” There was a long pause, and Michael answered, “Baseball. Who won the World Series in 1985?”

The archivist moved his fingers like lightning over the keyboard. In an instant an October 1985 issue of the sports page of the Seattle Times displayed an article on the World Series game, telling of Kansas City’s four games to three victory over St.

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