The following is the fourth in a series in which I interview each staff member of the Topsham Public Library.
On your next visit to the Topsham Public Library, if you are quiet, you might hear someone singing out back. That would be Julie – she is usually singing or humming a little ditty to herself. It might be a hit single by her current favorite singer, Taylor Swift, or it could be an oldie but goodie by the likes of Elvis, Led Zeppelin, Carole King, or Cyndi Lauper just to name a few.
Like the rest of us, Julie devours books in her spare time. Her first favorite book was a Johnny Quest graphic novel (she still has one). Even to this day, Julie prefers a good graphic novel over fiction, but she will not choose between sci-fi and fantasy as she does love a steamy, bodice-ripping romance whether set in space or in fairy land. And you can find her reading them all on her e-reader as she is one of a few staff members who appreciate the devices.
Julie also gardens (but it might not be her favorite thing to do…), enjoys walking some of the lovely trails we have in Maine (and I’m sure in Vermont, too, as that is where she is originally from), and takes care of her cat.
Given the choice of being hairy all over or bald, Julie chooses to be bald, and that just proves how smart she is. Not only is she smart, and detailed oriented, but she is SUPER organized. Of all the staff members, Julie’s desk is always the neatest. The magnets on her bulletin board are all lined up in a nice row; the papers she has pinned up are not crooked and they are spaced evenly. Everything has its place.
Julie prefers the ocean to the mountains, summer over winter, take-out over eating-in, Mexican food over Chinese food, mustard over ketchup, chocolate before vanilla, pie instead of cake, and eggs over-easy. She is firm in her preference of Batman over Superman – there is no doubt! And she would rather be invisible than be able to read minds.
When asked what she would do if money was no object, Julie said she would travel beginning in Italy then making her way through the rest of Europe. Wherever she goes, rest assured, she will have the most organized suitcase of all.