Shout-Outs: Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

So apparently the dude who landed the plane in the Hudson River and saved a butt-load of people is more than just a national hero, he’s also the model library patron!

That’s right folks, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who logically could have blown off every normal duty in his life following last month’s emergency landing and lived the hero’s life; instead decided to give his local library a call in the days following the crash, because a book he’d checked out was in the plane when it went down.

The best part?

He didn’t play the “I’m Sully f’n Sullenberger” card…no, no…he simply asked for an extension on the loan and a potential waiver for his overdue fines. That’s right folks, the same dude who pretty much has carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants for the remainder of his fifteen minutes asked for an extension and asked for a waiver of his late fees.

For anyone who has never worked in a library that may not seem like a really big deal, but trust me it is. We have to deal with some of the most asinine arguments over library fines and missing books every day and not a gol-darned one of the excuses we get ever involves the phrase “yeah, I lost my book when I made an emergency landing of an airplane on the Hudson River and saved 150 lives.”

No, no…we get stuff like the following:

Reason: “…but I was out of town.”
Response: Big f’n whoop kid, the book was due. You go to MIT, but you can’t figure out to return it before you leave? You’re just pissing your tuition money away here, aren’t you, Dummy?!

Reason: “…I didn’t get the courtesy email telling me it was due.”
Response: How is that my problem? We told you when it was due. You can check the due date online. You were offered a receipt with the due date at checkout. If you still required an email there’s a pretty good chance your comprehension rate is so low the book was doing you no good anyway.

Reason: “…you’re just trying to make money off of me.”
Response: Yeah, that’s right, Poindexter, we’re really fattening up on the five nickels you owe us. In fact, this little fee right here should be enough to fix the leaky roof. I hope you’re late with something again soon, I’d really like a new pair of cleats for softball season…jerk!

So today, I give major props to you, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. Not for that whole life-saving, plane-landing thing…but for the incredible respect and courtesy you showed to your local library. Swing by MIT and I’ll buy you a beer and let you steal whatever you want from our reference collection, because you’ve earned it, buddy!