I grew up in a small town in Iowa.  Living on the West Coast, I rarely have a moment when I meet someone who has heard of my small town let alone knows something about it or its residents.  I recently had one of those moments.

I was meeting with a person from legal about contracts.  I call her the watch dog for that group because she can sniff out and get contracts from anyone.  And, she will push people who aren’t following legal review processes back in line if she finds them.  I was lucky – I was only talking with her about which signed contracts we had not received back from vendors.  Pretty minor stuff considering.

The talk turned to pets and her husband’s love of animal stories.  She mentioned how he had just finishing one about a library cat named Dewey.  I told her I knew Dewey – and he was great.  She looked at me odd until I said – I grew up in Spencer, Iowa where Dewey lived in the library.  I think at first she was skeptical until I explained how Dewey came to live in the library, how he was named, and how you could be reading quietly only to be suddenly startled by a cat landing in your lap.  After hearing that, she told me to expect to be accosted by her husband next time he’s at a work related function because he loved the story.  I guess the story was made even more meaningful by the fact he grew up in a small town in Iowa with family in a town near Spencer.  Cue the music….

I had heard Dewey’s book was coming out, but now need to go find it.  Dewey’s story is written by one of the librarians who found him as a kitten, wet and hungry in the book return.  I recall the decision being made to keep him, the resulting naming contest, and having him take up residence in my lap for a pet and nap.  His presence made most people very happy.  There were always those who hated cats, but the librarians tried to be accommodating to those who didn’t like cats or had allergies.

I guess the story of Dewey is doing pretty well.  Okay, guess it’s doing well is pretty weak – upon looking it up, it is currently #1 on the New York Times Hard Cover Non-Fiction list, #28 on the USA Today Book List, #31 on Amazon, #37 on Barnes&Nobles….you get the idea.  Clearly it is doing well.  There are rumors of possible movie deals in the works.  So, I guess I will be picking up the book.  Check it out if you are looking for something to read.