That's just fine, Mr. Adams.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION; EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE

You never know what you'll find during spring cleaning.

Well, you know you'll find dirt, outdated lists, pens without tops. There could be quarters in the cushions, pine needles in the floorboards, finger paint on the drapes.

And there could even be some treasures as you excavate the debris of your house's recent history.

At Quincy City Hall last month, a letter from John Quincy Adams concerning his parents' burial wishes was found sitting in a box in the basement. In an even dustier discovery, the New York Society Library, while digitizing an old ledger, was reminded last month that George Washington still owes it two books he checked out in Oct. 5, 1789, plus an overdue fine of about $300,000 in modern money. (It cost less than that to build the White House in the dollars of the day.) The books, Law of Nations and Common Debates, Vol. 12, were supposed to be returned by the president on Nov. 2, 220-and-a-half years ago.

You probably won't find anything more presidential than a wadded bill in a coat pocket. Still, you will undoubtedly find a pleasing measure of peace when the traditional spring spruce-up is complete. Peace, at least, until the screen doors start their summer swinging and slamming, and moths and muddy feet and ice cream drips invite themselves in for their delightfully disarrayed annual stay.

It's a rare housekeeper who can keep up with the comings and goings of life in every season. At least most of us have a clean record with the library.

Article Details

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Title Annotation:	EDITORIAL
Publication:	Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, MA)
Article Type:	Editorial
Date:	May 19, 2010
Words:	264
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