Every Tuesday, Mr. Ellis arrived at the library carrying a toolbox. He never checked out a book. He went straight to the quiet room, put the toolbox under his chair, and read the newspaper for an hour.
After several weeks, the librarian asked whether something in the building needed repairing.
“Not a thing,” he said.
“Then why do you bring tools every time?”
Mr. Ellis folded the newspaper. “At home, when my wife sees me sitting down to read, she remembers a shelf that needs fixing. When she sees me leave with the toolbox, she thinks I’m already busy.”
The librarian smiled. “And what do you fix here?”
“Nothing. That’s why it’s the best workshop I’ve ever found.”