Eureka, Redux

We had a situation here a few weeks back: the sole scanner in our organization broke. As it happens, it sits in my office, along with one of two color printers we possess. Without giving too much away, a scanner is integral to the work we do here. To put it in GRE terms, Pabst Blue Ribbon is to a dive bar as a scanner is to Crazyland. We just gotta have one.

I warned the Long-Haired-One a few weeks before its demise that our poor device was on its last leg. An action plan was formulated at that time, to deal with the scanner’s impending death. S was in on the deal, working tirelessly, calling for advice from our IT contractor, comparing prices of recommended models and checking in occasionally on our dying model’s prognosis. We were all worried sick.

During one of our weekly, bi-weekly, postponed staff meetings, we discussed the next scanner step, with each of us being asked what our scanning needs were and how they might best be addressed in the new model. We all gave our input, and Special K nodded furiously with every response, taking notes like the famed fiddler plays in the “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” It was finally decided that two machines would be purchased since the old one may have died from overuse.

This was a relief to us all. Of course the potential two new scanners were discussed at every weekly, bi-weekly, postponed staff meeting for weeks after, and when the old machine finally took its last breath, we all secretly celebrated the new order. One scanner has since arrived, with the next one, a larger, more impressive one, to come in the new year.

So it makes perfect sense that Special K would wander into my office today with some documents to scan for the Long-Haired One, inquiring if the scanner still worked. I recall that is was she who took delivery of the box, beaming as she came to tell me that our new device had arrived. When I informed her that we had a new scanner that definitely worked, she shook her head incredulously and inquired why we didn’t just get two scanners. “Wouldn’t that be easier?” She asked.

She returned about an hour later with the good news: we will be getting a second scanner!