Dubai woman returns book to US library after 33 years

[lhorenzoo]

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enough sa ta sa mga news nga war og corruption , this is a heartwarming news i read today. nakahinumdum
nuon ko basin naa sad koy wa mauli nga libro sa among library sauna da.



Agostino Visocchi, Director of Enrichment with Head Of School, Sister Bridget Bearss, RSCJ, USA, delighted on receiving the book



Dubai: A 51-year-old Dubai resident has made international headlines for returning a library book to her high school in Michigan in the US after 33 years.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this,” Cyntha Gonzalez, a human relationship coach, trainer and writer who lives in Al Barsha 1, told XPRESS.

She said she had no idea how the book T.S. Eliot by Leonard Unger had stayed with her for three decades during which time she has lived in five countries. She had borrowed the book for an English lesson in 1980 when she was studying in Grade 12 at the Academy of the Sacred Heart School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Gonzalez said she moved to Dubai in 1998, her fifth residence as an expat after Mexico, Peru, France and England.


But it was not until last month that she chanced upon the book.

In what is a delightful tale, she said: “The thin little book was lying in my grandmother’s storage basement in Michigan for many years. It somehow made its way into a carton with other books, treasured letters and photographs that I had put aside when I finished graduation.”


n 2004 Gonzalez received a call from her aunt saying her grandmother had taken ill and was moving into assisted living. So she flew to Michigan to help out and clear the house. With little time to sift through her belongings, she simply shipped her stuff including the carton of books to Dubai. But she never got around to opening the box. The carton remained intact even when she moved house in Dubai in 2010.

Last month, however, Gonzalez went on a cleaning spree as her library was getting crowded.

“It was in this moment of de-cluttering that I found the library book. Funnily enough, I remembered borrowing it to help me with T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets in Grade 12. I laughed to myself and said ‘Oh my God, how did this come here? I don’t need this, let me send it back to the school. Whoever opens the mail will have a good laugh.”

For the school, 7,000 miles away, it was more than just a good laugh.

Agostino Visocchi, Director of Enrichment at the Academy of Sacred Heart, told XPRESS: “We are part of an international network of schools, so while it is not uncommon for us to receive mail from across the globe, it was still quite a surprise to see the small package arrive from Dubai.

“It just so happens the day the package arrived was also the first day back for the faculty and staff after summer vacation. It was received by our librarian Meg Butzier who in turn showed it to me. We were absolutely and pleasantly surprised to see what was inside: a 33-year overdue library book with a handwritten note.”

Gonzalez’ note read: “I graduated from ASH in 1980. I live now in Dubai, of the UAE. In a radical de-cluttering of my belongings, I came across the enclosed. Please accept my sincere apologies for the 33-year tardy return! Wishing you and the very wonderful educational institution the very best.”

PERSONAL TOUCH

The personal touch made a huge impact. As Visocchi said: “In this age of instant communication via the internet and mobile devices, receiving a thoughtful, physical note in the mail is rewarding in a way it could not have been in past decades. To receive a kind note from an alumna on the other side of the world attached to a piece of property that we had never imagined seeing again made us all feel very proud. No matter how successful our alumni become, or how far away their lives take them, it is very meaningful to know that we still hold a place in their hearts and minds.”

According to Visocchi, the story created ripples in no time. It was picked up by the Huffington Post after which the school started hearing from other alumni on its Facebook page.

“It is fun to see this story bringing together a great group of girls like the Class of 1980. In a way, the physical gesture of mailing the package has now come full circle with people connecting via an online medium like Facebook.”

“We were a small class of 21 and it’s great to be connected now,” said Gonzalez. A busy woman who shuffles between her roles as a human relationship coach, corporate trainer, seminar leader and writer, she is now deluged with messages and phone calls from all corners of the world.

She said she is currently working on a book due to be released next year.

“It’s about the healing power of amicable divorce. In order to get there, you need rigorous self-accountability, relentless compassion and forgiveness on both sides.”

Back to the library book, did she have to pay a penalty for the late return? Visocchi said: “It is safe to say that no one at Academy of the Sacred Heart had ever expected to see that book again, let alone after one year, not 33!

“Technically, replacing the book, or paying for a replacement is our policy. Since inflation would make the 65 cent pamphlet roughly $1.84 in today’s dollars, that would have also been appropriate! We like the story better the way it played out, though.”

Dubai woman returns book to US library after 33 years | GulfNews.com

[ukelele]

never is late!