We here at A&SC get a lot of help from the students who work for Access Services in the Consortium Library. They help us deal with cleanup from disasters, even when they’re not our own, rehouse new accessions, digitize, describe, organize, and all with an amazing level of cheerfulness and equanimity. We don’t actually have students who work directly for A&SC, so these are people on loan to the department when things are quiet with reshelving and the circulation desk and such.
And we really appreciate that all our colleagues in Access Services make it possible for the student workers to come spend time with us. So factor that in with the fact that we all remember our starving student days, and every so often we pay a little back by bringing in treats for the whole group. This weekend Arlene found herself with too many bananas, and threw together an old family recipe for banana cake (tweaked with her own addition of cream cheese frosting) and brought it in. Apparently it was a hit. Who knew the muse of Poetry was a banana fan? Behnaaz Irani, with some help from Sharyl Kitchin, authored the following piece in honor of the cake and since we can’t share the cake with you, we’ll share the poem.
(Please read this poem with the background song “Take my breath away”)
Dedicated to the memory of Arlene’s delicious banana cake with cream cheese frosting that inspired this crazy creation.
The Cake by Behnaaz. (with help from Sharyl)
There once was a cake of banana
That apparently was not from Tanana.
The Glycol did fall, Arlene did receive a call
The cake was a thank-you to the students,
Not Sumi, or Sam, but for all.
The cake of banana,
Was moist and smooth and fine
Like a yellow silken scarf wrapped
Around a cute baby’s behind.
The cake teased the nostrils, it delighted the palate,
It caused major earthquakes in the gut
You could eat it in a chalet!
A medley of heavenly spices
That awakened a dead man from sleep
The banana cake is so good
It causes zombies to weep.
On my elongated journey through life,
I came to a fork in the road,
To eat a cake rich and creamy?
Or forsake its deliciousness
To lose some much needed load?
But in the end it was decided
Destiny came too and sided
To take the path less trodden
Eat the cake; not the salad that’s sodden.
It is meant to be
That cake and I were destiny
Next time you walk along life journeys
And come to a fork in the road
Remember my story
Pick up the fork,
Eat the cake and make sure you don’t explode.