Amazing Always

FLORENCE, Ala. -- It wasn't unusual for Brooks High School librarian Debbie Whitehead to have a student return an overdue library book.

 

What was a shock this time was that the book was 17 years late and accompanied by a $620 check to cover the fines.

 

Debbie Whitehead arrived at work Friday to find a package containing "The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays" by Albert Camus. It's understandable the title didn't ring a bell -- the book has been out of circulation since 1990.

 

That's the year Elizabeth Gifford graduated from Brooks. She's also the one who sent the package.

 

Gifford, now living in Brooklyn, New York, enclosed a note explaining that she'd recently found the book and realized it was from her high school library.

 

Another twist to the story is that Whitehead and Gifford are cousins, but Gifford couldn't have known Whitehead was working at her alma mater because they haven't been in contact and she didn't know Whitehead's married name.