It took 53 years, but a New Jersey man finally returned a library book to his middle school, WCBS reported.
Harry Krame, of Fair Lawn, found a copy of the “The Family Book of Verse,” by Lewis Gannett, which he checked out as a 13-year-old.
Krame, now 65, said he found the book while cleaning out his basement, the television station reported. It was 19,345 days overdue when he took it back to Memorial Middle School.
"We never saw it again," Dominick Tarquinio, vice principal of Memorial Middle School, told WCBS. Tarquinio said he was shocked when Krame visited the school to return the book.
Krame said he was worried about late fees when he discovered the book -- briefly.
“It lasted a few seconds,” he told the television station. “It was like, I still have (it), sorry about that.”
Krame said he knew he had to return the way, way overdue book, but he also fretted about the possible stern looks from the school’s librarians.
"When (Tarquinio) asked my name I told him I can't give it to him because I was in the witness protection program," Krame told WCBS. "I took it out to read and never brought it back."
If the fines were 10 cents per day, Krame could have been looking at a $2,000 expense. But Tarquinio but his mind at ease.
“We’re not looking to collect,” Tarquinio told WCBS.
Krame is not entirely off the hook. School librarian Susan Murray said she plans to use the book for a display to teach students about returning books, according to The Associated Press.
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