On This Date in 1999 (May 6)

I’m taking a late morning break at work, chicken noodle Cup-a-Soup steeping within my reach. Who knows, I may be eating my lunch without knowing it.

When I got out of bed this morning, the sky looked harmlessly overcast. I was surprised to hear water still running when I turned off the shower an hour later. Rain started to fall shortly after 7:00 and hasn’t stopped since. I had hoped to work in the yard this evening, but that activity doesn’t seem too likely right now. I imagine that Andy’s baseball practice will be canceled, even if the rain stops within the next couple hours. I don’t see any improvement in the weather forecast for the weekend. At this rate, I’m not going to complete all the planting and transplanting I want to get dome before the Memorial Day weekend.

Yesterday Eddie and I had a difference of opinion over how to proceed with his book report, which was due today. The assignment was to read a book on animals and then to answer the questions on a sheet of paper the teacher handed out. Earlier in the week, when Eddie showed me what he intended to report on, I realized he didn’t understand what his teacher had in mind. He planned to read the information on a single page of one of his dinosaur books and use that as the basis for his report.

I planned my approach to this problem carefully, since I knew Eddie would put up an immediate fuss once I offered an alternative, one that he wouldn’t be able refuse since Dad was not going to take “no” for an answer. I checked out three books from the library – one each on the bald eagle, wolf, and stegosaurus. When I returned home from work yesterday, I laid all three on the kitchen table and told him to choose which one he wanted to read.

“Eddie, your teacher wants you to do a book report. That means you have to read the book first, not just a page out of a book,” I explained to him, watching his face harden and his eyes go squinty as the full meaning of my words registered.

Initially, he resisted my suggestion, making a reference I didn’t understand to a certain type of dinosaur in the book he was planning to use.

“Here’s what you need to do, Eddie,” I said, putting up my hand as if to stop the words coming out of his mouth. “Pick one of the books on the table here. You can either read the book to me or try to read it on your own. You can’t use that book,” I said, pointing to the one on the table in front of him, “ for your report. That’s not how your teacher would want you to do this assignment.”

My tone of voice became insistent, which Eddie interpreted as something else. “Why are you always so mean to me?” he wailed, his eyes filling up with tears. He got up from his chair and started to leave the room.

“Eddie, you want mean. I’ll show you mean,” I said in exasperation. My threat was meaningless, though. I had no intention of screaming or striking him into submission. I just needed to vent some hot air, release some of the pressure that this stand-off was causing.

“Eddie, please, sit back down here,” I said in a calm and measured voice. “We need to get this assignment done tonight. Now pick out a book and let’s get going.”

He stopped at the threshold of the living room, and then returned to the table.

He selected the book on wolves and opted to read it on his own. I told him he should remain at the table, but five minutes later I found him lying on his bed – still reading, fortunately. Then he changed his mind and switched to the stegosaurus title. Soon I heard a complaint about “too many hard words”. Reading alone wasn’t going to work, so we sat together on the living room couch and Eddie read all 32 pages (an average of 60 words per page) without a break.

Once he finished the book, we returned to the kitchen and he wrote out the answers to the questions on the report sheet. All told, this was an assignment that took nearly 90 minutes, and I had to be there throughout providing encouragement and assistance. I made a mental note to myself: “JoAnna and I really need to work with Eddie on this reading this summer.” Otherwise, he is going to be at a great disadvantage when 3rd grade starts. For a second-grader, Eddie has below-average reading skills. He doesn’t seem to have developed a sight vocabulary. Even two and three-letter words have to be worked out phonetically, which is why I question the effectiveness of exclusively using phonics in the teaching of reading.

Later in the evening, Eddie told me in his sweetest tone of voice, “Thanks, Dad, for making me do my work. I’m sorry I got angry.” It was an exhausting process for him. At the completion of his assignment, when I told him that I was going to go outside to weed the dandelions in the back yard, he said, “I think I’m going to rest in the hammock for awhile.” Even though he had earned the privilege of watching TV, he didn’t even have the energy for that activity. He did rouse himself before too long, though. The boys and I played catch for awhile, after which the two of them went across the street to play with Matthew. 

JoAnna missed the homework confrontation as she was at an Airport Commission meeting, a Dane County board on which she serves. She did hear Eddie statement of gratitude, though, so I gave her a rundown of what had transpired.

Boxer continues his skittish ways this week. I really think he considers Rusty an intruder; the two don’t seem to get along. During the day, Rusty is nowhere to be found. When I come home for lunch, only Boxer greets me, filling the house with his pitiful whining. During the evening, though, Rusty wants to be part of the family – or maybe the family cat. Both litter boxes and food dishes are in the utility room and sometimes Rusty will post himself right in the doorway, which intimidates Boxer to the point where he won’t even make an attempt to go into this room. We learned of the consequences of this standoff last night. At bedtime, Eddie informed us that Andy had discovered a pooper in his room. Why Andy had to sent his brother as messenger, I don’t know.

 “That’s your job!” I said to JoAnna.

She waited until a commercial break during Law & Order so she wouldn’t miss any of our favorite program.

Naturally, we assumed that Boxer was the culprit, as he occasionally used Andy’s room as a litter box when he was a kitten.

Rusty is old enough to be Boxer’s great-grandfather. He’s 14 and has a weird, almost laughable shape: a fat body on skinny legs. His coat is a very pretty reddish-brown coloring – hence, his name. Even when we are in Two Rivers, he tends to keep himself scarce. I’m sure there have been some weekend visits where we haven’t seen him at all. Rusty’s not a people cat. 

Anyway, our catsitting service ends this weekend, as Alice and Larry will be picking up the rotund one on their return trip from Kansas.

On This Date in 1999 (April 15)

It’s awfully quiet around here right now. Andy is stretched out on the couch playing with his Game Boy. Boxer is studying the back yard through the sliding glass door, probably on the lookout for some rabbit or squirrel. Eddie and JoAnna are attending the final Cub Scout pack meeting of the year, one of two conflicting events on Eddie’s calendar. The other is a reception for students in the Middleton-Cross Plains school district who have entries in the annual art show. I stopped at Elm Lawn school, where the pack meeting was being held, to see if Eddie might want to attend the final 15 minutes of the reception, but he was too involved in some craft project all the boys were working on. I didn’t even ask him if he wanted to leave.

Boxer escaped from the house early Tuesday afternoon while I was bringing some groceries into the house. I chased him around the yard for a half hour, but he refused to respond to my entreaties. In fact, he hissed ferociously at me and would have probably sliced me to ribbons if he hadn’t been declawed. Have it your way, I said finally, and returned to work, feeling a little guilty, though, about leaving our cat to the elements. What am I going to tell JoAnna, I wondered, if Boxer takes off or I find him as road kill? Actually, it was a beautiful day – lots of sunshine with a temperature in the mid-60s, and Boxer never ventured too far from the house. Eddie was able to lure him from under one of our cedar trees along the driveway when he returned home from school. I think that Kitty Meowsers had come to the conclusion that he was a house cat, although he’d probably enjoy occasional outdoor privileges based on the amount of time he spends looking out our windows.

Both boys have a few soccer practices under their belts. Andy has his first game Saturday morning, but the weather might not cooperate. Rain and snow and predicted for tomorrow. JoAnna thought she heard anywhere from 1 to 4 inches. No way, I said. It’s not gonna happen! Just when our daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom. (The bunnies got to our crocuses – curse those furry little pests.) The lousy weather is expected to last through the weekend, which will affect the Babe Ruth Bambino baseball tryouts on Sunday. If the weather improves, Andy will spend the early afternoon at the high school baseball diamond. Otherwise, he and the other 11 and 12 year olds trying out will be in the gym. If Andy makes the team, which is very likely since he was on the traveling team last year, I’m not sure how he’s going to juggle soccer and baseball through the end of May.

Eddie plays his first game on Tuesday. I’ll probably have to miss it since that is my night to work. I better check the schedule since I think that’s the game Eddie is supposed to bring a treat. And, of course, forgetting to bring a treat is a very serious crime!

I did a little yard work Wednesday evening, clearing dead growth and dried leaves from the hostas and other perennials in the front yard, removing the first of the season’s weeds, picking up the silver maple debris – such messy trees – littering the front lawn. I’m looking forward to getting our yard back in shape between now and the Memorial Day weekend.

JoAnna and I were in bed at 9 o’clock last night, but not because we were tired. Wednesday evening is our time to watch back-to-back episodes of Law & Order, our favorite TV show. We caught a new episode on NBC, followed by a rerun from what JoAnna figured was probably the first season, based on the cast, on A&E. Her folks got her hooked on the show last December, and she got me hooked a couple months ago. Jerry Orbach, who played Harry McGraw on a few episodes of Murder She Wrote, plays one of the police detectives in his typical loose, wisecracking style. Sam Waterston, one of JoAnna’s favorite actors, plays a district attorney. Neither can be considered the star of the show. That would be New York City, since all of the exterior scenes are shot on location. All around, it’s very an extremely well-made program, currently the best on TV as far as I’m concerned. But then, what do I know? I don’t really watch anything else on a regular basis.

On This Date in 1999 (January 15)

I have the house to myself right now. Andy is at a basketball practice from 6:00 until 7:30. JoAnna and Eddie are at the health club. Until I sat down at the computer, Boxer was following me around the house, uttering a mournful meow every now and then. He’s been acting peculiar lately, especially during the past few days. Last night I thought I heard him cut loose with a howl. Was I dreaming? I asked myself, lifting my head off the pillow and waiting for an instant replay. Kitty Meowsers jumped onto the top of our armoire, then pawed at the blinds as if trying to get a better view of something outside. Did he see a rabbit hopping across the snow? Boxer seems bored and lethargic. I’ve never seen him so hungry for attention. When I was home for lunch today, he let me rub his tummy and neck and the top of his head without giving me the slightest indication that he was gettin tired of this attention.

“Sorry, Boxer, I have to get back to work,” I told him.

At breakfast, JoAnna had offered a possible solution.

 “I think Boxer needs a playmate.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if we become a two-cat household within the few months. Maybe Boxer’s birthday present will be a buddy to play with while the rest of us are gone during the day.

I got a little annoyed at Andy right before I drove him to his practice. He couldn’t find his basketball shorts. He pawed through the hamper in the bathroom, the one in Eddie’s room, and the laundry basket in the utility room and came up empty.

“Maybe the Maids put them somewhere,” he said, referring to the cleaning service that JoAnna neglected to cancel before Christmas. They were here on Wednesday. I’m not sure what they did since the house looked to be in major disarray when I returned home from work. But now that both Andy and Eddie come home right after school, they have a lot more time to trash the place.

“I had them right here,” he said, pointing to the top of the futon.

“No, Andy, your jersey was there but not your shorts,” I countered.

He disagreed.

Losing patience with yet another search for the missing whatever, I gave the boys an ultimatum, since both Andy and Eddie were guilty of the offense that was on my mind. “There will be no Playstation, no TV, none of your favorite recreational activities until you clean up your rooms each day.” What parent hasn’t had to put up with dirty clothes serving as throw rugs, beds unmade, toys abandoned. Last weekend I did a photo inventory of the interior of the house, bypassing the boys’ rooms because of the clutter. In a way, it would be nice if we had a bigger house, specifically, walk-in closets for each bedroom. Most of my clothes are in Eddie’s closet, since JoAnna completely took over our closet four or five years ago. I can just hear Eddie when he starts high school.

“Hey, Dad, can’t you find another place for your stuff?” 

But back to Andy’s basketball shorts.

Andy directed his comment at Mom.

“Dad’s not going to like it when I tell him where my shorts are.”

He was absolutely right. He brought them to school on Wednesday so he could wear them in gym class and left them in his locker at school.

I launched into a mild tirade, words that have been said, in various forms by many parents, many times before. “Andy, you know you’re not supposed to do that.” (Take his sports stuff to school, that is.) “How many times do you have to be told?”

Blah blah blah.

During this rant, a part of me was still able to act as an observer, and I had to laugh at myself. I wouldn’t want someone to talk to me like that. I was acting too much like a parent who can’t deal with childhood’s shortcomings. Lighten up, I told myself. Don’t let this get out of hand.

Andy reminded me that Elm Lawn school was still open. Even though it was closing time (5:45) for the After School program by the time we got there, a few kids were still waiting for their parents to pick them up. Andy was able to retrieve his shorts and get to his practice in plenty of time. After his practice, he had planned to stop at Blockbuster Video to rent a couple Playstation games, but I told him that was no longer on the evening’s schedule.

“I know, I know,” he said impatiently, as we pulled away from the school. He tested me just before he exited the car at the Kromrey gym. The answer was still no.

JoAnna has visited the health club now for seven evenings in a row, Eddie accompanying her the last three times. At first, she didn’t Eddie would be interested, that he would only be a bother. To her great surprise, Eddie has really taken to the various pieces of equipment that the health club offers. He going to become not only the pancake king, but the exercise king.

I just heard another mournful meowr from Boxer.

“Why are you ignoring me?” he asked piteously.

Kitty Meowsers will get his strokes later tonight. I just can’t be bothered right now. I’m in the mood to write a letter, at least for the next 15 minutes, when I have to pick up Andy.

I had an interesting day at work. I moved my office into the conference room, a space twice as large as what I used to occupy. The conference room will now be referred to as the director’s office/staff conference room. To accommodate a credenza, desk, and computer table, one section of the conference table was removed. The remaining two sections will easily accommodate eight people, enough for both board and staff meetings. My old office will become the reference and circulation office, the two staff members responsible for those library activities sharing this space. This rearrangement of staff workspace became necessary when the city approved the library’s budget request for two additional staff members (a Young Adult Services Librarian and a Library Assistant II) as part of our package to open the library on Sundays. I don’t know if I mentioned this during our recent visit but this is the first time in my 13 years as director that the library received everything we requested in our budget proposal. It amounts to a 12% increase. In the library world, Warren is the flip side of Middleton. I was so fortunate to get this job. It fits me like a glove, to try on a well-worn cliché.

For the past couple years, the library board has been trying to raise my salary. Based on what happened during a closed session with the mayor and city administrator at last Tuesday’s meeting, they have finally succeeded. The city personnel committee will recommend an increase of between 5% and 10% next Monday evening. (The board pushed for 10%, but I think fiscal realities made them have to compromise.) I didn’t get all the specifics since I don’t participate in the board’s closed sessions. This will be over and above the 3.5% cost-of-living increase that all city employees will receive this year. 

Well, it’s about time for me to pick up Andy. I still haven’t told you about JoAnna’s latest free-lancing and job-hunting adventures. She’s doing as well as I expected. It’s not amazing to me how well-regarded she is. After all, she is my wife, my partner for the past 15 years, which include our pre-nuptial era. I’m so proud of her. Sometimes I wonder if the boys realize just how special their mom is.

On This Date in 1998

It’s the middle of the afternoon. Andy is resting on the family room couch and watching TV, his energy level drained as a result of a football scrimmage he played in this morning. Eddie’s in another part of the house, listening to a Beatles tape on my Walkman. JoAnna is at the Erpenbach’s helping to pain campaign signs for Jon.

Yesterday morning I stopped at the house on my way to a library meeting in Monona. As I approached the side door, I could hear very loud music spilling out of the open kitchen window, where Boxer was stretched out on the sill.

What’s going on here, I wondered. Did Andy and a bunch of friends skip school and decide to have a party? Nah, he’s not old enough yet to pull that kind of stunt. (And, hopefully, he’ll be responsible enough never to consider such delinquent behavior.)

Or maybe JoAnna and Hall had another, perhaps final, go-round.

As I was unlocking the door, I noticed that Boxer had a spooked look at his face, as if something had startled him and sent a jolt from his whiskers to the end of his tail.

“Hello, anybody home?” I called out after closing the door behind me. It was an inane thing to say since no one would have heard me anyway.

I walked toward the source of the noise, realizing in two steps into the kitchen that our Bose radio was shaking the walls of the living room. Having developed his ability to leap from a sitting position, Boxer has become skillful at springing onto higher surfaces, wanting a change form always viewing his world from floor level. He must have jumped on top of the bookcase on which the radio sits and accidentally turned it on as he was padding around. He must have also pushed the volume bar. What a shock that must have been for him. I’d like to replay that one and tape it for America’s Favorite Home Videos. It would be an instant classic.

I can’t even remember what I returned home for now, but it’s fortuitous that I did. Otherwise, Kitty Meowsers would have been headbangin’ all day. Andy must have used the radio last since it was turned to a station that JoAnna and I don’t listen to. Our letter carrier might have raised an eyebrow as he dropped off our mail. And Andy might have had second thoughts about entering the house when he returned home from school.

My meeting ended at 1:00, and it was very tempting to play hooky for the rest of the afternoon. We were heading into the Labor Day weekend with perfect summertime weather conditions: a clear sky, temperature around 80, low humidity, a light breeze. Great beach weather. Good day for a bike ride. However, I did have some loose ends to tie up at work, so I made the library my destination, although I did squeeze in a few stops along the way, mostly to stock up on a short list of food items.

Andy was at football practice when Eddie and I returned home at 5:30. He changed into his soccer uniform, and I drove him to his practice. Then I mowed the front yard, which has responded pretty well to my summer-long efforts at reseeding. Last year at this time, the lawn was starting to look like a wasteland. This year a few small bare patches remain, but viewed from the street and even the sidewalk, the lawn is a very healthy and attractive shade of green, with few weed visible.

After I finished with this chore, I quenched my thirst with two large glasses of ice water. I had a half hour to kill before picking up the boys at football practice in Cross Plains.

I wondered if the Cubs game was on TV. During my scan of the sports page I had noticed that Chicago was playing at Pittsburgh. A 7 o’clock starting time there would mean the game had started. I grabbed the remote and pressed the “on-off” button. While waiting for the picture to come into view, I heard the Three Rivers crowd cheering wildly. Something big has happened, I thought, and, sure enough, there’s Sammy Sosa rounding third base, doing his home run trot. #57, which gives him the Cubs’ season record, held for nearly 50 years by Hack Wilson. (I’m too lazy to get up and verify how many years it’s been.)

Eddie had big news to share with me when I picked him up at After School yesterday. All week JoAnna and I had been helping him study for his end-of-week spelling test. Considering the difficulties he’s had so far learning to read, we thought a spelling test could be a very frustrating experience for him. Each night we quizzed him on his list of words: class, fat, have, as, land, ant, band, ask, fast, tag.

I have to admit that his spelling test wasn’t on my mind when I walked into the school. I had to think a moment when he burst out, “Guess what, Dad? I aced the test!”

He was so proud of himself, and deservedly so. That first evening – Wednesday - -he started to balk when I sat him down at the kitchen table for his first practice test, but I think JoAnna and I made him realize the importance of preparation.

Andy’s football team played their first full scrimmage today – four 9-minute quarters against the other St. Francis Xavier 4th & 5th grade team. Andy played center on all the offensive plays an did a great job. His good friend Riley is the quarterback. Andy has attempted a point after, which missed by inches; he kicked an excellent punt, and even kicked off once. In this league, teams do not run the ball back on kick-offs or punts. The ball is played where it is downed, or the receiving team gets ten yards if a player catches the ball on the fly. That’s why Andy’s punt was so good. He kicked it to the right side of the field, where no one was covering. Oh, by the way. The final score? Andy’s team won, 20-14. Next Saturday, the team beings its regular season schedule of games.

On This Date in 1998

I was a little concerned about Boxer yesterday. When the boys and I left the house, he was at the foot of Eddie’s bed, lying on a folded-up blanket. When I returned home for lunch, I found it odd that he didn’t pad into the kitchen and meow for attention while I fixed myself something to eat, which is his usual habit. When he really wants me to get the message, he’ll roll onto his back and expose his underside, where he likes to be stroked. I walked through the house looking to find him and, oddly enough, he was still on Eddie’s bed. He wasn’t sleeping, but he hardly moved when I entered the room. I thought he might be sick, but I didn’t see any indication of that. Do cats run a fever? I don’t know. It might be a good idea if I learn to recognize the symptoms of sickness in a cat. By the late afternoon, Boxer had moved to another part of the house. He hasn’t slept with JoAnna and me lately. He will sometimes sleep on one of the boy’s beds, but he seems more independent now. He doesn’t try to rouse me out of a slepe at 5 in the morning too much anymore. We haven’t had to take him out of the room and close the door for a couple weeks. Saturday morning, when I was just starting to wake up, he jumped on the bed and approached my head, breathing what felt like a snort of air into my ear and then licking it. I just repositioned myself.

On This Date in 1998

No further puzzling incidents to report.

Boxer had started to develop some interesting behaviors. When I open the bathroom door after taking a shower, he will make a dash for the bathtub, hp over the edge, and sit down near the faucet. And I thought cats didn’t like water. He will do this whether the shower curtain is open or closed. Lately, though, I’ve been discouraging him from doing this.

At night, after JoAnna and I have settled into bed, Boxer will join us, placing himself magisterially onto an open space of blanket between us. And there he remains for the rest of the night. He used to try to get our attention as soon as he was awake, but now he is content to watch us sleep until one of us stirs. Previously, whenever he made unwanted contact, one of us would take him out of the bedroom and close the door. Boxer has decided if he wants to stay with “Mommy” and “Daddy”, it’s paws off.

As you can see from one of the enclosed pictures, Boxer likes to laze on the windowsill. He seems very curious about the out-of-doors. Occasionally he’ll try to escape through an open door, but so far we’ve always been able to grab him before he can make a getaway.


Having neither the time nor the inclination – or the tools or the skill – I called a plumber earlier in the week and scheduled an appointment for Wednesday. A number of things needed attention. The kitchen faucet has been leaking, but stopped all of a sudden a few weeks ago. I still had the plumber look at it. As a result, we now actually have some water pressure. The pipe under the utility room sink was leaking, so he replaced that. He installed a new faucet in the full bathroom, a disc-type assembly, replacing the relic that the original residents of the house used. Finally, he replaced the outside faucet by the patio, which we were never able to use unless we wanted to mop up a pool of water underneath the kitchen sink. We’re very pleased with the work. It was almost startling to lift the handle on the kitchen faucet and see a stream of water charging out of it with the force of Niagara Falls.


Staying at the cabin sounds like a good idea. Tell Larry and Kim we appreciate the offer. I need to sit down with JoAnna and finalize our summer schedule, but let me give you a tentative rundown anyway.

The Richard family reunion is scheduled for July 31st through August 2nd. Andy has a baseball tournament in Reedsburg that weekend, so the two of us won’t be going to Two Rivers. If JoAnna and Eddie return to Middleton late Sunday afternoon, we can get on the road to Pennsylvania by 6:00 and try to do the all-night red-eye, not a mode of travel I favor anymore. The target is to get to Warren sometime on Monday, the 3rd. On Saturday, the 8th, Renee (Shulman) Prayzer is having her bat mitzvah, a decision she was moved to make as a result of the success of her bone marrow transplant, I would guess. JoAnna and I would like to attend that. I’d like to be able to have the boys stay in Warren through the 15th, a Saturday. I have a WLA board meeting in La Crosse, 140 miles west of Middleton, on the 14th, which will add a couple hours to the trip to Warren. It’s likely that JoANna will stay home at that time as I’m sure they’ll be some campaign to work on. At this time, it does sound like she can take a week off at the beginning of August, but things could change, this being an election year with three or four hotly contested state senate races. After attending Renee’s event, JoAnna and I would return to Middleton, since I have a library board meeting on Tuesday, the 11th, and JoAnna probably needs to be at Chuck’s fundraiser on the following day. Part of me really hates to think that far ahead. I’m really enjoying this summer and just want to enjoy the leisurely pace. When I look back over June, to the beginning of the month, our trip to a Brewers game seems so long ago. We have made good use of our time – play, work, and just lazin’ around sometimes. The first third of summer has been pleasurable, productive and rewarding. The next week will be hectic, and more than likely very fast-paced, we as prepare for our Bastille Day party. Cooking. Cleaning. Shopping.

On Sunday, the day after the fourth, we are invited to a picnic and bocce ball tournament. Lance and Sue, the friends of ours who are hosting this party, live a block from Warner Park in Madison, site of the spectacular Rhythm ‘n’ Booms fireworks display. This year marks the 3rd annual, and based on the previous two, it should be a very eventful and enjoyable but long and exhausting day. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take Monday morning off, as a couple other staff members will be on vacation.


One of the frustrations of learning a new word processing program is figuring out how to do what was a very simple procedure in the old one. For example, you’ll notice that this letter starts with page 6, and I did continue it in the same document that I started on Monday. In WordPerfect, it was very easy for reformat page numbers. In Microsoft Word, even after consulting the Help topics, I still don’t know what to do. So you just have to consider this a continuation of the previous letter you received.

On This Date in 1998

A thunderstorm rumbled through Middleton early this morning. The noise disturbed the boys’ sleep, as well as their feelings of safety and well-being, so they joined Mom and Dad in bed until the storm passed over. Not realizing they were up and about, JoAnna let out a startled scream as they entered the room. That jolted me awake. We lay scrunched together, listening to the storm, not saying too much. After one particularly loud crack of lightning, the clock radio emitted a soft click. It was 5:00 a.m. and we were without power.

JoAnna and I stayed in bed past our usual time. JoAnna wanted to be able to use her hair dryer after taking a shower, and I was just being lazy. I finally got out of bed at quarter to seven, 45 minutes past my usual time, wondering why it was taking so long to restore power. I exercise on the Walkfit for 10 minutes instead of my usual 20. On warm, muggy mornings, I like to have a fan blowing air on me, and that was not an option today.

Just as I started to prepare the boys’ lunches, I heard another click and then the grinding noise of the dehumidifier. It was 7:20, so we were without power for nearly two and a half hours. At the library, I learned that none of the other staff members had lost power. Must have been a small area that was affected.

Our invitations for the Bastille Day party have all been sent out, and a few people have already responded. I hope the weather will be cooler than it’s going to be this weekend. We are in store for some hot and sticky days. At least we’ll be outdoors Friday evening, out of our sticky house. Ron and Julie are hosting a sheepshead party on their new deck. Saturday we’ll probably go to a movie and out to eat to avoid the heat. The boys will continue to make good use of the family pass I bought for the new outdoor pool here. In fact, JoAnna and I should start going there, although I imagine it’ll be a crunch of bodies this weekend.

A lotta baseball so far this summer. Eddie plays twice a week in a calch-pitch league. Andy also plays twice a week in the Little Bucks league. Last weekend, Andy played in his first tournament, which was held in Beaver Dam. His team started out on a good note, winning their first game Saturday by a score of 9-4. Then they ran up against a very tough team from Fond du Lac and lost 13-0. Fond du Lac won its first game by the same score. Sunday Middleton lost to Beaver Dam, a game that was close during the first two innings, but then Middleton fell apart on defense. Had they won, we would have had to stay around fore another three hours until the semi-final games. I know that some parents and even some of the kids weren’t that disappointed to leave. Overall, it was a good experience for the boys. They’ll know what to expect the next time. Andy will play in two more tournaments this summer, one of which is scheduled in Reedsburg on the weekend of the family reunion, unfortunately.

Boxer is starting to get bolder. This morning he jumped onto a kitchen chair and then onto the table to slurp up the milk that Eddie had left behind in his cereal bowl.. Last week I opened a can of tuna fish and heard a long chorus of meows. Boxer was begging for a taste, which I refused to give to him. JoAnna is still taking about getting a second cat, a playmate for our kitty meowsers. Is this really a good idea? I wonder. I don’t have any base of knowledge in this area, but then I do work in a library where we have books on taking care of cats and learning about their behavior.

So I followed up on this idea and learned the following. “The building of friendship between two cats takes much longer than people want ti to. Most people expect the first and second cats to love each other and play together right away. If this actually happens, consider yourself lucky. It’s rare. Cats don’t believe in love at first sight. It can be several months before they get used to each other. Be sure that you don’t do anything to cause jealousy in either cat.” In another section of the book, the author says you probably shouldn’t leave two cats alone during the first two or three weeks they come into contact. Hmm.

Maybe we want to rethink this second cat business or talk to Meaghan’s dad, our vet, and get his spin on this.

On This Date in 1998

JoAnna and I are suffering through a second week of a summer cold.  Actually, "suffering" is probably too strong a word.  It's not like we've been down and out.  What started out as a slight sore throat gave way to clogged sinuses accompanied by a cough and a lack of zip.  We haven't missed any work.  Until last night, JoAnna hadn't been sleeping too well.  A dose and a half of NyQuil took care of that problem.  I've limited my drug intake to an occasional Vicks cold and cough fizzy drink. I usually wake up in the morning feeling worse than when I went to bed, but once I start moving around -- stretching, doing my usual 20 minutes of Walkfit -- I start to feel better.

The boys have remained healthy.  They both started their baseball seasons Monday night.  Same time, different diamonds.  I watched the first couple innings of Eddie's couch-pitch game, long enough to see him run out an infield hit.  None of his teammates could bring him around to score. On Saturday, I thought Eddie's baseball season might be over.  He didn't want to attend his practice. At first he was reluctant to tell us the reason why.  Not completely successful in holding back his tears, he said, "Some kids don't like me."  JoAnna and I exchanged wounded glances while Eddie tried to compose himself.  Eddie knows a few of the boys on the team.  In fact, one of them, Derek, has been his best friend through most of 1st grade.  Through gentle prodding, we convinced him to attend his practice. When we picked him up, he appeared to be in good spirits.  On Monday, he seemed to be eager to get to his game, especially after I told him that his coach would have a t-shirt for him.  (For some unexplained reasons, he didn't get his shirt last week when the rest of the team did.  When I asked him about it, he didn't seem to want to acknowledge the question.)

Andy's team was playing just a short walk away.  I let Eddie know where I was going and he didn't object.  I was able to watch Andy pitch the 3rd and 4th innings of his game.  He struck out the first two batters in the 3rd, but the next batter, his good friend Rex, popped a basehit to left-center. He was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, so Andy was out of the inning.  In the 4th,k Andy struck out the first batter and threw the next two batters out at first.  The second ball hit to him was a bullet I didn't think he had a chance to catch, but, as he told me later, he looked in his glove and there was the ball.  He really played well.  JoAnna and I were very proud of him.

This weather we've been having makes me wonder whatever happened to global warming. Saturday was cool and overcast, with occasional showers. JoAnna and I painted Andy’s bedroom. We moved Eddie into the blue bedroom. On Sunday it was warm enough for the boys to swim at the new outdoor pool. Monday night I bought along a sweatshirt to Eddie’s ballgame and put it on before the end of the first inning. I found JoAnna in her hooded sweatshirt at Andy’s game. Tuesday was downright ugly. Rain all day. The temperature barely reached 60. Today’s a bit of an improvement, as the sun is finally starting to burn through the cloud cover. I may actually have to wear my shades to the game tonight.

Boxer must wonder why his family spend so little time at home during the week. On Monday, for example, we’re out of the house shortly after 8. I make a brief midday appearance for lunch. We’re all in and out of the house prior to the boys’ baseball games and then gone for another 2½ hours. At least he had some company yesterday evening, but tonight will be a repeat of Monday’s schedule. He got a booster shot this weekend but the vet suggested that we wait until he’s 12 weeks old to get him declawed. He loves to play. This morning he was around my face at 3:30. “Too early, Kitty Meowsers,” I saw as I carry him out of the bedroom and close the door to prevent further interruption of my sleep. For the past two nights, he’s been going to bed with Eddie, who almost takes it personally when Boxer, in a playful mood, scoots away as Eddie tries to pick him up.

My mom wrote us a letter last week but included no additional information about my dad. In the Nelson family, no news is not necessarily good news, but I take it that the bed set up off the kitchen and the specially designed chair have helped for the present. Dad has no upper-body or arm strength left. The couple time he fell recently, Mom had to get one of my brothers to help out. I’m thankful that Lar, Barb, and Dale still live in Warren. Otherwise, we’d have a family crisis on our hands.

Sorry to end the letter on such a down note.

We enjoyed your recent visit and look forward to your helping us host our Bastille Day party.

On This Date in 1998

The past four days could almost be viewed as a mini-vacation. JoAnna and I took Thursday off, and I worked only a half day on Friday. Wednesday was the last day of school for the boys.

The boys and I went to a Brewers game Wednesday evening. This was supposed to be a family outing, but JoAnna had to attend a meeting of the Dane County Airport Commission, of which she is a member, at 5:30. The game was scheduled to begin at 6:35, a half hour earlier than usual since the game was being televised on ESPN. JoAnna couldn’t afford to miss this meeting as her appointment to the Airport Commission had been controversial, the former chair of the county board of supervisors, a Republicans, speaking out against her selection. So Meaghan came with us in JoAnna’s place.

Sitting in the back seat, Andy and Meaghan kept up a steady chatter of conversation on the drive to Milwaukee. They get along so well. At Eddie’s request, we listened to a Beatles tape. Getting to the huge parking lot surrounding County Stadium was not the chore I expected. I picked up our tickets at the “will call” window, and we found our seats after a stop at on e of many souvenir stands. Meaghan bought one of those oversize foam hands, index finger pointing skyward in a “we’re number 1” gesture. Andy bought a miniature wood bat with the Brewers logo on it (why he felt he needed some worthless thing like this I don’t know), and I bought a hat for Eddie. He was the only one without his own spending money. We quickly found our seats in the family section, 20 rows behind home plate. Very good seats, actually. Most of the people in this section were older adults. I didn’t see many parents with younger children. No drinking or smoking is allowed, so choosing seats here is one way people avoid dealing with belligerent, obnoxious drunks (known to be a fixture at baseball games) and polluted air.

The Braves were in town, for the first time in 33 years, when the team deserted Milwaukee for Atlanta. We saw the final of a three-game series, the Brewers getting swept 5-2. The home team staged a rally in the bottom of the ninth, which got the remaining fans revved up. It looked as though at least 30% of the 19,000+ in attendance headed for the exits at the end of the 8th inning. Gotta beat the traffic.

We waited for the crowds to thin before leaving our seats. The worst of the parking lot gridlock was over by the time we reached the car. Andy and Meaghan resumed their chattering – they never seem to be at a loss for things to talk about—but the two of them and Eddie had fallen asleep by the halfway point of our trip home. It was 11:30when we dropped Meaghan off.

JoAnna and I painted Andy’s room on Thursday. What an improvement. The walls were dirty and pocked with nail holes. We had to use a scraper to remove all of the two-sided tape we sued to display the boys’ sports team banners. I had never really liked the color we had chosen the last time we painted this room. A beige with too much of an orange tint. I stopped at Mautz paint store last week and picked out more than a dozen “neutral” color samples. Side by side we were able to determine which one were actually more green or blue or orange than tan. We selected a “Silver Mink”, which looks great. It’s a very neutral color, exactly what we wanted for this room, even though it can’t be classified as tan.

Outside of the baseball game and the painting project, it was a relatively lowkey weekend. Andy spent most of his time playing with Meaghan and Nick. They went swimming at the indoor pool on Friday evening and at the new outdoor pool on Sunday, Eddie accompanying them both times. The outdoor pool was scheduled to open on Thursday, but the weather was too cold. Ditto Friday. After last Monday’s beautiful introduction to June, we experienced an extended cool spell, weather more suitable for the end of April than the start of the kids’ summer vacation. A couple mornings I was tempted to run on the furnace.

Both JoAnna and I have been dealing with summer colds this past week. Nothing major, just a slight runny nose, slight congestion, slight cough. It’s more of an irritation that ailment. Unfortunately, it just won’t go away. JoAnna felt extremely rundown Friday after work, spending most of her evening sacked out on the couch in the family room. That’s when I did some more reseeding in the back yard and swept al the maple “droppings” off the patio.

JoAnna and I went grocery shopping Saturday morning, while Andy was at Nick’s and Eddie was at his baseball practice. Whenever my wife accompanies me on these trips, we end up spending a small fortune on food. Not so bad this time. She wanted to select some items for her lunches and easy meals at home. The boy’s baseball schedules will make a regular suppertime a challenge. But then that goal has always been a challenge. She doesn’t always want us falling back on high-calorie, high-fact options like McDonald’s, which, of course, the boys would choose every time.



We had to change our Saturday evening plans when we learned that the movie we wanted to see, The Truman Show with Jim Carrey, was sold out. We ended up renting a video, Trains, Planes, & Automobiles, a rather silly comedy with Steve Martin and John Candy. The humor was very broad, something I wasn’t particularly in the mood for. I divided my attention between the TV screen and computer screen, where a game of Hearts completed with the movie.

On Sunday afternoon, more than a month after its delivery, I reduced the pile of shredded bark to nothing. I trimmed the evergreens in the back yard, creating a cozy little outdoor picnic nook. We have this beautiful yard (notice how I’m now singing a much more upbeat tune) that we don’t take the time to enjoy. After completing the yardwork chores Friday evening, I sat on the patio and just enjoyed the view.

Boxer is at least twice the size as when we first got him. He’s a very affectionate, playful kitten, sometimes too much so. We are trying to get him not to scratch and bite so much. Not that we’re all covered with scars. When Boxer get over-exuberant, we just put him down. The boys are very good with him and know how to deal with his friskiness.

He comes into our bedroom, purring and ready to play, at 5 each morning. Saying “no” or “go away, Boxer” doesn’t get results, so one of us, usually JoAnna, as I seem to have better luck tuning out Boxer, will take the cat out of the room and close the door so we can sleep undisturbed for another hour.

This is all I have time for right now. We send our love.

On This Date in 1998

Sorry for being out of touch for so long. We should have made definite plans to see David Grisman at the Barrymore. That would have given us both something to look forward to. As it turned out, no surprise, I didn’t go, another missed opportunity to see a performer I have long admired.

Life is proceeding at its usual hectic pace. Only 6 more days of school left, and then we shift into our summer schedule. Which isn’t all that different from our schoolyear schedule actually, since it offers no relief from the usual juggling of activities and commitments. The boys will be attending a daycare program at a local school, one that provides them with a variety of offsite activities throughout the summer. Our evenings, at least three times a week, will be taken up with baseball games. We probably won’t venture out of Dane County until the end of June. (Not quite true.)

The boys and I drove to Pennsylvania during spring break. JoAnna was immersed in a special election. Her busy schedule didn’t permit a break. On the drive east, we made a planned stop at a Holidome in South Bend, Indiana, where the boys enjoyed the pool and a large activity area. In fact, they didn’t get to bed until 1 a.m. Party time! Nothing of interest to report from our four days in Warren, except that my dad continues to deteriorate both physically and mentally form Parkinson’s Disease.

Before returning home, we spent a couple of days in Chicago. I splurged and got us a room at a Days Inn on Lake Shore Drive, just across the way from Navy Pier. We visited the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Museum of Science & Industry, which I first visited when I was Andy’s age and remember being literally cluttered with all kinds of fascinating exhibits. Now there seems to be so much open space and all these rinky-dink displays. Even the boys weren’t overly impressed with this stop. We also walked around Michigan Avenue, bustling with activity, and took a ride on a speeding elevator to the top of the Hancock building at dusk. We had a great time.

Easter weekend the family spent on night in – get ready to cringe – Wisconsin Dells at the Polynesian, a resort hotel with two indoor waterparks. The boys, of course, had been lobbying for this getaway. Perhaps it’s a sign of how much my life has been transformed since those crazy Oshkosh years of excess, but I actually enjoyed myself. Family outings have been somewhat of a rarity this year. The waterparks, a bit of a stretch to call them that, are geared for younger children, Eddie probably being at the upper end of the age range. Andy still had a great time, though. Friday evening, Mom and Dad kept an eye on the boys from the bar, drinking margaritas and playing casino. We told each other we should have got a suite, so we could have some privacy after the boys went to bed.

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in Two Rivers, where JoAnna and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. All day Saturday I was an almanac of historical information. Exactly twelve years ago today, at this very minute, I was getting out of bed with a most horrendous hangover. Twelve years ago today, the men in the wedding party were hanging out in the parking lot of the Lighthouse Inn. Twelve years ago today, I was sweating bullets minutes before Dad’s homily. Twelve years ago today, people had finished inching their way through the reception line and pictures of the wedding party were being taken. Twelve years ago today, Joan Kranick’s husband was wearing JoAnna’s bra at the reception. What a weekend that was!

Saturday evening of this past weekend, after playing baseball with the boys in Nashotah Park in the morning and golfing with JoAnna, Andy, and Larry in the afternoon, we grilled steaks on the barbecue and had a feast. In many ways, it was a perfect day of fun and relaxation. We topped it off by playing cards and sitting around the fire in Larry’s outdoor pit.

Teaching stuff. I survived my class and a series of other teaching commitments without incident. The home front. As a result of years of rough play in the back yard and a blight in the front yard, I’ve been doing some major work as a lawn doctor. At first, I thought about hiring a professional, but the results of my test area in the back yard were very satisfying, so I convinced myself it is a job that I can do. Although I was grousing about its condition in March, the yard looks beautiful now what with the perennials massing and the annuals providing attractive splashes of color. So if it’s not my Middleton Public Library commitments, there’s still plenty to keep me busy.

We now have a new member of the household. Boxer is a little gray-and-white furball, just the cutest little kitty. We got him a few weeks ago when he was 6 weeks old. At that time, I could cup him in my hands. He’s a playful little guy. JoAnna and I have to close our bedroom door if we don’t want to be disturbed at 4 or 5 in the morning. “Time to play,” Boxer says. When I walk home for lunch, he bounces around my feet like a puppy. Today he didn’t appreciate the fact that I was ignoring him while eating my lunch, so he started to crawl up my legs, claws digging into my shins. He didn’t get the hoped for reaction.

I had been resisting the idea of a pet for a long time, remembering our previous experience with Misty, the hairball queen, but JoAnna and Eddie kept pressuring me. They promised that the cat would be their responsibility, and so far I’ve held them to that. As I told JoAnna, Boxer is not going to be like the laundry or the grocery shopping a chore that I take over almost exclusively.

Let us know when you’re going to be in the area. Look forward to seeing you soon.

On This Date in 1998

A concluding note.

The weekend in Two Rivers was very relaxing and enjoyable. Once we returned to Middleton, it seemed to me as though we had been away for almost a week. JoAnna and I put the furniture back in order and rearranged the garage so we could keep an old chest of drawers there rather than return it to the hallway. I took time out from my chores to play baseball with Andy. Eddie accompanied us and skated around the parking lot on her rollerblades.

Now it’s back to our normal schedule.

Boxer, by the way, accompanied us to Two Rivers this weekend. He’s a pretty good traveler, although he did throw up twice on the way home. No major mess.

On This Date in 1998

We received your letter yesterday, Mom, and are happy to hear that you are feeling better.  Glad you enjoyed your Mother’s Day gift.  Since I ordered by phone, calling Ekey’s direct instead of using FTD or Teleflora through a Middleton florist, I have no idea what the arrangement of cut flowers looks like.

I bought JoAnna a necklace, a gold chain with a gold heart and a small stone of blue topaz.  We cooked out Sunday afternoon – chicken teriyaki kabobs, with mushrooms, onion, zucchini, green and red peppers, and tomatoes served on a bed of rice.  Steamed asparagus on the side.  The boys ate chicken and rice; Mom and Dad’s entrees bordered on vegetarian.  We gave up most of our meat since the boys still won’t’ eat their vegetables, at least not the stuff that we prepared.  Eddie will peel himself a carrot every now and then, and both boys will eat a side of peas or corn.  Pretty typical, huh?

Andy had his first baseball practice yesterday evening.  I was working so I wasn’t able to observe it.  The coach has tabbed Andy to be one of the starting pitchers.  On Sunday there are try-outs for a traveling baseball team, and, of course, Andy is interested in that.  It could turn out to be a full summer of baseball.  Eddie has already had two practices.  He’ll be playing in a coach-pitch league this summer.

            
Andy’s soccer team is doing quite well.  They played three games last week, winning two and tying the third.  The tie game was played on Friday evening in Mount Horeb, 10 miles west of here, against their most competitive opponent.  The other team scored a goal on a penalty kick in the last minute of the game.  Both boys have soccer games this evening.  JoAnna’s working, which means I won’t be able to see any of Andy’s game.  His team’s “home” field is 5 miles west of Middleton, at the Sunset Ridge Elementary School.  Eddie usually plays at a field just two blocks from the house.   The field where Andy used to play most of his games the past two seasons, land owned by the city, is being transformed into tennis courts.

            

JoAnna’s expecting to work late tonight.  The Senate Democrats plan to filibuster some cock-eyed bill that the Republicans want to pass.  She checked out a stack of books at the library last night – biographies of Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Andrew Jackson – to help with the effort.  Might as well read something educational as opposed to just spewing hot air.

            

Eddie has become quite the skilled rollerblader.  In fact, he skated to the library yesterday while JoAnna rode her bike.  He’s developed  very good sense of balance, which makes me wonder why he hasn’t been able to master riding a bicycle yet.  Probably because he hasn’t given the latter activity an all-out effort.  Monday evening Andy was pulling him on his bicycle, a version of roller-skating.  I expressed my concern, but didn't forbid the activity – just told them to be careful.  Andy they were.

            

We've had our new member of the family for a week now.  Boxer is a gray-and-white little furball, so tiny when we first got him he easily fit into my cupped hands, although he has definitely grown during the past 7 days.  He’s adjusted to his new surroundings very quickly.  He spent the first few nights with JoAnna and me, but we were both nervous about flattening him as we changed positions during the night.  Friday night it was almost like dealing with a newborn for all the sleep we got.  After that we decided to keep him in the utility room, closing the door so he couldn't escape.  For the past two nights, he has slept on the couch in the family room.  Gaining a sense of independence, I suppose. 

            

Our cat was kept in a box while JoAnna and Eddie drove him from the east side of Madison to Middleton last week.  Hence the name Boxer.  Initially, I thought we should have called him “Birdy”, since his “meow” was more like a “chirp”.  His voice has changed in the week that we've had him.  His coloring is almost evenly divided:  gray on the top (except for a white collar) and white on the bottom.  When I came home for lunch yesterday, I found what looked to be a completely gray cat.  Boxer must have been exploring the furnace area in the utility room, getting his pretty coat all sooty.  I gave him a quick rubdown with a damp washcloth, and JoAnna gave him a more thorough cleaning after she returned home from work.  I hope Boxer learned his lesson.  I suppose if the furnace had been on, the heat would have repelled his curiosity.

            

Boxer really likes his family, although he does seem to be especially partial to the adults.  Yesterday during my lunch, even after I had put a cold cloth to his body, he followed me around the house like a dog, practically begging for attention.  I didn't give him his usual strokes as I was afraid of dirtying the light clothes I was wearing.  Right now he’s playing with my feet, again trying to get my attention, letting out with a “meow” every now and then.   For a little guy, his claws are sharp.  We talked about getting him declawed, something we’d have Meaghan’s dad do since he’s a veterinarian.  I’d hate to come home some day and find that he’s torn up the furniture, especially the nice stuff we have in the living room.  Despite my reservation – the rest of the family had to lobby long and hard to get me to agree to having an animal in the house (I thought the boys were enough!) – I really enjoy having Boxer around.  In fact, we've even talked about getting him a playmate.  Two cats?!  Maybe I’ll have to think about that one a little bit more.

            

How are things going with Dad?  For the past year or so, I have wondered what would happen if he could no longer negotiate the stairs.  Wouldn't you have to move your bedroom downstairs?  That would probably mean transforming the dining room, which I supposed is not the most desirable prospect.  Dad couldn’t be left along during the night, could he?  Do you think at some point you’ll need to hire a nurse or attendant to provide home case on an occasional basis?  At what point would we have to consider a nursing home?  From our last phone conversation, it sounded like Dad took a decided turn for the worse as far as basic motor skills are concerned, which is why all these questions are foremost in my mind.

       

     

You’ll recall that within the past month, I was bemoaning the conditions of the lawn.  My “doctoring” in the back yard has yielded tremendous results.  The large bare spot, the former whiffleball and kickball diamond of summers past, is now a lush green carpet.  Since then I’ve done some patching in the front yard and think that I’ll tackle the entire job myself.  My procedure is to loosen the soil with a rake, spread topsoil, mix in a nitrogen and phosphorous-rich fertilizer, and then sprinkle a liberal amount of grass seed, which is mixed into the soil.   I water on a daily basis, unless it rains, of course.  Now that we have most of our flowers in, the yard has been transformed into something I can be proud of again.  For the past two years, I’ve experienced a major case of the spring blahs when observing the fallow condition of the yard.  That feeling quickly disappears once it comes alive with new plant growth and color.  The yellows and reds of the daffodils and tulips are first.  Then the deepening green of the perennials and grass.  Now the splash of color provided by the annuals we've planted – mostly impatiens, pansies, and coleus.  I just wish we had more time to take in and enjoy the results of all the work we have put into our yard.

            
It’s not even 7 a.m. yet.  I woke up at 3:30 this morning unable to fall back asleep.  Since I felt rested, I decided to get an early start to the day.  I did my Walkfit, read the New York Times, played with Boxer, and have just completed this letter.

On This Date in 1998

As of last night, there is a new member of the 1720 Mayflower Drive household.  His name is Boxer, and he’s a furry little gray-and-white puffball who weighs less than a fistful of cotton.  More specifically, Boxer is a 6-week old kitten.  JoAnna and Eddie picked him up last night at Julie and Ron’s house on the east side of Madison and drove him back to Middleton in a box.  Hence the name. I suggested we name him Birdy, since his “meows” sound more like “chirps”.  And as small as he is, Boxer has a call-of-the-wild cry that will curdle your blood.  He is still experiencing some separation anxiety, although I will admit he did have a very restless night.  Even though we set up a bed for him in the utility room, where we also decided to keep his letter box, he spent the night in Mom and Dad’s bedroom, either between us on the bed or on the floor on JoAnna’s side of the bed.

Eddie is so excited.  He finally has a pet, something that he can take care of.  I carried Boxer into the boys’ bedroom this morning, and Eddie immediately came to life, unlike most other schooldays when it takes at least a half hour of prodding to get the boys in gear.  Eddie cradled the kitten against his chest; both of them looked so content.

I was the last to leave the house this morning, and Boxer didn’t want to see me go.  After giving him a final series of strokes, rubbing the area around his ears and neck, I bent down to place him on the floor, but he dug his claws into my shirtsleeve and wouldn’t let go.  I practically had to shake him off.  He seemed happy to see me when I returned home for lunch.  I think he’s already beginning to feel comfortable in his new surroundings.  He likes to explore.  We’ve given him the full range of the house.  He’s quickly becoming a playful little critter.  This morning he crawled into one of my tennis shoes.  Maybe this will make a better bed, he might have thought.  Before going back to the library after lunch, I noticed that he had used his letter box for the first time – at least the first time that it was obvious to my eye.  (Two little strands of almost ebony poop.)

Boxer looks so funny as he moves around the house.  He seems to be floating, I a bouncy sort of way, just above the floor.  He weight next to nothing so a strong exhale would set him off course.  He has a cute little face and beautiful close-set eyes.  Any reservations I previously held about an animal in the house have quickly vanished—poof!  Overnight I became a cat-lover.

Meaghan’s dad is a veterinarian.  Andy called him last night to ask about getting Boxer declawed and neutered.  The claws can go anytime after the cat is 6 weeks old.  I can’t remember the answer to the second part.

“What are we going to do with the cat during Memorial Day weekend?” I asked my wife.

“We can take him to Two Rivers,” she responded.

“Will he and Rusty get along?” I wondered aloud.

The main question, though, is will Larry and Alice welcome 5 from Middleton instead of the usual 4.

This letter will probably be old news by the time you receive it as I’m sure JoAnna is eager to call your about Boxer.

Happy Mother’s Day, Alice!  Make Larry wait on you hand and foot.  (I can hear Larry muttering from here.  How’s that different from any other day!)

We send our love.

Paw Prints in the Snow

Boxer, our nocturnal cat, spends many early-morning hours sitting by this sliding glass door in the family room.  Looks like some of her buds get to go outside all year 'round.

Boxer, a.k.a. Trina Marina McSheena

Boxer in May 1998.   A new member of the family.

Shortly after I got out of bed to take a walk this morning, Boxer scampered into the living – from where, I have no idea – and started meowing persistently.

”Want to go outside, Trina?” I asked, using the nickname I came up with a few years ago. (From Boxerina. To Boxerina the Trina Machina. To Trina Marina McSheena. Don’t ask me where these names come from. They just seem to pop out of my mouth during fits of nonsense rhyming.)

A rhetorical question, of course.

Even at 13, Boxer still enjoys spending the night outside. We know of other cats in the neighborhood who are given occasional free rein, a few of them even showing up in our yard.

“Trina, it looks like one of your buddies is here,” I call out whenever I see a feline visitor.

Cold weather generally doesn’t deter her. She balks only when there’s a covering of snow, surveying the ground through the glass of the storm door as though it’s a mystery of cat life she just can’t figure out.

This morning Boxer was ready to return indoors at the end of my walk. Once inside she started meowing fretfully.

“Don’t worry. I just filled your water dish,” I assured her.

That’s consistently one of her main complaints.

The sniveling continued, though, and when I walked into the living, Boxer was looking at the upholstered chair where JoAnna reads the newspaper each weekday morning before taking a shower. It’s Boxer’s habit to jump up on JoAnna’s lap during this quiet time.

“Ahh, Trina, your mama’s not here this morning,” I cooed. “I guess she’s deserted you,” I added in a more playful, almost taunting voice.

No wonder she’ll have nothing to do with me.

Boxer is most definitely a mama’s girl. In fact, JoAnna is the only person in the world she really likes and will allow to get close to her.

"I Think Your Cat is Going Loco, Hon"

“Hey, Boxer!” JoAnna called out in a sing-song voice when we returned home from our walk this morning.

I hadn’t seen her let the cat out of the house.

Boxer seemed very agitated, repeatedly meowing, which she rarely does, and practically pacing back-and-forth as we approached the side door. Usually she runs away whenever I get within a few feet of her. Not today. She held her ground and dashed inside as soon as I opened it.

The meowing and strange behavior continued once we were inside.

“I think your cat is going loco,” I said. “I can’t remember when I’ve seen her so worked up. She must have seen something while we were gone that freaked her out.”

Probably a good guess. JoAnna found Boxer on the futon, looking out one of the bedroom windows into the back yard. Then, her feet moving at fast-forward speed, she padded her way to the family room. Eventually she settled down and went to one of her resting places.

After I returned home from my class, Boxer started to meow as soon as I pulled back the curtain of the closet in Eddie’s old bedroom – the one he used before Andy went to school in Milwaukee. It’s not unusual to find her holed up there. She goes in cycles as to where she likes to take a nap: on the futon, at the foot of the bed in Andy’s old room, under our bed, under the dining table. Now, apparently, it’s back to the closet.

She mowed repeatedly, as if to say, “You’re letting in too much light!”

“Where are you, Trina?” (That’s my nickname for her.)

She wasn’t in her usual far corner.

All of a sudden she jumped out of the closet, giving me a slight start, and made a dash for the living room.

“Crazy cat!” I muttered.

After changing my clothes, I found her eyeing the front door.

“Do you want go to outside?” I asked.

She meowed in reply. Just once, as is her usual habit.

When I opened the inside door, she approach the entryway cautiously, her head slightly lowered. I then opened storm door and offered her some encouragement.

“It’s a nice day out there, Trina. A little wet with the melting snow, but the temperature’s almost 40˚.

As if sensing danger, she froze once she was four feet from the opening.

“I’m not going to stand here all day, Trina,” I warned, and then promptly let the door slam shut.
I left the inside door open.

While microwaving some leftover spinach and pepper rigatoni – the recipe is found on the back of a box of Morton’s Coarse Kosher Salt – I watched as Boxer padded her way to the front door, this time parking herself at the threshold. She was still there ten minutes later. I offered to let her go outside, but once again she refused. This time, though, she made a half-hearted swiping motion with her right paw.

“You trying to tell me something, Trina?”

While I was in the family room to retrieve my computer lap pad, I noticed that the shade of the large table lamp was askew. And the lamp is placed in front of one of the windows that face west – the same direction as the windows where the futon is positioned.

My guess is that Boxer had a close encounter with a mother raccoon. For the past two years, a raccoon – the same one? – has given birth to kits in a cavity, about 15 feet off the ground, of the silver maple in the middle of our back yard. She has probably returned to claim her private maternity room. I knew I should have done something last fall to make it uninhabitable. Right now, though, I’m not in the mood to see if the space is again occupied.