April 9, 1992

On the Thursday night TV schedule, a big favorite of Jo's in reruns

On page 2 of the Middleton Times-Tribune is an article under the headline "Richard Questions Damon's Campaign Tactics".  Dennis writes an extremely fair article, giving JoAnna's legitimate complaints priority and saving Don's babbling, indefensible defense for the last third of the article.  "Let her file it," he snarls when Dennis asks him to comment about JoAnna's threat to file a complaint to the election board.  "I don't give a shit," is what's left unsaid.  This from a guy who says that Middleton doesn't need an ethics code.

Late afternoon, JoAnna calls me to ask if I want to go to Dave C's fundraiser.  I say no, you go, and I'll pick up the kids.  I fix pork chops, potatoes, and two other vegetables for dessert.

April 8, 1992

TIME

I'm on cloud nine throughout the day.  We don't get to bed until after one on election night and my Mexican jumping-bean brain cells keep me from experiencing a restful sleep.  I awake sometime after three, toss and turn, and try to eliminate thought of Don somehow sabotaging the election. By midafternoon, I'm dragging a little bit.  JoAnna's back to her usual work schedule, which today means that she has a meeting in Milwaukee that will keep her out past ten.  I'm crashed out by the time she returns.  Maybe Andy is too, or maybe he's tubin' out.

April 7, 1992

During the morning, I can avoid thinking about the election because of the need to focus on my ETN presentation, which goes well.  Like the Nuts and Bolts program, I feel as though I have skimped on the preparation time, but my delivery is smooth and confident for the most part.  Amazingly, about halfway through the program, I have to put a lid on the discussion so I can get to the heart of my notes.

After driving home, I find that I have no appetite for lunch.  I take a container of yogurt out of the refrigerator and methodically spoon out the contents.  The afternoon at the library is fairly unfocused.  I leave at 4 to pick up both boys at daycare.  We eat out at McDonald's -- yesterday it was Burger King -- where I chow down three chicken fajitas, a fast-foot entree I actually find myself salivating over.  I'm actually feeling less stressed out, even a bit more confident about JoAnna's chance.  I endure a rather comical Common Council meeting, but considering these are the folks that will be voting on the library budget later in the year, it's a frightening display of pigheadedness and ignorance.  Before the meeting, Bruce Kaufmann addresses Don in such as way as to suggest that Don has the election in the bag.  I remain poker-faced but am chuckling on the inside.

The results are a long time comin'.  Yesterday Tim said he'd have all the totals tabulated by 9:15, 9:30 at the latest.  Guess again.  Considering the speed with which he gets the checks mailed out, I certainly should have known better.  Still hoping for speedy returns, I wait with Jim Wexler and Mike Duren in the administrative office.  Who should join us but Don and his wife, who seems a real friendly sort but studiously avoids eye contact with me.  Once they learn about the delay, they decide to wait things out at the Village Green.  I decide to join the party -- in progress at home, the tension mounting each time the phone rings -- and it rings, chirps, actually, every five minutes. Around 11, Jim calls with the news that JoAnna has won, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th districts he clarifies after JoAnna hands me the phone.  But the 5th is Don's district  so we are heartened.  Fifteen minutes later, Jim calls to ask to speak to the new supervisor from the 26th district.  I relay the news to JoAnna across the living room and a joyous communal cheer raises the roof. JoAnna takes the phone and I give her the hug of a lifetime and feel the pleasant sensation of my eyes welling up with tears of joy.  It's a feeling that rivals the birth of a child.  I'm so proud and elated that I hug everyone in sight.  It's especially nice to have JoAnna's parents with us to share this fantastic moment.  For them it will be a memory of a special time that ranks with the best.  It will certainly be for me.

April 6, 1992

Today JoAnna showed what her campaign is made of.  Commitment, real commitment, not just fat cats digging into their deep pockets, but a deep base of support saying that we definitely have the best candidate, and we don't care what conservative Republicans we tell it to.

About 20 people help her distribute a response to Don's negative piece.  Don, of course, has to depend on the U.S. Mail -- and insignificant stuffing in newspapers -- to get his message across.

April 5, 1992

Russ Feingold is on JoAnna's side

If there's one image I'll retain from this day, it's JoAnna looking helpless and crying as the impact of Damon's latest lit drop hits her in the face.  I'm not as supportive as I should be, but maybe that's just as well.  I give her the time and space she needs to formulate a comeback.  And after Jim Wexler and I revise her first draft, we have a solid response.  Don's biggest mistake is not being secretive enough.  If he wants to have the last word, he needs to be sneakier.

The boys and I spend most of the day outside.  I manage to get some yard work done even though Andy has nothing on his mind but playing baseball.  We spend at least half the day outdoors.

April 4, 1992

Three days before the election, JoAnna's not sure what to do.  There's not need to make a pest of herself, but at the same time, why let up now when the self-appointed Mr. Middleton could come up with a major sleaze move.

While Kelly watches the boys, JoAnna and I attend the Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Milwaukee.  She's sure it's at the Hyatt Recency, but we find no sign of Democratic life there.  The concierge is some apolitical bimbo wannabe.  It's the person to whom she is recommending restaurants that points us in the right direction.

We sit with Bill and Cindy and endure an overdose of Democratic cheerleading.  The previously advertised stars of the show, Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown, are too busy fighting over New York State's delegation to attend.  Hillary stands in for her husband and makes me wonder why she's not running for President herself.  We leave after her rousing remarks.  Supposedly Jerry's 83-year-old mom is standing in for him.

April 3, 1992

One of 4 new movies to make the top 10 this weekend

JoAnna takes the day off to concentrate on her campaign.  I take both boys to daycare and then try to speed through a long list of tasks at work.  Outside of a review of my notes for next week's ETN, I'm quite successful.  Unfortunately, it's not the big tasks -- like long-range planning, staff performance evaluations, budget forecasts -- that I concentrate on.

Once I get home, JoAnna's not feeling well, but I'm sure it's just  pre-election stress.

April 2, 1992

In its next to last season.

Once again my plans to work the evening with Eve go awry.  JoAnna needs to do a campaign mailing, which means I'm tabbed to watch the boys.

During the early afternoon, I conduct a tour of the library for a mixed group from Waterloo.  Unexpectedly, a puffy Mark Morse greets me in the lobby.  He seemed like such a cipher in library school.  How did he ever manage to get offered the job at Eau Claire?  What a strange group, too.  A large minority seem more intent on conducting a self-guided tour.  One of the architects is creaming his jeans at Infotrak.  I'm ready to pack it in until one of the board members says, "Can we see your staff work room?"

March 30, 1992

I finish the LSCA grant reports.  Sharon returns my Friday call, but there's really nothing I need from her.  She still can't work up much enthusiasm about her job and then reacts cautiously when I tell her how well Eve is fitting in.  We all like to hear that we're indispensable, I suppose.

Today's the first day in weeks, if not months, I've been able to work, walk back home for lunch, walk to the library again and then home for dinner.  We don't have a babysitter so I can't accompany JoAnna to the caniddates' forum.  I spend a brain-dead evening watching the Academy Awards presentations on TV.

March 28, 1992

Andy reminds me that we having sausage for breakfast.  I haven't forgotten.  Andy's steel-trap memory never ceases to amaze me.

Andy accompanies JoAnna to the Capitol for the final session of the legislature.  Eddie and I spend about a half hour in the back yard.  JoAnna focuses on a variety of campaign activities in the afternoon.  The boys and I spend some time outside, enjoying the relatively mild, though sunless, weather.

JoAnna and I go out to dinner with Larry and Martha at Crandall's.  It takes us three stops to find a place for some after-dinner conversation.  Branch Water is sporting Damon signs, the Club is too crowded, and from the look of the number of........

March 22, 1992

Biggest-grossing movie of the year to date.

I wait for the roof over the garage to collapse.  During the previous melt, I spotted at least four different sources of drips.  Even though the temperature reaches 40, there is no meltdown.  JoAnna does doors during the afternoon and Madison's Mel Gibson sits at the computer inputting constituent data.  I volunteer to make supper.  My oven-fried chicken gets rave reviews, as usual.  (I'm such a kitchen stud.)

Looking ahead to a long day tomorrow, I decide to go to bed early.  Just as I'm sawing some major z's, Andy joins me.  For the rest of the night, I feel like I'm counting the minutes until it's time to get up, get dressed, and get to the Wisconsin Center.  I'm sure I catch a few winks, but it feels like I've been up all night.  My dreams seem to segue with a very uncomfortable reality.

March 21, 1992

The weekend's top-grossing movie

JoAnna's day is pretty much booked, but we find a little time for a family breakfast outing at Perkins.  We drive there in separate vehicles as JoAnna will need to make an earlier-than-the-rest-of-us departure.  Having already scarfed down a peanut-butter-and-jelly English muffin a couple of hours earlier, I bypass the major chow and order potato pancakes.  Used to be, back in the seventies, this was the only thing I ordered off Perkins' menu.

Snow falls throughout the day.  By the early afternoon at least four inches accumulates.  JoAnna hesitates about going out, but I encourage her to keep to her schedule of doing doors.  She goes out for a couple of hours.  By the time she returns, there is 6 or 7 snow on the ground.

JoAnna makes Swedish meatballs for supper and then shovels the sidewalk and driveway.  I'm the one who should be outside getting exercise, but I continue to burn off calories in my dreams.

March 14, 1992

Highest per screen average in its opening weekend

I get the house and myself ready to greet the in-laws.  JoAnna has a big campaign afternoon planned, doing a "knock and drop" in Foxridge with Larry.  It takes them 2 1/2 hours to complete.  Once the family is back together in the late afternoon, we consider going out to eat, but I volunteer to make supper since there's a practically thawed package of chicken on the kitchen counter.

March 8, 1992

New York Times

The other day, when I was cleaning out the TV room closet, Eddie insisted on playing with the plastic garbage bag I was tossing rejects into.  After awhile he disappeared briefly and reappeared with his own bag.  One of the first things he does this morning is grab his jacket.  He wants to go outside.  And it's a perfect day for it.  I take the boys to the park; JoAnna follows 15 minutes later. Andy decides he doesn't want to ride his bike home and cries and carries on stubbornly for awhile.

JoAnna campaigns in the afternon.

Saturday, February 29, 1992

A springlike day has us in the mood for household chores.  We take apart the crib and rearrange the boys' room.  Then, so we'll have some place to store the disassembled piece of furniture, I clean out and reorganize the garage.  JoAnna does doors during most of the afternoon.

I should back up, though.  The first business of the day is the Kiwanis pancake breakfast, where Andy does a very poor job of behaving himself.  He gets a time out as soon as we return home -- plus an announcement that they'll be no television through the afternoon.  He finds plenty to do to keep himself occupied.  JoAnna and I should consider this approach more often.

Saturday, February 15, 1992

Yesterday I started out by saying how difficult Andy was.  I should have started with my first moment of consciousness, hearing Eddie's voice drift through the monitor.  JoAnna and I walk to the boys' bedroom and greet our two precious guys with an avalanche of love.  Before getting the morning into gear, the four of us snuggle on the love seat in the living room.  Love and kisses. Family hugs and kisses.

OK, so this morning's not as Norman Rockwellish, but again it's Eddie's voice that rouses us.  I retrieve the little guy for some 2-on-1 affection.  Andy sleeps in.  I suppose I shouldn't even think this, but sometimes Eddie seems to special, so destined for previously unattainable heights.  Then I look at Andy and see a unique little man.  And of course, we're the only parents that have to deal with these mindbends.  Maybe during the last millisecond.

JoAnna's fundraiser = new babysitter.  Both JoAnna and I are impressed with Kelly (last name Kramer).  She is so assured, so self-confident.  We have no worries, and I wish I had asked her to stay until 9 or 10.  That would have given us an opportunity to go out with Larry and Martha.  But now I'm ahead of myself.  JoAnna's fundraiser at Steve Koslov and Mary Fulton's house is a big success.  JoAnna gets down during the morning.  We wake up to a 6" carpet of snow on the ground -- guess who shovels -- and around the noon hour her folks call to say they won't be making the trip to Middleton.  That brings her down bigtime.

"No one's going to be there," she bewails.

"Nonsense," I say.

Perhaps the best indicator in this argument is the appearance of the allegedly unsociable couple John and Sue Westbury.

I'm so proud of my wife.  We've gone to many fundraiser together and therefore I know the agenda.  When it comes time for her to give her speech, I'm standing on the sidelines willing to be no more than an observer, Mary Fulton tells me to stand by my woman.  And I do, and I'm bursting with pride to do so.  Dorothy Shannon gives a warm, extremely heartfelt introduction.  I practically have to blink back the tears.

Thursday, February 13, 1992

I'm looking forward to the end of the day.  No more interviews and a decision made.  I spend most of the morning organizing my notes, handouts, and other materials for April's Reference Interview ETN.  I realize what a breeze this program is going to be.  Except for a couple of exercise sheets, I have all the material.  During my lunch break, I go on what amounts to a wild goose chase for JoAnna.

The afternoon starts out on a positive note.  Vincent conducts a very strong, albeit overly dramatic, storytime.  He does songs, fingerplays, and a flannelboard story.  The two books he reads are almost an aside, incidental to his otherwise supercharged performance.  Then comes the interview. Vincent holds us hostage for two hours.  I didn't we were ever going to be able to leave the conference room.  Here is a candidate who on the verge of blowing away the competition talked his way out of a job.  No way could I work with such a motormouth.

I left the library with a severe headache and drove to Kids Play to pick up the boys.  Eddie has adjusted so well to his daytime surroundings.  No more teary greetings.

While JoAnna is conducting a campaign committee meeting, Andy and I seclude ourselves in the master bedroom.  I let a couple of martinis melt away the frustrations of an uneven day.  A high point, though, is calling Eve and leaving a very enthusiastic message on her answering machine. She calls back within an hour, obviously pleased with our choice.  At bedtime, I tell Andy the story of the three bears for the 326th time and then we act goofy and giggle until JoAnna looks in on us. I keep Andy up until 10.

Sunday, January 26, 1992

With Eddie still a little bit under the weather, I'm pretty much housebound.  JoAnna spends much of the afternoon doing doors, so even going outside with Andy to build a snowman is easier said than done.

At the beginning of the Super Bowl, I call my folks.  They seem surprised that we don't have the game on.  And except for a quick check of the score late in the fourth quarter, that's the way it remains.  No commercial fest for me.

The "Men on Football" segment of In Living Color is funny.  The actors imply that both Richard ere and Carl Lewis are gay.

Wednesday, January 22, 1992

The interview schedule is finally starting to take shape.  Diane is willing to move up her time by three weeks.  After having two candidates decline an interview because they had already been offered jobs, I feel a desperate need to speed up the entire hiring process.  Vincent sound somewhat effeminate over the phone, but I can't let that color my judgment.

Today I provide round-trip taxi service to daycare. When I pick up the boys, Eddie appears to have just run out of patience.  He scrunches his face and lets out a wail as soon as he sees me.  Once I hold him for awhile, he's his usual and happy charming self.

It's dinner preparation time once we get home.  Later on, JoAnna and I discuss Don Damon's and Julie Brunnette's opinion of libraries.  They still see the building as Julie Sherman's library, the type of juvenile thinking you'd expect from these two troglodytes.

Thursday, January 16, 1992

By the time I stop at the library to pick up my meeting files, I'm already a little behind schedule.  Ilene mentions that the printer isn't working, and I can't figure out how to get the message to print onscreen.  Nonetheless, I get to Oregon for the LINK meeting at one minute after nine, and everyone is still milling around drinking coffee and eating donuts.  We breeze through the agenda, and after a stop at the credit union to learn why my TYME card won't work, I'm only an hour late for the WLA finance committee meeting.

Back at Middleton, I and other city department heads meet with the mayor.  Naturally, he has news of a crisis.  Why else would we be all be together?  The city's health insurance premiums have increased 36%.

JoAnna meets with her campaign staff during the evening while Andy and I go grocery shopping.