On This Date in 1998

It’s T-minus 30 minutes until the kick-off of today’s big game, at least as far as the Upper Midwest is concerned. Packers vs. Vikings in the dome. We hope that it’s time for some green-and-gold revenge. Yesterday was a proud day for Wisconsin, as the Badgers convincingly beat Penn State, 24-3. It was almost the first time since Paterno’s rookie season as coach that the Nittany Lions were shut out twice. JoAnna and I watched the game on TV from start to finish, cheering or groaning on every play. 

What beautiful weather we are experiencing this weekend. Although it’s a bit on the breezy side, the sun is shining and the air is warm – the temperature already at 50 degrees. Yesterday I tied up our cedar trees so the branches won’t fan out so much. I think they are now ready for the first heavy snowfall of the winter season, which at this rate might never arrive. (I wouldn’t be on it, though.) 

Since Joey Kracht seemed eager to play with Eddie last weekend, Eddie gave him a call yesterday morning. Instead of inviting Joey to our house, he invites himself to Joey’s house, a faux pas that JoAnna caught and corrected. 

“But I don’t have any good toys to play with,” Eddie complained. 

JoAnna tried to explain to him that real friends are more interested in you than in your toys. Joey was here from 2:45 to 5:00, and he enjoyed every minute of his visit, which I think helped Eddie to understand what Mom was telling him. 



After supper last night (meat loaf – which even the boys described as very tasty – baked potatoes, corn and beans), the family went to see The Rugrats Movie, which was at the top of Eddie’s must-see list. I found it a bit tedious, the diapered-kids-lost-in-the-forest storyline almost bizarre, and the musical numbers intrusive. Even Eddie rated it only a half-hearted “OK” as we walked back to the car. Of course, nowadays, even a mediocre movie is an enjoyable experience with the latest movie theater upgrade: stadium seating, the rows of upholstered chair fanning upward from the screen. It’s nice for the boys, especially Eddie, since now we don’t have to switch seats if an adult sits in front of them. 

Time for a change of pace. 

Fifth grade in 1998. Fifth grade in 1960. 

Second grade in 1998. Second grade in 1957. 

I often think about my school and home life experiences during grade school compared with the boys’. I think it would make an interesting article, but what I first need to do is make some notes. So if you’ll pardon my indulgence, I’ll start this task right now. 

• The classroom. Our desks in Mrs. Johnson’s class, as they were in every class at Jefferson School, are arranged in five rows. One of the first things I noticed when I volunteered at Elm Lawn was the varied arrangements of desks. Last year, for example, the desks in Andy’s classroom were clustered in groups of four and five. This year his teacher set up a double-U arrangement, with nobody an island. 
• The school day. Grade school students spend a lot of time out of the classroom nowadays. Music, art, special science and math programs, computer instruction, gym, library – all are scheduled on at least a twice-a-week basis. Jefferson had a library, at the south end of the second floor hallway, but I recall only infrequent visits and I don’t think it was staffed by a librarian. I remember it now as similar to the interior of a bookmobile. 
• Recess. Three recess breaks are scheduled each day: morning, after lunch, and afternoon. I remember occasional trips to the gym or outside on nice days, but most of our time, it seems, was spent in the classroom. 
• Extracurricular activities. Andy and Eddie have been involved in Middleton’s soccer program since kindergarten. I doubt if anyone knew what soccer was when I attended Jefferson. Almost all of the sports activities I participated in during grade school were part of what is now called unstructured play, mostly waffle ball games during the summer. Today there are more opportunities for involvement, although I’m sure the YMCA would have been an option if I had shown any real interest in a sport outside of baseball. Andy is light years ahead of my physical (fitness) development. In fact, he and Ross and Drew and Riley are on the varsity track, working their way through the “minor leagues” of high school sports. 
• Relationships. Andy has started to show an incipient interest in girls, beyond the “Meaghan stage” for friendship. He doesn’t claim to have a girlfriend, someone for whom he has special feelings. It was during 5th grade with I developed a crush on Mary Sandblade, an on-and-off puppy-love relationship that needed halfway through 9th grade. I also had a close relationship with Cam Tassone during 5th grade. We sat in the last two desks in the row along the window and seemed to carry on a running commentary about events and personalities in the classroom. It would be so interesting to listen to a tap of those conversation now. 

 I’m not doing a very good job of concentrating on this letter right now. The Packer game is competing for my attention. At the end of the 1st quarter, the picture is not pretty. Green is down 10-0, Favre first dropping the ball soon after the snap, which resulted in a Vikings field goal, and then, on the next offensive series, throwing an interception for a Vikings touchdown. Arrgh! Things are not looking good. I’m surprised JoAnna hasn’t changed the channel yet. Before the game started, she said to no one in particular, “I wonder if there’s any good movies on this afternoon.” Alternative viewing for when the game gets ugly. That development, unfortunately, is already in progress.

On This Date in 1998

Another pleasant, if slightly cooler, day. Matt left around 10 o’clock as his family had tickets for the Badger women’s basketball game. Andy lounged around until a friend called about playing football, what turned out to be ten 5th graders getting together at Parisi Park. When Andy asked for a ride, I told him he could ride his bike. JoAnna immediately backed me up. Of course, he complained at first, and for awhile I thought he might get in one of his stubborn moods and say,” I’m not going.” But when I went to ask him what time he was leaving, he was already wearing his bike helmet.

JoAnna encouraged Eddie to invite a friend over, but considering his high-strung behavior during the morning, I thought it might be better if he just stayed home and took it easy. He stayed with Andy and Matt in the family room during the night, and I don’t think the boys got much more than six hours of sleep. Eddie was very “touchy” this morning, easily set off when teased or irritated. During the early afternoon, when I was outside raking leaves (for what I Hope will be the last time this year), JoAnna informed me that she was driving Eddie to Ilana’s house. Eddie attended her birthday party a few weeks ago. The two of them have become acquainted through the After School program at Elm Lawn. Ilana has never been a classmate of Eddie’s. While he was gone, Eddie received two phone calls from his old friend Joey Kracht. When it rains, it pours, as the saying goes. JoAnna and I had started to become concerned about Eddie’s lack of weekend contact with kids his own age, his attaching himself to Andy and his friends or just spending time in the family room watching TV (mostly) or rollerblading (when encouraged to go outside, weather permitting) or drawing (when we give the TV a chance to cool down.) Suddenly, he’s Mr. Popularity.

JoAnna and I experienced a very low-key day. We both read quite a bit, took a walk to return the videos we watched last night and pick up a few things at Walgreen’s, and watched the Packers thrash the Giants. We had a nice sit-down supper, something we always try to make time for on Sunday: baked chicken, (Stovetop) stuffing, the green bean casserole with cream of mushroom soup and a crunchy onion ring topping, corn, and biscuits.

Earlier this evening, I helped a reluctant Eddie with his homework. I decided that we’ll complete his math assignment tomorrow morning. He just couldn’t focus on anything. He rubbed his eyes as if sleep was about to overtake him, although now when I look at him sacked out on the couch, eating an apple, and giggling to himself, I wonder how much of that tiredness was part of his performance art. It’s shower night, and I think I probably have another fight on my hands there.

“I’ll take one in the morning,” I suspect the boys will plead. I’ll have none of it, though. I know what Monday mornings are like. Under the best conditions, there is hardly time for anything but the basic routine.

Time to urge the boys to being their bedroom preparations. Wish me luck!

On This Date in 1998

We “fell back” last night, reverting to Central Standard Time after returning home from a family outing: 5 o’clock mass at St. Bernard’s (granting Mom her wish), dinner at Old Chicago, dessert at Michael’s Frozen Custard, and video rentals at Blockbuster. The boys and I used up our extra hour right away, Andy and Eddie staying up until ten o’clock (eleven o’clock officially) watching a video in the family room while I read in the living room. The movie they were watching, The Bushwhackers, a misadventure starring a way-too-manic Daniel Stern (the tall, skinny bad guy in Home Alone) about kids at a summer camp, was so lame that I couldn’t tune its nonsense out. JoAnna decided to add her hour to a good night’s sleep.

Back to the present. JoAnna just left for work. (It’s a few minutes before 9:00.) The boys are watching TV, and I’ve already been able to check off a few chores on today’s to-do list. No big plans for today. I’ll probably take the boys shopping to buy Halloween costumes. Party City had a glossy flyer in today’s paper showing their entire inventory, or so it looked. Target is next door and I have a short list of purchases I want to make there.

Our beautiful weather continues. Yesterday was ideal – clear sky by the early afternoon, temperature in the low 60s, just a slight breeze, thin cloud cover every now and then, with scattered showers in the forecast. Our late-October warm spell is supposed to continue through Wednesday.

The Orioles, Andy’s football team, tied their final game of the season yesterday, 6-6, which gave them an 0-6-1 record for the season, excluding an exhibition game they played under the lights last Tuesday evening against the 5th graders in the Middleton recreational football program. (They lost bragging rights, 24-7.) Andy played fullback and tight end, positions he had played mostly in practice. He did a great job, catching two passes for a total of about 25 yards. On the second reception, he was a single defender away from running 50 yards for a touchdown. I don’t understand why the coach didn’t put him at this position more often, especially since it was one that Andy expressed an interest in from the first week of practice. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that, in yesterday’s game, Andy accounted for half the Oriole pass receptions for the entire season. The offensive line was generally so ineffective that pass protection was not a term in their vocabulary. I had planned to bring along my camera to the game but, unfortunately, left home without it. Watching the game along the sidelines, I was positioned for a great shot. Andy showed no fear. He held onto the ball tightly and charged ahead for as much yardage as he could mange until he was tackled, seemingly not worried about being hit.

From football to basketball. Tonight Andy has try-outs for the 5th grade team in the Tri-County league, which would be a step up for him: more games, travel to venues beyond Dane County. If he doesn’t make the cut, he’ll play in the recreational league as he has done for the past three years. Eddie decided he wasn’t interested in playing basketball, but we did, with his permission, sign him up for indoor soccer, which starts in early December.

I was the featured speaker at the Friends of the Library annual meeting yesterday afternoon, which was scheduled to start one-half hour before the kickoff of the Wisconsin-Iowa game. This was the first time the Friends had attempted a program of this nature, and I was pleased at the turnout. About 20 showed up for a short business meeting and my presentation on how the library will eventually expand into 10,000 square feet of unfinished space on the lower level. Even though the library is only 8 years old, Middleton’s service area has grown dramatically in that time and it shows no signs of abating. Use of the library has more than doubled since 1990, and we’re actually running out of space in some areas. I just bought some shelf extensions for the adult audiovisual collection (videos and books on tape, specifically), but this purchase is only a short-term, stopgap solution.

Our current long-range plan for library service covers the years 1997 to 2001. It is here where we address the development of a plan to use the unfinished space on the lower level and a reconfiguration of the main level. Our plan for years 2002-2006 will address the implementation of this plan. Ten years ago, when we were putting the finishing touches on the original building program statement, we thought we’d have sufficient space for 20 years. In fact, some futurists would have told us that we’d have much more space than we needed, since library as they were then configured, shelves filled mostly with books and other print materials, were becoming obsolete. There was, and still is, much talk about virtual libraries, where the connection between people and information is exclusively through computers. I would have predicted then, and I stilt predict now, that this revolution will never happen. Books have been around for 500 years and are not going to suddenly disappear. The participants in the focus group discussions a consultant conducted for the library last year made this fact very clear. As much as people appreciate the improvements that technology has made possible in libraries, access to information that would have taken weeks to obtain through our traditional interlibrary loan channels, they still expect the focus to be on books.

Earlier this year, the library board hired the architectural firm that designed the library to create a public service floor plan for the lower level and recommend a better means of access between the two levels. I shared the 3rd revision of this plan with the group yesterday. We based our reconfiguration of library services on one of the most frequent complaints we have heard since day one – “The library is so noisy.” And you probably recall from your visit in 1990 that the current plan is a very open one; except for a change in the color of the carpeting, there is no physical division, for example, between the children’s area and the rest of the library. The reality of supervising a space three times the size of the previous library with a very small increase in staff dictated the need for this openness, for using shelving and other furnishing to set off the various sections of the library. As a result, the library is indeed a very noisy place at certain times of the day: during story times, after school, and into the early evening, practically all day on Saturday. Based on our collection and staffing size, we are the most heavily used library in the state. Libraries in Middleton’s circulation range of 350,000 to 500,000 items annually, generally own twice the number of books and other materials and have 50% more fulltime equivalent staff.

Seeing the need to create a quiet study area in the library, we have decided to move the following pieces of the library’s service program to the lower level: the reference desk, the reference collection (including special collections for consumer information, careers and education, personal investments, and business directories), CD-ROM databases, internet computer stations, back issues of magazines and newspapers, and the adult nonfiction collection. This area will also include a variety of small clusters of seating: tables, study carrels, and upholstered chairs, similar to what we already have now. The lower level will also include a small meeting room, two study room, and a Middleton local history room. In a separate area, we plan to create Friends of the Library store out of the unfinished space that they currently use for their book sale room.

How to connect the two levels? Well, we currently provide access to the lower level via an elevator and stairwell from the main lobby, but since this route bypasses the circulation desk, we needed to consider an alternative. What we plan to do is create an additional stairwell where the reference desk is now located and add a second elevator at the east end of the building. (I hope I remember to include a photocopy of the floor plan. That might help you visualize what I’m describing to you here.) The reconfigured library will still have just a single circulation desk. Creating a second one on the lower level would make the library’s operative too staff-intensive. A self-service checkout unit will be provided on this level, though. (We introduced this service in August. People who have no fines or other stops on their library cards or items on hold to pick up are now able to check out books, magazines, and videos on their own. The machine doesn’t accommodate books on tape or compact discs yet. Self-service now accounts for 8% of our monthly circulation. Some people are intrigued by the new technology; others use it to avoid waiting in line to have a staff members check out their materials. )

Those in attendance at yesterday’s Friends meeting responded positively to the plan. I felt a sense of relief as the other staff members working on this project, as well as the members of the library board, feel that we are very close to a final plan. The next step will be to reconfigure the main level. In this space, we will be able to expand our children’s area and provide more space for the display of our popular materials: new books, paperbacks, and audiovisual.

With JoAnna planning to work yesterday afternoon, Andy agreed to watch Eddie while I was at the library. Then Meaghan showed up, and I didn’t want to leave the three of them at home. Twenty minutes before I needed to leave the house, Joey Kracht invited Eddie to play at his house. The Krachts, whose son Alex is Andy’s age, used to live down the street from us, and the boys would play together all the time. Since they moved to another neighborhood in Middleton, their play dates have been more infrequent. Eddie is usually content to entertain himself or join Andy and his friends at school to play with him. I encourage him to invite one of his friends at school to play with him. (Picking up where I left off five hours ago.) This is another example of how different Andy and Eddie are. In his free time, Andy always has to be in the company of friends.

Like today. As soon as we returned home from buying Halloween costumes – the Grim Reaper for Andy, a Star Wars stormtrooper for Eddie – Andy called Meaghan. (Party City was a popular place. In spite of their huge selection, many costume styles were either out of stock or not available in a particular size.) The kids have been playing street hockey on rollerblades for most of the afternoon. (Most of their playing surface is limited to the driveway, actually.) Matt Ziegler just stopped by to join the fun.

I’ve tackled a variety of chores today. I spent a couple hours outdoors, the sky a gray dome by the time, pulling up annuals, cutting down the peonies, sweeping off the patio, and reorganizing the shed to make room for some patio furniture. I started packing for the WLA conference, for which I plan to depart early Tuesday afternoon. My first commitment, the WLA board meeting, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 I washed or cleaned off Andy’s football gear – pants, jerseys, pads, helmet – and put most of it into a grocery bag with this Thursday’s schedule for equipment check-in, which Grandpa Richard will have to drive Andy to, since I’ll be out of town and JoAnna not doubt working late. No school on Thursday and Friday, by the way, due to Wisconsin’s annual teachers’ conference. Traditionally, it has been held at the same time as the library conference.

I still need to go grocery shopping, but that can be postponed until tomorrow, if necessary. I don’t mind leaving Andy and Eddie at home together but feel very strongly that either JoAnna or I have to be here when any of the boy’s friends are present. That’s especially true right now, when one false move – stumbling over our uneven driveway or some other version of wipeout – could result in a serious injury. Fortunately, the kids don’t seem to lose sight of safety issues during their games.
You asked for gift suggestions, Mom, and maybe I can append a few to the end of this letter. I won’t be able to get the boys’ attention for another hour or so.

While working outside this afternoon, I started to listen to the book on tape version of The Good Earth, by Pearl Buck, another classic novel, like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, that I previously had no interest in reading. I can see why it’s such a popular books; the story is a very compelling one.

Eddie just walked into the room.

“Aw, I want to go on the computer,” he whined. “You’re always on the computer.”

I guess it’s time for me to close.