The Longest Christmas Letter Ever, Part 4

Andy heads off to college.

Wednesday, August 29

I’m experiencing a sense of emptiness right now – an almost achy feeling inside. Andy is all moved – though not yet organized, I would guess – into his apartment in Milwaukee. Once we remove the air mattress from his (former) bedroom later this evening, I think it might be difficult to deal with this unfurnished space for awhile. Actually, Andy left behind a variety of odds and ends, including all of the stuff he attached to or hung on his walls, his trophy collection dating back to kindergarten soccer, and, in the closet, nearly a dozen long-sleeve shirts that he figured he wouldn’t need for another month or two. It’ll take some work on our part to get the room into an unfurnished condition, and by that time I probably won’t be feeling quite so maudlin.

Yesterday during my lunch hour I went shopping for Andy at Target. I bought him toiletries, for the most part: shaving cream, razors, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. Body wash had been on my list, but while checking for brand names, I found three full plastic containers in his bedroom. I also got him a storage box – small shoebox size – in which I placed envelopes, a book of stamps, pens, mechanical pencils, a flash drive for his laptop, and a piece of paper with a few addresses on it.

“I think Grandma Nelson would like to get a letter from me,” he’s said to me more than once.

“I think she’d be thrilled to hear from you,” I assured him.

You’ll have to let us know what kind of correspondent Andy is. Nowadays kids don’t even use email anymore; they “text”, i.e., send messages via their increasingly sophisticated cell phones. Back in my college days, having one dial phone to share among four or five roommates was a big deal.

Last night Andy wanted to go shopping for school supplies. We went to Shopko as he had a few other items on his errand list: a collapsible mesh laundry bag and a desk. The laundry bag was in stock but only in a pink-and-purple color combination suitable for tween girls. The few “assembly-required” desks we found were ones that included a towering hutch, which Andy doesn’t need. In this computerized age, it’s almost impossible to find a desk in a standard style. With the proliferation of laptops, though, you’d think we’d come full circle. Andy doesn’t need all the options – sliding tray to place a keyboard, for example – that a computer desk offers.

Shopko’s paltry selection of school supplies convinced us that a visit to Office Max was in order. Andy’s needs were limited to notebooks, binders, and filler paper, so I survived this shopping trip without taking a big hit to my bank balance.

I had originally planned to take off the entire day to help Andy get the last of his furnishings and other belongings to his apartment. When I took a closer look at my work schedule, though, I realized I had a carved-in-stone commitment – an 11:00 a.m. meeting with two other representatives of the Wisconsin Library Association and State Representative John Townsend to discuss legislation to authorize the formation of public library districts. This particular issue has been on our legislative agenda for nearly ten years – and, obviously, we made very little headway in the interim.

As it turned out, I didn’t need the entire day for Andy. In fact, I didn’t even need the whole afternoon. I left the state capitol at 11:45 and reached his apartment at 1:10. He and Jack carried the dresser to the second floor, although this time Andy pulled out all of the drawers before they did so. Andy showed off his nearly organized closet, a project he had just finished prior to my arrival. (With the Saturn filled with boxes and bags, he left Middleton at 9:00.)

We went grocery shopping at a nearby Pick ‘n’ Save, which is under the same ownership as Copps. Good thing! With my discount card, we saved over $30. Andy stocked up on loads of pasta (canned, boxed, cellophaned, and foil-pouched). At least he’s given up on Ramen noodles. Even he was floored by the sodium count. Other purchases included the standard college student fare: cereal, milk, bread, peanut butter, jelly, and granola bars.

“This should last me for awhile,” he noted.

“I sure hope so!” I returned. “You better not go through $140 worth of groceries in a few days.”



St. Paul wedding

Saturday, September 8

No football crisis or panic attacks this weekend. All three of us had Eddie’s varsity reserve game – time and place – deeply branded into our brains: 9:00 a.m. at Otto Breitenbach Stadium, Sun Prairie vs. Middleton.

I dropped off Eddie at the high school at 8:00, and JoAnna and I arrived just in time for the start of the game. Eddie played right tackle on most of the offensive plays during the first half. He looked good out there, knowing exactly where to move and making all of his blocks. The two Sun Prairie defenders who sacked Middleton’s quarterback found openings on the left side of the line.

Eddie probably played as much during the second half, but we weren’t there to watch. JoAnna and I had a four-hour road trip on our schedule. Destination: St. Paul, Minnesota. We wanted to arrive at our motel by 2:00 so we’d have sufficient time to get ready for the 4 o’clock wedding of Paul Weller and Elissa Green.

Our trip encountered a slight delay, however, right at the start.

“Did I turn off the burners under the griddle?” I asked JoAnna just a few minutes after we left the high school parking lot. I had made pancakes for breakfast.

“You would have to say that,” she groaned.

“We’d better check.” I said resignedly.

Otherwise, we would have agonized over this alleged oversight until Eddie returned home from his game. (He’s on his own this weekend until late Sunday afternoon.)

Even though I had no recollection of doing so, the burners were off. I took advantage of this unscheduled stop and grabbed a white t-shirt from one of my dresser drawers. It was the only item of clothing I’d forgotten to pack.

Sunday, September 9

We arrived at our motel – a Fairfield Inn, one of four options that had been listed on Paul and Elissa’s wedding website – right on schedule. Our overnight location, as it turns out, was somewhat distant from downtown St. Paul, the site of the reception. I think the motels were chosen on the ability to reserve blocks of rooms for the wedding guests. I had considered looking into a downtown hotel, but that convenience would have doubled our expense for what was, in essence, just a place to sleep. (Plus there was the added cost of parking.) The Fairfield’s utilitarian offerings served us just fine.

The wedding took place at Hamline United Methodist Church, just across the street from the Hamline University campus. The Gothic-style church is an impressive stone structure made of blocks of Bedford limestone in a cruciform design. It was constructed in the late 1920s. Since we arrived more than 30 minutes before the start of the ceremony, we were able to mingle outside with the wedding party and Weller family. The photographer took a series of pictures of the group arranged in front of the heavy wooden doors at the main entrance.

It seemed to take Ken Weller a second or two to register who I was, but that brief moment of confusion was probably attributable to being preoccupied with the day’s big event. He introduced us to Susan, his second wife, who is very personable. Although I hadn’t seen Ken in more than 20 years, he looks much the same. He’s still thin, talks a mile a minute, and hasn’t turned gray or gone bald.

We had a chance to talk with Carolyn and Jim as soon as we entered the church. Carolyn looked radiant in a lavender skirt (floor-length with a long slit up the left side) and shell with a matching tweed jacket with almost squared-off shoulders. Jim looked dapper in a dark suit, which accentuated his white head of hair.

An usher seated us behind Tom, Mim, and Carole. Just when I was about to ask “Where’s Arland?”, JoAnna pointed out his name in the program, under the heading of MINISTER. I should have been able to guess this on my own.

The 35-minute ceremony was enhanced with music provided by Twin Cities Bronze, a handbell ensemble.

Immediately after the ceremony, while waiting for the bride and groom to make their departure appearance, we talked with the Swansons.

“Were you able to get to your cabin much this summer?” I asked them at one point.

“It hasn’t been a very good summer for that,” Linda replied somewhat cryptically.

“We’ll be going there next weekend after Linda’s last chemo treatment,” Roland added.

“Oh my god, we didn’t know about this,” I exclaimed.

Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and will finish up her treatments this week. You wouldn’t know it from the way she looks and acts – the same funny and vivacious person as ever. I did note a change, though, when they took their seats in the one of the family pews at one minute before 4:00. (Punctuality has never been their strong suit.)

Linda’s colored her hair, I assumed. No more salt and pepper.

Turns out the new hairdo, however, is a wig.

Lindsay, now a very stunning young woman, is dating a Middleton High School graduate, class of 2002. Ross is a UW-Madison graduate who met Lindsay through friends who attended the University of Minnesota. He just started a job with Lever Brothers – Geographic Account Manager, I think he said) in New York City.

The wedding reception was held at the Elements Café on the top floor of the Science Museum of Minnesota. The 6th floor perch and glass walls provide a panoramic view of the Mississippi River and downtown St. Paul. The Nelson cousins – Carole, Mim, Roland, and me – and their spouses were seated together. Why break up such a nicely matched set?

After the dinner, a band tore through a selection of rock and soul classics that occasionally produced gridlock on the small dance floor. For JoAnna and me, it was the first time we shook our booty in I don’t know how long. And we had a blast – and worked up quite a sweat in the process. Fortunately, a rooftop terrace off the reception hall provided a welcome place to cool down – and get a more immediate view of the city lights. Not to mention Linda’s bare head. After the band’s first set, she took off her wig for a half hour to help her cool down.














The Bride and Groom






Roland's new do










Wisconsin 41, The Citadel 31

Sunday, September 16

Yesterday provided us with a football doubleheader.

Roberta and Lester invited JoAnna and me to join them for the Wisconsin game against The Citadel. (A couple in their group of season ticketholders weren’t using theirs.) Then JoAnna received an offer for a second pair of tickets in a different part of the stadium. She bought these for Andy and Gretchen and slipped them into his birthday card. Of course, she let Andy know about this beforehand so he could plan his weekend accordingly.

Our game day started with a 9:30 brunch hosted by Roberta and Lester at their beautiful home in the University Heights neighborhood. Andy and Gretchen joined us. Lester prepared the best Spanish omelets I’ve ever eaten. Although the air was still a little cool, we ate on their secluded patio. (Most of their back yard is hilly, undeveloped slope.) Both Roberta and Lester know Gretchen’s grandmother, who was a member of the Madison City Council years ago – and one of its most conservative ones. This political dichotomy between Andy’s and Gretchen’s families caused them no end of surprised amusement.

The brunch provided us with two advantages: free parking in Roberta and Lester’s driveway and a leisurely, 10-minute walk to attend the 11:00 a.m. game.

JoAnna and I had seats on the 45-yard line about 30 rows up from the field, which provided us with an excellent perspective for what was predicted to be a Badger blowout. Wisconsin was a 35-point favorite. That large of a spread seemed to put the defensive secondary in a lackadaisical frame of mind during the first half of the game. For the most part, they were unable to stop The Citadel’s built-for-speed-and-quickness offense. Fortunately, Wisconsin’s offense was able to move the ball equally as well as its opponent. The score was 21-21 at the half. The team departed for the locker room to a smattering of boos.

Bret Bielema, Wisconsin’s second-year coach, must have given his team a butt-kickin’ talking to between halves because his players found the answers to their first-half problems. The Badgers completely dominated the third quarter, scoring 17 unanswered points, and then added another touchdown less than a minute into the fourth quarter for good measure. With a 45-21 lead, Bielema went to his bench while The Citadel’s coach kept his starters on the field. As a result, they scored 10 points to narrow the margin of victory, which will likely cause sportswriters to ponder the possibly inflated value of Wisconsin’s current #7 ranking.

After the game, Andy and Gretchen got lost trying to negotiate the hilly, curvilinear streets back to Roberta and Lester’s house. Andy called JoAnna three times – cell phone to cell phone – to ask for directions. After the third call, I walked the two blocks to rescue them. It didn’t help that JoAnna had provided them with wrong directions after their second call.

In the second half of our football doubleheader, a 4:30 starting time, Middleton thrashed Beloit Memorial by a score of 40-0. Within the past ten years, Beloit used to be a Big 8 powerhouse, but their program has quickly gone south. Last year, they lost all but one of the games. So far this season, they are winless, by huge margins, in their first three games.

Monday, September 3

On Sunday my painting project was delayed as I had to wait for Eddie to get out of bed. He needed to make the color choice. At Ace Hardware, he made an exceptionally quick decision.

“You don’t understand the rules. We’re supposed to agonize over what color to choose for at least 15 minutes,” I teased.

He picked a shade of medium blue dubbed “Lazy Sunday.” I’ll try to remember to enclose the color sample.

Eddie helped me tape the woodwork. (I had washed the walls while he was still sleeping.) Then he left me on my own, to which I had no objections. I enjoy painting a room in solitude. Maybe I should say “by myself” instead, since I spent the afternoon enjoying a Savoy Brown marathon – the band’s musically and commercially productive early 1970s phase of tis career: Raw Sienna, Looking In, Street Corner Talking, Hellbound Train. Unfortunately, the group seems to have become just a footnote in musical history.

Sunday, October 7.

Andy will no longer be relegated to sleeping on the floor during his visits home. JoAnna and I bought a futon yesterday. We were able to bring home the mattress, a cover, and the drawers that fit under the frame, but we had to wait until today to pick up the frame itself. The asphalt leading to a storage warehouse was being resealed and was off limits for 24 hours.
The woman who waited on us seemed very knowledgeable about her store’s specialty. (Futons are all they sell.) She asked us about the size of the room where it was going, other furniture in the room, how often it would be used, and who would most likely be sleeping on it. Once we answered all her questions, she steered us toward their mid-priced product – and a frame without arms. Otherwise, she felt that Andy wouldn’t find the futon a comfortable place to sleep.

Although the frame came boxed, it took less than a half hour for JoAnna and me put it together. We had an initial small disagreement as to where to place the futon, but I won this argument.

“There’s not enough room for both the dresser and desk along this wall,” I pointed out, referring to the wall that separates the two bedrooms on the west side of the house.

The frame is made of natural wood, with matching drawers, which are on wheels for easy access.

Now our extra room is fully ready for occupancy. Occasional occupancy, that is.