Verda is in the back row, 5th from the right.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Richard Johnson (1936-2012), Warren High School Class of 1954
Tall . . . carefree . . . doesn't say much . . . school comes last.
Charlotte Jones Calderwood (1925-2012), Warren High School Class of 1943
Ever smiling . . . always looks her best . . . an excellent dancer . . . a perfect model.
November 30, 1991
JoAnna has a meeting in the morning. I start the chore. We buy a Christmas tree in the afternoon and have a little bit of trouble getting it erect. I go food shopping JoAnna makes supper. Barb joins us when we trim the tree.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
November 29, 1991
This sinus pain leaves me in a lethargic mood so I avoid the Nuts and Bolts project.
JoAnna and the boys return from Kenosha before 6.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Kodak Carousel....Dependable as gravity....simple as the wheel....
National Geographic, January 1965
....which is $660 in 2012 dollars.
November 28, 1991
Thanksgiving at Tom and Mim's in Beloit. A major houseful, including Rachel, Ruth, Ruthie, Arland, Carole, Stephen, Christina, Joan, Alan, Charles [Sellman], Jennifer, Lila, Gen, Charles [Stark], Signe, George, Carolyn, Jim, plus 5 or 6 of Tom's relatives as well as the Middleton contingent. Driving conditions are treacherous both going and coming.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
November 27, 1991
I take the day off from work, needing an extra day away from what is becoming an increasingly less satisfying job environment. After driving Andy to daycare and cashing my Green Bay workshop check, I treat myself to breakfast at Original Pancake House. I buy JoAnna and book and calendar for her birthday but can't think of a special present to buy her. Before returning home, I splurge on myself, buying some used records and books at Half Price Books. At stop at Westgate is a bust.
During the afternoon, I tape music, letting Eddie spend the time with Barb. I go grocery shopping then fix supper.
Monday, November 26, 2012
November 26, 1991
Country taping and the drive to Kohl's to buy more blank tapes and Land's End to see if any of the merchandise screams "wife's birthday present. An Indian knit sweater takes up the chant, but at $84 I decide to think about it. Then I spot the tattersall shirt of my dreams and continue to keep a clamp on my wallet.
I have little ambition today. My biggest accomplishment is use to a clipboard to organize all of my upcoming meeting agendas and reports and other various enclosures.
The evening is slow but not too slow. Chris Robbins actually sits at a table for 2 hours and concentrates on his homework. Before going to bed, I sit at my desk and drink a martini while going through the newspapers.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
November 25, 1991
Sharon has no horror stories to tell us about Arlington, no second thoughts to convey. 1992 will be a year of change from day one. Why does this observation resonate so loudly? I seem to want to find a way out just to avoid what I strongly feel is going to be a major head-buttin' process next year.
After supper I attend a fundraiser for Chuck Chvala at the Weinstein's. What a house: wood, stone, glass, and open space in an architectural style that hearkens back to the late 1950s, the premier example being the Mount Rushmore chateau in "North by Northwest". I'm a little nervous about making a solo appearance, but I see many familiar faces within minutes of my arrival. I can then relax.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
November 24, 1991
Still no thought of going to church, and it's been at least a month since JoAnna confessed to some minor religious yearnings. As Christmas approaches, I wonder about how to explain the significance of the holiday to Andy. There must be a children's book to help me out.
The predicted snowfall never happened. A think blanket covers the ground, but it's enough to keep me from raking the rest of the leaves in the back yard. Except for a soffit and fascia inspection of the house, I stay inside. JoAnna strings up the Christmas lights with Andy's assistance.
After supper, I watch the original "Cape Fear" with Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, and Polly Bergen. Great flick, and, until Scorcese's remake, inexplicably obscu
Friday, November 23, 2012
Under Desk File Cabinet is Sure Cure for Overcrowded Desk Drawers
More helpful projects
from Mechanix Illustrated
July 1954
November 23, 1991
It only seems like I have no time to relax today since I combine my chores with a review of my record collection. The actual vinyl, folks. I'm attempting to eliminate my dust collectors, and during the past few days, I've found at least a dozen. In some cases, though, I'm re-recording tunes on a fresh Maxell with a different group of accompanying tunes.
During the a.m. I drive to Sears Homelife store to pick up our back-ordered coffee table. When I return, JoAnna informs me that she asked Barb to leave the kitchen so she and Andy could have some time alone together. Barb spends most of the rest of the day secluded in her room. I had noticed her intrusiveness before I left for Sears, her sitting in the kitchen as if to keep an eye on us so we wouldn't dash off somewhere without her. JoAnna suggested we visit Dennis and Jan in Oshkosh. Barb's reaction is positive. "I wouldn't mind visiting Oshkosh before I leave. You'll have to let me use the van to visit Menomonie Park. All of a sudden I have even less interest in this trip.
Three weeks to go.
JoAnna and I take Andy and Eddie to the 3:30 showing of "Beauty and the Beast at Point 10 Cinema. We're in the front row, an in-your-face movie experience. A good family outing, though. As we are driving home, Andy talks about seeing the movie again.
While Barb still keeps to herself, the rest of us have a pizza party in the TV room. Andy chooses to watch "Home Alone", which I'm starting to know by memory scene by scene.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
November 22, 1991
The LINK meeting takes less than an hour. I'm not sure what that means. It's certainly no reason for optimism. Before the start of the meeting, Alicia Ashman, Madison board president, congratulates me on my recent WLA award and then hints not too subtly that I would make a great replacement for Peter Niemi.
After the meeting, I drive into Madison to cash my paycheck, drop off an updated floppy disk at Jane Pearlmutter's office, and pick up some reading matter at Pic-a-Book. I want to spend some time browsing for books and music, but the only temptation I yield to here is a quick browse of the architecture titles at Paul's Bookstore. I find nothing of interest.
As we did last week, Andy and I go grocery shopping before we return home. JoAnna skips the fundraiser for Gary George in Milwaukee as her Madison meeting runs late and the weather forecast predicts a major snowfall.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
November 21, 1991
I'm up until 5 or so, when I'm finally able to fall back asleep. Tonight's Finance Committee meeting (Middleton's) keeps my mind occupied. I repeat the worst-case scenario over and over again. I work until 11, stop by Pat's for a haircut, then spend the afternoon at home, the result of a split day to fill in for Sharon tonight. The evening at the info desk is surprisingly busy. There must be a school assignment due tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
November 20, 1991
The weather's dry. I have no meetings to attend. For once I can walk to work, walk home for lunch, etc. At work I'm content to diddle, some book reviewing here, some bookcase weeding there. I keep a desk diary from 3:15 to 5:00 and have lots to note down.
While JoAnna finishes spaghetti, I honor a request for garlic bread. I can't figure out why the butter doesn't have a pungent aroma until I take a close look at the label: onion powder.
After supper, I'm a vegetable. Maybe it's the wine, though I drank only three glasses. Maybe it's being a 42-year-old man who doesn't exercise much anymore. I fall asleep while JoAnna watches Green Acres and wake up at 1:30 feeling completely refreshed.
Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California (Postcard Series)
Canadian guitarist Neil Merryweather achieved no commercial success with this 1974 release.. It was one of my many bargain-bin purchases. "King of Mars" was my favorite cut from this album, though big-picture-wise, that's not saying much.
Monday, November 19, 2012
November 19, 1991
I throw Barb's Tuesday schedule out of whack by keeping the washer and dryer in use for half the morning. I also venture into the back yard to rack some leaves, though about 1/3 of the fenced-in area remains covered. Agonizing over the conditions of some parts of the exterior of the house, I wipe off some mildew but decide against a more ambitious washing. Just as well. It starts raining shortly after 11.
It's a relatively slow evening at the reference desk. No major incidents to report: no cellular phone rudeness, no toddlers wandering into the lobby unobserved by inattentive moms, no pizza parties. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't time to take stock of my accomplishments and consider some career alternatives.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Views of Camp Randall Stadium and Crowd Shots from the Ramp Leading to Section KK
Saturday, November 17, 2012
A Friend's Dilemma over Quality Paperback Service (1975)
The ad is from the final issue of New Times (January 8, 1979)
Actually, I am trying to my myself into my most belligerent mood for writing another letter. That letter will go to our friends, Quality Paperback Service. (Remember them?) Really, I have only meself to blame for this situation. I should never have gotten myself into this because this is only just another of a long line of "club" battles that these weary "check-writing", "protest-writing", "don't' send me another book that I don't want or I will kill myself writing" hands have seen.
It all started (the pain in just recalling this may be unbearable!) about 2 months ago when I, in my deluded simplicity, thought that it would be a good idea to take up reading some existential psych. (Little knowing that I might need some therapy in a short time.) I happened to see that QPBS had a 2 vol set of Rollo May -- so, ...I ordered it -- "in good faith", as Sartre would be sure to say. Let me digress here, kind listener, to state another part of my case (maybe this will be counted against me?). In a moment of crazed mental imbalance -- a moment of time in which even I will admit my lunacy -- I wrote to QPBS and actually told them that my address would no longer be at Pitt and gave them my new address. (Foolhardy girl that I am.) I think that when they saw this, they themselves must have been convulsed with laughter and awe. I mean, it was really a stupid thing to do ! I even told them my new name. Anyway--
After several weeks of not receiving my beloved Rollo, I opened my door one day to find a package which contained -- no, not Rollo!) but Light on Yoga! Now yoga is very nice, but it is not Rollo! Anyone can distinguish between the two, can they not? Now -- having already opened the package and seeing Yoga I thought that it must be an omen of some kind. Someone wanted me to have this book and eat up its contents. So -- I dutifully wrote to QPBS and told them I received Yoga and how much did I owe and the next day I got a bill (obviously before they got my letter ) for Rollo ($5.60 which I had already sent them a check for!) Weeks passed -- no word from QPBS -- I felt like K in The Castle. Then, I got Legend in America! which I sent back with a nasty (but not nearly as nasty as this one will be!) letter. Then I got something else which I didn't open cause they were not Rollo's size. I just sent them back. Then, last but not least, came Rollo -- last but waited for. So I was relatively happy til I got my bank statement and they haven't cashed any of my checks (I haven't balanced my checkbook for about 4 months for which Brook was so happy!). A week ago I got a letter from them and a bill for 2 books besides the ones sent that I never heard of -- myeer!
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