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

Dear Jim and Arden,

JoAnna and I decided we weren’t going to send a “form” letter this year, but I quickly tired of jotting down the same note, with slight variations every once in awhile, on the inside of every card. So now I really have my work cut out for me just a week before Christmas. I plan to write a personalized note to the special people on our mailing list. The library “business” is going well. I just finished my year as president of the Wisconsin Library Association. It was a productive and rewarding year with no crises or controversies.. I still have another year to serve on the WLA board before I finish my commitment. On the local front, the library received in 10% budget increase for 1999, thanks to a very supportive city council who collectively felt it was time to add another librarian to the staff, provide a substantial increase to the book budget, and allow us to offer Sunday hours.

JoAnna is taking the month of December off. She resigned her position as director of the state Democratic caucus and is currently considering a number of new job possibilities. Much of her free time this year, what little she’s had, has been devoted to research on her family tree, whose roots extend back to the year 1646 in Nova Scotia (Acadia).

As you can see from the enclosed picture, the boys are growing up all too quickly. Andy’s just starting to get into music, and, unlike my parents when I was 11years old, I actually enjoy much of the music he likes. In small doses, of course. Eddie is our artist, who work was featured on the September page of the school district calendar this year.

I may have mentioned this last year, but I really enjoy using Merriam-Webster’s website. It’s amazing what an important resource the Internet has become for libraries in just the last few years. It certainly hasn’t had a negative impact on library use overall. Our circulation may be flat this year, but the number of visits is up significantly. And now, a lot of reference questions start out, I tried looking for _____ on the Internet, but I couldn’t find anything.

On This Date in 1998

I’m using a different approach in this letter. These “news reports” are written in the third person, as if I’m some unbiased observer.

Andy & Eddie Headline News 

“Missing” Son Worries Forgetful Father
Middleton resident and library director Paul Nelson returned home with his younger son Eddie late Thursday afternoon. He was puzzled to find the house dark. He expected that his older son would be home from school.

Figuring that his son was at a friend’s house, Nelson didn’t make any immediate efforts to locate his son’s whereabouts. He unloaded seven bags of groceries from the car and then proceeded to fix Eddie something to eat before the boy’s 6:15 Cub Scout meeting.

“In spite of the fact that the cupboards were replenished with food,” Nelson said in a conversation with his wife later that evening, “Eddie still settled for a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. But then I, too, fixed something I eat almost every day – a turkey-and-cheese sandwich.”

As six o’clock approached, Nelson started to become increasingly worried. His worry then started to transform itself into anger.

“Andy is going to be grounded big time,” he barked. The comment was made in Eddie’s presence but not specifically addressed to him. “If he thinks he can still have a sleepover at Tim’s house this weekend, he is sadly mistaken.”

Nelson had checked voice mail, hoping to be reassured by the sound of Andy’s voice, but there were no messages waiting to be played. The phone rang twice between quarter of six and six. Both times the slight pause after his saying “Hello” told Nelson that is was only another pesky telemarketer. He stayed on the line just in case.

“Is Miss JoAnna Marie there?” the first voice, a woman’s’, asked.

“No one here by that name,” Nelson answered sharply and slapped the phone back into its cradle.

“Is Mr. Nelson there?” asked a young man’s voice ten minutes later.

“No,” he lied and abruptly cut the connection.

The phone rang again five minutes later.

This time it better be Andy, Nelson thought.

It was.

“Andy, where are you?” his dad asked, wavering between a reprimand and a plea.

“I’m at bowling,” he answered. “I’m here with Ross Parks and we need a ride home.”

Duh, that’s right, Nelson thought. Andy bowls on Thursday afternoons after school, and usually he’s done at four-thirty or five o’clock.

“What have you been doing the past hour? Why didn’t you call me?” “I called the library. Pat said you went grocery shopping and would pick me up afterwards.”

And, of course, one of Nelson’s staff members at the library wouldn’t assume that his boss would abandon his kid at a bowling alley.

Luckily, Nelson was able to pick up Andy and Ross and drop off Eddie at his Cub Scout meeting by the 6:15 deadline.

Nelson blamed his forgetfulness on a hectic week. He had left the house on Thursday morning at an unusually early time – 6:45 – to attend a city department heads meeting with the newly hired city administrator, Mike Davis. Both boys were still asleep when he left the house.

“I was out of town on Thursday of last week and this week I was much too focused on my own Thursday schedule. I was lucky to remember to pick up Eddie at After School,” he confessed.

(Editor’s note: The following headline is a good example of the use of hyperbole, i.e., extravagant exaggeration.)

Son of Prominent Middleton Couple Involved in Schoolyard Brawl 
Eddie Nelson, Elm Lawn second grader and son of library director Paul Nelson and well-known political operative JoAnna Richard, was involved in a case of inappropriate behavior on the school playground on Thursday. According to an eyewitness account, which was verified in a letter from principle George Mavrolis, Eddie threw a hard plastic paddle mitt at another student and struck him just above the eye.

“It was an accident,” Eddie is reported to have said to his skeptical dad on the drive home from school.

“The other student suffered a cut and swelling. The paddle narrowly missed the eye itself. He came very close to needing stitches,” Marvolis said, indirectly discounting the possibility of this incident being an accident.

This is Eddie’s third infraction of the year. As a result, he will lose all of his recess privileges for an entire week.

When hearing of the news, Ms. Richard put some of the blame on herself.

“I forgot to give him his medicine this morning.”

According to school records, Eddie has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and takes methylphenidate twice daily. 

News Extra 

Former Warren Resident Gets Chuckle Out of Rep’s Math Even though he lives almost 700 miles west of here, former Warren resident Paul Nelson, son of the Rev. and Mrs. Carl Nelson, keeps in touch with Warren activities with a subscription to the Times Observer.

“My mom used to clip certain article and picture and enclose them in her letters, but now I can make sure that I don’t miss anything,” he explained.

A recent front-page article about the 75th anniversary of the Allegheny National Forest caught Nelson’s eye. After reading it, Nelson wonders if U.S. Representative John Peterson needs to take a remedial math course. The representative was quoted as saying, “As we celebrate, we need to be diligent that in 100 years, we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary.”

Nelson notes that the 100th anniversary of the Allegheny National Forest will be celebrated in 2023, or 25 year from now.

“I hope Peterson is not on the House Appropriations Committee,” Nelson quipped.

Late-breaking news briefs 

City budget proposal includes funds for Sunday hours
Last Tuesday, the City of Middleton finance committee made a final recommendation on the 1999 operating budget. The Middleton common council will vote on the budget at its December 1st meeting following a public hearing.

Included in next year’s budget are funds requested by the Middleton Public Library board to open the library on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The new service is scheduled to begin on March 7 and will be offered during the school year, from the Sunday after Labor Day through the Sunday before Memorial Day weekend.

“I won’t be surprised if these four hours turn out to be the busiest time of the week,” Library Director Paul Nelson predicted. “Participants in a series of focus group discussions the library held last year told us that Sunday hours are the number one service improvement that we could offer. I’m pleased that the city has seen fit to honor this request.”

Middleton schools close for teacher in-service 
Last week all Wisconsin public school students enjoyed a four-day weekend as a result of a two-day state teachers’ conference. This week, students in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District get a bonus: a three-day weekend. Some parents questioned the scheduling of a teacher in-service so close to the annual conference. On the other hand, some families have taken advantage of these two shortened schoolweeks to insert a fall break into their vacation schedule. Some children knew of friends who were out of school for the entire week, spending time in Florida and other warmer regions of the U.S. To add insult to injury, temperatures in Wisconsin rarely climbed above 40 degrees for the past week. Cloudy skies and windy conditions have given the air a wintry chill.

“We now return to our regularly schedule programming….”

On This Date in 1998

Yesterday was a day of frequent interruptions at work. I made a quick midmorning trip home to retrieve some meeting notes on my desk. Minutes after I returned to work after my lunch hour, I received a call from the Orkin guy, who needed to get into the house to administer this month’s ant bomb (which has been very effective, by the way. Since the unusual midwinter invasion we experienced in early 1997, we have had very few intruders.) Andy called me at 3:15 asking for a ride home. “It’s pouring outside,” he reported, although that’s not the conditions I encountered as I walked to the car. An hour later he called to say that he had left his mouthguard in the trunk of the car. “Maybe you should ride your bike to the library and retrieve it,” I suggested. But his ride to football practice was expected at any minute. It’s a good thing my job (and my position) allows me some flexibility with my comings and goings.

I’ll close for now.

P.S. Mom, what do you think of your grandson the football player?

June 5, 1992

Once again I have only the dimmest memory of the specific circumstances of going to bed last night.  How far into Nick at Nite's evening line-up did I remain conscious?  I really have no idea.

I almost miss the WAPL board meeting in Oshkosh.  I stop at City Hall and the library to get the checks ready for distribution.  Ilene informs me that Marie has called in sick.  Fortunately, Susan is willing to fill in for the day.

Ten miles into the trip, I curse myself for not bringing along the camcorder.  I wanted to shoot a memory-lane video as I drove around Oshkosh.  It will have to be done at another time.

I'm fifteen minutes late for the meeting, but the group present is still chatting informally once I arrive since they don't have a quorum.  My presence takes care of that problem.  I'm expecting a short meeting, under two hours, meaning that we'll be done around noon, but it takes us until nearly 2 to get through the agenda.  That gives me only the briefest of opportunities to walk through the library and greet familiar faces.  On a Friday afternoon in the summer when the reduced 37-hour work week has one into effect, the possibilities are greatly reduced.   Except for John Stoneberg, who is eager to get back to Eau Claire, the board members eat lunch at Tortilla Flats, my choice -- and my first visit since the restaurant has moved into its new location.  The cheese crisp is still as massive and tasty and filling as ever.

I always experience such a tingle of disbelief whenever I visit Oshkosh, as if I have returned to a special dreamworld.  I did so little here professionally, but so much socially, which is the area I gave more priority anyway -- though maybe I underestimate my achievements here.  I wonder how I would feel about myself today if I were still there, still single perhaps, still content to have biking and drugs as my main sources of pleasure.  I think I'd be an awfully weary, self-loathing man.

Time constraints do not allow any surprise visits,  I think about how much I'd like to see Bob for even a few minutes.  Driving past Dave and Lynn's duplex, I notice a swing set and sandbox in the back yard.   For the people who rent the upstairs apartment?  Or have Dave and Lynn moved elsewhere?  For all I know, they could be in another state.  I haven't been in touch with them for nearly two years.

The Nissan is one of a multitude of vehicles speeding along highway 151.  I return to Madison in time to cash my check at the credit union, but not to contact JoAnna about picking up the boys.

We spent the evening at Festa Italia with Larry and Martha and Michael (and Martha's sister Liz).  It's so much fun watching Andy interact with other children his age.  He makes friends so quickly.

June 4, 1992

For the first time since my return from vacation, I'm able to spend a full day at the library.  I walk away with not too much more than a tidier desk to show for it, although a big chunk of time is spent preparing the board report composing the minutes from Tuesday's PLAC meeting.  I pick up the boys and we stop at McDonald's as promised.  My supper is mostly a liquid one.  I nosh on a few McNuggets.  We play in the back yard before bath time.  Eddie goes to bed immediately after his bath, but Andy stays up with me to watch Nick at Nite.

June 1, 1992

#4 on the Billboard Hot 100

I get an early start to the day after a week's vacation.  The only surprise is that one of the sliding glass doors for the lobby display case is broken.  Otherwise, I zip through my mail and organize the May invoices.  Then I seem to be at a loss as to what to do next.  I have a long list of project screaming for my attention.  I take a break around 9:30 and eat a second, heartier breakfast at the Old Town Inn.  I try the chicken cordon bleu omelet, an uninspired but certainly edible concoction.  The American fries are very tasty.

The Dane County Reimbursement Study Committee meets at the Madison Public Library during the early afternoon.  I feel out of it here but still manage to make a few lucid contributions to the discussion.

For a change of pace, and in an effort to get my weight back down below 200, Andy and I walk home from Little Red.  He complains a few times about being tired walking.  So am I -- loaded down with my over-the-shoulder bag, a plastic string-tie bag containing our mail from the past week, and a brown grocery bag stuffed with a variety of Andy's leftovers from Little Red.

JoAnna's evening meeting is scheduled to we have a rare weekday evening to spend together.

May 20, 1992

Considering how much I'm cutting into library time with personal business -- taking care of a sick Eddie last week for example -- I'm surprised I can find time to continue weeding the fiction.  I do find time to review the long range plan, where I feel that changes can be kept to a minimum (i.e., I can save myself some work here) and the overdues section of the circulation policy.  Now if I could just find time to revise my basic reference syllabus and start coming up with a structure for the children's reference workshop.

I get a lot of exercise today since my threat to have nothing to do with getting the van tun ed up proves to be nothing but hot air.  Big surprise.  I'm first in the service line at Russ Darrow.  I walk home without stopping for breakfast at IHOP or Denny's, not wanting to risk a violent case of IBS along Gammon Road.  A minimal staffing level at the library forces me to postpone a planned return walk after lunch to the late afternoon.  I pick up the boys, Eddie first.  When JoAnna returns home, the boys and I are playing on the hammock.

May 5, 1992

#5 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week

Ordinarily, I'd be at the SCLS Public Library Advisory Committee meeting.  This is the second one in a row that I've missed, and both times I've been slated to be the recorder.  My reason this month for not going:  a visit from a group from Neenah for a tour of the library.  Steve Proces claims to be 5'9" and can't be much more than 140 pounds.  He reminds me of an educated Dave Bush with a haircut and gray hair.  I take a couple of hours off during the afternoon.  The council meeting provides none of the expected fireworks.  Everyone is surprisingly civil before going home.  Before going home, I photocopy some L.A. riot news articles.

May 4, 1992

I don't walk into the day with a spring in my step. but neither do I cower in a corner.  I call Jane Robbins and she helps me think through the fall conference program with Margaret Myers.  Now to locate two other panelists.  The Dane County Reimbursement Committee meets for a couple of hours during the afternoon, and my fear about undue tinkering with the cross-municipal use element of the formula prove to be unfounded.  If the county approves this formula, Middleton will receive nearly $200,000 next year.

Supper is supposed to be a break from the library.  I plan to return to check on the Mary Higgins Clark program.

May 2, 1992

The weekend's top-grossing new release. Finished in 4th place overall. Gone, forgotten.



I work.  Kelly babysits.  It's a slow Saturday, certainly not much to do in the way of reference, but time passes quickly since there are plenty of other tasks to tackle.  JoAnna's back from Oshkosh once I return home.  I play a little baseball with Andy, his favorite activity of late.  Eddie wanders around the back yard, swinging the yellow wiffle bat, getting into his patented crouch, making me laugh hysterically.  JoAnna and I don't make love.  I thought it would be a natural thing for us to do after her absence, but she's tired, and I'm feeling rather blah myself.

April, 27, 1992

Lately when I think about the library, I imagine Julie Brunnette and Don Damon wielding a big axe at budget time.  I am already considering how to absorb budget cuts:  reduced hours of operation, reduced hours for part-time staff.  Then -- Superman to the rescue -- I explain to the community what the cuts mean and a tremendous uproar ensues.  The Gang of 5 is recalled, and the City of Middleton finally has a progressive form of government.  Make this dream reality.

April 20, 1992

TIME

There's clutter on my desks to be organized or tossed out.  I'd rather have done this on Saturday but I got caught up with other tasks and left the library soon after closing without making an effort at tidying up.

Today I start to think ahead.  The library's long-range plan needs to be revised.  I need to start gathering information as far of my review of fulltime staff positions.

I spend a quiet evening at home with the boys as JoAnna has a meeting.

Postscript:  Well, TIME, as it turned out.....

...they trusted Bush and Perot even less.

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 31, 1992

TIME

Why is it lately that any time like this that I spend home alone, I get caught up in doing household chores.  I haven't done a thing with my journal notes in weeks.

It's less than a productive day at the library.  I get a call from Eddie's daycare.  He has a temperature of 102, so I get to spend a little bonus time at home.  Most of the evening is taken up with a Committee of the Whole meeting, which extends beyond the library's 9 p.m. closing time.  And wouldn't you know it.  Somebody wants to get into the library's meeting room after the front doors are locked.  Worse yet, she has to sit down by me and kvetch about it.

March 27, 1992

The weekend's top-grossing new movie.

Andy wants Eddie to stay home with him (and Kelly) but I don't want our babysitter to have her hands too full.  I veto the idea, and JoAnna doesn't argue in Andy's defense.

I spend a large portion of the morning with Sheila, reviewing her position description and discussing her performance evaluation.  She heartily seconds my suggestion of a halftime administrative assistant with no public service duties who would be responsible for bookkeeping, staff records, meeting room schedule, bulletin board.  Before the end of the workday, I share the idea with Liz and Chris, and they, too react enthusiastically.  All of a sudden, I have a major focus for this summer's budget preparations.

I leave the library at 4 and walk to Dunn's.

March 26, 1992

The TV show that ruled its Thursday evening time slot for 8 years.

At first, I plan to work with Eve in the evening, but with school out and business at that time of day on the slow side, I decide that the following week will be better for reference instruction.  With Liz working all day and practicum student Bev at the reference desk all day, I'm able to spend the day working as as library administrator exclusively.  No wonder I feel curiously unproductive.

Andy is at home spending the day with Kelly.  Instead of taking a long afternoon break to eat lunch at Pasqual's and go shopping for clothes, I walk to what used to be Arneson's and chow down on a 1/3-pound cheeseburger and a mega-plate of done-to-perfection onion rings.  After work, I first stop at the house and then Andy and I drive to Steppingstone to pick up MundoPie.

March 16, 1992

TIME

Andy is still determined to give his dad as much grief as possible.  To get him out the door and into the car, I have to prod him every inch of the way.  I yell, I threaten, I growl.  Not until we walk into daycare is he his sweet little self again.  I don't feel I'm starting the day on the right emotional note, but the day goes well.  Eve seems to enjoy her first day as Middleton's new children's librarian. I spend most of the afternoon and early evening working on my Nuts and Bolts notes.  With JoAnna at a meeting, I make some chicken wings, using a secret ingredient -- crushed corn flakes -- in the breading.

March 7, 1992

For a change of pace, I work a Saturday at the information desk,  preview of coming attractions in my professional life, now that Liz wishes to no longer work every Saturday.  Business is steady all day; 5 o'clock makes a quick appearance.