On This Date in 1999 (April 18)

I’ll finish this letter while I have some peace and quiet. JoAnna and the boys went to the health club tonight. She’ll exercise while the boys play around in the pool. 

Andy’s team lost their soccer game, 7-0, against a team that took first place in the fall league. The sun was shining during the first half, which kept the parents, standing along the sidelines, from feeling the full effects of a fairly strong breeze. A dome of clouds appeared during the second half and blocked out the sun’s rays. Suddenly it felt like early March. We were all very eager for the game to end, a sentiment we didn’t share with our sons, of course. 

During the afternoon and early evening, JoAnna was at the annual Democratic Party Leadership Conference in Merrimac, about 30 miles north of Middleton, where she conducted a couple of workshops. A friend of Andy’s, Rex Johnson, spent most of the afternoon here, most of their time challenging each other to various Playstation games. I didn’t have a particularly productive day. I finished reading a book (Little Green Men, by Christopher Buckley, a very funny spoof on Washington and the politics of UFO’s) and continued the yard work on the south side of the house. Saturday evening JoAnna and Andy went to the health club. I sat at the kitchen table and watched a movie on TV (Airplane, which had me laughing uproariously at times). Eddie was setting a mini-Lego world on the top of the bookcase next to my desk. During the commercials, I’d check out his progress. 




We went to 9 o’clock mass this morning and then stopped at Scott’s Bakery, usually referred to by us as “The Donut Shop”, on the way home. I went grocery shopping after JoAnna and Andy had completed a menu plan for the week. At quarter to 12, I drove Andy to the high school for the Babe Ruth League baseball tryouts. I didn’t stick around to watch the kids to through their paces. When I returned to give Andy a ride home, though, I heard reports from both Rex’s and Meaghan’s dads that Andy was sure to make the team. Andy, too, felt very confident about his chances. He said he did well in the various hitting, pitching, throwing, and batting drills the coaches ran them through. 

The weather today has been overcast and cool, with intermittent rain showers, so I postponed cleaning the windows. I had even considered putting up the screens in the family room when it looked as though the sky was clearing during the middle of the afternoon. That turned out to be a false promise of pleasant weather. Instead I went through my closet and filled up a large plastic bag that was distributed at the end of church today with old clothes -- shirts and pants and sweatshirts that Eddie has outgrown and shirts that I haven’t worn in over a year. The clothes will be dropped off next week at church for St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization. 

Eddie played in a soccer scrimmage at 4:30 today. I wore my windbreaker and still felt chilled. Unlike most of his teammates, Eddie wore only his jersey, nothing warmer underneath, although I thought I had brought along a long-sleeve shirt for him. I found it on the kitchen table when we returned home. He had brought along his windbreaker, which he wore when he was on the sidelines, but didn’t seem to be bothered by the cold when he played. JoAnna brought along an umbrella since the intermittent sprinkles had returned when we left the house. The Sailfish played two quarters against a 3rd grade team and lost by a score of something like 7-2. Eddie scored a goal to give his team a short-lived lead. 

Dinner took ten minutes to get ready once we were back home. A beef roast had been cooking in the crockpot all day, with red potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. Biscuits and corn completed the menu. Great meal for an unseasonably cold spring day. 

It was a rewarding weekend for those of us who love to hate the Yankees. They got swept by the lowly Tigers, getting outscored 16-3 in the three-game series. Your Mets aren’t doing too bad, Mom, although I see they lost today. Eddie’s scout troop scheduled a Brewer outing for the first Sunday in May, but that is when the boys have their first communion. Larry, Alice, and Cindy will be spending the weekend with us. Larry and Alice, by the way, should be back in Wisconsin within the next week or so. 

So much for now. We send you our love.

On This Date in 1999 (January 2, Part 2)

We’ve been home almost 24 hours and still don’t have all of our suitcases unpacked. At least the van has been emptied and cleaned out. Our focus last night was the Rose Bowl game. Plus JoAnna was eager to get our kitchen cupboards and drawers reorganized as a result of our Christmas bonanza: new dishes, silverware, glasses, plasticware, etc. This morning Andy played his first basketball game of the season, giving us another reason to postpone putting our clothes away. This afternoon, JoAnna cleaned out and rearranged the rest of the kitchen cupboards, and I wrote a letter to my parents after going grocery shopping, something -- the shopping -- I wanted to do last night, but none of the local grocery stores were opened after 5:00. Since I didn’t want to make sandwiches out of a two-and-a-half-week-old loaf of bread (no mold in evidence), I ended up calling Pizza Hut. They could have doubled their prices last night and still done a land-office business. I was surprised they were able to deliver in less than 40 minutes.

Right now Andy and Eddie are with the Johnson boys, Alex and Rex. Both Meaghan and Matt were busy, a situation that Andy didn’t seem to mind as soon as I hooked up his Playstation unit to the family room TV. In a way, I was surprised he accepted Rex’s invitation to play. Real people, real activity are still an important part of his life. I would have been concerned if the video game had caused him to tune everything else out all afternoon.

During his basketball game, Andy didn’t look like he spent most of his Christmas vacation in a reclining position watching TV. He scored 2 points and grabbed 5 rebounds, contributing to a convincing 40-19 victory over a smaller Verona team. His team plays again tomorrow at 3:30. Isn’t that during the Packer game?

We had a wonderful visit in Pennsylvania, even though my dad really wasn’t a part of it. As a cousin of mine who visited my parents in October wrote on her Christmas card, “Parkinson’s is a cruel disease.” Not so much for the victim but for the family that has to watch this inexorably slow physical and mental deterioration. It breaks my heart to see my dad slumped in a chair, unconscious (I’m not sure if I can call it sleep), all day long, as he was this past Wednesday. Thursday he was more alert, which meant that he stayed awake for most of the day and even seemed to be following the storyline of The Glenn Miller Story, the movie JoAnna and I were watching on TV. At least his eyes were open and his face looked as though he was aware of his surroundings. After dinner, he spent an hour studying a pair of Andy’s wind pants that he had found on the living room carpet. Maybe the smooth, cool feel of the fabric fascinated him. He even attempted to put them on. JoAnna, Kim, Larry, Dale, Mom, and I were sitting around the dining room table and couldn’t help but laugh. Not out of cruelty. More to mask the pain of what has happened to this once vital and intelligent man. When we left the house Thursday night, our final departure, I had the sense that Dad didn’t know who I was as I bent down to kiss his cheek and squeeze his shoulder. Mom does her best to take care of him. Her biggest frustration and loss is not being able to communicate with her husband anymore. I wish I could remember just how she phrased it to me one day during our visit. His contributions to a conversation are surreal. One night he seemed to be counseling someone about the appropriateness of a home funeral. It had nothing to do with the lively chatter that the rest of us made It’s very likely he was repeating the exact words he spoke 30 or 40 years ago. During the week we spent in Warren, I made a note to myself to investigate the effects of the advanced stages of Parkinson’s Disease. I want to get a better understanding of what is happening to Dad. At the same time, I hope to find some information that will make things easier for Mom. God forbid if anything happened to her, because I don’t think that Larry, Barb, and Dale, not individually, but all three of them together, are willing to provide the kind of care and attention that Dad requires. Mom look like she’s lost at least ten pounds since the summer. Both JoAnna and I couldn’t help but notice now baggy her slacks were when we arrived in Warren late Saturday afternoon. Fortunately, her energy level remains as high as ever. In that regard, she doesn’t skip a beat. She’s a very youthful 78 year old. 



Tara returned Boxer last night. You should have seen that cat when she opened the grapefruit box in which he was transported. He raced through the kitchen and bounded across the living room as if celebrating a major event in his life. He was obviously so happy to be home. The boys felt likewise, practically smothering him with affection. He joined JoAnna and me in bed during the Sugar Bowl game and padded up my right leg to my sternum at five o’clock this morning, tapping his right paw three times on my chest as if to say, “Time to get up, Daddy. I need my strokes.” I, too, missed Boxer, but not that much. I rolled over onto my stomach and slept until 7:00, when I returned to the Walkfit for the first time in two weeks.

I suppose you’re getting organized for your Arizona departure. When I look out the window right now, I can’t help but think, “They probably wish they left yesterday.” We are getting dumped on big time. And the wind is blowing the snow into tsunami drifts, which we haven’t bothered to shovel yet. Why bother? It’s still snowing. Watching the Weather Channel earlier today, I noted that the only warm places is the U.S. are southern Florida and a southwest arc of Arizona that looks like it includes Buckeye.

By the way, we have your address, don’t we? Otherwise I won’t know where to mail all the letters I plan to write to you. And I’m sure you want to stay up-to-date on all the events taking place in our lives, especially those of your grandchildren.

Stay tuned for Tri-County Basketball League updates, new artistic endeavors, the big job hunt, and expanded services at the Middleton Public Library. Thanks again for sharing such a wonderful Christmas with us.

We enjoyed our stay in Two Rivers and just the opportunity to do nothing if we were so inclined. Our busy family schedule requires putting life on hold every once in awhile.

On This Date in 1998

Today the weather was more suitable to a day in October and, consequently, I found myself doing chores that were similarly more suitable to a day in October. Like washing the windows. When I tackled this chore earlier in the fall, I kept bypassing the window in the utility room (by the dryer). That finally got cleaned today, as well as the picture window, on which the morning sunlight revealed a hazy film; the front storm door window, full of fingerprints from you probably know who; the exterior glass of the windows by the dining area and kitchen, which always dirty up the fastest since they face the driveway; the windows on the side doors; and the sliding glass door in the family room, another prime location for fingerprints. I practically worked my way around the house this morning. After lunch, I pruned some of the shrubs at the front entrance and next to the patio. While I was outside, the only additional clothing I wore was a sweatshirt, even though the temperature probably didn’t exceed 50 degrees. What helped is that the sky remained clear all day. 

JoAnna spent five hours at the State Historical Society library researching her family history, a project she’s been working on for a couple years now. Today she found her great-grandparents marriage certificate and the U.S. census with information about her great-great-grandparents. We’ll have to make sure we bring along a copy of JoAnna’ s family tree on our visit. It’s a ten-page document entitled “Descendents of Marie Bourg”, who was born in 1646 in Port Royal, Acadia (Nova Scotia). To allow her to organize the information she gathers, JoAnna uses a software program called Family Tree Maker. Do you know if any of the Nelsons or Luthgrens have done any extensive genealogical research? Andy spent much of the day at Rex Johnson’s house. Rex has a Playstation video system, which Andy seems to be pretty convinced that he’s getting for Christmas. All the gifts we bought so far are wrapped and arranged in front of the fireplace. I wonder if Andy and Eddie have done some peeking? How shocking!! Kids consumed with curiosity over what they are getting for Christmas!! Eddie spent the morning sacked out on the couch in the family room watching TV. He was in a total stay-at-home frame of mind. I encouraged him to play outside for awhile, put on his rollerblades, DO SOMETHING other than act like a vegetable. To no avail. During the afternoon, he watched The Return of the Jedi, the last of the Star Wars trilogy, simultaneously making up his own storyline with his growing Star Wars toy collection. We had a traveling supper on Saturday, i.e., Dad went to three different restaurants to fill everyone’s order. Andy wanted two tacos from Pasqual’s, Eddie his usual chicken McNuggets Happy Meal, and Mom felt like Chinese, which was fine with me. For the second Saturday in a row, the boys stayed home alone. JoAnna and I went to a surprise farewell party for a woman who worked with JoAnna and is moving to Corpus Christi, Texas, next week. We were gone for four hours and returned to a house not too much the worse for wear.

On This Date in 1998

JoAnna and I are suffering through a second week of a summer cold.  Actually, "suffering" is probably too strong a word.  It's not like we've been down and out.  What started out as a slight sore throat gave way to clogged sinuses accompanied by a cough and a lack of zip.  We haven't missed any work.  Until last night, JoAnna hadn't been sleeping too well.  A dose and a half of NyQuil took care of that problem.  I've limited my drug intake to an occasional Vicks cold and cough fizzy drink. I usually wake up in the morning feeling worse than when I went to bed, but once I start moving around -- stretching, doing my usual 20 minutes of Walkfit -- I start to feel better.

The boys have remained healthy.  They both started their baseball seasons Monday night.  Same time, different diamonds.  I watched the first couple innings of Eddie's couch-pitch game, long enough to see him run out an infield hit.  None of his teammates could bring him around to score. On Saturday, I thought Eddie's baseball season might be over.  He didn't want to attend his practice. At first he was reluctant to tell us the reason why.  Not completely successful in holding back his tears, he said, "Some kids don't like me."  JoAnna and I exchanged wounded glances while Eddie tried to compose himself.  Eddie knows a few of the boys on the team.  In fact, one of them, Derek, has been his best friend through most of 1st grade.  Through gentle prodding, we convinced him to attend his practice. When we picked him up, he appeared to be in good spirits.  On Monday, he seemed to be eager to get to his game, especially after I told him that his coach would have a t-shirt for him.  (For some unexplained reasons, he didn't get his shirt last week when the rest of the team did.  When I asked him about it, he didn't seem to want to acknowledge the question.)

Andy's team was playing just a short walk away.  I let Eddie know where I was going and he didn't object.  I was able to watch Andy pitch the 3rd and 4th innings of his game.  He struck out the first two batters in the 3rd, but the next batter, his good friend Rex, popped a basehit to left-center. He was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, so Andy was out of the inning.  In the 4th,k Andy struck out the first batter and threw the next two batters out at first.  The second ball hit to him was a bullet I didn't think he had a chance to catch, but, as he told me later, he looked in his glove and there was the ball.  He really played well.  JoAnna and I were very proud of him.

This weather we've been having makes me wonder whatever happened to global warming. Saturday was cool and overcast, with occasional showers. JoAnna and I painted Andy’s bedroom. We moved Eddie into the blue bedroom. On Sunday it was warm enough for the boys to swim at the new outdoor pool. Monday night I bought along a sweatshirt to Eddie’s ballgame and put it on before the end of the first inning. I found JoAnna in her hooded sweatshirt at Andy’s game. Tuesday was downright ugly. Rain all day. The temperature barely reached 60. Today’s a bit of an improvement, as the sun is finally starting to burn through the cloud cover. I may actually have to wear my shades to the game tonight.

Boxer must wonder why his family spend so little time at home during the week. On Monday, for example, we’re out of the house shortly after 8. I make a brief midday appearance for lunch. We’re all in and out of the house prior to the boys’ baseball games and then gone for another 2½ hours. At least he had some company yesterday evening, but tonight will be a repeat of Monday’s schedule. He got a booster shot this weekend but the vet suggested that we wait until he’s 12 weeks old to get him declawed. He loves to play. This morning he was around my face at 3:30. “Too early, Kitty Meowsers,” I saw as I carry him out of the bedroom and close the door to prevent further interruption of my sleep. For the past two nights, he’s been going to bed with Eddie, who almost takes it personally when Boxer, in a playful mood, scoots away as Eddie tries to pick him up.

My mom wrote us a letter last week but included no additional information about my dad. In the Nelson family, no news is not necessarily good news, but I take it that the bed set up off the kitchen and the specially designed chair have helped for the present. Dad has no upper-body or arm strength left. The couple time he fell recently, Mom had to get one of my brothers to help out. I’m thankful that Lar, Barb, and Dale still live in Warren. Otherwise, we’d have a family crisis on our hands.

Sorry to end the letter on such a down note.

We enjoyed your recent visit and look forward to your helping us host our Bastille Day party.