On This Date in 1999 (May 12)

It’s been another gloomy day, cool and overcast and, now, increasingly breezy. I wore a sweater vest over a long-sleeve shirt today and felt that I didn’t dress warm enough. Rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. I just checked the garden to do a little weeding – just had to get outside for a little bit -- and all the plants look healthy. The ferns literally burst upon the backyard scene during the past week. We’ve had enough warm weather and precipitation for everything to be ahead of schedule actually. I remember some previous Mays around Mother’s Day when the leaves on the trees were still in the bud stage. When I survey the scene outside the sliding glass doors of the family room, it almost looks like summer, there’s so much “full” green.

I still have half a flat each of marigolds and begonias to plant. I debated with myself whether or not to dig some earth once I finished my weed patrol, but I couldn’t get into the mood. I won’t have a lot of time this weekend as Andy is playing in another baseball tournament – two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. We’re invited to a party – the entire family – Saturday evening. Fortunately, the majority of the planting is done.

 All four of us had commitments yesterday evening. JoAnna attended the annual Wisconsin Women in Government banquet at the Frank Lloyd Wright Convention Center in Madison. She went to that event directly from work. Both boys had soccer games, Eddie’s at 5:30 in Middleton, and Andy’s in Fitchburg, a 20-minute drive from here, at 6:45. Fortunately, I was able to make arrangements to have Andy ride to and from his game with one of his teammates. Eddie’s game concluded at 6:30, which gave me enough time to buy him a Happy Meal on the drive home and then get to a library board meeting at 7:00. That meant that Eddie was home alone for an hour or so, not a new experience for him. He knows not to answer the door or the phone in that situation. I told him the approximate time that Andy would be home.

I smelled gas in the house last night and again this morning. It seemed to be coming from the furnace, which I had turned off about a week ago. This morning I called Madison Gas & Electric, and a service rep arrived within the hour. He found a hairline crack along the inlet side of the gas valve. I have no idea as to how this happened as the valve is inside the furnace. We had already decided to replace it during the summer. It has needed a major cleaning during each of the last three heating seasons. Another major expense, but we have our home equity credit line to pay for it, so we don’t have to make any special financial arrangements to have this project done.

JoAnna just returned from the health club, her first visit there in a week. Monday evening the two of us took a 40-minute walk. It seemed a little weird coming home from work after the boys had already been home for two hours, having supper together (tacos), and then JoAnna and I leaving the house after the kitchen was cleaned up. 

The boys haven’t seen too much of us today,” I commented during our walk. But then it’s a refreshing change of pace for JoAnna and I to have some time together. It’s nice to be able to trust the boys on their own. 

JoAnna and I can tell that the school year is coming to an end. The boys haven’t had any homework this week. Andy has two or three field trips per week between now and the last day of school, probably something to do with the 5th graders being “seniors” at Elm Lawn. Eddie’s class also has a number of outings scheduled, including a trip to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo next Thursday. I think I might volunteer as a chaperone for that one.

On This Date in 1999 (May 10)

The Mother’s Day brunch at Mayflower Drive included a mixed fruit salad, Pillsbury orange rolls, scrambled eggs, hash browns (the frozen Ore-Ida variety), and sausage links. Everyone ate heartily. In fact, the rolls disappeared before I could get my hands on one of them.

During the afternoon, JoAnna went par-3 golfing with the boys while I cleaned up the house (kitchen and living room) and worked outside. I mowed the grass and then thinned out the ground cover on the north side of the yard and transplanted the excess (16 plants altogether) to a bed along the south side. I divided them into two clusters of eight and planted some marigolds in the middle. Until yesterday, I could never figure out what to do with this area of the yard.

After spending five hours outdoors getting my hands dirty, I was ready for a hot shower. Any thoughts of a restful, relaxing evening were dashed when Andy asked, “Could you pitch to me, Dad?”

JoAnna did speak up for me. “You should let your dad take it easy. He’s been working all afternoon.”

I actually enjoy pitching batting practice to Andy, so it wasn’t a chore or an inconvenience at all. And since he has about 10 baseballs, I don’t have to immediately run down every ball he hits.

When we returned from the park, Larry and Alice were at the house. It was just a brief overnight stay for them. We sat around the living room and talked for awhile. We all went to bed at 9:30, Larry and Alice sleeping in the boys’ beds while the boys slept in their sleeping bags in Mom’s and Dad’s room. After turning over soil for four hours, I was certainly ready for the early bedtime.

Larry and Alice were on the road by 7:15 this morning and JoAnna left for work shortly thereafter. Both boys were in a very lethargic mood. It was difficult to get them moving. Andy was still sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal at five after eight.

“C’mon, you’re going to be late, Herman!” I told him, the urgency in my voice giving these words a sharp edge. I think Andy and Eddie were probably marked down as tardy today. I hope that’s not an indication of how the rest of the week will go.

So much for now. We send our love.

On This Date in 1999 (May 9)

So far this weekend has been dedicated to sports. After spending the day in Wisconsin Dells, attending a futures planning workshop sponsored by the South Central Library System, I returned home in time to make sure that Eddie was ready for his Friday evening soccer game. The day had been cool and overcast, but unlike Thursday, no rain had fallen, so the likelihood of the game being postponed diminished as the day progressed. (The field that Eddie’s team was playing on doesn’t drain too well.) 

At game time, a light rain started to fall. I was wearing a long-sleeve shirt over a t-shirt but had left my jacket and an umbrella in the van. Fortunately, trees hug the field, and even though the leaves were just baby sprouts, so to speak, I managed to find protection from the precipitation.

It rained on and off throughout the game. The field should have been mowed as the grass was very long. Any ball kicked on the ground screeched to an immediate halt. By the end of the game, all the kids had wet socks and shoes and their hair matted into weird shapes from all their running around and the styling quirks of the rain. Eddie’s team lost 3-0.

We checked the driveway for a dark blue Buick before going out to eat. Larry and Alice had planned to visit us one day this weekend on their way home but we had no idea when that would be. Only the Saturn was in the driveway. We ate at Pasqual’s, one of our neighborhood restaurants, and then stopped at Blockbuster to rent a video for Mom and Dad and two Playstation games for the boys.

Saturday was devoted to baseball. Andy played in a tournament in Cross Plains, just seven miles west of Middleton. His team played three games, at 10:30, 1:30, 4:30, so we were at the park where the tournament was held for eight hours. Eddie, of course, didn’t want to go. When I got out of the shower, I heard Andy calling his brother’s name.

“Do you know where Eddie is?” he asked me through the door. “We can’t find him anywhere.”

Oh great, I thought, he’s run off somewhere and we’re going to have to search the neighborhood for him.

I don’t know why I initially thought he left the house, as that has never been Eddie’s style of avoidance. When I gave his disappearance some further thought, I knew exactly where to look. It was where Andy ultimately found him. In the “crawl space” of one of the captain’s beds.

Once Eddie was in the van, outside of a 20-foot range of a television set, he was in a very pleasant mood. At the tournament, he either entertained himself or found some kids to play with throughout the day, without a single complaint. In fact, JoAnna and I had to scan the park occasionally to make sure we knew where he was. He never once searched us out, seemingly thriving on his independence.

Game one was a seesaw affair, which made for a very exciting contest. Middleton took what seemed to be a commanding 6-2 lead in the middle of the game but quickly surrendered four runs. Their defense really let them down, especially their inability to hold runners on base. In one instance, Middleton’s pitcher walked a batter and then let him take an extra base when his head momentarily left the game. The player trotted to first and immediately stole second. Throws from the outfield were sometimes made to the wrong base. With an 11-8 lead going into the bottom of the last inning, Middleton was able to keep their opponent scoreless.

Andy had a pretty good game. Although he struck out his first time up, he singled and walked in his next two at-bats.

The second game turned out to be a pitcher’s duel. Waunakee scored two runs in the top of the 1st and looked as though they were going to make things tough for our guys. But that was all they scored. Middleton came back with two runs in the bottom of the third, and then scored the winning run on a bang-bang play at home plate in the bottom of the sixth (of a six-inning game). Final score: 3-2. Andy batted twice, called out on strikes the first time and booming a fly ball to right field (for an out, unfortunately) the second time.

Andy pitched two scoreless innings in game three to help his team nail down a 8-6 victory. The score was 8-0 in the final inning, but Middleton’s third pitcher of the game lost his control after getting the first two outs and walked five batters in a row. Andy struck out and walked in this game. He definitely needs to work on his hitting. JoAnna suggested I take him to a batting cage. We did that once last year, and Andy really enjoyed that kind of batting practice session. It can get a little pricey, though. If I recall, I think it costs something like $5 for 12 balls.

As it turned out, both Middleton teams, the 11 year olds and the 12 year olds, won all three of their games. In fact, the 12 year olds didn’t allow their opponents to score any runs. All three games were shut-outs.

Yesterday was not a good day for baseball. The weather was cool, overcast, and breezy. Many of the fans were wrapped in blankets, wearing winter jackets and gloves. I suppose the good point is that it didn’t rain.

We didn’t get home until 6:30. All of us were feeling drained from being outdoors all day. Neither JoAnna nor I were in the mood to make supper, so I went out to get Chinese for us and pizza for the boys. JoAnna and I watched the video we rented the previous day, but she fell asleep with Boxer on her chest less than halfway through it. I must have dozed off during the final minutes because I can’t for the life of me remember the ending.

The ballfields in Cross Plains are located next to the middle school, and I happened to notice that there were all these old cars parked in the lot in front of the entrance to the school. Before the second game, I wandered over there and checked out the exhibits. A 1947 Chrysler Royal reminded of a car that Min and Lila used to own. I can clearly remember sitting in the spacious back seat– to a little boys it seemed like riding in a living room – on the cloth upholstery with the rope handle attached to the back of the front seat out of my short reach, my view out the windshield partially obscured by a visor. I think the Starks actually owned a Plymouth, but except for a few extra Chrysler flourishes, they were pretty much the same car. I saw a number of seventies-era cars that looked as though they had been lovingly attended to by Dale. A collector of unique and odd models (“I’ve got 21 cars,” I overheard him say) had a 1952 Allstate on display. This car was marketed by Sears for just two years (1952-53) but was manufactured by the Kaiser-Frazer company. Another car I spent some time admiring was a 1958 yellow-and-white Ford Fairline hardtop convertible. There was a 1940 Chevrolet coupe that I would have enjoyed driving on the back roads of Dane County, feeling as though I had been transported back in time. 

We woke up to blue skies and sunshine today, which means I’ll be able to return to the yard work that been on hold for the past week. I feel bad that the boys and I don’t have any special plans for JoAnna this morning to celebrate Mother’s Day. The week was so hectic I didn’t get around to buy any cards, which I should have done when I bought your card and Larry’s birthday card. I’ll have time later in the week, I told myself. Wrong! The boys and I made cards last night right before we went to bed, composing a message on the computer, printing it onto a sheet of paper, folding it in half, and then gluing a picture of them from their first communion last Sunday onto the front. I did buy JoAnna a book on Wisconsin’s participation in the Civil War, her special area of reading interest. We’re going to 11 o’clock mass this morning since JoAnna is serving as lector. The church is hosting a Mother’s Day brunch, but when I mentioned this option to the boys they didn’t seem interested. 

Right now I need to exercise, take a shower, and then review breakfast options.

On This Date in 1999 (April 21)

Our cool and overcast weather continues. Daytime highs have been in the low 50s so conditions can’t really be described as unseasonable. During the night, the temperature approaches freezing. Yesterday we had a late afternoon downpour that forced the cancellation of Eddie’s soccer game and Andy’s practice.

So far this week, we’ve been sticking to the menu that JoAnna and Andy planned on Sunday. Spaghetti, with salad and Pillsbury garlic sticks on Monday; grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup yesterday, a meal that I missed out on since I was working; round steak and noodles, with corn and crescent rolls tonight. JoAnna called a few minutes before 6:00 to let us know she was delayed, to start supper without her. While I was cleaning up the kitchen, I prepared her supper plate, covered it with Cling Wrap, and put it in the refrigerator to be microwaved when she returned home. The Dale method.

Tomorrow, soft shell tacos are on the menu, but only if I stop at the grocery store to buy the shells. Pizza, probably not homemade, is what’s on tap for Friday, after Eddie’s soccer game in Mount Horeb, which means we won’t get home until after 7:00. The last time we were in Mount Horeb, for one of Andy’s basketball tournaments, JoAnna and I enjoyed a fish fry at the Main Street Grill. Maybe it will be time for an encore.

Saturday is an open date, not that we have any particular plans, but Sunday dinner will feature a delicious pork roast, a cut of meat we don’t buy too often.

Ever since baseball tryouts on Sunday, Andy has been anxiously awaiting a phone call from one of the coaches. Fifth and sixth graders were to be selected for two teams by this evening. I attended the city council meeting last night and didn’t get back to my office until 9:30. I found a note with the message, “Paul, call Andy.”

Andy couldn’t wait to tell me the news, I figured.

He was asleep, of course, when I returned home, but JoAnna said he’s on a team with a lot of the same guys from last year: Ross, Johnny, Riley, Drew, and Brent. He’s so excited. Practice starts this weekend, weather permitting. Our gloomy conditions are predicted to last through the weekend. We even had another prediction of snow. (I thought that convention ended last week!) 

Andy is going to be very busy with sports over the next month. He’ll still be able to play in most of his soccer games, but baseball will take priority. Andy will play in two tournaments in May, which take place on the 3rd and 4th weekends of the month.

I received a call from Andy’s teacher today while I was at work.

Oh-oh, I said to myself. What’s happened now?

Mrs. Ball must have sensed my concern, as she quickly explained her reason for her call.

“I have some positive news I wanted to share with you,” she said.

She went on to describe how things have changed for the better quite dramatically since the conference we had last month. She mentioned that Andy has made a special effort to contribute in the classroom, eagerly volunteering to participate in various activities. I thought it was very considerate of her to share this news. To me, it’s the sign of a committed teacher. Too often kids get reprimanded for their negative behavior but not rewarded, or even recognized, for the positive things that they do. That’s an important cautionary statement for parents, too. (Just giving myself a little reminder.)

Delayed reaction. A few paragraphs ago, I thought I heard someone say “goodbye” and the side door slam shut. From somewhere outside, I can hear the dull thump of a basketball being dribbled, but that might be our neighbors playing with their 3-year-old son. So I get up from this chair momentarily and walk to the kitchen window to investigate. Sure enough, there’s Mary Ash, her son Matthew – along with Andy and Eddie. Matthew could be a babysitting prospect for Andy. Hard to believe our big guys will be 12 years old this September and in middle school. I was looking at some baby pictures the other night and had to ask myself, “Where did those days go?” Diapers. Daycare. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Watching Dumbo three or four times in one day. The night after night after night after night I would tell Andy the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, sometimes with some very abrupt and strange variations if he was in the mood.

And now he’s almost as tall as his mom.

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 (April 15)

It’s awfully quiet around here right now. Andy is stretched out on the couch playing with his Game Boy. Boxer is studying the back yard through the sliding glass door, probably on the lookout for some rabbit or squirrel. Eddie and JoAnna are attending the final Cub Scout pack meeting of the year, one of two conflicting events on Eddie’s calendar. The other is a reception for students in the Middleton-Cross Plains school district who have entries in the annual art show. I stopped at Elm Lawn school, where the pack meeting was being held, to see if Eddie might want to attend the final 15 minutes of the reception, but he was too involved in some craft project all the boys were working on. I didn’t even ask him if he wanted to leave.

Boxer escaped from the house early Tuesday afternoon while I was bringing some groceries into the house. I chased him around the yard for a half hour, but he refused to respond to my entreaties. In fact, he hissed ferociously at me and would have probably sliced me to ribbons if he hadn’t been declawed. Have it your way, I said finally, and returned to work, feeling a little guilty, though, about leaving our cat to the elements. What am I going to tell JoAnna, I wondered, if Boxer takes off or I find him as road kill? Actually, it was a beautiful day – lots of sunshine with a temperature in the mid-60s, and Boxer never ventured too far from the house. Eddie was able to lure him from under one of our cedar trees along the driveway when he returned home from school. I think that Kitty Meowsers had come to the conclusion that he was a house cat, although he’d probably enjoy occasional outdoor privileges based on the amount of time he spends looking out our windows.

Both boys have a few soccer practices under their belts. Andy has his first game Saturday morning, but the weather might not cooperate. Rain and snow and predicted for tomorrow. JoAnna thought she heard anywhere from 1 to 4 inches. No way, I said. It’s not gonna happen! Just when our daffodils and tulips are starting to bloom. (The bunnies got to our crocuses – curse those furry little pests.) The lousy weather is expected to last through the weekend, which will affect the Babe Ruth Bambino baseball tryouts on Sunday. If the weather improves, Andy will spend the early afternoon at the high school baseball diamond. Otherwise, he and the other 11 and 12 year olds trying out will be in the gym. If Andy makes the team, which is very likely since he was on the traveling team last year, I’m not sure how he’s going to juggle soccer and baseball through the end of May.

Eddie plays his first game on Tuesday. I’ll probably have to miss it since that is my night to work. I better check the schedule since I think that’s the game Eddie is supposed to bring a treat. And, of course, forgetting to bring a treat is a very serious crime!

I did a little yard work Wednesday evening, clearing dead growth and dried leaves from the hostas and other perennials in the front yard, removing the first of the season’s weeds, picking up the silver maple debris – such messy trees – littering the front lawn. I’m looking forward to getting our yard back in shape between now and the Memorial Day weekend.

JoAnna and I were in bed at 9 o’clock last night, but not because we were tired. Wednesday evening is our time to watch back-to-back episodes of Law & Order, our favorite TV show. We caught a new episode on NBC, followed by a rerun from what JoAnna figured was probably the first season, based on the cast, on A&E. Her folks got her hooked on the show last December, and she got me hooked a couple months ago. Jerry Orbach, who played Harry McGraw on a few episodes of Murder She Wrote, plays one of the police detectives in his typical loose, wisecracking style. Sam Waterston, one of JoAnna’s favorite actors, plays a district attorney. Neither can be considered the star of the show. That would be New York City, since all of the exterior scenes are shot on location. All around, it’s very an extremely well-made program, currently the best on TV as far as I’m concerned. But then, what do I know? I don’t really watch anything else on a regular basis.

On This Date in 1999 (March 21)

With the beautiful weather yesterday, our thoughts turned to baseball. I took the boys to Dunham’s, a sports store, to buy Andy a new glove. His current one will be given to Eddie once it’s restrung. Andy also needed a pair of baseball cleats. The ones he wore last summer are a size 6. He now wears a size 9, but I bought him a size 10. There will probably be at least one shoe size of growth between now and August. Eddie also needed new baseball cleats – Andy’s old ones are too worn for hand-me-downs – which I hope he’ll also be able to use for soccer. After this shopping trip, we found ourselves an open baseball field at the old Elm Lawn schoolyard, just a few blocks from the house, and warmed up by throwing the ball around. Eddie no longer flinches when a ball is thrown at him. I threw batting practice to both boys, Andy quickly regaining a mid-season swing. He hit a few sharp line drives to left-centerfield that would have gone for extra-base hits in any of his games. Eddie was a little slow in getting around on the ball, all of his hits going to the right side. Andy volunteered to pitch to me. “Don’t swing hard, Dad,” he cautioned. Ever since my softball days in Oshkosh, I’ve been known for my nasty line drives up the middle. Andy’s has been on the receiving end of a couple of those, so he’s always a little gun shy when he pitches to me.

We talked about using the batting cages at Vitense Golfland but ended up playing miniature golf instead. I had a two-stroke lead over Andy going in the “back nine”, but he erased that advantage and went on to beat me by at least three strokes. Once we returned home at 3:30, JoAnna having finished whatever she needed to do at the campaign office, I picked up the numerous dead branches littering the front and back yard. Middleton must have had some high winds during our brief absence. I also checked the lawn for areas that will need additional reseeding this spring.

During the early evening, leftovers on the menu for supper, JoAnna went to the health club and Andy and I played catch in the open lot next door to us. After I skyed him a series of high pop-ups, Andy threw about 20-25 pitches, just to start the process of getting his arm limbered up.

We have more sunshine today, so from inside the house, it looks very pleasant outdoors. That’s not the case. Blustery conditions have kept the wind chill in the teens range so far today. I still plan to walk to work, though. Later today, Andy has his first soccer practice of the season – indoors, fortunately. 

Before I know it, the boys and I will be on the road, making our way to Pennsylvania again. I’ll probably start packing on Wednesday evening so that everything will be ready to put in the car on Thursday. Following last year’s itinerary, I’d like to leave Middleton at noon, which means getting the boys out of school early. That will make the trip through Chicago less grueling. 

Time for me to take a shower and get something to eat if I want to avoid feeling rushed later this morning. 

We send you our love. The boys and I are looking forward to our return engagement. Andy offered a suggestion for our itinerary during the week. “We should take Grandma to the mall in Jamestown.”

On This Date in 1999 (February 24)

The ground is covered with snow again, but I don’t think it will last too long. About three inches fell during the afternoon, making rush hour traffic treacherous, which, of course, was of no concern to me or JoAnna, The weather is supposed to warm up, with temperatures in the 40s by the weekend. I haven’t bothered to shovel the sidewalk, and I think I just might let Mother Nature take care of the job. (As it turned out, I shoveled the sidewalk but not the driveway, which I did leave to Mother Nature. She did a good job, too.) 

Andy brought home a terrible midterm report in math, an overall grade of 60, which is barely passing. When I returned home from work last night around 9:15, JoAnna was attempting to help Andy with his homework. He had written down incorrect answers for all of the math problems using the symbols > (greater than) and < (less than) but couldn’t be convinced that they needed to be changed. He got upset when we told him that he must have misunderstood something in class. As a result of this downfall, Andy is grounded for a week and his Playstation game will only be available at selected times during the weekend. I suggested that sleepovers be disallowed until the end of the school year.

Although Andy went to bed mad last night, he woke up this morning in a pleasant, even affectionate, mood. He corrected the mistakes on his homework assignment. The disagreement with Mom and Dad seemed to have been forgotten. 

I signed up the boys for baseball on Monday evening. Andy will again try out for a traveling team. This year, the 11 year olds will play in 5 (!) tournaments, the first one scheduled for the middle of May. I don’t think Andy is going to be playing much soccer this spring.

JoAnna made a casserole for supper tonight, using boneless chicken breasts, Stove-top stuffing, and cream of mushroom soup. It was very tasty. In fact, I should be able to have an encore for lunch tomorrow unless JoAnna has seconds once she returns from an evening spent at Shirley Abrahamson’s campaign headquarters. Both Shirley and another Supreme Court justice, Ann Walsh Bradley, have asked JoAnna to stay on until the election in April. I know she’ll stay involved, but I don’t see how she can continue to do everything she’s doing now once she starts working in the Department of Justice.

On This Date in 1998

Although the week started off on a soggy note, the gray dome of the weekend remaining in place, we found ourselves basing in warm sunshine by Thursday. It was tempting to play hooky, but I had a full schedule: a meeting of LINK, the automation consortium of which Middleton is a member, in the morning; a staff meeting in the afternoon, and a stint as guest lecturer for a class at the library school in the early evening.

When I dropped off Eddie Thursday afternoon, the living room was sset up with lights, microphones, and a camera. JoAnna and I had offered Jon Erpenbach the use of our house to film a commercial for his Senate campaign. It was shot just inside the front entrance, a moment in the life of a candidate knocking on doors to introduce himself to the votes, Drew’s mom, Kathy, filling the role as the woman of the house. (Drew, if you recall, is on Andy’s football team, and Kathy’s husband, Brian, has been one of Jon’s best friends since high school.) The boys would have jumped at the chance to be in this commercial, but their services weren’t needed this time.

Yesterday I worked from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. without a break, but by the time I returnred home it was too late to do anything outside. Before picking up Eddie, though, I did take care of one chore on my household to-do list. I cleaned Eddie’s bedroom windows, inside and out. The two of us stopped at a fundraiser for 2nd Congressional district candidate Tammy Baldwin on the way home, where we met JoAnna. Andy, of course, was at football practice, and it was my turn to pick up the boys, so I had to leave in the middle of Tammy’s remarks, a political pep talk, for the most part.

The Middleton High School football team traveled to Beloit yesterday. We aren’t big enough fans to follow the team on the road. If Andy continues his interest in the sport and plays on the team when he’s in high school (which is only 4 years away!), then we’ll make the road trips. Middleton lost a heartbreaker, 14-10, Beloit scoring a touchdown with one minute left in the game. The loss eliminated the Cardinals from the state high school playoff picture. Last year, Middleton won the Division A championship, so for some fans, this season has been a letdown. The coach’s wife even wrote a letter to the local newspaper, complaining about callous and degrading remarks uttered by fans during the games, loose-tongued people who obviously didn’t realize who was sitting near them.

As a result of conflicting schedules today, I wasn’t able to see Andy’s game. The Orioles traveled to Sauk City, 20 miles northwest of here, to play an undefeated team that had beaten their previous opponents by an average margin of 30 points. We saw Andy’s defensive coach (and his family) at Pasqual’s last night after football practice, and he mentioned to us how big some of these kids were, about 8 tipping the scales at 140 or more. (Where do they find these kids?, is what I want t5o know. I used to think that Andy and his friend Ross Hellenbrand were big for their age. Maybe in Middleton, but not elsewhere, it seems.) Consequently, I was pleased to learn that the Orioles lost by a score of 7-0. Andy played both offense and defense today and, according to JoAnna, looked like he was really into the game. A couple times on offense, he was wide open, but the quarterback was unable to get off a pass in time. The offensive line remains the Orioles’ Achilles heel.

Eddie played in a soccer tournament today, a total of three games between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. His team, the Sailfish, tied the first one (2-2), won the second (1-0), and tied the third (2-2). With ten seconds left in game 3, the Sailfish had a golden opportunity to score, the right forward having an open shot 4 feet in front of the goal. He could have dinked the ball through. Unfortunately, he got way too much loft on his kick, and the ball bounced off the wooden frame at the top of the goal. Everyone on the sidelines groaned. The team had made a furious second-half comeback from a 2-0 deficit, and it would have been great to see them snatch a victory just prior to the game-ending whistle. Eddie played defense most of the day, a position he enjoyed and at which he excels. At Wednesday’s game, his coach raved about Eddie’s tenacity. He exchanged high fives with him as Eddie ran off the field at the end of the game. Then, as we were walking back to the car, I overheard him say to his assistant coach, “If it hadn’t been for Eddie’s defense, we would have really been out of that game.” As it was, they lost 2-0.

One of the side benefits of the Ritalin is that is has made Eddie a more focused soccer player. Last spring, and even at the beginning of the season, his head would drift in and out of the game. Now he plays with a little more intensity and with a greater awareness of where he is supposed to be in relationship to the ball. Of course, the primary reason for this drug therapy is to improve Eddie’s classroom performance, and already, during the first three weeks of his being on medication, we feel that he has made big strides. Eddie has been able to stay focused while working on his nightly homework assignments. We haven’t had to deal with any outburst caused by his frustration when something doesn’t come easy for him. I should probably call his teacher ext week to see if she’s noticed any corresponding improvements at school. We’ve had no reports of classroom disruptions or recess run-ins. From this evidence you can see that we’ve been operating on the no-news-is-good news principle for the past three weeks. Tammy Baldwin’s fundraiser was hosted by the boys’ pediatrician and his wife, and he was pleased to hear our report about the positive steps that Eddie had made. And it’s not just related to behavior. His reading comprehension increases each week. His special classes, 45 minutes each day with a reading specialist in a small-group setting, are really working wonders for him. It also helps him that JoAnna or I, depending upon who’s home, work very closely with Eddie each night, giving him encouragement and praising his hard work.

Surprised about the results of the second round of baseball playoffs so far? The Padres certainly made everyone sit up and take notice with their two-game sweep of the Braves in Atlanta. And now I see the Padres have a one-run lead going into the bottom of the 7th. In San Diego. With the fans tasting the possibility of a sweep. The Fox network is certainly not looking forward to a San Diego-Cleveland World Series, since those two cities represent relatively small markets. The Yankees, of course, guarantee at least respectable ratings, and the Braves have developed a national following as a result of their presence o Ted Turner’s Superstation. I’m hoping that Doc Gooden can put another nail in the Yankee coffin tonight. And you know he has to be motivated to do so, after being considered expendable by Joe Torre.

Earlier in the week, I investigated the possibility of consolidating three of our loans: mortgage, auto, and personal equity line, which add up to around $1,150 in monthly payments. Our bank is offering what they have dubbed a “Turbo” loan – faster approval, less paperwork – at an interest rate of 6.99% for anything between $75,000 and $99,000. The current principle on our debts adds up to $70,700, but the extra $4,300 will allow us to get the kitchen remodeled: new flooring, baseboard, countertop, and refaced cabinets. With a ten-year repayment schedule, our monthly payments will be $870.

Andy’s friend Matt is sleeping over tonight. Meaghan is here now and the three of them are playing games – until a few minutes ago Slap Jack, it sounded like, and now they are setting up the Clue game board right next to me in the family room. Eddie’s on the sidelines, of course, wishing he could play, but I told him to watch the first game to get an idea of how it is played and maybe he can join the second game, if their collective attention span lasts that long.

JoAnna went to her office after dropping off Andy. She probably won’t be back home until 7 or 8. It’s almost 7 right now so I should think about supper. Let’s see… we had Mexican last night, and JoAnna ordered pizza for delivery on Thursday, and I treated the boys to McDonald’s on Wednesday after Eddie’s soccer game. (This fast-food review will give you an indication of how busy this week has been.) Looks like it might be a Subway kind of evening.

On This Date in 1998

Cooler weather has finally arrived. Nighttime temperatures have dipped into the low 40s since Thursday. By Saturday morning, the cold, damp air had started to seep into the house so I turned on the furnaces. Both of them – we have a separate unit for the family room – fired up immediately and kept the boys from walking around the house wrapped in blankets. Such unhardy boys.

Friday evening, I arrived in Cross Plains a half hour before the end of Andy’s football practice, as it turned out, so I sat in the van and listened to book on tape I’m currently in the middle of. (The World According to Garp, by John Irving.) Andy thought his practice might be shorter than usual, since it was the day before a game, but that was just wishful thinking. While JoAnna spent the evening with some members of Jon Erpenbach’s campaign committee putting together yard signs, the boys and I hung out at home, ordering a couple pizza for delivery (pepperoni for them, chicken with garden vegetables for me) and then settling in for the evening in front of the TV. The boys gave television their full attention, while I used it as background noise while I read. (Straight Man by Richard Russo, which focuses on the ups and downs - -mostly the latter – of a 49-year-old chair of the English department at the fictional West Central Pennsylvania University. The author has a very wry sense of humor; I usually find something to chuckle about on every page. Russo has written 3 other novels, most of them set in the Mohawk Valley region of New York State, an economically depressed area between Utica and Albany. One of his books, Nobody’s Fool, was made into a very funny movie starring Paul Newman a few years back. It’s one of my favorite movies of this decade.)

Saturday was a cold, raw, wet day. Eddie’s soccer game was cancelled. It started raining late Friday evening and continued through the night and didn’t let up until midafternoon. Football, of course, is a different matter, and Andy’s game went on as scheduled. The Orioles played on the east side of Madison, on a wind-and-rain-swept field that provided no natural or man-made shelter from the elements. I wore my Goretex jacket and kept my hood up through most of the game. My extremities, especially my fingers, started to get numb by the 4th quarter. Andy and his teammates held up very well against the elements, I thought. In fact, they almost walked away with their first victory, but they couldn’t hold onto a 7-6lead with only three minutes left in t the game. As soon as we returned to the car, Andy demanded that I turn up the heat, which was my top priority, too.

During Andy’s game, I listened to the Badger football game on the radio. I’m not sure what’s defective – the headphones or the Walkman unit itself – but the sound kept going on and off, as if someone was annoyingly flipping a light switch. Until midway through the 3rd quarter, it looked as though Wisconsin was going to go down to its first defeat, but the team exploded for 21 points and held on to win their 5th game in a most dramatic fashion.

I was offered the chance to purchase 4 tickets to the Badger hockey team’s first game of the season, an exhibition game against Notre Dame. Since it was also the first hockey game to be played at the Kohl Center, UW-Madison’s brand-new, $76-million sports complex, I quickly pulled out my checkbook. This special event, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game, featured the unveiling of the five banners commemorating the Badgers’ NCAA championships and an introduction of past starts from the 1960s to the present. The main event, though, turned out to be a little disappointing as the Badgers lost 2-1. Both their passing and fast breaks seemed a bit tentative, whereas Notre Dame, not really a college power in hockey, played in what looked like mid-season form. We had great seats, just 4 rows up from the ice. JoAnna flinched every time the players bumped each other into the ”glass”. Up close, these bumps sound like the most painful of bonecrunching hits. I better understand now why hockey players wear so much padding. It’s a violent sport, just a few steps away from a human demolition derby on ice skates.

The game was not a sellout (14,500) but still attracted 13,400 fans, according to the summary in today’s paper. That’s amazing for an exhibition game. Until this season, the Badgers used to play hockey at the Dane County Coliseum, which seats just under 8,000. The games were almost always sellouts there. It’s an indication of how popular hockey is here that an arena seating almost twice as many fans will have no problem selling out during the regular season. 


It was nearly midnight by the time we got to bed last night. Everyone but me slept in later than usual this morning. I was up at my usual time, shortly after 6:00. The day started out cool, cloudy and windy, and remained so until the middle of the afternoon. JoAnna was at her office from noon until five. The boys and I went to see the first showing of Antz at the newly remodeled Point Cinemas. Eddie had expressed an interest in seeing this moving after seeing ads for it on TV. Like Toy Story, it’s a computer animated feature that uses the voices of well-=known stars. Z, the main character, is the voice of Woody Allen, whose self-effacing, sometimes cerebral style of comedy, which permeates the story of this ant world in revolt against an evil general, is not a logical choice for a film that is pitched to kids that are Andy’s and Eddie’s ages. In fact, this was a movie to which parents were bringing preschoolers. Within the first half hour, I sensed an undercurrent of restlessness in the audience, which was confirmed by the boys’ capsule reviews as we walked to the car after the movie was over. Most of the movie took place inside an anthill; as a result, the screen seemed dark and out of focus except when the ants were in close-up. The ants had a very familiar look about them, too. One might have assumed that the queen bee had somehow been inseminated by E.T. Most of the ants had wide, flat faces and very large eyes; their bodies seemed to move in a slightly mechanical, herky-jerky motion. Considering the theater was nearly at capacity, I would guess Antz will do well in its initial weekend but might have trouble sustaining an audience. A similar movie, A Bug’s Life, is scheduled for release around Thanksgiving, and ,after today’s trip to the movies, Eddie reported at the supper table that he has no interest in seeing it.

We had our usual Sunday meal together. I fixed baked chicken, dipping the pieces in a cornmeal mixture before they when into the oven, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and crescent rolls (the Pillsbury variety). The boys have worked on their homework tonight, Andy finishing a book report that is due on Tuesday and Eddie reading his nightly requirement of 15 minutes.

The TV is off, of course, since tomorrow is a school day. I think the Astros-Padres game is on right now, but I haven’t been watching much of the playoffs this year, which is somewhat ironic, I suppose, in light of the fact that 1998 has been a year of resurgent fan interest in baseball. The Yankees and Braves have already won their series, as expected. Someone tell the Rangers to not even bother next year. One run in three games. How pathetic. And the other Texas team can hardly do much better. It looks like we’re on track for a New York-Atlanta showdown in the World Series. I don’t see this as being a year for upsets. (Of course, I’m making this prediction just so the Cleveland Indians show me up!)

I just tuned in the Sunday night football game and watched a tropical storm in progress. Kansas City just received 5 inches of rain in one (!!) hour, resulting in a suspension of the game. Turning to the local Fox affiliate, I see the Astros are just about ready to throw in the towel. I suppose the Bills upset of the 49ers has Buffalo all excited. Unfortunately, today’s game will probably turn out to be the highlight of their season. Most of Wisconsin will be tuned to Monday Night Football tomorrow for what should be a hard-fought contest between the Packers and the Vikings. Andy will probably plead to stay up past his usual 9 o’clock bedtime. So much for this weekend update.

On This Date in 1998

JoAnna and I have just finished helping the boys with their homework.   Eddie had to answer some question from a Frog and Toad book he was assigned to read.  He spent almost 45 minutes at the kitchen table working on this.  I helped Andy study for a science test he has on Friday, asking him questions from the chapters he was assigned to read.

         
Right now I’m watching the Giants-Cubs game out of the corner of my left eye.  Chicago has a 2-run lead in the bottom of the 6^th and are threatening to score again.  I thought Lance Johnson was a dead duck as soon as he decided to go to third on Sosa’s single up the middle.  What’s most amazing about this game is that the Giants have yet to get a hit.  Trachsel, the Cubs pitcher, has walked 5 and hit 1.

         
Mom, I’m sure you were extremely disappointed with the way the Mets finished their season, losing 5 in a row when they had the wild card spot almost in reach.  I read an article in the New York Times last week that described how opposing teams play harder against the Mets because of their dislike of Bobby Valentine.  

Yesterday I started listening to The World According to Garp by John Irving, a book that was published in June of 1978, a few months before I moved to Wisconsin.  I think it made the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best books of the 20^th century, one of the 50 or so books I hadn’t read. JoAnna said she read it when she was in college, one of her favorite books from that time in her life.  I’m finding it to be such a good book that I’m almost tempted to read it myself rather than have someone read it to me.  But not tonight.  Right now, I’m going to close this letter, then watch the game while listening to Garp and folding laundry. 

On This Date in 1998

Today started our cloudy and remained that way in spite of the promise of afternoon sunshine in the Weather Channel’s forecast. I drove to Portage this morning to attend a continuing education workshop sponsored by the South Central Library System. I took a scenic route on the drive back to Middleton. County Highway U literally snakes its way through the rolling terrain southwest of Portage, following the path of the Wisconsin River, although the river is only occasionally in view. I had never been on this road before and was entranced by the vistas it offered. With numerous 90-degree turns and squiggles, I couldn’t linger on the panoramas. At the tiny community of Merrimac, located at the western point where the Wisconsin Rivers bulges into a good-sized lake, I took the car ferry across the river. The ferry is nothing more than a barge that can accommodate a maximum of 12 cars. It’s free and cut about ten miles off my return trip.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve started one of my annual projects: cleaning the mildew off the sides of the house. Starting with the front of the house was intentional. We’re hosting a fundraiser for Jon Erpenbach’s tomorrow evening, and I don’t want our guests to find dark blotches framing the front door. Our guest of honor is Senator Herb Kohl, who will be introduced by County Executive Kathleen Falk. We’re expecting a good turnout. JoAnna’s not preparing any of the food for this shindig. No time, for one reason. (She worked late again last night.) She ordered some meat, cheese, and vegetable trays from the deli department of a local grocery store.

I was supposed to make a budget presentation to the city’s finance committee this afternoon, but two members couldn’t make the meeting, which meant there was no quorum and business could not be conducted. I’m rescheduled for Tuesday. The library’s budget proposal includes a request to open the library on Sunday (September through May) and the hiring of a ¾-time Young Adult Services Librarian as well as some additional support staff.

After yesterday’s Cub’s debacle, Mets fans are probably somewhat heartened going into the regular season-sending series with the Braves. Actually, I think the Giants have the best chance of winning the wild-card spot. They play the weakest team. But then those games don’t always play out like you’d expect. Who would have thought the Mets would have been swept by the Expos at home. Actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing an all-Texas World Series: the Astros vs. the Rangers. The Yankees have certainly cooled down during the past month, which I think makes them less of an automatic shoo-in. Boston is in its usual September swoon, still struggling to clinch the American League wild card. If they do make it into the playoffs, I predict they’ll fold like whipped egg whites in my cottage-cheese pancake batter. (A recipe I haven’t made in 15 years, I bet.) Cleveland’s lucky to be in a weak division. The Rangers seem to be the team of destiny, getting their act together in a most timely manner with an impressive three-game sweep of the Angels.

In the National League, San Diego seems to be on a momentum-killing slide, and whoever wins the wild card has no chance against Atlanta or Houston, who I hope will not be paired against each other in the first round. Based on what happened last season, I don’t think baseball understands how to do pairings in scheduling its playoff games. The two teams with the best records should play the teams with fewer wins. That’s how it works in basketball and hockey, and I’m pretty sure football follows this same game plan, too. 

Well, enough rambling for now. It’s time for me to get ready for bed, but first I’m going to have some graham crackers and mile.

On This Date in 1998

Eddie’s team, the Sailfish, lost their soccer game yesterday, 1-9, a tough defeat against a team that I thought was a little too aggressive for its age. One of the Sailfish parents served as a referee, (since the high-school-aged kid who was scheduled to do this didn’t show up? I don’t know). He tended to be a little bit loose with his calls, probably not wanting to appear partisan, letting the opposing team get away with two hand balls within the first two minutes of the game before he finally whistled a penalty. The kids on the opposing team used their hands a lot throughout the game, both to stop the ball and to push the Sailfish away from it. At the same time, though, Eddie and his teammates looked a bit lethargic. It was a warm, muggy day, unusual weather for the middle of September, and the game was played from 12 noon to 1 p.m. The missed at least three good scoring opportunities, including a penalty kick in front of the goal as a result of a blatant hand ball.

Andy’s team went down to defeat, a 14-0 shutout. JoAnna reported the offensive line was ineffective in making any holes for the running backs and in protecting their quarterback, who was sacked at least three times. Andy played fullback for much of this game, usually getting tackled at the line of scrimmage. At least they played better defense than the previous week.

The four of us made a trip to Milwaukee County Stadium yesterday. During the soccer picture-taking Saturday morning, I talked with someone who had taken his twin boys to the game the previous evening. He said they left Middleton at 5:00 and at twenty to 8 were still in traffic on I-94, the stadium barely in view. Inching their way to the parking lot, they listened to the game on the radio, and when Mark McGwire came up to bat in the 1st inning, hoped that he wouldn’t hit a home run. (He complied, hitting one later in the game once they had reached their seats.) We had already adjusted our departure time before this conversation, figuring we should be on the road between 3:30 and 4:00. We made good time all the way to the Milwaukee city line, experiencing heavy traffic at times but nothing that slowed the flow below 60 miles per hour. At the intersection of I-94,I-89, and U.S. 41, the traffic came to a standstill, no doubt backed up all the way from the stadium exit 2 miles ahead. We took U.S. 41 north to Bluemound Road, which parallels I-94 into the heart of Milwaukee. After a stop at a Subway to get something to eat, we resumed our trip to what we thought would be a quicker route to the stadium. Wrong! We hit stop-and-go traffic at 64th Street, our destination being a right-hand turn off 50th Street. It took us 45 minutes to travel 10 blocks, our right-hand, eastbound lane of Bluemound resembling a line of parked cars most of the time. To help pass the time, we listened to the radio and JoAnna and I read the books we had brought along. Around 54th Street, I noticed someone standing at the entrance to a church parking lot holding a large sign that advertised parking for $5. Luckily, I was able to quickly switch lanes and make a left-hand turn without causing an international incident. From here it was about a mile-long walk to the stadium. The parking lot we were looking for couldn’t have accepted us since it was filled to capacity. As we walked through it on the path to the stadium, the air with thick with the smell of charcoaled meat. People sat in large circular clusters of lawn chairs eating and drinking and talking while others were content to lean up against their vehicles and watch the passing parade of people. We had actually hoped to approximate the experience of tailgating by eating our submarine sandwiches and some other snacks we had brought along, but the boys and JoAnna ended up eating their subs en route. I wolfed mine down once we parked the van.

We had tickets in the upper box section, almost even with the foul pole down the third base line. We got to our seats about a half hour before game time, not in time to see any batting practice. It was obvious from the way the stadium seats were starting to fill up that this game was a sell-out, as was the entire 3-game weekend series. (Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs play at Milwaukee on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the Brewers are very likely to draw more than 250,000 fans during this five-game stretch.)

The Cardinals already had a 2-0 lead when McGwire stepped into the batter’s box for his first at-bat. The crowd cheered and rose en masse and stayed on their feet, eagerly anticipating home run #65. The first pitch was an inside fast ball. A collective, elongated “boo!” swirling through the stadium. The second pitch hit McGwire, and the crowd expressed its disappointment (more boos, that is) as the Cardinal first basemen trotted to first base.

So how did the evening proceed?

Let me put it in baseballese for you.

HBP. K. K. K. K.

McGwire batted again in the 2nd, 4th, 7th, and 9th innings. Each time the 54,000+ in attendance rose to their feet and cheered lustily. Each time, after his first at-bat anyway, McGwire struck out swinging, looking off-balance, confused, and, as he walked back to the dugout, a little forlorn.

Along with thousands of other fans, we bought a camera along. From our vantage point, McGwire, big guy that he is, will look like an insignificant speck in all of the pictures we get developed. I also took a few pictures of the new stadium rising impressively beyond the left-field bleachers. I found it interesting that the only brickwork in place is that which can be seen from the TV cameras placed behind home plate. I’m sure that was in intentional decision on Bud Selig’s part.

During McGwire’s at-bats, I tended to watch the seats on the right-field side of the diamond rather than keep my eyes on the batter. As soon as the pitcher released the ball, a multitude of camera flashes created a strobe-like effect. I wonder how many people ended up with pictures of the back sides of someone’s head?

Yesterday was also Fan Appreciation Day at County Stadium. Lots of prizes were awarded, including a new car. We stayed around through the end of the drawing, which meant that by the time we got back to the van, it was nearly midnight. We came close to winning once. I can’t remember what was being given away now, but the announcer called out upper box 28 – our section, JoAnna and I noted excitedly, exchanging hopeful glances – row 2. Our bubble burst. We sat in row 5.

I haven’t told you the final score yet, which gives you an indication of how insignificant the game was outside of charting McGwire’s progress into the record books. Brewers lost , 7-4. If this had been an ordinary game, if McGwire played for another team, for example, County Stadium would have been a quiet place, with probably not much more than 10,000 fans in attendance. We certainly wouldn’t have been there except for the draw of this season’s home run derby.

Leaving Milwaukee was a breeze. We encountered no delays at all. The boys conked out once we hit the Interstate. JoAnna returned to her book, one from her growing library of Civil War titles, the dome light on her sight of the van not interfering with my ability to see the road. She fell asleep during the last third of the trip.

Eddie’s had a busy day today. I’m surprised he’s not draggin’ his little tail yet since he was up so late last night and was out of bed before 7:00 this morning. He and JoAnna walked ion a parade in Monroe this afternoon, Eddie wearing this rollerblades actually. As soon as he returned home, he had to get ready for a soccer practice. Meaghan was here during the early afternoon but otherwise Andy was on his own, watching TV mostly, surfing between his favorite shows on the Disney Channel and whatever football games happened to be on. I finished reading a book I had started last weekend. Freedomland, by Richard Price, one of my favorite authors, his latest novel a variation of the Susan Smith story, the woman from South Carolina who blamed the death of her two children on two phantom black men but had actually drowned them herself by pushing her car into a lake. Price transfers the setting to Dempsey (actually Jersey City) New Jersey, where his previous novel, Clockers, took place. Then I started to read a 1994 novel by Rick Moody, The Ice Storm, which takes place in 1973 in suburban Connecticut. The book was well-reviewed and made into a highly praised movie last year, which I didn’t see. Neither of these books would likely appeal to your reading tastes, Mom.

I didn’t spend all day on my butt. I trimmed some branches off one of the silver maples in the front yard and did some cleaning and reorganizing in the garage. I went grocery shopping during Eddie’s soccer practice, taking advantage of some coupon specials in today’s paper. Supper was informal – feed yourself, basically. Andy and I played catch with the football for awhile this evening, until I complained of not being able to see the ball very well in the evening’s diminishing light.

Late this afternoon, JoAnna rearranged the living room so that the dining table is straight out from the fireplace and the area where the dining table used to be is now our “study”, the cherry desk and one of the upholstered chairs and the ottoman now located there. It’s an unusual arrangement, but we like it. The boys, too. It makes this area of the house look huge. How we need to repaint eh built-in cabinet doors and remove and replace our wine rack and glasses and tea sets with books to give the study more of a library feel. I’ll send you some pictures once we have the project completed.

Time to get the boys to bed. Then I think I’ll kick back on the couch, put on some music, and read for awhile.

On This Date in 1998

It’s the middle of the afternoon and I’m enjoying the view from the deck of Larry and Kim’s cabin. Except for the boys, it’s very peaceful out here. After lunch we went miniature golfing and then stopped at County Market to buy a few things to have on hand: cereal, milk, pop tarts (the first of which was just downed by Eddie), microwave popcorn, orange juice and a 6-pack of Mountain Dew.

It’s a much more comfortable and relaxing environment staying out here. It makes a big difference now that the eating area has been transformed into dad’s bedroom. The dining room can’t serve the same informal purpose, a place where Dale can eat lunch, Eddie can draw or build Legos, and Grandma can work on her crossword puzzle with the TV droning in the background. He can shuffle from room to room on his own power. I haven’t seen him use his wheelchair much yet. It’s obvious that since my last visit he has retreated farther into the solitary world that Parkinson’s has boxed him into. I’m sure it’s not intentional, but Mom addresses him like a child whenever she attends to him. Speaking more slowly and clearly than she usually does. Repeating questions. Stretching out a pause to what for me is an uncomfortable length as she awaits a response, which she manages to understand but is usually incomprehensively garbled to me. When I was the boys’ ages, I could never cut through the thick accent of Grandpa Nelson’s English. Now I can’t understand the words my dad is speaking.

The weather is muggy today. The temperature is in the mid-80s. I suggested going swimming at the dam but Andy said he didn’t feel like doing that. Grandma mentioned that Andy seems tired, and I certainly agree with that observation. I think the last two weeks of July were physically and emotionally draining for him. First of all, he played a lot of baseball during that stretch. Secondly, I recall experiencing butterflies before a regular league softball game in Oshkosh. I’m sure Andy had some moments of apprehension prior (and during) both of his July tournaments. (Actually, the last one was in August.) As we were leaving Reedsburg late Saturday afternoon, at the halfway point of the tournament, he told me, “I can’t wait to get home. I’m really tired.”

As a competitor in sports events, Andy learned a lot this summer. Not taking anything away from Eddie, of course, we have a lot to be proud of in our older son.

(Sorry for the sloppiness of this card but the slope of this comfortable chair is not conducive to good penmanship.)

We miss you.

On This Date in 1998

Andy’s select baseball team played four games over the weekend at a little league complex on the east side of Madison, in the shadow of the hulking Oscar Meyer plant. The four diamonds, each intended for use by a different age group, have not been well-maintained. The field Middleton played on was uneven, especially in the infield. There is a bit of a dip in the grass between the pitcher’s mound and batter’s box. Home plate appears to be sinking into the dusty ground. Many ground balls took weird hops, so fielding was a challenge throughout the weekend for all the players involved. 

Middleton’s first game, scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday -- no sleeping in this weekend – was against Madison West. It turned into a rather tense contest, primarily due to the nastiness that boiled just under the surface of the West coach. At one point, he made a big deal about a bat that one of the Middleton players used. As it turned out, it was larger than was permitted for use in the tournament, 2¾ inches in diameter, 2¼ being the maximum allowed. The Middleton coaches and players were unaware of this rule. A couple innings later, one of the West players slid so hard into home that he broke the catcher’s leg. (We didn’t know this at the time, but it was obvious that Billy was in a lot of pain. He was writhing on the ground, calling out, “Get it off me! Get it off me!”, referring to the shin guards as one of the coaches attending to him quickly discovered. He had to be carried off the field.)

At this point, the mood turned sour. One of the more outspoken Moms made a suggestion from the bleachers, directed at the West coach, that his team play a clean game. “We don’t need this kind of stuff,” she said to sum up her impromptu remarks, which were delivered without the use of profanities or a sense of anger. Both her husband and high-school-age son play in organized leagues, and she was just flat-out disgusted with what was happening on the field. One of Middleton’s assistant coaches tried to talk to the West coach, but the first thing out of his mouth was, “ Oh, you’re still mad about the bat being thrown out of the game.” Which was already forgotten about on our side of the field. To make matters worse, the umpire was this meek, barely competent teenager, who had trouble keeping track of balls and strikes. When questioned about a particular pitch late in the game, he responded, “It was a strike. I think it was a strike.” 

“If you’re going to be wrong, you might as well be wrong with authority,” was a comment one of the parents shared with the rest of us in the bleachers. 

The rules of the tournament had been changed at the last minute. Stealing, though not leading off, was allowed. Runners could advance on a passed ball or wild pitch. Middleton had never played this type of ball before and became rattled in the early going of their first game. As a result, West scored none of their first 4 runs on rbis. Nevertheless, Middleton hung tough, losing the game 7-5 against a team that went on to win the tournament.

By game 2, which started at 4 in the afternoon, Middleton had learned to run the bases with a little more abandon. They sprinted to the next base whenever it was open and the ball got by the catcher. Andy pitched the second half of the game. I wondered how he would adapt to the pressure, but his control was excellent. Even during the regular season, if he missed a pitch, it wasn’t by much. He pitched 2 innings of shutout ball and looked ready to do the same in his third inning, but the rightfielder dropped an easy flyball and that seemed to bug Andy a little bit. After Andy loaded the bases with a walk, the coach brought in a reliever who recorded the final two outs. Andy’s clutch basehit in the 5th, with two outs and runners on second and third, provided Middleton with the margin of victory, 8-6. JoAnna and I were very proud of him. We both considered it his best all-around game of the summer.

As the ball field was only 20 minutes from Middleton, we went home between games. I ran some errands and did some yard work, which included planting more perennials along the south sides of the house in an effort to add some red and purple to the preponderance of yellow and orange. JoAnna went shopping, a couple light-weight suits for her trip to Washington, D.C. at the top of her list. The boys stayed indoors and watched TV, and for once I didn’t begrudge them their lazy time in front of the tube.

In order to get my 20 minutes of Walkfit in, I got up at 5:30 Saturday morning. I looked in on the boys and was surprised to find Eddie missing. He was asleep on the couch in the family room, the TV tuned to the Cartoon Network, his favorite cable channel. Later, I tried to determine how long he’d been there, but he wasn’t giving me very good answers to my questions. He probably didn’t look at any of the digital clocks on his walk from the bedroom and the family room and has never been a very good judge of time anyway. 

Sunday started out just like Saturday, except that Eddie stayed in one place throughout the night. Andy’s third game of the tournament started at 8 a.m. Middleton played a team from South Milwaukee and pounded out a 20-1 victory. The other team only had one player who could throw the ball with any zip, and even he wasn’t that effective. Game 4 started at 2 p.m. so we had some time to return home, get something to eat and do whatever. Middleton played Windsor in the slat game, taking a 8-3 lead into the top of the 6th. Windsor rallied for two runs and had the bases loaded by the time the final out was made.

JoAnna is in Washington, D.C. for the next few days. Until Thursday. She is part of a continent representing various political groups meeting with the President’s advisors to talk about the fall campaign in Wisconsin. It sounds like the White House considers Wisconsin a key state in the upcoming elections. Feingold is running for re-election to the Senate and, according to the polls, has maintained a lead over Mark Neumann, a conservative Republican from Janesville who is giving up his seat in the 1st Congressional district. Judy Robson, a Democrat from Beloit who currently represents that area in the State Assembly, is the front runner for Neumann’s seat. 

Eddie is becoming more insistent about wanting to play hockey, even though his ice-skating skills are minimal. He has skates but with the warmer than usual weather we had wasn’t able to use them this past winter. JoAnna suggested he trying playing on a rollerblade hockey team – a friend of Andy’s does that – so now he’s been spending a lot of time on his rollerblades. In fact, on Sunday evening, he went to a friend’s house about six blocks away – without letting us know where he was going.

 Here’s a picture of the boys at 7 o’clock on a weekday morning. Our second effort to provide the boys their own bedrooms has produced mixed results. Usually it’s Andy who sleeps in his own bed throughout the night. Eddie will either try to join his brother in bed or sack out on the futon, which is now in Andy’s room. Their mattress: the blue rug. Two pillows and a comforter are their only dreamland accessories. This arrangement went on for about a week in July. Since we separated the boys, Eddie has slept in his bed maybe 25% of the time. We haven’t figured out his problem yet. I thought he’d grow out of it by now, but that hasn’t happened. Another question for our pediatrician.

Andy’s sleeping pattern is changing. As the summer progresses, it has become harder to wake him up. He’s learning to sleep in. I never get to work before 9:00 as a result. Fortunately, I have a flexible schedule. Otherwise, I’d be out of a job.

On This Date in 1998

“The summer is going by so quickly.” I hear this comment frequently -- at the library, at one of the boy’s baseball games, waiting in a check-out line at a store and eavesdropping on a conversation. I look at a calendar and see that the end of July is approaching, that school is just another month away, and am tempted to agree. But then I review what has transpired so far this summer, and the end of the past school year seems remote. On the evening of the last day of school, June 3rd, the boys and I (and Meaghan) traveled to County Stadium to see the Brewers play the Braves. In my mind, that’s already a long time ago, certainly not a dim memory yet but there’s so much to go back over to get there.

It has indeed been a full and active summer so far. There are a lot of highlights to recall: Andy’s first baseball tournament, helping Ron and Julie put together their deck and then a couple weeks later christening it with a sheepshead party, small-town parades and distributing campaign literature, the 5th of July bocce ball tournament and cookout at Lance and Sue’s as a warm-up to the Rhythm and Booms fireworks display, a trip to one of the water parks at the Dells, our evening at the American Players Theater, the Bastille Day Party (perhaps the peak of the summer season), lots of visits to the pool, and baseball baseball and more baseball. We've been having a great summer.

I think all the activity, combined with a later bedtime, is starting to take a toll on Andy. He is beginning to develop the art of sleeping in. This morning, he was still asleep at quarter to nine. Eddie had been up for at least an hour. Cartoons are still a strong enough incentive to get him out of bed. Since I wanted to get to work, I told Andy he could walk to Sauk Trail school, where his Camp of the Trails program is based, whenever he felt ready. He decided to get up, but I was perfectly happy to let him sleep in longer if he wanted. He was a select team practice tonight, his final Little Buck League baseball game on Friday, and another tournament this weekend which will involve two games on Saturday and at least one game on Sunday. Fortunately, the tourney is being held on the east side of Madison so there’s no travel to speak of. The kid’s going to be exhausted by Sunday evening.

Eddie played his final game of the season last night and showed some noticeable improvement in his hitting. Last Sunday the boys and I went miniature golfing at Vitense Golfland in Madison. Afterwards, we hit some balls in the new batting cages area there. Eddie tried the slow-pitch softball speed and connected with almost every ball. This experience obviously made a big difference in his confidence at the plate yesterday. I even got into it, swinging the bat and ripping the balls into the net and remembering with fondness all those crazy softball Tuesday in Oshkosh.

I missed most of Andy’s game, including the two innings he pitched. According to JoAnna’s report, he worked his way out of a bases’ loaded jam in the 1st and struck out the side in the 2nd. His team, the Road Kill, won 2-1, a real squeaker. The team’s last three games have all been 1-run affairs. They won the previous two 7-6 and 4-3. Not as much hitting during the second half of the season. Every team’s pitching (and fielding) has definitely improved.

Did Al and Cyndi leave an address with you? If so, make sure you relay it to us during your next phone call. I have some pictures from the Bastille Day party I want to send to them. 

My mom is eager to see the boys. We’ll be leaving for Pennsylvania on either the 2rd or 3rd of August, depending upon the results of Andy’s baseball tournament that weekend. I stay in Warren until Friday. On the drive back to Wisconsin, I’ll be stopping in Lorain, Ohio, to attend the bat mitzvah of a very good friend of mine from high school. She underwent a bone marrow transplant last year, and after that harrowing experience I guess she decided better late than never. JoAnna will accompany me the following weekend to pick up the boys. During the week that I’m there, the boys and I will be staying at Lar and Kim’s cabin, located about 5 miles north of Warren along a narrow, tree-shaded road and next to the proverbial babbling brook. It’s a very picturesque setting. Remind me to send you some pictures when we get back.

Thanks again for helping to make our Bastille Day party such a special event. We really enjoyed your
company.