On This Date in 1998

A thunderstorm rumbled through Middleton early this morning. The noise disturbed the boys’ sleep, as well as their feelings of safety and well-being, so they joined Mom and Dad in bed until the storm passed over. Not realizing they were up and about, JoAnna let out a startled scream as they entered the room. That jolted me awake. We lay scrunched together, listening to the storm, not saying too much. After one particularly loud crack of lightning, the clock radio emitted a soft click. It was 5:00 a.m. and we were without power.

JoAnna and I stayed in bed past our usual time. JoAnna wanted to be able to use her hair dryer after taking a shower, and I was just being lazy. I finally got out of bed at quarter to seven, 45 minutes past my usual time, wondering why it was taking so long to restore power. I exercise on the Walkfit for 10 minutes instead of my usual 20. On warm, muggy mornings, I like to have a fan blowing air on me, and that was not an option today.

Just as I started to prepare the boys’ lunches, I heard another click and then the grinding noise of the dehumidifier. It was 7:20, so we were without power for nearly two and a half hours. At the library, I learned that none of the other staff members had lost power. Must have been a small area that was affected.

Our invitations for the Bastille Day party have all been sent out, and a few people have already responded. I hope the weather will be cooler than it’s going to be this weekend. We are in store for some hot and sticky days. At least we’ll be outdoors Friday evening, out of our sticky house. Ron and Julie are hosting a sheepshead party on their new deck. Saturday we’ll probably go to a movie and out to eat to avoid the heat. The boys will continue to make good use of the family pass I bought for the new outdoor pool here. In fact, JoAnna and I should start going there, although I imagine it’ll be a crunch of bodies this weekend.

A lotta baseball so far this summer. Eddie plays twice a week in a calch-pitch league. Andy also plays twice a week in the Little Bucks league. Last weekend, Andy played in his first tournament, which was held in Beaver Dam. His team started out on a good note, winning their first game Saturday by a score of 9-4. Then they ran up against a very tough team from Fond du Lac and lost 13-0. Fond du Lac won its first game by the same score. Sunday Middleton lost to Beaver Dam, a game that was close during the first two innings, but then Middleton fell apart on defense. Had they won, we would have had to stay around fore another three hours until the semi-final games. I know that some parents and even some of the kids weren’t that disappointed to leave. Overall, it was a good experience for the boys. They’ll know what to expect the next time. Andy will play in two more tournaments this summer, one of which is scheduled in Reedsburg on the weekend of the family reunion, unfortunately.

Boxer is starting to get bolder. This morning he jumped onto a kitchen chair and then onto the table to slurp up the milk that Eddie had left behind in his cereal bowl.. Last week I opened a can of tuna fish and heard a long chorus of meows. Boxer was begging for a taste, which I refused to give to him. JoAnna is still taking about getting a second cat, a playmate for our kitty meowsers. Is this really a good idea? I wonder. I don’t have any base of knowledge in this area, but then I do work in a library where we have books on taking care of cats and learning about their behavior.

So I followed up on this idea and learned the following. “The building of friendship between two cats takes much longer than people want ti to. Most people expect the first and second cats to love each other and play together right away. If this actually happens, consider yourself lucky. It’s rare. Cats don’t believe in love at first sight. It can be several months before they get used to each other. Be sure that you don’t do anything to cause jealousy in either cat.” In another section of the book, the author says you probably shouldn’t leave two cats alone during the first two or three weeks they come into contact. Hmm.

Maybe we want to rethink this second cat business or talk to Meaghan’s dad, our vet, and get his spin on this.

On This Date in 1998

Backing up to Thursday.

We had back-to-back thunderstorms during the early afternoon. During my lunch hour, I stopped at a nearby grocery store to buy a few items, mostly paper products as we had just about depleted our supply of toilet paper, Kleenex, and paper towels. The heavens opened up while I was in the checkout line. I stood under the canopy outside for 15 minutes waiting for the rain to let up. Because of the bulk of my purchases, I had four bags to load into the car. I would have got drenched making a dash to the car, let alone trying to get anything inside. I saw long bolts of lightning. The ear-splitting crack and roll of the thunder made me feel a little weak in the knees. Once the storm started to let up, I made my getaway. I unloaded the bags at the house and then returned to the library. On my way there, a second storm blew in. Literally. All of a sudden, I see the trees start to shake violently, and, a half block ahead of me, a sheet of rain moving almost sideways, as far-fetched as that may sound. It was a sight to behold.

Thursday evening I drove to Oshkosh just ahead of the day’s third storm. Actually, my destination was Waukau, a small community about 20 miles west of Oshkosh. I had made arrangements to visit LeRoy and Patsy Stahle. They live in a remodeled farmhouse, with three outbuildings on the property they purchased. One of them is the barn in which their two horses are kept. From 1970 to 1993, LeRoy drove the county bookmobile for the Oshkosh Public Library. He and Patsy used to host a library hayride every October during the early 1980s. A tractor would pull a hay
wagon along the mostly deserted country roads and we’d make periodic stops at a number of bars, then eat chili and enjoy the warmth of a huge bonfire. Those were fun times. Patsy worked at Speed Queen in Ripon. She retired four years ago. LeRoy is 64 and Patsy is 61, so they have plenty of years ahead of them. They are two wonderful people.

JoAnna and I were a little puzzled by Melanie’s remarks, especially being asked if she is a Christian. They just don’t ring true. First of all, are Christians the only people who are offended by the use of alcohol and drugs? Any devout person – Muslim, Jew, Buddhist – would likely find such behavior offensive. I’m sure that even some atheists would be offended. It wasn’t clear if Melanie’s visit included a job interview, but even in an informal situation, I can’t imagine someone saying, “We allow drinking and drugs on campus.” Beloit College is above the law? The drinking age is 21 and drugs are illegal, but of course that doesn’t stop students on most American campuses from experimenting. Maybe she misinterpreted something said to her. Nowadays, questions about religious affiliations (or sexual preference or health conditions) aren’t asked even casually during a job interview. As for the two women “making out”, that is certainly within the realm of possibility on a campus as tolerant and socially liberal as Beloit.

Eddie played baseball yesterday; Andy had the night off so he went swimming. The game was wild and woolly, lots of runs scored. Again, Eddie had a good night at the plate. He made a great play at third, fielding a groundball and tagging out the runner coming from second. It seemed like he instinctively knew what to do. Once again, the coach did not show up, so one of the dads volunteered to be an assistant coach took over, made out the lineup, moved the kids around the field on defense. The final score, you might be wondering. I have no idea. I think Eddie’s team won, something like 15-14. On the way home, I dropped off Eddie at the pool. (I had brought along his trunks and a towel.) He had twenty minutes to cool off and join his brother and Meaghan. The pool should get a lot of use this week, by the boys and many other people. We’re enjoying some hot, but not too hot, summertime weather. So far, it still cools off during the night, the temperature falling to the high 50s or low 60s. We have no problem sleeping.

July 21, 1991

The boys sleep in our room, Eddie in his playpen and Andy on the couch, but when a big thunderstorm rolls in around 5 a.m., we all share the same bed.  One of those special family moments that I'm sure JoAnna and I will fondly look back upon once the boys are grown.  (That last phrase has a very new ring to it.)

After a leisurely morning, the four of us to go see 101 Dalmatians.  Eddie sleeps through most of the movie and Andy nearly falls asleep.  He sits in my lap during most of the feature.

After supper, JoAnna and I take in another movie, just the two of us.  City Slickers is entertaining for the first half but complete foolishness the second.

 

July 1, 1991

A crashing thunderstorm follows me home for lunch.  As I'm fixing myself a fajita, a bolt of lightning violently cracks the air.  I immediately jump out of my shoes and expect to hear the wailing of a terrorized Eddie.  He beams me one of his beatific smiles.  What a guy.  He knows no fear yet.

After the skies clear, I tie up the tops of the tomato plants.  The heavy downpour left them drooping precariously.

Andy and I go for our usual soda stop on the way home from daycare.  He wants to go to the park, but I prefer to stay home and watch the Pirates and Cubs on TV.  JoAnna gets back home around 8