Thursday 9/30/2004

Well once again Ros has blown it as usual. We've had over six weeks to finish the branch, but with no real master plan it is maybe half done. With any luck, we'll get a library board who might do something about it. I doubt it, however. Man rises to his level of mediocrity and stays there according to the Peter Principle. She's a shining example that proves the rule.

Now I have to go back to the library for a stupid program. I don't expect much of a turnout, but who knows. I'll get some cookies from Meijer's and we'll see what happens.

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Today is Hump Day, so tomorrow will be all downhill till Friday. Then I get a 3 day weekend because of my birthday. I don't want to be 55, but I reckon I can't stop it. I'm going to try and embrace it, as they say, and make it special. Phyl, Linda, and Rick are taking me out to dinner as is our custom for each other's birthdays. I should day Phyl and Linda because Rick will not contribute a penny to the cause. Mountian Jack's is the resturant of choice (I let Phyl make the final decision due to her diabetes) and because I want prime rib.

Beef, give me beef!! Down with chicken. Up with beef. Okay, rant on chicken done.

I think I'm going to sign up for a couple of week of "Seattle Sutton's Meals." It's a meal plan with calorie controlled portions either 1200 K or 2000 K per day. It might have some advantages and it costs about as much as I fork out for food at home and work. I might even be able to save a coin or two.

Friday I have an appointment with dear Dr. Muir. He's a good guy and I'm one of his oldest patience. Not that I'm old, mind you, I just started going to him when he was a first year resident at the Family Practice Clinic at St. Johm's. We just sort of hit it off and I've been going to him for almost 20 years. We've gotten gray together. He's a good guy and I consider myself lucky to have him for my physician. Gotta find out why my feet get so cold. I'm sure it's because I have early type 2 diabetes, but I'll have to see what he and the tests say. I have a feeling that this is going to be a big year for tests.

If I do have T2, I'll live with it and not commit suicide like Phyl has. She's damaged herself and will have some real problems in the future, I'm sure. I'll hope that if it is my problem, I'll be able to keep to the routine.

Saturday

It's a beautiful, sunny day and I'm sitting here in the branch library deleting books. I haven't even gotten permission to spend the time here. I'm hoping that Ros will give me the time - in overtime hours, of course. If not, well I'll have to just be a sport.

It's too bad this little place never went anywhere, but the city never supported it. Idiots. I'll give myself till 3:00 or 3:30 and split. I've made a bit of a dent in the 900's, but the library looses the computer system in less than three weeks. Besides, next weekend is my birthday weekend and I won't work on that one.

Naturally, I have the telly on. This would be one dull day without it. The Addams Family is on. I haven't seen that movie in ages. Raul Julia was so wonderful as Gomez Addams. The whole cast was great. Funny flick.

Time to go back to deleting.

The Green Kitty

Tomie

I had the good fortune about 30 years ago to attend a conference on Children's Literature that the Michigan Library Association sponsored. It happened to be in Kalamazoo where I was living at the time. The meeting was for three days at Nazareth College which was also the motherhouse for the Sisters of St. Joseph. The sisters had turned a good part of the school into an adult education/conference center because college enrollment was down, but the sisters had to support themselves. Anyhow, the rest of the week, following the conference, was the annual state-wide Children's Services Roundtable.

The first days of the conference were interesting because we got to meet and talk to real authors. I'd met the occasional author at ALA, but I'd never really gotten the chance to talk to anyone in depth. It was fun and exciting. On Wednesday, the final day of the Children's Lit conference, there was to be a reception for the authors that spoke at the conference and the ones that were to participate in the Roundtable meeting. Tomie dePaola came in for the latter part of the week.

Mary Rife, who was the head of children's services at Kalamazoo Public Library was Tomie's escort. Mary was older than most of us who were in the beginning stages of our careers. She was very knowledgeable in the area of children's literature. She knew many authors including Maurice Sendak and Ed Emberly. Mary had to do something and deposited Tomie with me after a hasty introduction. It was the cocktail hour with spiked punch and WCTU punch. It was the usual - did you have a good trip, is your room nice sort of talk. Behind us were a number of my friends. They were talking and someone said something that was totally ridiculous. I turned around and said, "That's the biggest pile of bullshit I've ever heard."

Well, that broke the ice with Tomie. He has a laugh that starts around his toes and just sort of wells up out of his body. We all laughed and just started talking about things in general. Mary came back to claim Tomie and we were all ushered into dinner. You can imagine my surprise when Tomie and Mary sat down next to me at my table for dinner. We just talked all through dinner and afterward. During the rest of the conference Tomie and I usually ate together and the second night a number of us went to one of the local watering holes to drink and talk. Tomie told me about Strega Nona - he even drew a picture of her on a napkin that I later had framed. Tomie signed it at another time, too!

One of the stories Tomie always tells people is how I sneaked him back to the convent at 2:30 in the morning. It wasn't actually covert, but he did have to get into the conference center via the nightwatchman at the convent door. It makes for a good story to tell.

Tomie is one of the greatest people I've ever met and I'm proud to be able to call him a friend. He even put me in one of his books, or so he told me. Check out "The Knight and the Dragon." I'm the librarian! Through him I got to meet a great many people in the publishing game at several different publishing houses. I also was on his "A" list and received a great number of invites to publisher's parties. When he found out I was coming to one of the Chicago ALA's after I went into administration, he arranged - I'm sure insisted - that I be invited to one of the dinner's Prentice Hall was giving in his honor.

Tomorrow is September 15th - it's Tomie's 70th birthday. When we met he had a thick thatch of dark brown hair and mine was golden blonde. Well, there's silver threads among the gold ones now and Tomie's hair is still thick, but very white. I was 24 when we met and he was 40. It seems a long time ago, but is still one of my fondest memories.

Happy Birthday, Tomie!!!!!

9 /11

Today is 9/11 - the worst day I can remember for our country. Seeing the towers of the World Trade Center in flames and then collapsing will be an indellible picture in my mind for the rest of my life.

I was at the gym when the first plane hit. I couldn't figure out why everyone was looking at the televisions. I finished my weights and went over to find out what happened. Everyone thought it was a mistake until the second plane crashed into the second tower. Then the collapse. It seemed to happen in slow motion first the second tower because it superheated and then the first minutes later.

They were gone - the magnificent spears of light that were part of the New York skyline. Coming into New York once, there were clouds everywhere, but the towers soared above the clouds reaching to the heavens. But now there's a hole in the sky where they once stood.

Today my best friend and I went to the memorial service my city had for the victims of such mindless cruelty. Not many people came. I was the only city employee besides the cops and firemen. Nan was there looking so professional in her AA uniform representing the airlines people who died. She was so proud of the way the AA flight attendent reported everything she could to the tower, knowing that her certian death was only minutes away.

So many people died and so few seem to remember what happened. Or realize that it WILL happen again. Only this time it will be worse - like Russia and all the children that were murdered. I don't know what the religious leaders of Islam are teaching these people, but is it a mockery of religion - Christian, Jew, whatever.

I pray that President Bush is re-elected for I think he is a great hope for our nation. If Kerry is elected - he'll give our country away piece by piece.