Meet Me at the Corner

In 2008, I Resolve To. . .Read More Books, and write more blogs!  I apologize for the infrequency of my blog posts lately.  Rather than bore you with all the things that have been going on in my life, I'll plunge right in on this one.

Janet Porte, editor of the Friends of the Franklin Public Library newsletter, asked me if I could find time to write a column for the January issue.  Her deadline was today.  Now that I've met that deadline, I'm going to make that column do double duty and post it here on my blog.  Those of you who get the library newsletter can always say, "I saw it at the Franklin Now website first!"

Happy New Year!  Before Christmas, I stopped at the Franklin Public Library to check out "what's new" on the shelves.  In case you haven't already discovered the "new books" area, make a resolution to do so in 2008. 

Browsing through the non-fiction shelves, a number of titles caught my eye.  When the holiday hubbub is over, I plan to settle down in one of those comfortable chairs near the fireplace to do some reading.  (For those of us planning to weather the Wisconsin winter right here at home in Franklin, there's nothing like warming up to a good book.)

These are some of the 2007 titles that appeal to me; there's a wide selection of others to interest you.  And soon there will be even newer ones with a 2008 publication date.

Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World's Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them, by biologist Bridget Stutchbury, published by Walker and Co., New York. 

The summary on the bookjacket reads: "Following migratory birds on their six-thousand-mile journey from the tropics to North America, renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand the lives of songbirds and the major threats they face. Although some of the threats must be addressed through local and international policy initiatives, there are several things each one of us can do to help save birds, such as buying paper and wood products from sustainable forests, buying shade coffee, avoiding pesticides in our food and on our lawns and gardens, keeping our cats indoors (domestic cats are responsible for a surprising number of bird deaths), and much more. As Silence of the Songbirds shows, we ultimately protect ourselves and our children by taking steps to save songbirds and the environment."

Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creatures, by Tim Flannery, published by Grove Press, New York (the first American edition).  This book appeals to me, not just because I like animals and the thought of these marvelous creatures hopping around in their natural habitat. . .but also since it's the closest I'll get to Australia this winter.

Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, by David Weinberger, published by Time Books, Henry Holt and Company.  For people trying to create order in their lives, this book will make you wonder if there's any use trying.  "Human beings are information omnivores:  we are constantly collecting, labeling, and organizing data.  But today, the shift from the physical to the digital is ripping, burning, and mixing our lives apart.  In the past, everything had its one place - the physical world demanded it - but now everything has its places: multiple categories, multiple shelves.  Suddenly, everything is miscellaneous"  (quoted from the inside book jacket).

Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves by Sharon Begley, published by Ballantine Books.  Anyone who  has seriously tried adhering to New Year's Resolutions in the past, without success, might be interested in a scientific approach. 

Several other books that might interest the New Year's Resolution makers:

Total yoga: a step-by-step guide to yoga at home for everybody by Tara Fraser, published by Duncan Baird, London.

Fitness Made Simple: The Power to Change Your Body, the Power to Change Your Life, by John Basedow with Tom McGrath, published by McGraw-Hill.  This book is the newest of the new that I found, bearing a 2008 copyright date.

Golf RX: A 15-Minute-a-Day Core Program for More Yards and Less Pain, by Vijay Vad, M.D. with Dave Allen, published by Gotham Books, New York.  Even if you won't be swinging those clubs this winter, the exercises in this book will help strengthen the core abdominal muscles and work out other areas of the body that will help golfers and non-golfers alike.

When we're done with our physical makeovers, we can turn our attention to our homes with

52 Weekend Makeovers: Easy Projects to Transform Your Home Inside and Out, published by Taunton Press, Newtown, CT. 

For those of us needing a little humor in our lives, here's one with a really long title:  Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have To Do It: Life Lessons from a Wise Old Dog to a Young Boy, by John O'Hurley, published by Hudson Street Press, New York.

And here's a short quiz:  What do you think a book entitled God Machine is about?  Answer: 

Helicopters!  The full title is: The God Machine : From Boomerangs to Black Hawks, the Story of the Helicopter, by James R. Chiles and published by Bantam Books. 

I hope that 2007 was a good year for you, and I hope you aren't facing 2008 with bills incurred over the holidays.  But if you are, there's another book published in 2007 that might help you out.  Help! I Can't Pay My Bills:  Surviving a Financial Crisis, by Sally Herigstad, published by St. Martin's Press, New York.

And that's another thing I like about libraries: I can do all the "shopping" I like and one swipe of my library card lets me take it home, NO COST!

One more piece of "news" I want to share with you in this New Year.  Franklin Public Library now has a growing collection of digital audio books.  Each "book" is about 2 by 3 ¼ inches and requires one AAA battery and earbuds.  You can easily slip it into your pocket and listen wherever you choose.  For this new library adventure, I chose Walden by Henry David Thoreau.  Born almost 200 years ago, Thoreau sought refuge from the world in a cabin on Walden Pond, Massachusetts.  What ever would he think if he could see me "connecting" to his thoughts with the modern technology of 2008!

You know you're getting old when. . .

                          you're quoted by the Milwaukee Historical Society.

That's what happened to me recently.  A friend of mine had been to the Billie the Brownie exhibit at the Milwaukee County Historical Society and reported enthusiastically, "I saw your name!  Marjorie Pagel said. . . ."  So of course I  had to go and see for myself.  Sure enough, there on one of the display boards was an enlarged copy from an article I wrote in 1979 for the Milwaukee Sentinel "Greensheet".  (Remember the locally famous "Greensheet"?)

"When I was a girl, Billie the Brownie was as important to Christmas as Santa Claus himself or the big Christmas parade downtown.  For weeks before Christmas, my two sisters, my brother and I would sprawl in front of the radio.  We listened to 'Billie the Brownie' with as much reverence and credibility as we other times listened to 'The Shadow.'"

When I came home from the Historical Society exhibit, I dug through my boxes of collected writing and found a photocopied tear sheet of the article, published Dec. 11, 1979, with the caption "Brownie Stirred Yuletide Imagination."  My byline was there too: "Marjorie Pagel - Special to the Sentinel."  Even now, 28 years later, it feels good to feel on one day I was "special" to the Greensheet editors and readers.  I especially treasure the original sketch of Billie the Brownie by Sentinel artist Bob Warner, which takes up most of two columns.  Warner's captivating image of Billie, which was reproduced at the exhibit, shows Santa's little helper with a WTMJ microphone.  Santa, next to a barbershop-style pole, with a sign proclaiming "North Pole," has his own WTMJ microphone and, behind him, is a sleigh filled with toys ready to make the long trip to Milwaukee in time for Christmas.

Talking to some of my friends who also grew up in the Milwaukee area before 1955, I learned that the memory of Billie's daily broadcasts is an essential part of their Christmases too.  Joan Marquardt, of Greendale, said she'd rush home from school and ask her mom, "Is it time for Billie the Brownie?" and Mrs. Shumway would respond, "Not yet," but assure Joan that she would let her know when it was time.

Remembering that Greensheet article, I also started thinking about Bill Nelson.  Some of you may remember him from all the years he wrote for the Milwaukee Journal (before it joined with the Sentinel); before he retired, he was editor of Insight.  What I remember most about Bill is his gentle, encouraging manner as a teacher of writing.  My Billie the Brownie article was the result of one of his assignments -- issued via radio hook-up to locations all over the state.  These days we have Web TV and teachers can reach students all over the world by internet hook-up.  Back then Bill's class, offered through the University of Wisconsin, was state-of-the-art technology.  He could talk to Lorna in Green Bay and tell her how much he liked her story, reading parts of it to the rest of us, as we listened.  But if I had a question to ask, I could press a button at the West Allis Library and he could talk to me, while everyone else listened at their stations.  Sometimes when I took the ETN class, there were several other students in the same room; other times I was the only one.

Four of the articles I wrote for Bill were published, and it was just the encouragement I needed to devote more time to my writing, eventually ending up as a "Hub" reporter.  Well, that's enough "Memory Lane" stuff, but I wanted to acknowledge Bill Nelson in this blog.  Recently I sent him an e-mail to thank him for all he's offered me and many other writers through the years.  He still does some freelancing and shares his wisdom in a newsletter with members of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association.

The following websites give more information about the Billie the Brownie exhibit, which continues through January 6, 2008 at the County Historical Society, 910 N. Old World Third Street. 

http://www.milwaukeeholidaylights.com/events/holiday-happenings.html

Early in December the four of us would sit down together at the kitchen table to compose our letters to Santa and Billie.  My oldest sister was in fifth grade when I was still in kindergarten, so I entrusted her with the distinct honor of writing out my letter as I dictated. "I have been very good all year," I began, trusting that neither Santa nor Billie would suspect otherwise. 

I knew my own mother would never tattle on me.  But whenever an outburst of sibling rivalry erupted or when I "sassed" her, she reminded me, "One of Santa's brownies might be looking the window.  Maybe even Billie."  I would run to the window then to look out and see, but only my mother and older sister ever had any luck actually detecting those little spies.

My own children are not nearly so trusting or imaginative.  And again, I blame TV.  If brownies, elves or other Christmas-magic creatures appear on the screen, they're obviously fake -- puppets, Muppets or cartoons.  My Billie the Brownie, the one that lived inside my imagination, was only six inches tall.  He was completely dressed in brown -- that's why brownies were called brownies.

It's sad that my children don't get the same opportunities for developing their imaginations now that radio has been shoved aside by television.  If I try to use my mother's ploy about brownies hiding outside the window, they just shake their heads in pity for me.  They don't even bother to dash off a polite note to Santa, promising him a treat on Christmas Eve and fibbing, the way I used to, that they have been good all year.

Instead, they jot down some of the latest toys they've seen advertised on TV and present the list to their father and me with a wistful expression in their eyes.  Well, fine.  If they want to let some of the traditional joys of Christmas go down the tube, it's okay with me.

Sometimes, though, I find myself playing with the radio dial, thinking maybe one of the stations will resurrect "Billie the Brownie."  And just the other day, when I went to wipe a cobweb off the window sill, I thought I caught a glimpse of a little guy dressed in brown, peeking around the corner.

                          ***

There was an Editor's note affixed to my article:  "Billie hasn't disappeared altogether.  Since 1973, when Gimbel's resurrected Billie, he has played an important role in the department store's Breakfast with Santa program, according to Irene Baer, employe communications director and 'unofficial company historian' of Gimbels.

"Miss Baer said that Billie's 'glory years' on the WTMJ radio program were from 1931 to 1955.  But Billie the Brownie was first used by the old Schuster's in 1927 as a pre-Christmas promotion gimmick in the toy departments and in advertisements."

                         ***

P.S.  My son Matt read a copy of the original article when he was  home last month and commented that I'm still telling occasional fibs.  He doesn't ever remember me dusting cobwebs off the window sill!