On this day in Oshkosh WI February 1982: Letter to a friend and former colleague at G. & C. Merriam in Springfield Massachusetts

 

Photo by Retiring Guy

Dear Jim, 

[5:45 a.m.] The early bird breaks his long period of silence. Starting the day before the sun rises has become a daily habit since early January. I am hoping that this new leaf will produce a revival in my correspondence, a habit which I lost interest in last spring. 

Dan has been keeping me informed about the labor troubles on Federal Street.  Did the vote not to organize relieve the tensions that had been developing or are people holding grudges because of the pro or con stand each person took? 

The ongoing problem at the Oshkosh Public Library -- an incompetent director -- has still not been resolved.  The library board of trustees has scheduled an executive session for the third Wednesday of this month, at which time a final determination will be made whether to allow Dick Miller to stay on, perhaps under some kind of probationary period, or to terminate him, either by demanding his resignation or firing him. The supervisory staff was given no indication last November, when the crisis first surfaced, as to what options the board was considering. The one rumor that we all would like to believe is that the board requested Dick's resignation and gave him until March 1st to clean out his office, in that way giving him time to look for another job. We know that he is looking, but we also know that he has hired an attorney who specializes in personal injury cases. In this case, Dick feels his reputation and good character have been unfairly maligned. If he decides to go to court to determine a settlement, his reputation and good character will be completely destroyed. We are dealing with a very sick man. 

If the board decides that Dick is competent enough to carry on his duties -- which, as he sees it, includes reading the newspaper, talking on the phone, taking an hour-long coffee break at a downtown restaurant with some of the "boys" from City Hall, wandering aimlessly around the library, standing up various groups for which he has been scheduled to speak -- then they can expect a likely immediate turnover in quite a few staff positions. I'm sure I'll be one of the first to leave. The administrative secretary is already suffering from the ill consequences of a stressful work environment. The business manager and various department heads are already looking. 

I realize I haven't given you a complete picture of what is happening at the library.  Personally, it is a troublesome situation to deal with one that I'd much rather tune it out when I'm not working. Who can "talk shop" when a destructive monster is on the loose? 

To relieve my own feelings of stress, I recently purchased a piano and have been practicing about three hours a day on the average. In three weeks I have committed seven pieces to memory, which allows me to sit down and play without music for 45 minutes or so. I plan to keep expanding my repertoire indefinitely. In another month or so, I'd like to take lessons from someone with a very strong background in jazz. I already have the classical foundation. My latest musical project is Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C sharp minor". I'm just about at the breakthrough point, having memorized the first page, mastered pages two and three, and decoded four and five. It's quite a razzle-dazzle piece of piano music, definitely a show-off number. 

Thanks for the Christmas card. I'm a terrible procrastinator when it comes to holiday greetings. 1982 looks promising. It won't be the year of hedonistic overindulgence that made 1981 so uniquely enjoyable. This year I'll concentrate on music instead of partying.