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Meet Me at the Corner
A former newspaper reporter who has lived in Franklin for nearly 40 years, Marjorie is active in several Franklin and Hales Corners organizations.
October 2008 - Posts
By Marjorie Pagel
Tuesday, Oct 28 2008, 10:55 AM
Here's a little diversion from the pre-election frenzy. I've listed 10 questions that most people initially think are too easy for a fifth grader. . .but then we find ourselves thinking, "Hey! What IS the answer?" (The correct answers follow.)
1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
2. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty 's torch?
3. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?
4. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?
5. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
6. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?
7. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?
8. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?
9. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark? (Joker doesn't count.)
10. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?
ANSWERS
(1) BOTTOM; (2) RIGHT HAND; (3) 1 AND 0; (4) RED; (5) 87.5; (6) LEFT; (7) 6; (8) BASHFUL; (9) ACE OF SPADES; (10) 3
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By Marjorie Pagel
Sunday, Oct 19 2008, 09:10 PM
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The Friends of the Franklin Public Library are going all out on Saturday, October 25, to entertain guests at a wine tasting party. The doors of the library will open at 6 p.m., and for the next three hours guests will have a chance to sample wines, appetizers and desserts; place their bids on a number of silent auction items; and watch Staci Joers (“Cooking with Class”) demonstrate some of her culinary specialties – including flaming desserts. Background music will be provided by pianist Laurie Mentzer.
Tickets for the event are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. All proceeds from the event, including the silent auction and a quilt raffle, will go toward the purchase of new computers in the children’s area. Advance tickets are available at the library or from Consumer Beverage, Hales Corners.
Wine will be served at eight stations, explained Diane Oleson, Friends member and chairperson of this event. One station will feature wines from New Zealand and Australia, another from South America, another from Europe. Domestic wines from the Northwest, Napa Valley and Sonoma will be featured at other stations. A tempting array of appetizers and desserts will also be available at these stations.
Judy Roberts, President of the Friends, said that every dollar raised from this event will be used to buy new computers for the children’s area of the library. The computers currently being used are outdated – they can’t accommodate new DVD software.
The City of Franklin budget is tight this year, and the City Council wasn’t able to provide for updating the computers. Here’s a chance, though, for people of the Franklin community to help out.
Roberts outlined several ways people of the community can support this fundraising endeavor:
1) Buy tickets for the Oct. 25th party. If you don’t want to use them yourself, give them to a friend, relative or neighbor who would appreciate them.
2) Buy quilt raffle tickets. Ten beautiful quilts made by one of the library quilting groups are being donated for this fundraising event. Patrons may choose their favorite quilt and drop the raffle ticket into the jar with the corresponding number. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and can be purchased at the library desk.
3) Make an outright donation to the Friends, with the notation that it be earmarked for the Children’s Computer Fund.
To purchase 12 new computers would cost roughly $15,000, Library Director Barbara Roark said. These computers are well used by the children in this community, she pointed out, checking her records. In July there were 1,187 children using the library computers.
“These computers are filtered,” Roberts added. Parents need to know that there are safeguards in place.
“ The Franklin Library is an excellent venue for this kind of party,” said Oleson. This is her second year chairing the wine-tasting event. It was a big success last year and this year promises to be even better.
For more information, call Diane Oleson at 414-427-7284.
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By Marjorie Pagel
Tuesday, Oct 14 2008, 11:02 AM
Today in my blog I’d like to introduce you to a Hales Corners man, Stephen Boehrer. He’s an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and I keep running into him and his wife Rita at various functions in Hales Corners and Franklin. Last month, for instance, we were all at the Franklin Library to hear from local author Larry Watson discuss his published novels. Rita, a retired history professor, regularly gives free public lectures at the Hales Corners Library, and I often run into the two of them there as well.
Originally, though, I got to know Steve when he and I were both part of a Writers Round Table at Redbird Studio, Bay View. Recently retired, Steve was working on his first novel – and when I say work, I mean just that. Steve wasn’t the type of writer who would dash off a draft and assume it was finished. His first novel, Unless a Grain of Wheat, went through many drafts before it was published in 1997. Steve didn’t get discouraged as many first-time novelists would, and he freely credits Judy Bridges, director of Redbird, the Round Table writers, and Rita, a perceptive reader and excellent editor, with helping him through the long process.
A former priest who loves his church, Steve drew inspiration for his first novel is from the Bible verse, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (quoted from New American Standard Bible, 1995.) This was written before the widespread publishing of sexual abuses by the clergy, along with all the lawsuits and public disgrace of many respected priests.
When Steve set out to write his first novel, he knew that it was the first of a trilogy. The other two were subsequently published: Dead Men’s Bones (2000) and Called to Freedom (2003) and were the subject of several book discussion groups at the Hales Corners and Franklin Libraries. All three books are available at the Hales Corners Library and from the publisher, Windborne Publications, P.O. box 7333, Hales Corners, WI 53130.
His next book, The Purple Culture, will be published by Oceanview Publishing and available at bookstores in May 2009. While the trilogy focuses on the same major characters, including Father Charles Mueller and Sister Maggie McDonough, The Purple Culture is a mystery that is ultimately solved in a courtroom where three bishops accused of pedophilia are on trial.
Quoting from Steve’s website: “The mystery surrounding the clerical abuse scandal is not that a priest could be a pedophile. The mystery lies with the bishops. What motivated politically adept, often outgoing and personable men who claim moral leadership to knowingly place predatory, pedophile priests among innocent children? What moved them to present deaf ears to victims and parents of victims, and then engage in stone-walling and cover-up activities?”
To learn more about Steve and his books, be sure to visit his new website, http://www.stephenboehrer.com Although I’m not a Roman Catholic, I responded to Steve’s invitation to join the dialogue on his web log, so be sure to check that out too. (Just go to the website referenced above and click on “Blog”.)
Steve has issued an open invitation for people concerned about the church to enter into this discussion. Here’s what he has to say that might encourage you to enter that dialogue:
The harm that self-absorbed and self-serving religious leaders can bring to their own people, and to others, has perhaps never been more evident.
History records how violence and terror tactics have been used, not just by small cults, but by all mainstream religions.
This blog is intended to display, discuss, and hopefully provide solutions to the threat of harm coming from Christian leadership.
I speak from my own affiliation and tradition, that of Roman Catholicism, but I believe the topic has universal application.
The attempts to cover-up the sexual abuse scandal with its protection of pedophiles, and the increasing numbers of thefts by ecclesiastics are warning signals to the laity that their judgments must enter the fray - or the scandals will continue.
In the priest/bishop pedophile scandal the conclusion is obvious that the leadership's moral compass is off-point.
Church embezzlements on today's scale bring the leadership's management abilities into question.
"The Purple Culture," speaks to components of a culture that are causal in episcopal behavior. It presents a foundation for and gives focus to action by the laity. I hope you will read it. Whether you agree with it or not, if you are interested in joining the discussion, let's begin.
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