The Wednesday Wars

Spring is marked by changes, small and great, in Holling’s school and around the world. At Camillo Junior High, Mrs. Sidman takes over as school principal, as Mr. Guareschi has been reassigned. Also, Mrs. Baker gets a call from the Army, reporting that thousands of American troops are entering Khesanh to relieve the soldiers there and to look for those missing in action, including Lieutenant Baker. Furthermore, Holling hears from his father that Kowalski and Associates is going out of business, and Meryl tells him that her family will be moving, probably in the next few weeks. In the news, President Lyndon Johnson announces he will not be running for president again. Then comes the most shocking news of all: Martin Luther King Jr. has been shot and killed, and riots in major cities ensue the next day.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Baker devotes Wednesday afternoons this month to coaching Holling in running; Holling gets faster, but runs behind the pack of eighth graders on his team to keep from provoking their wrath. Opening Day at Yankee Stadium comes around, and Holling reminds his father of the tickets he received from Joe Pepitone and Horace Clark. He needs his father to pick him up from school at noon so they can make it into the city for the game by 2, but his father forgets. Holling is humiliated as his class files in from lunch recess, only to find him still there.

When the class leaves for their church lessons, Mrs. Baker drives Holling to the stadium, and they make it by the bottom of the third inning. The game is everything that Opening Day should be, and Joe Pepitone and Horace Clark invite the boys onto the field afterward. Pepitone recognizes Mrs. Baker as “that dame” who anchored the women’s relay in the Melbourne Olympic games (196). The players show everyone around the stadium, the boys run in the outfield and around the bases, and they even throw a few pitches. Mrs. Baker learns that the stadium needs repairs, and that “the boss” is looking for a “classical” architect to hire for the job (197). Mrs. Baker stays to meet the boss while Holling rides home with Mr. Hupfer and Danny.

Spring break comes and goes, and cross-country practice ramps up as the varsity team prepares for their first meet. Danny races first at the meet because he’s on junior varsity, and by the fifth lap, he’s in the lead. However, after emerging from a clump of trees, Danny is almost last, and his knees are bloodied. The eighth graders evidently caught up to him and made sure he wouldn’t beat them. When Holling’s race is about to begin, Mr. Hupfer delivers a message from Danny: “beat the pied ninnies” (205). At the starting line, Holling sees Danny and his parents, Coach Quatrini, Mr. Kowalski, Meryl Lee, and Mrs. Baker, all cheering him on. Holling stays behind the pack of eighth graders for most of the race, until, on the last lap, Mrs. Baker tells him from the sidelines to pass them. Even though they block the trail, Holling goes around them through the forest, imagining himself at Yankee Stadium, rounding the bases to home plate, while all his friends cheer him to a first-place finish at the meet.