Wednesday, 4/24

Because I have to be at the dentist in a bit for my 10-month checkup I'm going to take the easy way out and leave you with this week's new “Pieces of the Past”, which may be of interest to daily blog reader Chicky-Poo of Melbourne Beach, Florida, who, if I'm not mistaken, may have broken a bone or two at the location it talks about.

But then he's talented like that.

Tomorrow, the story of my TV bit from Monday night, and how some people either don't pay attention to things or just really don't seem to care.

With that, I'm off to get my teeth cleaned. Here's the video!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 4/23

Words can get you into trouble. Ask any politician, any celebrity, any person, in fact, who’s ever opened their mouth. Everyone has, at one time or another, uttered something they probably wish they hadn’t. So I wasn’t totally surprised when, a few days ago, I was asked by someone if there were any words--outside of the obvious ones--that I would never say on the air.

My answer surprised the person who asked the question. But I hope it doesn’t surprise you.

There are words that some people use all the time, and words that people use all the time, yet never think about why they use them. In that latter category falls a word that I can’t bring myself to use, even though it’s a word that people bandy about freely, like the sound of it is the sweetest thing on the face of the Earth.

It’s a word that’s been around forever, and it’s a word that, sadly, seems to be part of our genetic makeup. I know it’s in the Bible, I know it’s in Shakespeare, and I know it’s been used by half the country while describing the other half.. It’s four simple letters that, on their own, mean nothing, but when you put them together, it just doesn’t seem, well, right.

The word I’m talking about, the word that surprised the person asking me the question, is “hate”.

Is it just me? Is “hate” that bad of a word? Am I just strange in that I feel uncomfortable using it? Even when talking about food that makes me gag, or people whose political views make me gag, I can’t bring myself to use “hate”. I may “dislike” them, or find the food “repellent”, but I have yet to meet a person, a food, or a situation so bad that “hate” comes into play.

Of course, maybe I’m lucky. Maybe I’ve lived enough of a charmed life that I’ve never been forced into a situation where the actual use of the word “hate” pops up. If that’s been the case, just ignore me. But it sure seems that so many things on this planet would be, I dunno, better if “hate”, both the word and the emotion, weren’t part of who we are. I mean, think of everything we as humans have done in the name of “hate” (a list that goes on and on and on). You may (to quote a great philosopher here) say that I’m a dreamer, but just think of it. Imagine a world without hate.

Nice place, wouldn’t it be? I mean, it'll probably never happen...

But just imagine it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 4/22

Does this describe you?

90% of Americans say they recycle or turn their thermostats down.

85% of say they buy energy efficient cars & appliances, & wash clothes in cold water when they can.

70% say they’re willing to walk, bike, or carpool to cut down on their driving.

I'm hoping those numbers are true, although some days I look around and wonder.  But I bring this up because today is Earth Day, and what with a rapidly changing global climate and various ways you can help the environment in the news these days, it seemed an apt time to share those interesting statistics.

Having grown up in the 70’s, when people actually seemed to care about the environment and pollution, I’ve always tried to live an environmentally friendly life. It's just ingrained in my brain. As you know, I walk and bike almost everywhere; when I do drive, it’s in a car that gets 40 miles per gallon. Cold water laundry? Check. Recycling? Despite the occasional stupidity of Waste Management, I put out plastics & metals & paper every week, and when I have enough glass lying around I hop on my bike and bring it all to the city recycling station. Air conditioning in the summer? Are you kidding? Enjoy the heat while it’s here!

Major reports the last few months from the U.N. and from researchers worldwide have backed up the fact that, as humans, we’re having a severe impact on Earth’s environmental systems, and most of the impact is NOT good. In fact, the past nine months have been the warmest stretch of months on the planet since records have been kept (with our non-winter winter as proof). Not only that, but areas of droughts and storms have been among the most severe in recorded history. So if you find yourself getting a little tired of all the information, dire warnings, threats, and pleadings to cut back that you’ll hear over the next few days, remember. . ..

For now, at least, it’s the only planet we have!

So on that note, have a happy Earth Day, do what you can to help stabilize and repair the environment, and think good thoughts for Mother Nature. I'm sure she'd appreciate it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 4/19

There's no way it's been that many years. That's just not possible.

Is it?

Sunday's a big day for me and Loraine; it's our wedding anniversary. And despite the fact that I can't seem to fathom the quantum mechanics of the whole situation, it's a rather big anniversary for us.  You see, we were married 35 years ago Sunday.

Told you it's not possible.

While it doesn't seem like it happened yesterday, it sure doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we stood out on the steps of the Marquette County Courthouse on a sunny Friday afternoon and said our “I do”s. And when I look at the picture of the two of us from that day, the one sitting in our living room, we don't look that much different. But then I look at the other people in the picture—Loraine's sister, who was 8 at the time, and my grandmother, who passed away 18 years ago, and I then realize--

We've been married for 35 years!!

When we got married, I don't think there was any way that I could fathom we'd be celebrating our 35^th anniversary. I mean, 35 years? That's, like, a lifetime. That's how long your parents have been married, or that's how long your grandparents were married. When you first get married, or at least when I first got married, a time span such as that just did not register in any meaningful way. Yet, here we are, 35 years later, and still together.

I think I've mentioned in here before about how we have anything but a “traditional” relationship, yet among most of our family and friends we're the only couple of our generation still together. I don't know if that's because we don't have a “traditional” relationship, or if we've been lucky, or what, but when I look at all the people we know of our generation, and we're among the only ones still together, it makes me feel two things—it makes me feel very happy, and it makes me feel like the past 35 years have been a gift.

Which they have.

And it's funny; if anything, both the passage of time and seeing other people battle with marital difficulties seem to have made our relationship stronger than ever. Oh, sure, I'm sure (okay,. I know) there are times when Loraine wants to throttle me, but those pale in comparison to the times we find ourselves embarking on some adventure or just marveling at the occasional sheer insanity of our lives. But that's a good thing; it means we've found our groove.

It means that I wouldn't have wanted to spend the last 3 decades-plus with anyone else.

We'll probably spend our anniversary doing o few of the things that has connected us over the past 35 years. You see, we're a perfect match in that I like to cook, and she likes to eat. So I'll whip up something, but not before we spend part of Sunday on the soccer pitch, running around and burning off the calories we'll be eating.

Because that's what we do.

Happy early anniversary, Loraine!!!!!!!

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 4/18

It's going well, thanks for asking.

Yesterday was T minus three weeks until Loraine and I (hopefully) hit the skies and head over to Germany. As you may recall, for me to take any time off requires a LOT of work ahead of time, and aside from all of my Q107-WMQT work that also now entails programming our two stations up in Baraga AND getting a couple of “Life in the 906”s ready for TV-19.

Yes, I realize that for some people that's just a recipe for screaming and jumping off a building, but I think we all know I'm a little different than that, right?

8-)

If you were to visit me at work right now you'd notice legal pads with notes & instructions spread all about, and if you were to visit me at home you'd notice index cards and pieces of paper with notes and reminders spread all about. Believe it or not, that means I'm organized. That means I know what I still have to do, how I'm going to do it, and when I'm going to get to it.

It's a system that works for me. What can I say?

Jim's system, work version

As far as radio stuff goes, everything's all planned out. While I haven't gotten to all of it yet, I still have three weeks (well, okay, two weeks and six days) and as long as nothing blows up or sets me back a day or two I'll be fine. As far as the TV stuff goes? Well, that's a little different. Because it was one of those ideas that came to me in the middle of the night a few days ago I've written the piece I'll be recording to air the Monday I'm in Europe, and I know what I'll be doing this upcoming Monday, even if I haven't written that one yet. That just means I need one for the 29^th, one for May 6^th, and, maybe, an extra one for the 20^th just in case I'm, like, stuck in Europe or something.

But since these things seem to (for some reason) come to me out of nowhere, I'm hopeful I'll get them done in time.

That's how things are looking now. With any luck, no extra work or tragedies or anything will get in the way, and in three weeks—excuse me, two weeks and six days—I'll be able to leave.

Now, as long as the airline cooperate on that day, we'll be set.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/17

This was a story that I had no idea about.

This week's “Pieces of the Past” video details a story with a story. Here's the “story” part; we'll get to the actual “story” in a second. It starts back a few months ago when we were shooting the first round of “High School Bowl”, and Negaunee was one of the teams. I have students fill out a form with six or seven potential questions I might ask them during the halftime interview segment, and one of those questions was “tell us something we don't know about the place you live”.

Well, Riley Williams, who was the captain of the Negaunee team, told me something about his home town I had never heard before. It intrigued me, if for no other reason that the sheer improbability of it, so I did a little research on it. The more I discovered about the story the more I was drawn in, and was so fascinated by it that I ended up making it a segment in the “Legends & Lore” show Jack & I did at Kaufman in January. Since the story's so cool, I also decided to make it a segment this season on “Pieces”.

THAT'S how both totally strange and totally unknown to me it was.

Okay...that's the story, and now the “story”. See if you're as intrigued by it as I was.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 4/16

I guess I know one thing I'll be doing every day when I'm in Germany next month.

A couple of days ago I mused about whether or not I should write a blog each & every day while Loraine and I are visiting Kaiserslauten & Freiburg. I asked for your opinions, and got them--

Everyone who responded said I really DO need to write something every day while we're there. So...I guess I'll be writing something every day while we're there.

Isn't democracy a wonderful thing?

Most everyone disagreed with me when I said one of the reasons I was thinking of not doing them was because they seem (at least to me) humble-bragging. Almost everyone said that they enjoy seeing the pictures and hearing about the weird things we come across, and that we're not bragging. We're just reporting, said most of the people who responded, and allowing people who can't (or won't) travel to another continent to travel vicariously through us.

So by writing, I guess, I'm performing a public service? Think I could write the trip off of our taxes because of that?

8-)

The first one, then, will appear on May 9^th, the day we get to Germany. And before I leave the topic I need to mention two things. One is a musing from one of the voters who, out of nowhere, made me laugh when he joked about William Shatner saying something along the lines of “Captain's Blog, Stardate...”.

But then, I'm easy that way.

The other thing to mention? My niece Sydney is making HER first venture to Europe tomorrow. She and her boyfriend Ricky are going to Italy, and she's more than excited. In fact, she was even fully packed on Monday, which is much better than her well-traveled uncle. Way to go, Syd. Have a fantastic time!!

*****

Finally, I had promised a link to the championship match of this year's “High School Bowl” and, as always, I keep my promises. So if you wanna watch the first ever overtime championship match, just CLICK or TAP HERE!

(jim@wmqt.com)