Friday, 5/5

I love it when a tour comes together.

As those of you who read this on a regular basis may recall, I'm gonna have a busy summer doing stuff for the Marquette Regional History Center. Between June 21^st and August 18^th I'm giving a bike tour, a walking tour, putting on a late night outdoor program, and writing an article for their publication “Harlow's Wooden Man” with the working title “Orgy of Alcohol”.

I'm guessing that someone else MAY change the title before publication, though.

So I don't spend my entire summer doing research and writing I've been trying to work ahead on everything. The bike tour's not a problem; I gave it last year. The article shouldn't be much of a problem, either, as it's just a written version of the “Nightlife” programs I've given over the years. So that leaves the other two, including the walking tour of Marquette's Lower Harbor, a program called “The Docks of Iron Bay”, a program someone else came up with and suggested that I do. I said “yes” because I give a lot of tours of the area as it is, and I figured it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Thankfully, it's turning out that way.

Over the past few weeks I've been gathering info on what I need, and, as always, have that info written on 3x5 cards spread out (when I'm working on it) all over our living room floor. Until last weekend I hadn't made much progress on putting the info together in any semblance of order. But then Loraine and I strolled down to the boardwalk in front of the Hampton Inn in Marquette, and as I looked around the harbor and visually placed all the info I'd gathered on the 3x5 cards, the entire format of the program—what info to present where—suddenly merged fully-formed into my head.

It was weird. But it was cool, too.

Just to make sure, I went back down the next day with my note cards and kind of walked through where I needed to go, and it worked out perfectly. Now I just need to write the notes into something coherent (and funny, because it is, after all, a Jim Koski ™ History Center program), do another run-through sometime in the next few months, and then hope the weather is good on July 19^th.

So now I have the bike tour, the walking tour, and (most) of the article done. If I'm lucky, maybe this weekend the late-night outdoor program will pop fully formed into my head. I'm mean, I'm not counting on it, but then I wasn't thinking the dock tour would do so last weekend, either, so you never know.

Wish me luck. And while you're at it, have a great weekend at the same time!

(jim@wmqt.com)