Tuesday, 8/25

I can't believe I've now done it 200 times.

Last night's "Life in the 906" was, as I mentioned yesterday, a milestone. It was the 200th time that I stood in the studio and babbled on and on about a topic When I started doing these, I had no idea how long I'd be doing it, or if I'd even want to keep doing them.

But I guess we now have our answer to both of those questions.

I've been thinking the past couple of months about whether or not I wanted to do a "special" one for number 200, but nothing really came to me. Then before doing last week's bit I had mentioned to Kevin that the next one would be number 200, and he asked if I was planning something to commemorate it. As I started to walk home afterwards, a thought popped into my head.

By the time I got home, the piece I did last night was almost fully written in my head.

Maybe that's one of the cool things about this particular endeavor. I've had to come up with 200 ideas, one week at a time. Some weeks it's like pulling teeth figuring out a topic that might interest people; others (like the one last night) just come to me in a bolt of inspiration and all I have to do is type the thoughts spilling out my my brain.

It's been weird. But it's also been fun, and it's it's been an eye-opening blast.

And after last night I can't wait to see what pops out of my brain for the next 200 segments of "Life in the 906".

So just how DID I mark number 200? Check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/24

This is going to be one of *those* weeks.

To whit--

Tonight I go on TV like I usually do (although tonight's edition is a milestone event, so there's a little added pressure for that).

Tomorrow, I work. And go to a family event. And maybe do TV again to plug what I'm doing the next night.

Wednesday, I give my "Happy Hour 2" tour.

Thursday, I work and have a bunch of meetings.

Friday, Jack & I are doing "Legends & Lore III" to wrap up the season of the Lake Superior Theater (aka the boathouse).

Saturday and Sunday, I'm thinking I just might pass out. Although I WILL have to write another two TV spot for next Monday and for Labor Day, because Loraine and I are heading downstate over the Labor Day weekend to see her dad.

So...see what I mean when I say it's going to be one of *those* weeks?

It's weird; I get one of *those* weeks every so often. I don't know why and I don't know how, but it seems time and the plane on which I live conspire to throw everything they can at me. Two or three weeks a year I can count on having to be in six places at once, and rolling out every available permutation of Jim--Radio Jim, History Jim, TV Jim, and then, in the end Exhausted Jim. In fact, I think this upcoming week probably ranks right up there with the week I had in late January where I did both “High School Bowl” and a TV appearance on Wednesday, the debut of “Legends & Lore III” at Kaufman on Thursday, "High School Bowl" again on Friday, and then announced at the Noquemanon Saturday.

And that was a blast (he says sarcastically).

I'm not looking for pity; after all, I bring this upon myself. And, truth be told, it's much preferable to just sitting around looking for something to do. It's just that when presented with a week like this one I'm about to face, a small part of my brain goes "Really"? Like things couldn't be spread out a little more?

But alas, it's not to be.

So wish me luck this week. If you see me literally (which I'm allowed to use in this case) running from one place to another, know there's a reason for it.

It's one of *those* weeks.

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Friday, 8/21

You know what I haven't done recently?

I haven't re-purposed anything recently.

You may remember one of our favorite words around here, "re-purpose" It's when you take something originally produced for another reason--like a newspaper article or a video--and and stick it in something else (like a blog) to save yourself from having to write said blog.

That's "re-purposing" something.

Because I've been creating so much content these days, and because time is running out to legitimately re-purpose some of it, I'm going to share a teaser video I made with my pal Emily at the Marquette Regional History Center for my bar tour coming up Wednesday night. We've been doing this kind of thing for the past five or six tours--I stand up & babble, she shoots me doing it, and then works her magic to make it presentable. If she's inspired, she'll even re-purpose it herself into something like the Tik Tok video she made of me a few years ago that garnered over six million views (and counting).

So with that in mind, here's today re-purposed piece of content. Have a great weekend; hopefully, you don't get rained on too much. And remember, if you're not doing anything this upcoming Wednesday night...

Maybe the video will tempt you to join us!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 8/20

Above all, I really admire his determination.

I think I've mentioned before how working where I do--in the heart of downtown Marquette--allows me to observe people as they pass by up & down Frost Street. It's especially interesting this time of the year, when you can watch the tourists with their heads on a swivel or buried in Google maps. But you also develop a sense of the "regulars", the people who live & work in the area and make their way here and there on a daily basis.

Like the elderly gentleman who passes by each morning with the walker.

Now, I have no idea who this individual is. I'm guessing he probably lives at Pine Ridge, and that he heads out every single day on a journey downtown. Whether it's for exercise or for chores, I have no idea. All I know is that I'll see his slowly make his way down the hill with his walker, and then an hour or so later he'll be back going up the hill, oftentimes moving a little slower than on his journey down, but he makes it.

That is one bad-ass dude.

As you may recall, we've had some nasty weather this summer. And even on the days when it's been 95 degrees or there's been smoke so thick you couldn't see four blocks away, he was out there, making his way up & down Front Street. I was glad to see that on the smokiest of days he was wearing an N-95 mask, but he was still out there.

And that was impressive.

Like I said, I don't know who he is; in fact, the closest I've come to talking to him has been the several tines we exchanged greetings as I was standing outside the station eating and he was coming up the hill with his walker. But that doesn't stop my admiration for what he's doing. He's obviously had some health issues in his life recently, yet he's doing his darnedest to to get out there and continue enjoying life. Whether his walk is for rehab or just for fun. I think it's something that we should all emulate, at least if we're ever in a situation like that.

Maybe one of these days I'll run out while he's shuffling by, and let him know how much I admire what he's doing. But he's working hard when he's out there, and I don't know if I want to interrupt him. I guess in the end it doesn't matter; as long as he keeps doing what he's doing, we can put him on the list of one the reasons why it's so great to work in downtown Marquette--

To see people like this gentleman (and his walker) setting an example for the rest of us.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 8/19

I wonder which side of the story is actually true?

As you may recall, I'm giving an updated version of my "Happy Hour: The Legendary Bars of Marquette" tour coming up one week from today, August 26th. Last year's version was maybe the most successful I've ever done, with around 300 people following me though an evening of Canadian fire haze (Social District drinks in hand) to learn all about the wild episodes of debauchery that have occurred in Marquette bars & taverns over the past 177 years.

It was a blast.

One of the things I mentioned, though, caused a bit of confusion amongst not only me, but several people in the tour. Just as an aside, when we passed the law office on Spring Street that used to be the home of an old bar called Antler's, I repeated a story that several people have told me--namely, Antler's was Marquette's last brothel, even up and including the 70s. When I mentioned that fact--shared to me at various times by a lawyer, a cab driver, and the person who bought the building after the bar closed--someone in the crowd said I was wrong.

If only because his grandparents owned Antlers.

So one of the things I'm working on for this tour is to determine, once and for all, which version (if any) is actually true. And in the year since, you know what kind of concrete evidence I've found for any of the stories?

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I mean, I've come across some great tales of prostitution during the 1880s and 1890s. Heck, I've even found out that area women would host (and get arrested for) paying gentlemen from the then-KI Sawyer Air Force Base into the 1960s. But do you think I could find anything that, one way or another, could establish what the story of Antlers (or the building it was located in) was?

Nope.

One of the issues I've run into is conflicting timelines; in other words, when people said certain things happened don't match up with the time the bar was in existence. I'm still checking, though, and who knows...maybe someday I'll actually uncover the truth about the bar and what may--or may not--have happened there.

Because no matter which side of the tale you believe may have happened, the truth is actually a big part of Marquette history.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 8/18

You know...I don't even remember the last time I was at the UP State Fair.

I mention that because it's State Fair week in Escanaba, when (seemingly) half the UP heads down to check everything out and eat their weight in fried food. Because it's such a big deal, I even did my TV spot about it last night, and while I was in the middle of doing it the thought crept into my head--

When was the last time I was there for the Fair?

As a kid, I was down there quite a bit. In the 90s I was there on an almost yearly basis, because we would sponsor some of the concerts (like Eddie Money and Robert Palmer, among others). But in the 20-plus since then?

Nope.

I suppose that one of these years I SHOULD go down there, if only to see how much it's changed since the 90s, and so I have a new frame of reference when talking about it. But going down to Escanaba and then going to the fair takes time, and what do I NOT have a lot of these days?

That, of course, would be time.

So I just have to add “fair” to the list of eleventy-thousand things for which I need to find the time. After all, it IS an iconic UP event, and I guess it's kind of hard to consider yourself a Yooper if you haven't checked it out at least once this century, right?

8-)

Here's the TV bit from last night--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/17

I would like to introduce you to my summer friend--

Okay; right about now I'm sure you're wondering why I posted a picture of the 100 west block of Bluff Street in Marquette, a street populated mostly by parking lots and parking decks. Well, as you know, it's been a hectic summer, and as it's slowly coming to an end I wanted to give credit to one of the things that has kept me sane this season.

And that would be the 100 west block of Bluff Street in Marquette.

Let me explain. On those days when I had 8,000 things to do and just needed to escape them for a few minutes I would leave the station, walk around the corner, and come upon the 100 west block of Bluff Street. Because it's mostly a parking area I could walk up & down the street and not be bothered by much other than sunshine and the occasional glances of people who were returning to their cars. If it was a particularly sunny and/or hectic day I'd take a cup of tea (usually one from Germany) and sit for a few minutes at the picnic table someone had thoughtfully placed in the grassy area at the end of the parking deck.

It allowed me to enjoy a few extra minutes of summer weather the past few months. And that's something that everyone deserves.

It's also one of the few places in downtown Marquette where there hasn't bee a lot of construction this season. Between hotels going up and streets torn apart and parking lots left and right being redone, there's a LOT going on here this summer. But aside from work on a building on the corner of Bluff & Washington, it's been (relatively) quiet in my little “sanctuary”. And these days, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So just let me say “thanks” to the 100 west block of Bluff Street in downtown Marquette. I know our friendship was unusual, but I'm sorry it'll be coming to an end. You made this summer just a little bit better than it could have been.

(jim@wmqt.com)