Tuesday, 7/23

I think I'll have everything done on time.

As I mentioned yesterday, Loraine and I have to head downstate for her mom's memorial service/lunch/inurnment/family gathering. We'll leave tomorrow, with all the official stuff on Thursday, and then just spend a very long weekend hanging out with various members of her family (and playing soccer) before coming back next Monday in time for me to do TV.

That means a couple of things. It means that I've had to get a couple of weeks' worth of work done in a week or so (which, thankfully, I seem to have accomplished), and it also means that there won't be another one of these here for a week. I'll try to write one as we're driving back next Monday. After all, there's two and a half hours of Loraine driving up I-75 before I take over once we cross the Bridge, and since I already seem to know every tree, exit, and junkyard off the freeway to begin with, I might as well do something a little more constructive with my time than just stare out the window.

Right?

So I'll be back here a week from today. It'll be a little summer vacation; perhaps not the one we were planning and certainly not one we wanted to have, but it'll be a little getaway nonetheless. So wish us safe travels and, if you would, keep Loraine's family in your thoughts.

I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

See you next week...

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 7/22

I don't get to be a dork this year.

Let me rephrase that, I guess, because as well all know I'm a dorky pretty much every day of every year.  This year I won't be able to, for the first time in over two decades, do my yearly counting of license plates n the week leading up to Art on the Rocks.  I've done it every year since at least 2002, and it always provides me with two things--fodder for these babblings, and an insight into just how popular Marquette has become and just how strong the US economy is.  Back in 2008 during the Great Recession I only saw plates from 17 other states, while last year I saw them from 45.  I'm guessing that with Marquette's exploding popularity and the continued strength of the US economy that I might top that number this year.

But I won't be able to find out.

The reason why?  Well, some of you may know this (although I'm guessing most of you don't), daily blog reader Betsy of downstate Reese--aka Loraine mom's--passed away earlier this month, and her memorial service (and a big family gathering) are set for later this week.  And since, as my sister is fond of reminding me, "family is the most important thing", I have places to be other than here counting license plates..

Betsy's passing, while not entirely unexpected, is still a shock. I feel not only for Loraine but for her dad, Floyd, who was married to Betsy for 60+ years, as well as their entire extended family.  We, of course, always try to get down there at least once a year and visit; it's just a bummer that this year's journey is under such sad circumstances.

But it's all part of the circle of life, I guess.

So the license pate count will have to wait until next year, I guess, unless I decide to just do it every year on another weekend; say, perhaps, NMU's "welcome back" weekend.  We'll have to see.  But for the first time in over two decades it won't be during Art on the Rocks week this year.

But that's okay.  After all, "family is the most important thing".

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps--if you're in Marquette this week and see a strange license plate, pass it along.  After all, I'm still going to be curious about the whole thing!)

Friday, 7/19

A couple of days ago I had mentioned the randomness of Marquette, how, if you're on foot, you get to see things that most people in cars would just zoom by.

Well, since I posted those thoughts on Monday I have come across a few examples of that same phenomenon, so to wrap up the week pictorial proof that I'm not just making it up. For example...

Why is a single cherry tomato sitting n the street?

Seeing as how retainers are supposed to sit in your mouth, there are several questions I have about this one lying on a sidewalk. How did it get there? Shouldn't you notice it's not in your mouth. And, most importantly, just how much alcohol was involved in the retainer ending up on the sidewalk?

I assume with the leaf that you drew you're referring to cannabis and not the early 90's En Vogue song, right?

And finally...it's too bad hand signs don't come with spellcheck...

See? You'd probably miss most (if not all) of these by driving. But if you know where to look, the randomness (and the wackiness) of Marquette is all around you.

Hope your weekend is random and/or wacky!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/18

I think people need to rethink their definition of the word "legendary".

If you listen on the air, you know I do interviews with people on an almost daily basis. I did one a couple of days ago, and the person with whom I was speaking then put up a social media post saying that he'd be on with the "legendary Jim Koski" that afternoon, and everyone should listen to it..

First of all, thanks for the plug and telling people to listen. Second of all, "legendary"? Me? Are you quite sure about that?

8-)

I always have to laugh when someone calls me "famous" or, in this case, "legendary", because as both you and I know, I'm not. I'm just a dorky little kid who grew up into a dorky adult whose singular talent seems to be a bizarre propensity for showing up in the media on a daily basis. I would save the terms "famous " or legendary" for everyone from Jon Stewart to Princess Diana to Barack Obama. Those people are "famous" and/or "legendary". I'm just, uhm, a dork.

With a propensity for being in the media.

As I've gotten older, though, I have come to realize what might propel people to use those terms when referring to me. In this small pond in which we live I could understand why some people might believe me to be a big fish. I guess I get that, given my propensity for being on TV and radio and newspapers and walking tours. But when I think of the words "famous" or "legendary" I just have to laugh a little, thinking to myself "you really don't know me, do you?" In the grand scheme of things I'm neither famous or legendary, at least on a planetary basis. And to me, that's what's required to be "famous" or "legendary".

But...like I said, as I've gotten older I understand how those words can get thrown around, especially on a local basis. And in a way, it's actually kind of a cool thing. If I'm described as "famous" or "legendary" it means I've made a mark in the area. It means I've made some sort of impression on people. It means I've made a difference.

And in the end, isn't that the most important thing?

I'm guessing that no matter how "famous" or "legendary" I get locally, I'll still have the same reaction to being called those words. Between you & me, I'm neither. But I have gotten to the point where I do recognize how they could apply to a dorky kid turned even dorkier adult.

Even if we both know I'm really not.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 7/17

And just like that, another season is over.

Throughout the past couple of months I've been sharing many of the "Pieces of the Past" videos I've been making for the Marquette Regional History Center. It's hard for me to believe, but after today all 18 of them I've made since the beginning of the year will now be available to the public.

Series four of the "show" is now in the books.

I started these videos during Covid, when some people were stuck in their homes and looking for any sort of entertainment. Since telling historical stories seems to be my one and only skill, I figured I'd give it a shot, and voila--they were a hit. Since they're a little too labor-intensive to do them on a daily or weekly basis, I've just been doing a batch (or a "season", if you prefer) most Springs since, and after a hiatus for my restaurant documentary last year, I did it again in 2024.

And now, that season is coming to an end.

I'm still kind of on the fence as to whether there will be a "season" five, but then it's like that every time I finish a batch. I actually have interviews I did this year that I didn't use; plus, I have tentative plans to work with a Native Studies class at NMU to put something together about the peoples who lived here before Europeans showed up. So right there we have the basis for a bunch of videos next time around. or, we have the basis for a longer-length piece or two. What form that takes, I guess, will depend upon several different things.

I guess we'll just have to see how I feel next winter. If I'm bored and/or frustrated at being stuck inside because we have a real winter (unlike the one we had last year), at this time next year we'll be talking about how I'm wrapping up "season" five of the show.

We'll just have to see.

So on that note, I'll leave you with the season finale. It's actually pretty much a mirror of the season premiere, so because of that I'll say the same thing I said when I posted the first entry of "season" four--Watch it on as big of a screen as possible.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 7/16

For once, I wasn't kidding when I was on TV last night. Summer is half over.

Let's observe a moment of silence, shall we?

Like I said, I'm actually kind of serious about this. If you consider summer to be the months of June, July, & August (what weather professionals call “Meteorological Summer”) then yesterday (July 15^th) marks the half way point of the season. 50% of the days are behind us, and 50% still await us. I mean, to me, it barely seems like it's begun, but it seems like that every year, so I may not be the best person to judge. Days and weeks blend into each other; you go to bed in early May and then you wake up the next day to find out that it's mid-July.

And you know what that means, right? It's gonna snow next week.

Okay; that MAY be a joke. But like I said, the way days and weeks are blending into each other means it's not that long until we wake up one morning to find out that summer isn't merely half over but has somehow made the jump into November. I shudder at the mere thought, but I know it's coming.

Of course, summer's never long enough around here, and those weeks in June when temperatures didn't get out of the 50s and the rain seemed ever-present didn't help. But at least now the weather's where it's supposed to be so maybe, just maybe, that'll help slow down time just a bit.

I mean, I'm not counting on it, but a boy can dream, right?

So get out and enjoy the second half of summer while it's still here. After all, you don't want to leave anything undone on your summer to-do list, lest you wake up tomorrow and realize it is, indeed, November.

Because you know that IS going to happen.

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Monday, 7/15

There are many things to love about living in Marquette.  For me, it's sometime the sheer randomness of it all.

Let me explain.  I was out enjoying our toasty and sunny weekend when I came across something on the bike path by South Beach--

You might not even notice it if you're biking to the South Trails or out to Harvey, but on a picnic table aside the trail someone had put out a vase full of wildflowers--

I have no idea why the vase was there.  I don't know if someone left the vase there after a nice lunch in the sun, or if someone put the vase there on purpose.  All I know is that, on a picnic table alongside a bike path, someone had stuck a vase full of flowers.

How random is that?

And that's just one example of the "randomness" I was describing.  If you walk anywhere in the city (or, if you're like a dork and walk EVERYWHERE in the city) you see so many examples of it, from sidewalk art encouraging you to enjoy the day to a statue in someone's flower bed of Godzilla eating a garden gnome.   Unlike some places, you never know what you might see when you cross a street or round a corner..  And, of course, you miss it all if you drive everywhere.

But if you're in the right place at the right time, someone's random act can bring a smile to your face, give you a little encouragement, or stop for a second and just marvel at the randomness of it all.

Especially when you see things like a vase of flowers on a picnic table.

(jim@wmqt.com)