Wednesday, 9/16

It's another sure sign that summer is over. My auxiliary office was empty yesterday.

I've been writing here and there about signs that our too-short summer has now receded into the depths of history, and I noticed perhaps one of the surest signs of that yesterday. The temps were mild, the sun was (kinda out), so I decided to head down to my auxiliary office to eat lunch and to do some writing, and that's when I saw yet another sign that summer's over.

My auxiliary office was, except for me, empty--

My "auxiliary office" is actually Marquette's Lower Harbor Park, one of the crown jewels of Marquette's park system, and a park that, during the summer, is filled with kids on the playground, bikers on the multi-use path, and individuals eating lunch at one of the many picnic tables. In fact, when I head down to my auxiliary office during the summer, sometimes I find that there's actually no place to work.

But not yesterday. In a giant city park, I was the only person within sight.

Yes, I know some of it's because school's back in session and yes, I know some of it's because (most of ) the tourists are gone. But to see the park that empty and that desolate just made me think that people have given up for the year, that they know fall is here, winter is coming, and it's time to hibernate for the next eight months.

And that's always one of the saddest revelations you can have this time of the year.

I myself am hoping that I get a few more days in my auxiliary office, although I guess that's up to Mother Nature. I'm guessing, though, anything like that would be a bonus, especially when you consider all of the people who already seem to have given up for the year, and who are ready for winter to show up, in whatever form it takes this year.. We'll have to see, I guess.

All I know is that after yesterday, it seems as if the summer that was way too short has now had the curtain officially drawn upon it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 9/15

And now, the rest of the story.

Well, technically, it's not the REST of the story, as I haven't actually told any of the story yet. But if you recall last week when I wrote in here after returning from visiting my favorite father-in-law in the whole wide world, I said that I was going to put together a TV piece about small towns, both here and downstate. Since last night was TV night, guess what I did?

Yup. I told the whole story.

Once again, technically, it's actually not a “story”. It's more a series of observations punctuated by jokes (or at least by attempts at jokes) that came to me while I was out running one morning in Reese. I sat on my father-in-law's front porch (because that's what you do in a really small town, right?) and wrote most of it right there. I did not, however, have the “kicker”, the one thing near the end that ties the whole piece up with a nice bright bow. But then I went running another morning and ran into someone on the street as I was finishing.

And what she said to me was the PERFECT kicker for the piece.

What observations did I make, what jokes did I attempt to tell, and just what did the lady on the street say to me? Well, find out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 9/14

If you're ever wonder why I'm doing something weird, just blame Stevie Wonder. He's probably the reason.

I received an e-mail Friday afternoon from someone I don't know, but who obviously knows who I am. The e-mail said, and I'm quoting here, “Jim—I saw you our for a run this morning and it looked like you have either have a very unique running style or you were air drumming . Which one is it”? Well, I can state without fear of being wrong that I don't have a very unique running style.

However, I kinda have to plead guilty to air drumming, just because...well, just because. I have no other explanation other than that.

After reading the e-mail I thought back to the early morning run through downtown, down Pine Street, and then back up the lakeshore bike path. While I couldn't tell this person exactly to which song I was air-drumming, I have a pretty good idea, if only because I listened to the song (ahem) five times in a row.

But then, Stevie Wonder's “Sir Duke” will do that to a person.

It's funny; I haven't listened to “Sir Duke” for a while now. But it stuck in my head because we're coming up on the 50^th anniversary of “Songs in the Key of Life”, the classic album from which it came, and I was reading an article about it. Now if I'm being honest, I much prefer the other number one song from that disc, “I Wish”, but something in my brain told me to listen to “Sir Duke”, and once I listened to it I couldn't stop.

Much like, apparently, I couldn't stop air drumming to it while I ran.

Part of the joy of being me is that pretty much everything I do in public is noticed by someone, whether I want it to be or not. Thankfully, I don't do anything so bad that it would land me in jail, but I do seem to have a propensity for getting caught doing goofy things, like air drumming But you can't blame me for this one.

After all, it's all Stevie Wonder's fault.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 9/11

25 years, huh? Doesn't seem that long, does it?

I'm sure you'll be reading a ton of stuff today about the 25th anniversary of 9/11. It's one of those touchstone moments, like Pearl Harbor, Kennedy being shot, or Challenger blowing up--you knew exactly where you were when you heard the news, and and that day is seared forever into your brain

After all, we're still feeling the reactions to 9/11 in the way we live even now.

When you tell a younger person that you grew up in a world without omnipresent security cameras or that you used to be able to walk into an airport with getting undressed they look at you like you're from another world. And in a way, you are--you're from a world before planes went crashing into buildings, before layer upon layer of draconian security was imposed upon every day life, and before countless wars were launched in the name of making the world safe.

That's how much things have changed in the past quarter century.

Now, there can be a debate as to whether or not the world is a safer place; that, however, is best a debate in other forums and by people who know more than I. I guess I'm just stunned by two things--by the fact that the defining moment of this century was a quarter of that century ago, and by the fact that the after-effects of that incident are still being felt today. 25 years after Pearl Harbor, we were allies with the Japanese. 25 years after Kennedy was shot, the republic still stood. And 25 years after Challenger, space shuttles were still flying.

It's like we moved on after those events. But 25 years after 9/11? It feels like in many ways, we're still living with it.

I'll be curious to see what it's like in 2051, when the 50th anniversary rolls around. Will we have moved on? Will some other disaster, either man-made or natural, have taken over our everyday life? Or will we still be living in the shadow of events that occurred on a sunny day in New York City in 2001, 25 years ago today.

It'll be interesting to see.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. And maybe keep your fingers crossed that we DON'T have another disaster like that in the next 25 years.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 9/10

I guess we now have an answer to the question that's been plaguing mankind since the dawn of time.

A couple of months ago Loraine, Deanna, and I were having dinner when Deanna posited one of those interesting questions she comes up with. To wit--

"Do you think our parents have ever watched 'Friends'"?

It's actually quite the legit question. For our generation, "Friends" is a touchstone. It's one of those shows that defines who we are and how we act. It was a big chunk of our lives, and we're still watching episodes for the 45th time. But what about the generation older than us, our parents? They probably knew of the show, and may have even watched it once out of curiosity. But did they really know the show the way we did?

That question was answered this past weekend when Loraine and I were downstate visiting her dad. We were showing him some stuff on my laptop when a picture of the cast of "Friends" popped up (maybe in an ad, or something). He took one look at that picture--of the six actors on the show--pointed at David Schwimmer, and said, directly quoting him here--

"Hey--that's the guy from 'Band of Brothers'".

Yup. He had no idea that David Schwimmer was on "Friends", but he sure did remember him from his memorable one episode role on a TV mini-series 25 years ago.

Now, this is just a one parent sample group; other people's parents may vary. But if you've ever wondered, like Deanna, Loraine, and I did, if our parents generation ever watched "Friends"...

Well, now you have your answer.

By the way, we DID show him an episode and he thought it was a hoot.. So who knows...maybe slowly but surely, we'll get the older generation hooked on the show that defined our generation yet.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 9/9

And greetings from somewhere on I-75. I’m not quite sure where, but it’s the place where there are trees on the left and trees on the right.

So wherever that is, that’s where we are.

We had a very nice, very extended weekend down in Reese, visiting Loraine’s family and for a few short hours actually forgetting what day of the week it was.

And that VERY rarely happens.

Otherwise, we just spent time with Loraine’s dad's cats, eating a lot, and, uhm, going to the one place we can’t go to in Marquette, if only because we don’t have one--Aldi. I told you if you behaved I'd take a picture, and you did, so...

Hi, my name is Jim, and I’m an Aldi-holic. And if you think I’m bad now, just wait until we actually DO get one in Marquette. After the first week, I may need an intervention.

So be forewarned.

We also spent some time just wandering around Loraine’s home town. Reese reminds me a lot of and is about the same size of Gwinn, and that led to something you may—just may—see on TV next Monday night.

But that's next week.

For now, how about a couple of pictures, like yet another example of “The Awesome Flatness of Reese”--

It’s actually hard to capture in a picture just how flat Reese is; in sections with no trees you can see for miles and miles and miles. Because it’s flat it’s home to hundreds of farms, which means that the only things that rise more than 20 feet above the terrain would be the grain elevators, as you see in the picture above, although some of the farm equipment on sale might qualify, as well.

But if you know where to look, you can see things in the nooks and crannies that make Loraine’s home town uniquely “Reese”.

But for now, it's back to reality...not that reality is in any way a bad thing. The past weekend did, however, show just how nice it is to escape from that reality on occasion, if only for a few days.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 9/3

Now, it's all over except the shouting. Or the sobbing.

After all, it's been that kind of week.

It's actually been a couple of “that kind of weeks”, as you well know if you've been perusing these rantings on a daily basis. But like I said, after today it slows down...or, at least changes venues. Tomorrow morning Loraine and I head downstate to visit her dad over the Labor Day weekend, which means that we get to do three things--

1.  Hang out with her nieces & nephews

2. Visit the Aldi in Caro (a town a quarter of the size of Marquette but, for some reason, has an Aldi while we don't), and

3. Enjoy the awesome flatness of Reese--

That's a phrase Loraine once coined, and she's right. Growing up where there are a LOT of hills I never had an idea any place could be so flat. It's so flat, in fact, that on a clear day you can see the top of the Zilwaukee Bridge, which is TWELVE miles away.

That's flat.

So there won't be one of these either tomorrow or Tuesday, which is the day we'll be driving back. Wednesday, you'll get to see picture of the “Awesome Flatness” and, if you behave, maybe even one of the Caro Aldi, as well.

I know...THAT will get you through the weekend, won't it?

8-)

Speaking of the weekend, have yourself a great one. Back on Wednesday!

(jim@wmqt.com)