Wednesday, 11/30

Wow. If you thought politics was tearing this country apart, I've got news for you. That's NOTHING compared to Christmas music!

After asking yesterday about the appropriate time to start playing holiday tunes, I have to admit that I was a little surprised over the differences in the notes readers sent me. Much like the political views of American citizens, it seems like there is no longer a middle ground, a moderate center. You're either for one side or the other, and there's no hope for compromise.

Who knew?

I received a bunch of notes from nice people who informed me that we should already be playing Christmas music. In fact, one person said she started listening to it back in September, and was kind of disappointed we didn't start playing it back then. I also received a bunch of notes from people who were thankful we haven't started playing it yet. In fact, two of the people in that group said they wouldn't mind if we didn't play ANY Christmas music at all, even on the holiday itself.

Even I think that's a little too excessive!

What surprised me the most is that I didn't get any notes from people in the middle. I didn't get one note from a person who thought this week or next week were good. And while this certainly wasn't a scientific poll, it shocked me that there wasn't one person who was more moderate in their Christmas music views, believing that a few weeks of the tunes was an acceptable alternative. According to the responses I received, you're either in favor of months of the stuff or none of it at all.

Or, put in political parlance, you're either with us or you're against us.

Now, like I said, this wasn't a scientific survey. Maybe there really is a vast “middle” group of people out there who are more “moderate” in their views on when to play Christmas music. But if so, I didn't hear from them. As a country, we've become so divided over a variety of issues that maybe, just maybe, those very strong and very rigid views have seeped over in to world of holiday tunes. I'd hope not. I'd like to think that we still have SOME common ground. But these days, I'm not taking anything like that for granted.

Anyway, thanks for the responses. I'm taking all of them and averaging them together into that mythical “common ground”. We'll start playing some Christmas music this weekend. Not a lot, but just enough to remind you that the holiday is soon on its way. Hopefully, we'll be able to squeeze into a Goldilocks zone that may or may not be there.

Ho ho ho, I guess!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/29

How soon is too soon?

I’ve received a couple of calls and notes from people recently, asking when we’re gonna start playing Christmas music. Usually, we start playing the songs a week or two after Thanksgiving, increasing the frequency as the holiday approaches, but that’s not set in stone.

I guess my question to you guys is--should we play it sooner rather than later, and if we do start playing them sooner, should we be playing them more often rather than less often?

I personally am kind of leery of doing it. I mean, stores are filled with holiday merchandise beginning the day after Halloween, and TV is filled with holiday commercials beginning the day after Halloween. Isn’t that a little TOO much TOO soon? Still, all those commercials and all those sales must start the day after Halloween for a reason. Does that mean people these days (or at least retailers) start getting into the holiday mood a full two months before the actual holiday? Not only that, but there are radio stations all around the country that actually go all Christmas music, all the time, beginning the day after Halloween, and you know what? They score higher ratings with holiday music than they do playing “normal” music.

To me, spending an entire two months on the holiday tends to take away from the “specialness” (if that’s a word) of the season. I mean, if you’ve listened to “Jingle Bells” or looked at a Christmas tree for two straight months, it’s not something out of the ordinary, and it’s not special when the holiday actually arrives. It’s just an everyday part of your life--for one sixth of the year.

That, however, is just me. So here’s another assignment for you as November starts winding down. Give it some thought, and then share your opinion with me—should we start playing holiday music now or should we wait for another week? If we do start playing it, should we be playing it more than once or twice a day? If so, how often is enough? After all, I don’t program this station for me. . .I program it for you. That's why we keep saying it's “Radio Put Together By You”
.

So give it a little thought, and let me know!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 11/28

Have you started to eat again yet?

It’s funny, but every year after Thanksgiving dinner I always swear that I’m never gonna eat another morsel of food again, for as long as I live. You may know someone like that, as well. And if that someone is like me, the promise lasts until, oh, the morning after Thanksgiving, when all of a sudden and for no reason you find yourself poking around your refrigerator and coming across a slab of leftover turkey, a slab that calls out to you like a Lorelei beckoning an unsuspecting sailor. And like that Lorelei, it lures you in without you even realizing it, until it dawns upon you that you just consumed two sandwiches after swearing off food forever.

Or is that just me?

Unfortunately, and through no fault of my own, I don’t know that I’m gonna be able to return to a normal eating schedule any time soon. The reason? The whole upcoming month, sadly. I have to eat open house cookies and birthday stuff and massive amounts of Greek bake sale food this upcoming week, and then probably start making Christmas cookies the week or two after that, Christmas dinner the week after THAT, and then end the holidays by exploding before everyone’s eyes while trying to hold down whatever I end up eating on New Year’s Day.

At least, that’s the plan for the next month. I’ll let you know if those plans change.

******

Speaking of open house cookies this weekend, I'm referring to the Peter White Open House & Winter Wonderland walk on Saturday. One of the reasons I'm going is that Loraine's putting her Gold Star tree up again this year.

It's the tree she stuck together honoring the 244 men & women from Marquette County who died during World War II, a tree that we've put up the past few years but, because neither of us had the time, was put up last year. This year, though, because there's actually an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas (thank you calendar!) we're making an effort to get it up.

So if you're at the library Saturday between 3 and 5 for the open house, make sure you check out Loraine's tree. I have to put the tree itself up tomorrow; once I do, I'll let you know exactly where it's located.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 11/25

So...you survive the holiday? Survive shopping this morning? Finally looking for a few minutes with nothing to do and no one demanding your attention?

Then you've come to the right place.

I myself had a great time with family, and now I'm looking to a day at work when I'm the only one there. I often seem to get twice as much crap done on days like today, so I'm hoping that I make a dent in the pile of stuff sitting on my floor. Wish me luck!

Now, onto another piece of business. If you're like most people, you have about 22 pounds of leftover turkey in your fridge right now. Well, I have a request from someone to reprint a (rather) sarcastic list I came up with a couple of years about everything you could make out of those 22 pounds leftover turkey. So here it is--

Turkey chili

Turkey tacos

Turkey pot pies

Turkey pasties

Turkey casserole

Turkey croquets

Turkey canapés

Turkey jerky

Turkey latte

Turkey nog

Turkey & cranberry smoothies

Turkey bread

Turkey granola

German turkey cake

Turkey & sweet potato jam

Home-made turkey Pop Tarts

And. . .frozen turkey doorstops.

Hopefully, you won’t have so much leftover turkey that you make it to the bottom of this list, but if you indeed have those 22 pounds, there are a few suggestions.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully, by the time it's over, you'll be turkey-free!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/23

With apologies to Matchbox Twenty, I’ve seen signs of people who aren’t unwell, but may be just a little crazy!

It started when I went running this morning. On Wednesdays, I usually run up & down the hills of downtown Marquette for 40 or 45 minutes. It’s a great workout, and I get to use the city as my own personal jungle gym, which is kinda cool, too. It was only when I started running down the first hill that I noticed the snow and ice from this past weekend on the sidewalks, and then heard Loraine’s voice in my head saying, and I quote, “Are you sure you want to do this”?

As happens quite often, she was right (or at least the voice in my head was right), so I ran back up a hill and made my way through the city to the Fit Strip, where I figured I’d do a couple of laps on the trail. Like the sidewalks, there was a little snow on the trail, but it wouldn’t hurt anywhere near as much as it would if I fell on a concrete sidewalk.

Take that as gospel from someone who’s done both.

Anyway, about halfway around the first lap I noticed something in front of me on the trail. Like I said, the trail was covered with an icy dusting of snow--no more than half an inch--but in front of me on the trail I noticed a set of cross country ski tracks. That’s right; there were just a few flakes of snow on the ground, and someone wanted to ski on them.

I can’t say I’m surprised; after all, hardcore cross-country skiers rank just below hardcore mountain bikers in their desire to be out on the trails. And I don’t blame them. As I’ve said before, cross country skiing is the one thing that keeps me sane during an Upper Michigan winter. But to go out skiing on a rocky trail covered to a depth of five or six flakes of snow?

That takes a special kind of hardcore. In fact, that might even take a special kind of crazy. I mean, I love skiing, but I always wait until there’s enough snow to groom a nice set of tracks. After all, while I love skiing, I’m probably not good enough to ski on anything less, and if I heard Loraine’s voice in my head while running down an icy hill, I can just imagine what she’s say if I tried skiing on dirt powdered with snow.

But that’s just me. There are some people out there who are good enough on their skis and who have extra sets of equipment to allow them to try gliding along the snow-covered dirt. And good for them. If I was that special kind of crazy, I’d probably try it myself. But as we all know, my special kind of crazy (sadly) doesn’t extend to feats of athleticism. So I guess I won’t be joining anyone who skis the Fit Strip the next time it’s covered by five flakes of snow.

If nothing else, I’m sure Loraine’s voice in my head would approve of that.

****

Make sure you have yourself a great Thanksgiving. There won't be one of these tomorrow, but I'll have something (kinda) new for Friday. I'll be on the air then, too, if you're bored out of your mind and/or pooped out from shopping. See you then!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/22

So...what is a boy to do?

Those of you who've been reading these for years know that one of my favorite TV shows of all time is “The Gilmore Girls”. Being a fan of incredible writing, I devoured the series when it was first on the air, and will still pop in a DVD now and then when the need to cleanse my creative palette arises. When the news broke earlier this year that a 4-movie revival of the series was being put together by Netflix—with the entire cast and creative team signing up—it sounded like it was heaven on Earth. And in four days, this Friday, when all four films are released at midnight, I'm sure it will be.

Only I won't know. Because I don't have a Netflix subscription.

I've been going back and forth on this for a while now. Do I pay for a subscription just to watch four films along with the rest of the world? Do I wait for them to come out on download or Blu-Ray, assuming they ever come out on download or Blu-Ray? If I wait for them to come out on a non-Netflix carrier, will I have been subjected to so many spoilers that it might ruin my viewing experience? And even if I do get a Netflix subscription just to watch the four films, I have no idea when I'd get the time to actually watch them, which means they might be spoiled by the time I got around to them, thereby rendering my new subscription kind of useless, anyway.

See what I'm dealing with here?

I know; it's one of the most amazing first-world problems in the history of first-world problems. And I'm pretty sure that I'm making a bigger deal out of it that anyone has a right to. But I liked the first six seasons of the show. Like most fans, I felt cheated by the seventh season, when the original creative team behind the series was kicked out. And now, they have the chance to finish the show the way they wanted to finish it with, among other things, an almost-mythical “final four words” that's supposed to wrap up the show in one nice tidy little bow. While I doubt the “final four words” will actually live up to the almost decade of hype (I don't think anything could live up to that much hype), it'd be nice to see how it does end around the same time as the rest of the world, kind of like you would've if the show was still on regular TV.

But it's not. It's a whole new media world out there, and at least in this instance it looks like I'm being left a little behind.

Like I said, I have no idea how or when I'm gonna be able to watch the movies. Heck, I have no idea when I'd actually have the seven or eight hours free to check 'em out, even if I had access to them. And I'm guessing I'm not gonna be able to avoid spoilers, either. So Friday, like the rest of the world, I'm guessing I'll find out everything I even needed to know about the revival of the show, even if I don't want to.

Hopefully, though, one day soon I'll be able to check it out for myself. I'll just have to decide if it's sooner (on Netflix) rather than later (any other way).

(jim@wmqt.com), well aware that if this is the only problem in my life that I am indeed living a VERY good life!

Monday, 11/21

Well. It looks as if I'll be busy next summer.

We've figured out the programming schedule for the Marquette Regional History Center for 2017, and it looks like I'm doing three programs. There's nothing unusual about that; after all, I did four this year. What's unusual is that the three I'm doing are all during the summer, and they're all outdoors.

Good thing I like fresh air, huh?

I'm not quite sure how things worked out that way, but they did. For the first time since I started doing History Center programs—and I did the first one when they started doing them back in 2005 (2005??!!??)--I don't get to be indoors. That wasn't the plan; I went into the meeting with the idea that at least one of them would be indoors. But as it turns out, I'm the outside guy this year. I guess it's not THAT out of the ordinary, when you consider the amount of walking tours I do, but it just struck me as strange.

Almost as strange as the fact that I'm doing the three of them in a two and a half month span.

The first one, in June, should be easy, as it's just a re-do of the bike path riding tour I did earlier this year. Turnout was so good for the original, and demand seems to be high for it again, so that one should be no problem at all.

The second one, the July tour, has an interesting genesis. When we went into the meeting someone had suggested a walking tour of the old docks of Marquette, and had written on their proposal “perhaps Jim Koski could do it”. Well, guess what everyone thought was a good idea? Yup; so that's the second summer tour I'm doing. That one shouldn't be too hard, either. During various waterfront and neighborhood tours I've told enough stories that I should be able to put that tour together in my sleep.

Besides, the dock area was where all the seedy people, my favorites in Marquette history, hung out. Hooker, bootlegger, and killer stories, here we come!

The final show is one I've wanted to do for a long time. It basically involves me showing some amazing pictures I've come across during my research into other programs but have never been able to use. I figured I would tell the stories behind them, or about what was going on in the area around the time they were taken. I had always envisioned it as an inside show; after all, you need to show the pictures on something, right? But since everyone seems enamored with the outdoor, late night shows I've done, it was decided in that late one August Friday we'd do the show the same way I did the “bar” show I did this year, projecting the pictures on the side of the History Center. I was even told to make it PG-13 or worse, if I wanted.

I'm thinking that, just maybe, they shouldn't have suggested THAT as part of the show.

8-)

So that's what I'm doing next summer. I'm actually gonna start working on them soon, so I don't have to waste my entire summer doing research. Because, while I don't mind doing outdoor shows during the summer, I certainly don't wanna be indoors trying to find out what I need to find out. As we all know, summers around here are fleeting enough as it is!

***

And before I go, I have to wish a “Happy Birthday” to my absolutely most favoriteist person in the whole wide world! That's right; the Costello to my Abbott, the Livingstone to my Stanley, the ying to my yang, is celebrating her big day today! So Happy Birthday, Loraine. Enjoy your day off, enjoy your treats, and above all, revel in the awesome-ness that is you on your birthday!!!!!!!!

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 11/18

Since we've been very serious the past few days, and since I have to go shoot “High School Bowl” in a few minutes, let me present to you something that isn't all that serious. Namely, this picture of a cow--

Yes, I know it's actually a picture of a bunch of cows, and that's why I posted it. When we were driving through Normandy and I stopped to take the picture, there were 30 or so cows standing around a feeding trough. I, however, want to put your focus on the cow in the foreground, the one staring at me, and more importantly, the cow lying underneath it.

Why, I wonder, is one cow lying underneath the other. I don't know, and that's why I'm asking. Is it trying to get some shade? Did its mother make it take a time out? Is it involved in some weird bovine game of hide & seek?

I wanna know! So that's your weekend assignment. Figure out what the one cow underneath the second cow is doing. If nothing else, it'll get your mind off the snow we may get in the next 24 hours, right?

Aside from your “assignment”, have a great weekend. Keep your fingers crossed it doesn't get TOO bad outside!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 11/17

Wow. I did not expect that.

When I wrote yesterday's entry about the hate crime that occurred in Marquette, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know how people would respond. But as it turns out, the whole story—not just what I wrote—hit a nerve in our community. Brian Cabell's original post went viral. Several TV stations did stories on the attack. And I had, as of this morning, over 6,000 people read what I wrote, which is almost 20 times the amount of people who usually read it.

Wow.

One of the things for which I'm extremely grateful is the respect and the civility shown in the comments, both on the blog itself and when I shared it on Facebook. I'm always loathe to look at comments sections on the Internet; they're usually filled with such hate and such venom. But in this case? Not so much. People from all across the political spectrum shared their thoughts and their ideas, and not once did I cringe or throw up a little in my mouth, as I might have while reading comments on another site.

So thank you to everyone for that.

One of the comments I received concerned exactly why I wrote yesterday's entry. When I was in the blur of writing it yesterday morning, I never really stopped to consider why. But now that I've had time to ponder the question, I think it has several answers.

I wrote it because I was appalled reading about what happened. I had so many conflicting emotions at once that I turned to the one thing that always seems to help me work through those feelings—writing about it. But I didn't just write it for myself. As I was thinking through it, deciding what I wanted to say, I realized that I had to write it for other people, too.

I wrote it for my niece, whose African-American boyfriend must have to deal with all kinds of crap that I can never even imagine.

I wrote it for my nephew, born four days ago into a world where this kind of hatred exists.

I wrote it for the woman who had to go through that horrid experience in the parking lot, if to only say, on behalf of the place where we both live, “sorry”. I still can't believe something like that happened here. Call me naive, but I can't.

I wrote it for the 500 cases of hate crime the Southern Poverty Law Center has documented in the past week, and for the thousands more that probably went unreported.

And I wrote it for everyone who's been scared, confused, upset, pissed off, or has had their head whirling for the past week and a half. Sometimes it's hard to comprehend what's going on in the world. I don't know if I helped in that regard. I just know it was something I felt I needed to do.

*****

Okay. To quote a great American, “That's all I have to say about that”. Tomorrow, we return to the inconsequential and the trivial. And I'm pretty sure it'll involve cows.  I think we all deserve that for a Friday.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/16

Sorry this is a little late this morning. I had to calm down before writing it.

I was that angry.

Those of you who know me know I’ve been blessed with a very even temperament. I don’t get mad; I don’t fly off into a rage at the slightest little incident. I always look on the optimistic side of things. So when I read a news story this morning, I was shocked at the feelings it stirred up. I was angry, disgusted, and frightened all at once.

And I have to speak out about it.

This is the story to which I’m referring. In summary, an African-American woman, a person whose community ties in Marquette run deep, was shoved down in Wal-Mart’s parking lot by a white man after accidentally bumping into him and was told, and I’m quoting the story here, “I hope President Trump does what he says he’s gonna do! He should send all you n----s back to Africa ”. What's even worse is that several people stood by, watching while it happened.  When I read that I started to feel sick to my stomach, especially that it could happen here, where I live.

The more I thought about it the worse the feeling became.

Part of me wanted to imagine that it could never happen so close to home. This is Marquette, for gosh sakes. If you look at an election map, we’re a big blue island in a roiling sea of red. Some of the most loving, tolerant people I’ve ever met live here. How could a hate crime like that be perpetrated in an area like this?

That’s the idealistic side of me, of course. Having lived here most of my life, I also know there’s a flip side to this situation. I know there are people who aren’t tolerant and who aren’t loving and after the election season we've been through now believe they’ve been empowered to show the world just how they feel. And as much as I would like to think that we live in our own perfect little “bubble”, events like the one in the Wal-Mart parking lot show just how misplaced my idealism can be.

I’ve often wondered why bullies, racists, and misogynists are the way they are. I’ve never understood why you have to pick on someone or hate someone else just because they look or act or think differently than you. Do you do it just to make yourself feel better? Does it give you a sense of worth that you otherwise don’t have? I don’t understand. Maybe someone smarter than me can explain it.

Because I’m at a loss for words.

I wish there was something I could do about situations like this. I wish I could make them stop. I wish I could come up with a magic potion to make hate go away and to make everyone love their neighbors. But I can’t. I’m not that smart and I’m not that powerful. About the only thing I can do about it is to share the story, to let people know what’s going on, and to shine some light on a problem that needs to stop.

It’s not much. But it’s something I feel I have to do. If this happens again, especially this close to home, I’m going to write about it again. So if you feel the need to stop reading these on a daily basis, I understand. If you need to unfriend me, I understand. I’m not trying to shove my political views down your throat.

I’m just trying to understand why there’s so much hate in our little corner of the world.

(jim@wmqt.com)

(p.s.—thanks to Brian Cabell for bringing our attention to this problem. If you don’t read his “Word on the Street” columns, you really need to start).

Tuesday, 11/15

Happy Opening Day! Or, if you’re non-denominational in this regard, Happy Tuesday. Whichever works best for you.

Occasionally, I write in here about bizarre dreams I’ve had (or, like a few weeks ago, strange things that wake me up in the middle of the night). I’m sure these things open a window into my (very unusual) psyche and give you an idea of what it’s like being me. Well, I’ve had pretty much the same dream a couple of times over the past few weeks, and I have no idea what it means.

Aside, perhaps, from the fact that I have a very unusual psyche.

Here’s the dream in a nutshell. I have, for some reason, gone back to college, usually in a city different than Marquette. I’m not really sure why I’ve gone back to college, but I have, and in doing so I’ve taken a full load of classes. The only problem is that I, in my dream, only end up going to one or two of the classes. The other classes I just blow off, even though I know (in my dream) that I’m paying good money for them and that I’ve moved away for the chance to take them. I also know (in my dream) that I’ve had a dream like this before and that my usual standard operating procedure is to blow off a class or two. So basically I’m dreaming about a dream that I know I’ve dreamt, a dream that didn’t make sense the first time I had it and still doesn’t make sense in any subsequent versions of it.

See? Unusual psyche.

I think there are two things at play in this dream, the first being the premise that I would move away to go to college and yet attend only half of my classes. That doesn’t make sense to me; after all, it’s certainly nothing I would ever do in real life. If I ever was gonna go back to college (and especially move away to do it) I’m sure I’d wanna get it done as quickly as possible and as well as possible. I mean, if you’re gonna go back to college, go back to college. Yet there must be something in my brain that made me dream this dream the first time. I have no idea if it’s standard performance anxiety material or if there’s some kind of deeper meaning to it, but I must’ve had the dream (the first time) for some particular reason.

I just don’t know what that reason was.

The second thing in play is the fact that I’ve had the dreams multiple times, and that in those repeat airings I know I’m dreaming, I know I’ve had this dream before, and I know my actions won’t have any real world consequences because, well, it’s just a dream. And I don’t get it. I know that as you get older your dreams become more literal, they become more grounded in reality and your everyday life, but I had no idea that you also become more self-aware about whether you’re dreaming or not. I don’t know if this is something everyone experiences or if I’m starting to mutate into something just a little different than the norm, but it seems weird to dream about having dreams, and to know that you’re dreaming.

I’m sure if I had a shrink she could tell me what all this means, and I am curious, but I don’t know if I’m curious enough to pay $200 an hour to find out the answer. All I know is that if I dream about going back to college and then not going to any of my classes again, there’s a part of my brain that will tell me my dream is just a dream. And that, in the end, it really doesn’t matter if I go to that class my dream wants me to skip.

*****

Before I go I do have to pass along major congrats to my brother Marc and the love of his life Tiffanie, who became parents yesterday of what they're describing as their “Supermoon” baby, Abel James Koski. Welcome to the planet, Abel. Uncle Jimmy looks forward to seeing you!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 11/14

I know I post this every year. In fact, I think I've posted this every year since I started writing these, which was almost 15 years ago. But if you post something every year on a certain day for 15 years, it kind of becomes a tradition, doesn't it? And since this is the time of the year for traditions, it wouldn't be very nice if we broke it, would it?

8-)

Good luck to everyone heading out. Those of us who aren't heading out will try and keep the lights on for you!

(jim@wmqt.com)

“’Twas the Night Before Deer Camp”,

by Jimmy Koski, grade 3.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE DEER SEASON

AND ALL THROUGH THE CAMP

HUNTERS WERE UNLOADED BEER CRATES

AND LIGHTING UP LAMPS

THE RIFLES THEY HUNG

IN THE PICKUP WITH CARE

IN HOPES THAT A 10-POINTER

SOON WOULD BE THERE

I IN MY ORANGE

MY BUDDY IN GREEN

SAT DOWN TO A CRIBBAGE GAME

THE BIGGEST EVER SEEN

WE PLAYED THROUGH THE NIGHT

AND EMPTIED THOSE CRATES

BUT MORNING SOON CAME

WE DIDN’T WANT TO BE LATE

WE SET OUT AT SUNRISE

AT DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT

PUT DOWN A BIG BAIT PILE

IN HOPES THAT BAMBI WOULD BITE

WE SAT AND WE WAITED

AND WAITED SOME MORE

I KEPT MY EYES OPEN

MY BUDDY STARTED TO SNORE

WHEN TO MY SURPRISE

STANDING RIGHT BY A TREE

WAS A BIG 12-POINT BUCK

MY PANTS I DID...WELL, NEVER MIND ABOUT THAT

I BROUGHT UP MY RIFLE

I LINED UP THE DEER

THEN MY BUDDY WOKE UP AND YELLED

“HEY--WHERE’S THE BEER?”

THE BUCK RAN AWAY

I LOWERED MY GUN

MY BUDDY JUST LAUGHED

SAID “LET’S HAVE SOME FUN”

WE WENT BACK TO DEER CAMP

AND HAD US A BALL

SO LET ME SAY THIS--

GOOD LUCK DEER HUNTING TO ALL...

(copyright 1999)

Friday, 11/11

I should've gone to the beach yesterday. Really, I should've!

For the second time in five days it hit seventy in Marquette yesterday, a fact that makes it very hard for one to believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. And it would've been a perfect day to take a beach day, except for the fact that my schedule was a little out of the ordinary this week. Instead of taping TV today like I usually do, we shot Wednesday, which means that I couldn't work ahead a little to take a little time off tomorrow.

But, then, it's the middle of November. Who in their right mind even thinks about working ahead to be able to take a few hours off to go to the beach? I mean, who aside from me?

Of course, today's not supposed to be anything like today, so I'm thinking that yesterday was a wasted beach day. Well, not “wasted”, because you don't expect to have beach days in November. But “wasted” in the sense that a surprise opportunity was there and I wasn't able to take advantage of. But, what are you gonna do? If I kept on edge trying to take beach days in November, I'd burn myself out in the, what, 15 years between each opportunity.

Oh well. At least I snuck out for a walk yesterday while it was warm. And while it wasn't the beach, it was 70 degrees in November. And I'm not gonna complain about that!

*****

Speaking of the “High School Bowl” we shot Wednesday, I don't know how it's gonna play on camera, but I think it was among the best we've done in the 2-plus years I've been hosting the show. It was just loose and goofy and fun; I hope that translates on screen. We'll find on January 7^th (when it airs)!

On that note, have yourself a fantastic weekend. And depending upon where you are while reading this, get out and enjoy some beach time yourself if you can!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 11/10

It may have been just what I needed.

As you may have picked up by what I wrote yesterday, I was heading through the afternoon yesterday with a little gray cloud over my head. I mean, I wasn’t in a bad mood or cranky or anything; I was just kind of stunned by everything that's gone on the previous 24 hours. Then at 4:45 I answered the phone after soliciting an Instant Request, and I heard this--

“Hi, can you play ‘Superstition’ by Stevie Wonder”?

My usual reaction when I get that particular phone call is to imitate Homer Simpson when he drools over a box of doughnuts, and I did again this time. I also threw in my usual line about “Superstition” being one of the three greatest songs ever recorded (which, of course, it is) and had the caller agree with me, which is always a bonus. I then got the phone call ready for air, played it, and started the song.

I don’t what it is. I don’t know if it’s the drum beat, the bass line, the horns, or any combination thereof, but the second the song starts something inside me moves. My toe taps a little, my head starts to nod in time to the music, and this feeling washes over me. Even on a day like yesterday, a day when the world was turned all around, when I heard the first few notes of “Superstition” a feeling that’s a combination of happiness, contentment, and pure funk washed over me, cleansing my psyche of whatever ill was infecting it and booting that little gray cloud back from wherever it came.

The power of that song is amazing. It really is.

The funny thing is that I don’t believe any other piece of music has that exact power over me. There are a couple of songs that I like better than “Superstition”; there are also a couple of tunes that I know are probably “better” than “Superstition”, as well. But there is no other song that has the power over my mood and my state of mind that “Superstition” has. I don’t know why; I probably couldn’t even explain it if I did know why. All I know is that a song that is, what, 43 years old this year can take even the worst day and make it seem all right.

I hope everyone has a song like that in their life. I really do!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 11/9

Okay...I did not expect that to happen.

As I say in here all the time, I'm loathe to discuss politics at all. This country is so ripped down the middle by partisanship that if I were to say something bad about one side half the people reading this would throw down their phones or slam their laptop covers in disgust and swear to never speak to me again. That's not me being hyperbolic. That's me stating the truth. That's why, except for the blog I wrote last week about our next President inheriting a divided country, I try to stay away from politics with the same care I would stay away from a rabid bear.

That being said, I thought last night would turn out differently than it did. I really did. All the empirical evidence pointed that way, in the form of polls, models, and other quantitative data, like an economy that was humming along, the stock market at an all-time high, and an outgoing President with a 56% approval rating. The science and evidence led, logically, to a conclusion. But last night, for whatever reason, science and evidence did not lead the way. What the experts predicted, and what I thought would happen, based on years of being a political junkie (after all, I wrote a speech for a political candidate when I was in second grade, for heaven's sake), didn't occur. Apparently, something other than science and evidence and logic and reason carried the day.

And that scares me a little.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, one of the reasons people get so worked up about politics is that logic and reason don't play a big part in it. Maybe I needed to remember that a big part of politics is emotion. People don't always vote based on what's best for them; pundits will always talk about that when wondering why a certain group voted in a certain way that's against, say, their economical well-being. People vote based on their guts, and they vote their feelings. Its funny; as I get older and (dare we even say) wiser, I find myself using logic and reason more than my feelings and my guts. Maybe I'm turning into a Vulcan. I dunno. All I know is that last night was a prime example of how, once again, I seem to be out of the mainstream. I voted with my head.

A majority of Americans voted with their hearts.

Where does that leave us now? I have no idea, and the uncertainty of it all scares me to death. This morning the stock market appears to be tanking. If I were a woman or a person of color or a gay American or someone who's been bullied or (heaven forbid) someone of a certain ethnic or religious background, these now become very uncertain times.  And from first hand experience, I know that the large majority of people living in the European Union (and many others around the world) are shaking in their boots, wondering not only what the heck is going on in this country, but also wondering what their futures hold, too.

But it is what it is. The American people have spoken, and we now have to deal with the results. We now, in essence, become the lab rats in a living, breathing, political experiment. How that experiment is going to turn out, I have no idea. My head tells me one thing, but as I found out last night, my head isn't always right.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 11/8

Well, you made it. Welcome to Election Day.

Because I know everyone seems to have been on roller-coaster of feelings, ranging from anxiety to disgust, lo these past 18 months, I am going to offer nothing political today. In fact, to help cleanse your palette, I made a very big sacrifice over the weekend.

I spent a whole lot of time outside this weekend in 70-degree temperatures with a camera. No; you don't need to thank me. It was a sacrifice I was happy to make.

Actually, I was astounded by what I saw while out with my camera. Because we've had such a mild and unbelievably bizarre Autumn, there are still flowers everywhere. In fact, outside of the Marquette Food Co-op, there are sunflowers that are just starting to bloom. So with that in mind, and knowing that science shows people actually become calmer when looking at flowers, here's what Marquette had to offer this past weekend to help you survive Election Day.

Marquette offered purple--

And orange--

And magenta--

And yellow--

And a mix of red & white--

And even a rose for good measure--

Marquette also offered one of the most orange trees I've ever seen--

And a few funky things, as well, including someone (or something) getting their yard work done--

As well as a murder scene, compliments of a college party on a warm Saturday night--

Looking at these pictures, it's hard to believe we're now into the second week of November. You usually associate this time of the year with the Gales of November, and not the Beach Days of November. But just like with the election, I think 2016 is also turning out to be a weird one for the weather, and for everything still growing in the city of Marquette. So if you need a break from watching the election results roll in tonight, these pictures will be here.

It's the least I could do.

(jim@wmqt.com)