Tuesday, 7/31

I can finally check my Facebook news feed whenever I want again.

Over the past three weeks I've had to avoid any sort of social media between the hours of 8am and, say, 10pm, the time I finished watching the Tour de France race from that particular day. I avoided social media because, well, I didn't want to know who won that day's race. Call me old fashioned, but on occasion I actually enjoy watching a movie or a sporting event and NOT knowing how it's gonna end.

I know; freaky, isn't it?

At first I thought I could just turn off a few news sources, such as BBC News or any of the French TV networks that I follow, but after being burned on a couple of the stages by people I know talking about what happened during the race that I DVR'd while I was at work, I just decided not to pay any attention to Facebook until I had watched that day's leg and could safely venture back into the real world. And you know what I discovered?

I really didn't miss it that much!

I don't know if that says something about me or something about Facebook (or both), but my life didn't implode because I wasn't staring at my news feed. I don't think I missed out on anything important, and even if I did miss out on something it couldn't have been THAT important, right? So surprise, surprise...you CAN live a life without social media.

Especially if you have something like not knowing who won that day's leg of the Tour de France to look forward to!

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps—remember yesterday how I wrote about being a bit perplexed by not seeing any Nevada license plates during my week-long survey of them, which ended Sunday? Well, guess what I saw TWO of on my walk home from work last night?

Go figure...)

Monday, 7/30

I hope this doesn't mean anything, because if it does, we could be in big trouble.

As you may recall, I spent all of last week being a bigger dork than usual. It was my annual week of seeing how many different state license plates I could come across here in Marquette. I've been doing it during the week preceding Art on the Rocks for almost two decades now, which proves two things—that I've build up quite a data set to compare things year to year, and that I really need to get a life.

REALY need to get a life.

Anyway, this year I saw license plates from 38 different states (and Ontario), which is not a bad number, but it's down almost 20 percent from last year, when I ended up missing only four states in total. That caused me to look back at the data I've collected, and that's what worries me a little—the only other year I had a drop of 20% was 2008, right before the economy imploded and the Great Recession hit.

I'm hoping history doesn't repeat itself.

Now, this isn't a scientific survey; it's not statistically valid, nor is it rigorously controlled. It's just me marking down license plates as I'm out and about for the week. So I could be totally wrong in what I see. But I spent the whole time doing what I do during a typical Art on the Rocks week, and yet saw few states than I usually see. And like I said, the only other time that happened was right before the Great Recession. I'm not saying one leads to the other. I'm just saying that's what happened then.

The one thing I did find interesting was that while I saw fewer states this year, I think I saw more out-of-state cars than normal. It seems like every third or fourth car in downtown Marquette was bearing out-of-state plates, which you cold consider a good thing. I do know that, at least through May, tourism numbers are way up in Marquette. So maybe what I saw was just a blip. While I didn't see as many states as usual, the states I did see were represented in greater numbers (even places like Tennessee, which surprised me). So people are traveling to Marquette. They're just not traveling from states like either of the Dakotas, South Carolina, Louisiana, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, or any of the other plates that went unseen this year (even, for some reason, Nevada, which I usually see in the double digits).

So my week of looking at license plates is over, and I now longer have to swivel my head to look at every single car that goes by. And I'm hoping that what happened in 2008 does not happen again. However, if the U.S. economy does something weird in the next few months, you'll have at least one sign it was going to happen.

Keep your fingers crossed it doesn't.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 7/27

The suitcases come out this weekend.

It's shaping up to be a busy weekend around here, what with the Blueberry Festival today and Art on the Rocks and Outback tomorrow & Sunday. But perhaps the most important thing to happen this weekend will be the annual voyage of our trip suitcases from the recesses of our basement to the welcoming light of our living room.

It'll be glorious.

We actually leave one month from tomorrow, so I'm guessing it's time. For the next four and a half weeks they'll sit in our living room, where we’ll stumble into them many times, and they’ll slowly be filled with everything needed for almost two weeks in Bavaria. Although, if you want to be technical, the suitcases are already kind of filled with many things needed for almost two weeks in Bavaria. If this year is like all the others, when I open my suitcase I'll be amazed by the stuff I've left in there from the last trip. There should be several plastic containers (used to safely transport chocolate and cereal), half a roll of bubble wrap (to safely wrap the chocolate before it gets put into the aforementioned plastic containers), various other non-plastic containers, a roll of duct tape, two unused washcloths, and an unopened package of socks, if I remember correctly.

Throw in a few shirts, some shorts, and a toothbrush, and I’m already packed a month before we leave!

Well, okay, maybe not TOTALLY packed, but with the stuff we picked up at Target a few weekends ago I think we're way ahead of schedule. We usually go to Target a few weeks before we bring the suitcases up and raid their section of travel-sized items. We pick up whatever toiletries, medicines, and personal care items we need and pack them in the plastic containers. Then the last night of the trip we toss whatever we haven’t used and/or won’t need, clean out the containers, and repack them with chocolate and other goodies. That way, we don’t go over our suitcase weight limit and have to pay a zillion dollars, and we get all of our stuff safely home.

Of course, that’s actually worked too well on several occasions. More than once I’ve had to buy several rolls of paper towels to fill out my suitcase. It serves a couple of purposes, though--the paper towels act as a great, lightweight filler, and once we get home, we have the joy of being perhaps the only people in the U.S. who are using strangely sized rolls of French or German paper towels.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be tossing pieces of clothing and other items we’ll be needing into the suitcases in our living room. A day or two before the trip, we’ll rearrange everything, pack it all neatly, and then put our TSA approved locks on them, where the suitcases then won’t be opened until we get to Munich (unless, of course, US or EU security gets bored and feels the need to go through them). And that, of course, is optimistically believing our luggage gets to Europe the same time we do. Unlike, say, two of our past four trips.

So now when we look at our checklist of things to do, “bring suitcases up from the basement” can now be checked off. That only leaves, what. . .28 or 29 things left to go!

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. Maybe I'll see you at one of the many events we'll be attending this weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/26

Really? I thought you guys would've been quite tired of them by now.

I've had a couple of people ask me recently why I haven't posted any pictures of flowers so far this summer. Those of you who read this on a regular occasion may know that I occasionally post pictures I take of flowers, if only because I seem to take a LOT of pictures of flowers. And that's why I haven't posted any recently—I didn't want to bore you guys.

Well, apparently, a few people actually look forward to them. So not wanting to disappoint, I hereby present a couple of pictures I took last Saturday, right after the rain ended and I was looking for an excuse to go outside.. You could still see evidence of the rain--

But I kinda think it added something to it--

Sometimes, the simplest flowers are the easiest to shoot--

And sometimes, they're the most colorful, too--

Except, that is, when you have all kinds of colors--

Or just one big carpet of a single color--

Oh. And it looks like I wasn't the only one who enjoyed getting out that afternoon--

Well, there you go. You wanted flower pictures, you got flower pictures. I guess I'm kind of easy that way.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 7/25

No one died, and the set is still standing. So I guess that's a good thing!

Yesterday's taping of “The Ryan Report” went off without a hitch, despite Don's having a rather non-important guest on, and his then letting me babble for most of the half hour. We talked radio a little (Don having started in radio 60 or so years ago), “High School Bowl” a little, and history a lot, and before you knew it the half hour was up. If you're a serious masochist and actually want to sit through it, it's scheduled (at least at this moment) for Sunday, August 12^th, but it could get bumped to a different date should a serious and/or more interesting person show up.

I'll keep you informed.

It was actually the first time I was at the TV-6 studio since the last telethon I hosted there, and that was sometime last decade. It's changed a little, too--

No camera operators, nice cool lights, and HD monitors all over the place. It's a bit different from shooting “High School Bowl”; more sleek, and without a studio audience off of which to bounce bad jokes. But, at least in that respect, I tried.

You have to see for yourself if I succeeded when the show airs next month.

*****

Today, by the way, starts one of my favorite times of the year here in radio land—the start of our annual “Fairground Frenzy” contest, in which listeners have to impersonate farm animals to win tickets to the U.P. State Fair. I love doing this contest, if only because some people REALLY put some effort into their impersonations, and some people don't try as hard. Either way, I get to have fun with the callers, and that's the most important thing.

So if you're in the area, tune in some time during the next ten days and see what I'm talking about!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 7/24

Go ahead—ask me what I'm doing in a few hours. I dare you.

Okay; I'm glad you took me up on that dare. In a few hours, I'm jumping in Loraine's car and heading out to TV-6. Why, you ask? Well, I answer, Don Ryan has apparently run out of important and/or interesting people to have on “The Ryan Report”, because he has asked me to be the guest on this week's edition of the show.

I know; it makes me laugh, too. On a show that has hosted governors and presidential candidates and business tycoons, this week viewers will be stuck with me, guaranteeing, if nothing else, record low ratings and some of the strangest answers a guest has provided Don in his almost 60 year long career in broadcasting.

It's the least I can do.

I actually have NO idea why he would want me as a guest on his show; he said something about radio and history, two topics about which I know a little, but why anyone would actually want to watch a show about that is beyond me. But he seems to think it'll work out, and since it's his show I'm guessing he knows what he's talking about. I just hope he knows what he's getting himself into.

8-)

Don't worry; I'll behave myself, or at least behave myself as much as I do when I appear on a Public TV -13 pledge break. But as most of you know, I have a pathological inability to be “serious”, even in a “serious” setting like a TV show. I will always be making a slightly left-of-center comment, weird pop culture reference, or tongue-in-cheek statement delivered with the driest wit I know (and trust me, I know dry wit). I just hope Don doesn't mind that.

More importantly for him, I hope the people watching the show don't mind.

I don't know when it's airing; I'm assuming Sunday, but you know what they say about assuming things, right? I'll ask when I head out there, and let you know tomorrow, when I also share the report of whether or not they just decide to delete the show from the hard drive after they see that I'm not their normal type of guest.

With that, I'm heading out there. Wish me luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 7/20

I get to be a dork all next week.

Okay; right now, I know a bunch of you are yelling out “is there a week when you're NOT a dork”? And you'd probably be right. But next week I carry my dork-dom to the ultimate extreme with my annual Art on the Rocks week of looking at license plates.

Yes, I need help. What's your point?

For those of you who haven't been reading these forever, let me explain about the ultimate in dork-dom. For almost 20 years now, during the week preceding Art on the Rocks, I carry a notepad and pen around with me, and I write down every single state for which I see a license plate. I don't know how this started or why I keep doing it, but I do. It's not like the world would stop revolving on its axis if I didn't count the plates, but you wouldn't want me to risk it, would you?

That's okay. And you're welcome.

I have been able to notice a few trends after all these years. Each year you can usually tell in which states Marquette has gotten favorable publicity or a nice newspaper write-up, because you suddenly see multiple plates from a state that in the past has only shown up once or twice. And you can also tell the relative state of the US economy by how many different plates you see. Back in 2008, when the Great Recession was hitting, I only saw plates from 17 different states last week. Last year, with the US economy chugging along I saw plates from 44 different states (plus a few Canadian provinces). I'm assuming there's a correlation there, and with the economy still trying its best I'm guessing I'll see 40 or so again this year.

If not; well, let's hope it was just coincidence and not correlation, right?

So if you see me about next week with my head swiveling around every time a car passes by, don't worry. I haven't come down with anything aside from a severe case of dork-dom. I'll just be looking at every single license plate I see, and checking to make sure it's on the list I'll be carrying with me every single place I go.

Well...SOMEONE has to do it, right?

8-)

Have yourself a great weekend. Speaking of being a dork, Monday the tale of what I'm doing Tuesday!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/19

Sometimes people make me laugh. And not necessarily in a good way.

I notice one of my “favorite” (yes, I'm being sarcastic) TV commercials of all time is back on the air. It's my “favorite” (and you CAN smell the sarcasm, right?) because the tag line for the product it pushes makes my head spin. The commercial is for something called Four Seasons Sunrooms; it’s basically a big, enclosed patio room (with lots of windows) that you build onto the side of your house. I have no beef with the product, and like I said, that’s not what made my head spin. It was this line, used twice in the commercial that, had I any food in my mouth when I first heard it, would’ve caused a spit-take that would’ve put the Three Stooges to shame.

The tagline? “It lets you enjoy the outdoors inside”.

I don’t know about you, but the . . .logic, for better word, of that tagline astounds me. First of all, if you’re indoors, you CAN’T enjoy the outdoors. It’s simple quantum physics--you can’t be in two places at once. You’re either indoors, or you’re outdoors. Unless you’re standing in an open doorway, with an arm inside and an arm outside, you can’t enjoy the outdoors from the indoors. Don’t the people who wrote that tag line understand that? And don’t they know that to enjoy something fully, it has to envelope all your senses? You have to see it, hear it, smell it, and feel it? And you can’t do that to the outdoors if you’re sitting in an enclosed room. You can see it, but you can’t hear it, smell it, or feel it.

DON’T THESE PEOPLE GET IT???

(Yes, I know I need help. What’s your point? 8-))

Now, aside from the absurdity of the tagline, I think the commercial also pointed out something that’s. . .weird with people these days. It’s something I notice whenever I’m out for a walk on a warm summer day, and I see people driving by me with their windows rolled up, air conditioning cranked to the max. People these days don’t seem to want to enjoy the outdoors. They prefer living in an artificial environment. And this sunroom is a perfect example--the commercial shows people sitting in the room, drinking coffee and gazing out at the sunshine and the green grass. Why not just go outside and feel the sunshine and smell the green grass? It’s nature; it’s something we’re genetically pre-programmed to enjoy. Go out in it. Experience it. Sitting in a sunroom and looking at the sun is like, I dunno, hiring two people, having someone film them getting married, and then showing it off as “your” wedding video.

It’s not real, no matter how much it looks like it is.

I don’t know why people seem allergic to the outdoors these days. I know I’m not; you all know how much I dislike cold & snow, yet I’m outside, even on those days when both cold & snow are at their maximum. If nothing else, it makes being outside on sunny, warm summer days that much more satisfying. But maybe I’m weird that way; maybe I’m not as evolved as some people. Maybe the next step in human evolution is toward beings who can only survive in artificial environments. Maybe I’m part of a dying breed.

I dunno. All I do know for certain is if that’s the case; I’m fine with being part of a dying breed. Unlike most people these days, I guess, I want to enjoy my outdoors FROM the outdoors. Not from the indoors. . .

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 7/18

Slowly but surely my voice is returning to normal. And I wonder if maybe, just maybe, I've figured out what caused it to go away in the first place.

Now, let me start off by saying I don't know if this is what caused my voice to go away. I have absolutely no proof that this is the cause, except for some highly suspicious timing. I don't know if this one thing could even cause someone's voice to go away. I'm not a doctor nor a expert on human biology. But since I have absolutely no idea why I lost my voice, this could be as possible a reason as any.

Why did I lose my voice? How about Marquette's new campfire law.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the city of Marquette last year approved an ordinance that allows people to have small campfires in approved pits in their back yards. Before that, you couldn't have an open fire anywhere in the city. Being an urban dweller I never saw the romance of sitting by an open fire, but I suppose if you're out enjoying wilderness, or if you have a big yard where your neighbors aren't five feet away, maybe there's something to it. But in a city?

I dunno. Especially in our densely packed part of Marquette, where our backyard abuts five other backyards. Over the past week, when it's been warm, one or two of our neighbors have had fires roaring almost every night. And even when only one of them has a fire going, it makes the entire neighborhood smell like wood smoke, not a nice thing when, because of the warmth, you have to keep your windows open.

So that's why I'm not a big fan of the new campfire law. Even though our neighbors are doing nothing illegal, they're still making our entire neighborhood smell like a forest fire. It's legal; whether or not it's considerate is perhaps something the Marquette City Commission should've thought about when approving the law.

Anyway, like I said, the fires started on a nightly basis the middle of last week. By the end of last week I lost my voice. There could be absolute nothing to it other than coincidence. That's entirely possible. But a few days after they started I lost my voice, while having no other health issues. I wonder, if you sat down & figured out the odds, how often that would happen. Like I said, I don't know if there's a causal relationship between the nightly campfires (and whatever particulates, dirt, and whatever other gunk is in the smoke) and my lost voice. It's certainly possible that one has nothing to do with the other.

It just seems kind of interesting that one started right after the other.

It's also interesting that there haven't been any neighborhood fires the past few nights, and the past few days my voice has been getting better. Like I said, it could all be one big coincidence. There could be absolutely no connection between the two things. I could've lost my voice for a variety of reasons, and not just because of a decision made last summer by the Marquette City Commission.

It's just interesting the way it all works out.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 7/17

You know, it sure would be nice to speak like a normal person again.

As I alluded to at the end of yesterday's blog, I don't seem to have much of a voice at the moment. I don't know what caused it, I don't know why it's lasting so long, and I really really REALLY wish it would get back to normal.

Really.

It started Saturday night. I was sitting in our living room watching the Tour de France, while Loraine was in the other room working online (yes, we lead exciting lives, don't we?). Because we were both wrapped up in our respective tasks there may have been a span of an hour or an hour and a half where we didn't speak to each other. She then came into the room to ask me a question, and when I answered it I sounded like a bullfrog going through puberty.

It was cool, if by “cool” you mean idiotic and annoying and totally uncalled for.

The stupid thing is that other than my voice not working I feel fine. I feel better than fine, actually. I've been outside playing in the sun and doing all kinds of physical activity, and I'm in what I consider to be maximum “summer shape” (as opposed to say, the sullen, downtrodden “winter shape” that you get when you're stuck in a gray, sunless city for months at a time). I don't feel as if I should have a voice that's almost non-existent, but here I am.

I've reached that point.

Because I don't know what's causing it, I'm trying to take care to make sure I don't pass it along. I had to skip a kid's birthday party Sunday just in case it's some kind of viral thing. After all, you don't want to spread it around, right? I don't think it's contagious; after all, I just can't speak above a whisper and I cough every few minutes because my throat is so dry. Other than that, I feel fine. Like I said before, I feel great. But just in case I have some strange, weird disease...don't be surprised if I turn my head or cross the street if I see you.

I'm not being rude. I just don't want you do get whatever it is I have at the moment.

(jim@wmqt.com), waiting to be able to babble like a dork again.

Monday, 7/16

I wonder if today's the day the streak comes to an end?

As I write this I have no idea what the weather will be like today. The forecast calls for temps in the mid 70s, cooler temperatures than we've been having, which is what made me ponder the fate of our “streak”.

What “streak”, you ask? Well, I answer, here in Marquette the high temperature for the day has reached at least 75 degrees for 20 straight days now. That's why, after checking today's forecast, I was wondering if it'll stretch to 21. I guess we'll just have to see.

I've been reveling in the extended warm streak, as you could probably guess, especially the four or five days when we've hit 90 degrees (and, just for comparison, we usually hit 90 or more only three times a year on average). But I know that, in this case, I'm in the minority up here. I know that there are many people who are longing for a few days in the 60s, for a chance to cool off, and for a chance to dry things out. I get it. I don't begrudge you one bit.

Let's just hope it doesn't last too long.

Now, before you yell at me for inflicting more heat upon you, let me make an observation. Today is July 16^th. If you look at meteorological summer—what weather professionals consider the “summer” season--that goes from June 1^st to August 31^st. Like I said, today is July 16^th, the date exactly halfway between June 1^st and August 31^st.

That means summer is half way over today.

Doesn't seem like it, does it? But it's true. The days are getting shorter. We're now closer to Labor Day than Memorial Day. And in just a mere five and a half weeks—and I'm not kidding about this—the high school football season starts in Michigan.

So while I realize that some people will be enjoying the break in our temperatures, I hope you can also realize why I hope that break's not too long. Before you know, it won't be worrying about what the humidity is doing to your hair. You'll be wondering instead if you need a jacket and gloves or if your snowblower is ready to go. We have to deal with things like that enough during the year. We should enjoy summer while it's here, because if today marks the halfway point of the season for 2018, then our eight or nine-month long combination of fall-winter-spring (where all weather seems the same) isn't that far away.

(jim@wmqt.com), keeping his fingers crossed another “streak” starts soon!

(ps--I seem to have lost my voice over the weekend, and it's only slowly getting better.  So if I sound like crap on the air today (okay, crappier than usual) it's not the fault of your radio)

Friday, 7/13 (!)

Okay. Everyone can stop it now!

Let me start by apologizing in advance to Marquette-area media consumers the past day or two. I didn't try to get myself on the front page of the Mining Journal and on all three commercial TV stations in one day. Really, I didn't. And when you add in all the usual radio stuff that I did, plus the “What's Up” segment that aired on Fox UP last night...

Like I said, I'm sorry about yesterday. I hope your TV didn't blow up, your radio didn't melt, and that your newspaper didn't burn through the skin of your hands.

Why did I live up to my (jokingly) derisive nickname of “Jim Koski, Media Wh*re”? Well, because of the “Docks of Iron Bay” tour I gave Wednesday night. I don't know why this one attracted so much attention, after all, it's not like I haven't done tours or programs for the History Center before. But for some reason, out of the 20 or 21 different programs & tours I've done (so many, in fact, that I've actually lost track) this one brought the journalists out of the woodwork.

I'm guessing it was just a slow news day, and their editors and news directors were getting REALLY antsy. That's my guess.

While I certainly don't need it, at least one of the stories does, through a picture, shine the spotlight on someone who DOES deserve the attention—my human speaker stand, Chicky-Poo. When I saw the picture splashed across the from page of the Mining Journal yesterday my first thought was “Ugh. All you can see is the gray hair on the right side of my head”. But then I noticed that it also showed my dad standing right next to me, holding portable speaker I use high above his head. It's the second time in a month he's done it. He doesn't need to; he just does it out of the goodness of his heart.

So thanks a bunch, dad. I tried to get the Mining Journal to cut me out of the picture and just leave you in, but they wouldn't listen. Sorry about that.

8-)

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. I promise—PROMISE--that I'll try to stay out the media the next few days!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/12

In the past months I've done three tours and historical program. And that, I believe, sets a record even for me.

At least now I get to sit back a breathe.

Last night's dock tour went well. In fact, you want proof?

That's just a sampling of the estimated 140 or 150 people who showed up to hear a dork talk about ore docks and hookers and watch him point out all those little things you may have never noticed that are still around from the era when Marquette's Lower Harbor was actually used to ship out the iron ore mined in the western portion of the county.

Thanks for coming out, everyone. Hope you had a good time. Hope you learned a few things. And hope I didn't talk too much about hookers. I tried my best.

8-)

For the next two months, at least, I'm now tour and program-free. Unlike the past few years I won't be doing a late night, outdoor, stand-up-comedy-sprinkled-with-history show, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. I always enjoy putting those together, although they are a lot of work. There's just something kinda special about joining a bunch of people outside at 1030 on a Friday night and cracking PG-13 jokes about Marquette's history.

Maybe I'll have to come up with a new idea for next year. We'll have to see about that.

The only other program I have on my calendar now for the rest of this year is coming up in September. It is the 90^th anniversary of the construction of the Graveraet School in Marquette, and they're celebrating with a bunch of activities. One of those activities will consist of a dork talking about the history of Marquette schools, Graveraet in particular, at Kaufman Auditorium (one of, I must say, my favorite places to put on a history show.)

But that's two months from now. For now, my month of tours is done. Now I won't know what to do with myself.

(jim@wmqt.com), who certainly DOES know what to do with himself the rest of the summer!

(ps—I know you don't care, but if you have the chance watch tomorrow's (Friday's) leg of the Tour de France. It starts in a very cool place that's a lot like Marquette (Fougeres) and ends in one of my favorite places in the whole country, Chartres. You can bet I'll be glued to every single second of the scenery!)

Wednesday, 7/11

It's another day, so that must mean I'm doing another tour for the Marquette Regional History Center.

Funny how that works out.

Tonight's tour is actually a repeat of one almost 200 people attended last year called “the Docks of Iron Bay”, which traces the history of Marquette's Lower Harbor. It includes two out of the three things that makes it a Jim Koski ™ tour—hookers and killers—but I like it for another reason. I like it because it allows me to play urban archaeologist, and point out to the people on the tour how things right under their noses, things they see every day yet pay no attention to, are a huge part of Marquette history.

I think that's kinda cool.

What I also find cool is that I learned something after last year's tour, as well. It started when Fred Stonehouse asked me about a bunch of pilings in the Lower Harbor, apparent remains of a dock. He even sent me a picture of a non-related event to show what he was talking about--

See that thin white line in the water just to the right of Lower Harbor Park? The line with the lone white boat right above it?  Those are the remains of pilings from an old ore dock. I wasn't sure which one, so I dug out an old Sanborn insurance map from 1897, and saw that the pilings came from the DSS&A dock #4, built in 1890--

Coincidentally, around the same time, my friend Jack Deo had come across pictures of that dock being built, and shared them with me--

Even better than the pictures he had were the notes written on the back of them, notes talking about construction of the dock, notes (with an amazing story behind them) I'll be discussing tonight. Finally, I remembered someone else had sent me a picture of several docks in Marquette, and as it turned out, Dock #4 is prominently featured--

Dock #4, the “missing” dock, is on the left, right next to the Coal Dock (which is now the Thill's Dock) and what was then DSS&A Dock #3, which is now the Association Dock. Weird how this all works, out, right? One person goes on a tour, asks a question, and pretty soon there's a whole new dock to talk about.

You ever wonder why I like to do tours? Well, now you know. If you're interested, it starts at 6 tonight at the Marquette Regional History Center. You'll hear dock stories, a bunch of interesting facts, the story of a murder, and also find out (and see with your own eyes) how the railroads that fed the docks shaped the downtown Marquette in which we now live. If you can make it, we'd love to see you there.

(jim@wmqt.com), who will let you know how it turned out tomorrow!

Tuesday, 7/10

This truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Oh, don't laugh. It's the time of the year where we have warm days, sunshine, beaches, picnics, the polychromatic display of flowers everywhere you look, sunshine (again), and the Tour de France.

Oh, and we have this--

Excuse the fuzziness of the picture; I took it with my phone in low light. But that is a quart of freshly picked Copper Country strawberries, lovingly supplied to me by my loving parents, who know that I'm a bit of a strawberry freak. No, really, I am. When I was seven or eight I went picking strawberries with them, ate everything I picked, and then ordered a strawberry shake when we broke for lunch.

So I really like strawberries. And when I say I like strawberries I mean fresh strawberries, and not those plastic tasting things you get in the grocery store in the middle of January. I don't consider those strawberries any more than I consider the pink powder that constitutes Strawberry Quik strawberries. Nope; when I say I like strawberries I mean strawberries like those in the fuzzy picture above.

Those are REAL strawberries.

That's one of the (many) reasons I love this time of the year. Not only because you can get ”real” strawberries, but because of the fact that at the moment my diet seems to consist almost entirely of fresh strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and plums. I'm not being literal; in fact, I'll tell you about an amazing dish I had Sunday night in a second. But if you were to take a look in our refrigerator right now you'd see all those fresh fruits I just listed, and more. After months and months of eating “fruit” that's either seen better days or was grown indoors, there's just something about eating fruit freshly picked from real soil after being grown in real sunshine. You can't beat it taste-wise, you can't beat it nutritionally...you basically can't beat it.

And that's why it really IS the most wonderful time of the year.

*****

Okay, that amazing dish I was talking about? Well, Sunday was just a little too hot for me to fire up the oven and cook something for Loraine (my usual Sunday habit), so we strolled over to The Delft Bristro. Next time you're there, you HAVE to try their Sage Goat Cheese Alfredo. I don't know that I've had a pasta dish that amazing in quite some time. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't know that I've had a pasta dish that amazing EVER in the U.S. It's that good! The herbiness of the cheese and the, well, sageiness of the sage go together amazingly well, and form the basis of the most wonderful sauce you can think of to slather over pasta.

Have I mentioned it was really good?

So if you're at the Delft, or just feel like grabbing a takeout dinner some night, try the Sage Goat Cheese Alfredo. You won't be disappointed!

(jim@wmqt.com), who gets to give another history tour tomorrow. More on that, well, tomorrow!

Monday, 7/9

Don't blame me. Blame Rite-Aid.

We've been doing “Upper Michigan's Favorite Friday” for over a decade now. For those of you who don't know what it is, every Friday we take a musical artist, spotlight their songs, and then take votes to see which our listeners pick as Upper Michigan's favorite by that particular artist. It's a lot of fun, and it's been a staple of our Friday programming for, like, forever.

When putting them together I sometimes try to take topical events or certain anniversaries to decide which artist to do when. And there are just some artists we haven't gotten to yet, even after a decade of “Favorite Fridays”. So when I read a news story last weekend about how Rite-Aid, the national drug store chain, was playing the music of a certain artist to try & drive panhandlers away from storefronts in certain cities, I knew it was time.

I knew that this week we had to figure out Upper Michigan's favorite Barry Manilow song ever.

I'm being serious. In order to get panhandlers away from their stores, certain L.A. Rite-Aids have been playing Barry Manilow music in their parking lots. And apparently it's been working; the stores that play Barry Manilow music report that there are fewer people begging in the area. It's not actually a new idea; the U.S. military blasted Guns & Roses at the home of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega back in 1989, in an attempt to make him come out of hiding. It worked with Guns & Roses, and now it's apparently working with Barry Manilow.

As to which is the worse form of torture; well, I'll leave that up to you.

Now, I realize that there are a lot of hardcore Barry Manilow fans out there, fans who might take exception to us featuring him on “:Favorite Friday” for this reason. And I get that. I understand it. But think of it this way. At least he's still in the news, right? It's much better than us featuring him on “Favorite Friday” because he died or something, correct? Think of it this way—if his music is successful in driving away panhandlers in L.A., maybe that means it'll spread to other cities around the country. Maybe everyone who has some kind of societal problem they need to take care of (or push off on someone else; that's a discussion for another day) will start playing Barry Manilow. Maybe he'll reach heights of popularity unseen even during his peak in the mid 70s.

Stranger things HAVE happened (and that's not even including the fact that people are using Barry Manilow music to drive away panhandlers!)

So if you were curious, that's why we're featuring him this week on “Upper Michigan's Favorite Friday”. I hope you enjoy listening to his music throughout the week, and I hope you'll get your vote in on Friday. And remember—it's Rite-Aid's fault we're doing it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 7/6

Wow. Do you realize that this weekend is the calm before the storm?

I don't mean it's gonna rain out this weekend; in fact, the forecast calls for warm & sunny temps the next week or so, so (public service announcement here) get out and enjoy the nice weather. Nope; what I mean is that this is just about the last weekend of the summer without something major going on in Marquette. Don't believe me?

Next weekend is Forestville 2018.

The weekend after that is the Hiawatha Music Festival

The weekend after that is Art on the Rocks, Outback, and the Blueberry Festival.

The weekend after that is the UP Community Band Festival

The weekend after that is Ore-To-Shore

The weekend after that NMU's Welcome Back Weekend & the Third Street Car Show.

The weekend after that is Harborfest

The weekend after that is the Blues Festival

The weekend after that is the Beer Festival

And by then, we're in mid-September and casting wary glances at our snowblowers, wondering when they'll be put to their first use for the season. So while there was just a touch of hyperbole in my statement, I really wasn't kidding. This weekend, with nothing major scheduled in Marquette (although Pioneer Days is going on in Negaunee) is the last weekend of the summer with nothing going on. So if you're one of those people who tries to attend every major event in Marquette, make sure that you complete all your summer weekend projects this weekend.

After all, it appears as if you'll be busy until the snow starts to fly.

On that note, I shall leave you. I do hope, though, that you take advantage of a nice weekend to get out and do everything you want and/or can. Like I said earlier, we've had a streak of great weather recently, and it'd be a shame if we didn't use it to its fullest.

It is, after all, summer!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 7/5

I wonder if anyone got the joke?

Tuesday I was talking on the air about all kinds of 4^th of July events going on around the U.P., and one of the events I mentioned was Baraga's upcoming Lumberjack Days. It's a neat festival, something that community does every Fourth of July, and while I was mentioning it and describing what activities were going on, I threw in the off-handed comment that maybe they'd even be singing “the Monty Python song”.

Based on estimates, right now about four of you are laughing. The rest of you are going “huh”? And it' was probably the same when I mentioned it Tuesday afternoon.

For those of you who don't know—and that's probably all of you with taste and intelligence and a lack of love for sophomoric humor--”The Lumberjack Song” is a Monty Python classic. It starts off with a bunch of lumberjacks singing about a love for their job, and then quickly devolves into, well, this--

There. Now that you've heard the song and watched the segment, I hope you don't think anything less of me. Or of the fact that I mentioned it on the radio. But as my favorite comedian ever (Jack Benny) once said, if, in a show of 100 jokes, you can't do one gag that just appeals to you, where's the fun in it? So when I was standing in front of the mic Tuesday, talking about the festival, and the song came into my head; well, let's just say that if the joke doesn't work, we can just blame Jack Benny.

Besides, he's been dead for almost 44 years. It's not like he can complain.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), who will try to be an adult today. The operative word, of course, being “try”.

Tuesday, 7/3

What does it say about me that I'm better informed about what's happening in a small Polish town than I am about some of the small towns here in the U.P.?

Nothing good, I'm guessing.

Here's the story—as some of you may know, TV Jim has a regular gig other than hosting “High School Bowl”(), and that's doing a pre-taped segment (next one taping in a few hours, in fact) called “On The Town” on Fox U.P.'s Thursday night newscast. It's me spending 90 seconds telling people about events that are coming up throughout the U.P. during the upcoming weekend. I usually learn about the events from press releases sent to us, and from a couple of Upper Michigan tourism websites. That usually gets me all the information I need; I say “usually” because it seems like every so often I'll just totally miss something big happening in the U.P.

It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. And after I find out, I'll feel a little shame.

And that's what made me think about the small Polish town of Krosno Odrzańskie, a town that sits about an hour from the German border. Every morning when I look at my Facebook () news feed I usually see a cheery “Dzień Dobry” (Polish for “Good Morning”) and a list of things going on in the town for that day. I don't speak Polish, so I have no idea what's going on in Krosno, but because of that daily Facebook post I know more about what's going on in a small Polish town than I do in some small towns a little bit closer to Marquette than central Europe.

Oops.

I follow Krosno because Loraine and I ate lunch there one afternoon in 2013. It was an interesting place with a pretty river running through it--

A river that often plays a central role in the pictures the town posts. The events the town lists are much like events that occur in small towns in the U.P.--school events, festivals, and community gatherings—and you'd think that if I was as well informed about U.P. events as I am about those in Krosno, that “On The Town” would be a spectacular 90 seconds of television. But because I either don't get the info that towns around here put out, or towns out here just don't put out info, it's not quite working that way.

I suppose I could do a better job in digging out the events that happen in the U.P. outside of Marquette, just as I'm sure towns outside of Marquette could do a better job in publicizing their events. After all, does it make a lot of sense that I know more about what's going on in a Polish town than I do a place like, say, Trenary?

Nope. But thanks to the power of the Internet, that's the way it is.

(jim@wmqt.com), who hopes you have a GREAT 4^th tomorrow. Back with something new Thursday!

Monday, 7/2

Stop it. Just stop it.

I was walking through downtown Marquette yesterday morning to grab a Sunday paper when I noticed police tape up by Phil's statue in the pocket park. As I looked around I saw that someone had tried to remove his hat again--

They didn't get as far as the idiot who stole it back in March, but from the looks of it it wasn't for a lack of trying. Someone, once again, has tried to damage a nice thing the residents of Marquette put up inn honor of one of the finest people who we ever had the chance to meet.

Idiot(s).

Last time this happened, the perpetrator was caught by security cameras outside of the 906 Sports Bar, cameras that look right into the park. Hopefully, that'll happen again this time, and hopefully, that person will be brought to justice, as well. And maybe the signs that say the statue is under surveillance by cameras should be enlarged, so that anyone stupid and/or drunk enough to attempt it again will be aware that they'll probably be caught.

Of course, they're idiots, so maybe not. But we should at least try.

The sad thing about the whole affair was that the previous afternoon, Saturday afternoon, Loraine and I walked past the statue and noticed a family of tourists getting their picture taken with Phil, smiling all the time and reading the plaque that tells the story of who he was. The statue made an impression on them, and became a part of the memories they'll take away from their visit. I'm kind of hoping they don't find out what happened to the statue, so that they'll think we're a community that honors its people, instead of a place that trashes anything we can get our hands on.

Sigh.

As our world seemingly crumbles around us sometimes we have to take joy in the little things in life, such as Phil's statue and the feeling of community it brings forth. To have someone repeatedly try to destroy it is not who we are, or at least not who we should aspire to be. We should honor the people who make Marquette such a great place to live, and show a little respect for the memorials put up in their name. But no...put a little alcohol (or whatever) in some people, and look what happens.

That's why we can't have nice things any more, I guess.

I don't know what the answer is. I don't know what more we can do to keep the statue safe, other than put it indoors. But that defeats the purpose of it. The statue of Phil sits in the one place he loved more than any other. To move it somewhere else just removes the reason for it being there.

But thanks to idiots, that may be the only thing we can do.

(jim@wmqt.com)