Thursday, 2/28

Okay, time for a “Proud Uncle Moment” ™. Did you know there's a third family member (other than me & Loraine) currently on the radio? If not, click HERE and listen!

(Go ahead.  I'll wait here for a second while another window opens up and a Soundcloud file appears)

There, you finished?  In case you didn't know, that's my niece Mallory, who's currently joining her mom as part of the deli crew out at Great Lakes Fresh Market in Harvey. My sister was supposed to cut a few spots for the store, but decided to assign Mallory the task, and she stepped up like a pro. I may be a little biased, but I think she knocked it out of the park.

Maybe she can take over MY job some day soon!

Actually, I probably shouldn't be too surprised. When she was younger Mallory would spend an hour or two a week at work with me while her sister took a dance class upstairs, and I would let her do everything from push buttons to asking some of my trivia questions on the air. So it's not like she's never had exposure to a recording environment. Add to that the fact that, like everyone else in her generation, she's spent her entire life around cameras and recording devices, and you end up with the conclusion that being around a microphone is second nature to someone like her.

Apparently, it is. And it makes me proud every time I hear one of her commercials, hence the Proud Uncle Moment ™ I mentioned before.

By the way, another one of the things at which she excels is the “Message Cookie” that she does out at the market. It's basically a huge cookie (or cake, because she's that good) decorated with any kind of message or scene that the person who buys it wants. How good are they? Well, she's had them featured on people's Facebook & Instagram feeds, so that might give you an idea.

She's just multi-talented, that young niece of mine!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), proud uncle.

Wednesday, 2/27

I think even Phil's ready for the snow to stop--

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

I have to go run over to Public TV in a bit to tape half an episode of the show (yes, that's what we're reduced to now...shooting half a show at a time when the weather allows). But I do have an observation to share regarding something I saw on my walk home last night.

Oh, you know how I notice strange things everywhere I go? Well, as I was hiking up Front Street last night, marveling at the 82-foot high snow banks, I noticed there was a mattress lying on the other side of the road.

Well, okay, technically it was box spring, but when you see a slightly snow-covered mattress-like object on the side of the road, the first thing (at least if you’re me) that pops into your head is the question “Why is there a mattress on the side of the road”?

So why WAS a mattress on the side of Front Street? And no, don’t answer “It was trying to get to the other side of the road”? (See? I know how some of you think) I can just imagine what words were uttered by whoever lost it when they got to their destination and realized it had fallen out of their vehicle.

It's February 2019, I tell ya. It's trying to kill us. Or, at the very least, drive us insane.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/26

It's not official yet, but I think it's pretty safe to say that “The Streak” is about to come to an end.

You may remember "The Streak", that strange little thing where every time I'm running and it's above freezing I wear shorts. It's been going on for 47 months now, since March of 2015, through Decembers and Januarys and even a few Februarys, to boot. Who knew it would take the snowy February of 2019 to finally kill it?

The amazing thing about “The Streak” coming to an end isn't that it was killed by an abnormally cold month; as far as I know, the one way in which February's been average is in temperatures. It hasn't been really cold, but because of the way the systems have been coming in it hasn't been especially warm, either. In fact, it's only been above zero for a few hours this month, and that was this past Friday afternoon when I was at work and couldn't ruin even if I wanted to. And since temps aren't supposed to get anywhere near 20 the next few days, I've come to terms with the fact that “The Streak” is over.

I mean, it's not like it was anything important anyway, right? For whatever bizarre reason temperatures just happen to rise above a certain number on those exact days that I needed them to. If I ran on different days of the week, or if temperatures the one day this past January when it was above zero hadn't happened, we wouldn't even be talking about this. It's almost like one of those streaks a gambler gets on—the cards keep falling your way and keep falling your way and you think you're invincible. Then you bet it all on one hand and you lose it all on one hand.

So my streak was kind of like that, except there was no money involved and a big guy named Guido was standing around waiting for me to pay up.

Because I'm an optimist at heart I fully expect “The Streak” to start again next month. And I'll ride it again as long as I can. I have no idea if it'll go 47 months again. I mean, with the way the climate keeps changing it could go on a lot longer. Or, given the way that climate change seems to be hitting us in the weirdest way possible, may it won't go on at all. I have no idea. I'll just start it again and see where it takes me.

It just won't be THIS streak. So RIP, Streak of 2015-2019. Ye shall be missed.

(jim@wmqt.com), dork

Monday, 2/25

Oh, look. It snowed again over the weekend. It NEVER does that around here...especially 14 wind-blown inches at a time

8-(

In and between the snow and the crud and the SAIL Chocolate Festival (where only about a quarter of the people who bought tickets actually showed up, not that I blame them) yesterday, I managed to finish a book I've been reading for a week or so now. The book, “Girls Like Us”, is the story of three great singer/songwriters, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon. The book was actually quite interesting. Having grown up listening to a lot of the songs they performed, it was interesting to see what they were actually doing in their lives when they wrote and recorded their classics.

It also caused me to pull out a couple of CDs we have buried in our massive collections to re-listen to a few of those songs. And, me being me, I now have one stuck in my head. I've probably listened to it a couple of dozen times since yesterday, and yet (or because of that) it won't leave my brain.

If you haven't heard it recently, let me reintroduce you to Joni Mitchell's “Free Man in Paris”--

I knew of the song as a kid, but I had pretty much totally forgotten about it. According to the book, it's about the life of Joni's friend David Geffen, the then music executive to went on to found Dreamworks with Steven Spielberg. Listening to the lyrics now, especially after reading the book, you can certainly tell that. But what captured my interest, and caused me to listen to it over and over a couple of dozen times, is the musical complexity of the song. The chord and time changes, and the way everything glides from one to the other, actually made Joni Mitchell look for a jazz group to back her up. Most standard studio musicians just couldn't give her what she wanted. So she teamed up with Tom Scott's group LA Express, drafted Jose Feliciano to play guitar and half of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young to sing background, and then recorded the little 3 minute and three second song that's been stuck in my head.

Who knew that reading something could be so dangerous?

Anyway, if you ever come across the book, I highly recommend it. I can't guarantee you'll get one of the songs they discuss stuck in your head; in fact, I hope for your sake that you don't. But it IS an enjoyable way to get through a snowy couple of hours.

Not that we'll ever have THAT happen again...

(jim@wmqt.com), sarcasm professional.

Friday, 2/22

Guess what I'm doing two months from tomorrow?

First of all, kudos if you said “still trying to shoot all the 'High School Bowl' episodes canceled by the weather”. That might be a valid answer, although the final episode IS supposed to air ten days before that date, so I hope we don't get to that point (in fact, I'm off to shoot next week's episode in a few). Nope; two months from tomorrow we're going to Germany to watch a soccer game, and then we're coming home.

As I've mentioned in here before, this down & dirty trip is very unlike anything we've ever been done before. We'll be gone for just slightly over a week, and we're still waiting for the team to announce exactly which day the game will be played. They haven't even started selling tickets for it yet, in fact.

THAT'S how down & dirty of a trip this will be.

However, like all excursions over there I have to work ahead to make sure I can miss six days of work. I'm doing well; I'm doing stuff that I usually do at the end of June, which means I'm right on track. But I am wondering about something. Usually, when we go I do two things—I write blogs about the trip each and every day, and each weekday I send back audio reports that get played on the air. The blogs I'll keep doing. The audio reports? I don't know.

Here's why. Like I said, I only do them on weekdays, and not on weekdays that we're traveling. Because of the way this trip is set up there will only be four weekdays when I could send the reports back and have them played on the air, as opposed to the usual eight or nine. That's why I'm wondering if it's even worth it; especially, the second half of the trip, where there would be two weekend days with no reports, one that would play on Monday, and a travel day without one Tuesday before I'm back here (hopefully) Wednesday. To me, at least, it just doesn't seem like there's chance to build up any kind of continuity or momentum.

Of course, that's just me. Your opinion may vary.

Thankfully, I still have a little time to figure out it. In fact, I have two months from tomorrow to figure it out. And if that's the only item that's causing me a moment of thought in the run-up to this little getaway, then we're (hopefully) on a clear glide path to landing.

Keep your fingers crossed. I have to get over to Public TV 13 now, so have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/21

Now I can tell you the secret.

Remember how I told you I had to write a speech over the weekend, and then give it last night, even though I couldn't tell anyone why? Since it's happened. I can now spill the beans. Last night, I was given the Helen Longyear Paul Award by the Marquette Regional History Center for, basically, walking around and talking about hookers & old buildings.

I guess they ran out of deserving people to whom to give the award.

When I found out I was being given the award last week I literally scoffed at the idea, which probably wasn't quite what they expected. To put me in the same league as everyone from Fred Rydholm to Frank Matthews to Fred Stonehouse to Loraine Koski (all past winners of the award) strikes me as strange. I mean, those people are all heavyweights in the local history field.

I just crack bad jokes.

I'm not big on getting praise or recognition for what I do. I do it because I enjoy it, and because I want to do it. I'm not looking for a pat on the back or a participation trophy. I'm just trying to do my part. And that's why I get a little uncomfortable and start joking about things when something like this award comes up. To me, at least, it's not that big of a deal. But I've also come to know that for the people who pass out the praise or give out the awards it IS a big deal. They're trying to show their appreciation for whatever's been done, and I get that. And while I don't think it's necessary, I guess it is actually kinda cool to be honored like this.

And that's why I made my little speech last night.

In it, I mentioned a line I use at the beginning of every tour or program I do, and that's that I don't know everything. It's true; even the best research can leave vital information uncovered, and it actually gets to the heart of why I enjoy doing this stuff so much. After every tour or every program I'll get people coming up to me and letting me know a story I've not yet heard, or correcting a story I'd previously been told. That's why I do all this stuff for the History Center—so I can share what I know, and so that I can learn stuff that I'd not previously known.

The award is nice, but the knowledge I gain is even better.

So that's what I've been working on the past week. They wanted to keep the award recipients a secret, and I was more than happy to honor that request. So the next time you see me leading a tour throughout downtown Marquette, you can tell yourself it's being led by a (reluctant) award winner.

But an award winner who's looking to gain a few more stories to tell himself.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 2/20

Today looks like it will be a busy day.

I have to go shoot the first of two “High School Bowl” episodes for the week in a few minutes; like last week, this show will be one that airs this Saturday. I then have to go to work and do whatever it is I do there. I may take a few moments to curse Mother Nature, especially if we get the snow that's promised. Then after work I have to go make that speech to which I've been alluding the past week or so.

And do some other stuff that goes along with giving it.

I'm in no way complaining; it should, after all, be a very fun day (except, of course, for the snow). And I've been promised treats after the speech tonight and the other stuff that goes along with it, so that's a bonus. It's just another one of those days I wrote about a few weeks ago, when there are so many cool & fun things going on that you don't have a second to sit back and reflect on what just happened before you have to move on to the next one.

I mean, if you're gonna have a problem in your life, that's a good problem to have. So maybe I should just shut up while I can.

Because I have to scoot soon, I will leave you with that, and with this promise—tomorrow, the full scoop on why I had to write a speech, why I have to give it tonight, and why I couldn't tell you the reason behind it.

Assuming, of course, the snow doesn't get to me first.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/19

Well, I finished writing my speech.

You may recall that Friday I mentioned that I'd have to write a speech over the weekend, and I did. As I also mentioned Friday, I'm not really allowed to say WHY I had to write a speech this weekend, at least not until after I give it later this week. Needless to say, once I DO give the speech I'll spill the beans on why I had to write it and why I couldn't tell you about it before hand.

Secrecy. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?

Anyway, since I can't talk about the speech, why don't I mention one of my favorite things in the world—chocolate? Aside from writing the speech one of the things Loraine & I did (together) this weekend was to make our annual tax refund-funded chocolate purchase from Europe. A box from Belgium and another from Bavaria shall soon be gracing our apartment, and we will be gazing lovingly at the bars and truffles laid out before us.

Needless to say, we're easy to please.

There's one bar, though, we weren't able to order, and it's a bit of a bummer, if only because I just finished eating my last one. To be exact, it's this bar--

It's one of Ritter Sports' seasonal bars from last summer, a white chocolate/buttermilk/lemon bar. Normally, I'm not a big fan of white chocolate. Technically, it's not even chocolate; it's just cocoa butter, sugar, and a few other things. But I do like lemon and I do like buttermilk, so when I saw one during our trip last year I bought it. And now I wish I'd purchased more; the tartness of both the lemon and the buttermilk really plays off the inherent sweetness of the white chocolate in a way that makes you go “wow” upon the first bite.

You usually don't get that with white chocolate.

Unfortunately, because it was a special seasonal bar, we weren't able to order any this past weekend. Ritter only makes them for a summer, and when they're gone, they're gone, unless they're so insanely popular that they get to join the regular lineup. I'm not holding out hope. It'd be nice, but I'm not holding out hope. It was, however, great while it lasted.

And remember—that's coming from someone who's not a big fan of white chocolate. But never fear. I'm sure the stuff we DO have coming will more than make up for it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 2/18

Happy President’s Day!

How many U.S Presidents can you name, aside from the ones in office since you’ve been alive? I’m kinda lucky in that regard, in that I think I can name them all, and it’s thanks to a box of Cheerios. Actually, it’s thanks to many boxes of Cheerios, and the undying curiosity of an 8-year old.

I thin I may have told this story before; if so, forgive me, but it’s kind of appropriate for today. You see, when I was 8, I was fascinated by cereal boxes, what was inside of them, and what was on the outside of them. I would dig through them for the toys, I would save box-tops and send away for items, and I would cut out the games they put on the back of the boxes. When I was (I think) 8, the makers of Cheerios decided, I guess, to try to improve the civics knowledge of little nerds like me, and started to put Presidential trading cards, 4 at a time, on the back of each box. The idea was that kids would try to collect them all, thereby improving their knowledge of American history while at the save time improving General Mills’ bottom line by having the parents of said kids rush out and buy box upon box of Cheerios so the trading card collection could become complete.

At least, that’s how I remember it happening in the Koski household. You could collect the cards 4 at a time, but it always wasn’t a different 4 every time; in other words, you might have to collect a double or two to get a card you didn’t have. And since this was back before Tricky Dicky Nixon resigned as President, that means you had 37 cards you had to collect. So at the very minimum, you would’ve had to buy 10 boxes of Cheerios to complete the set, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that you would eventually have to buy more to actually get all 37.

I don’t know why I was so fascinated by those Presidential trading cards, but I was. Before obsessing over the cards, I knew that George Washington was the first President, that Abraham Lincoln was on the penny, and that John Kennedy had been shot, but that was about it. I soon learned that William Henry Harrison caught pneumonia while giving a 4-hour inaugural speech on the cold, and died a few weeks later. I learned that James Buchanan was the only bachelor President. And I learned that Grover Cleveland was the only President who had been elected, lost his re-election bid, but then came back to retake the Presidency in the election after THAT.

Needless to say, despite what I was learning I don’t believe I ever DID get all 37 Presidential trading cards. I’m not sure if it’s because my parents didn’t want to get a second mortgage to buy all those boxes, or because everyone just got sick of eating Cheerios, but I must’ve petered out somewhere in the mid to upper 20s. Still, the knowledge I gained from reading the back of cereal boxes has stuck with me ever since, as I STILL find politics fascinating, and I still know, somewhere in the back of my head, that most of our first half dozen Presidents were Whigs. Not wore wigs, but WERE Whigs.

As in the Whig political party.

So thank you Cheerios. And Happy Presidents’ Day to everyone.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 2/15

Guess what I get to do in a few minutes?

If you said “Well, Jim, based on everything you've been saying the past few days you get to go shoot an episode of 'High School Bowl' for the first time in six weeks”, you'd be correct. It looks like neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor bitter cold nor ice storms nor closed highways shall keep us from our appointed rounds today. So unless something REALLY bizarre happens, something about which I yet have no inkling, we'll have a show on the air tomorrow.

Whew.

Of course, I probably shouldn't celebrate too much. After all, once today's show airs tomorrow we'll be back to where we were earlier this week, with nothing in the can. However, we have TWO taping dates set for next week, which means that we should, in theory, start to get caught up. But then again, in theory we shouldn't have had six straight taping dates canceled because of the weather, so what do I know?

At least we'll have a show for tomorrow night.

I promise that unless something really weird happens next week I'll stop writing about this. After all, you're probably getting sick of it, and besides, I'll have something else to write about. I can't tell you anything about it until it actually happens, but I'll leave you with a hint--

I have to put together a speech this weekend.

That's it. I hafta go do a TV show. Have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/14

Consider this the calm AFTER the storm--

I took that picture at work yesterday during the brief window of sunshine following the dumping of 22 inches of snow between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. That's right; after I mentioned yesterday we had 16 inches of snow another half foot fell in a few hours.

Ah...just a typical day in the U.P, right?

Maybe I shouldn't have been too surprised, but once the snow stopped the speed with which it was removed from streets was astounding. I know I kinda complained about having to run in streets that weren't yesterday. If I had waited a few more hours to write it I would've written it up quite differently. By noon all the streets, at least here in Marquette, were cleaned, and by mid-afternoon the snowbanks, some of which were over six feet tall, were being cut down.

I know we brag about this place a lot, for various reasons, but after a storm like this how we do snow removal should really be near the top of the list.

Of course, the ironic part of it is that workers spent all day yesterday removing snow from downtown Marquette, only to have to turn around and dump it all back on the streets tomorrow for the beginning of the U.P. 200. If Mother Nature REALLY wanted to help out, she could've given us this snow Thursday night. But no...we got it all 48 hours too early, just a long enough gap to have to remove it all before hauling it back in.

Oh well; that's the way 2019 has been, at least so far.

With any luck, the next one of these you read will be about how I'm heading to a TV studio to actually shoot an episode of “High School Bowl”, unencumbered by cold or ice storms or a record-setting 22 inches of snow. Keep your fingers crossed!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 2/13

Maybe the seventh time will be the charm.

To absolutely no one's surprise I'm writing this this morning because the shoot for “High School Bowl” has been canceled yet again. It's the sixth straight attempt that's been nixed because of weather, and as those of you who've been playing along at home know it was one of two opportunities we had this week to actually get a show produced that can air Saturday night.

Let's hope the streak ends Friday. Otherwise, that hour of static will look quite nice this weekend on Public TV 13.

(And speaking of the weather, 16 and a half inches of snow before midnight last night?  Plus whatever fell after midnight?  Geez!)

I am, however, hoping to take advantage of the quick turnaround by slipping a very topical question into this week's show (assuming, of course, there IS a show this week). I'm hoping something really big and/or really stupid happens either today or tomorrow so I can quiz the students about it. Because we're usually six or seven weeks ahead that's something we can't usually do, and I'm kind of hoping it'll keep those people convinced we actually do the show live that we do show live.

Let 'em keep believing. That's how Santa Claus stays alive & relevant, right?

8-)

Aside from the fact that it's been playing havoc with our TV schedule, I'm also more than ready for this crap to end and end soon. I went running (on mostly unplowed streets) before writing this, and between the snow on the roads and whatever sand had been thrown on plowed roads it was like running on a beach. I usually don't mind running on a beach; after all, it's good exercise, and, you know, you're on a beach. But when I run on a beach in the summer I don't have to worry about frostbite, nor do I have to worry about slipping on a patch of ice under the sand, two things that I did have to deal with this morning.

So given the choice between running on a real beach and running on a man-made winter beach, I know which one I'll choose, each and every time.

Hope you're surviving the latest affront to humanity okay. Keep your fingers crossed any damage it causes is gone by Friday. After all, we have just one more shot at getting a TV show on the air this weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/12

Before you know it there won't be any places left within walking distance.

Many of you know that, if I can help it, I don't drive anywhere. Heck, I don't even personally own a car. If I need something and I can I'll walk there. It's what I've always done. I'm pretty sure it's what I'll always do. But these days more and more wrenches are being thrown into my plan.

The news last week that Shopko in Marquette is closing was a bummer for two reasons. It was Marquette's original “box” store, a store that I grew up with, Just because of that it's kinda sad it's going away. But the other reason has to do more with my lifestyle. If I needed something that you could only buy at a store like Shopko I'd just hike (or bike, depending upon the season) up the Washington Street bike path and get it. Now, once the store closes in May, I won't be able to do that. All the other stores like that are far enough out that you have to drive to them.

And that's not right.

Shopko's closing comes on the heels of Valle's closing, which took away my pedestrian option when I needed a grocery-like item, and Valle's closing came on the heels of Bookworld's closing, which is where I went whenever I needed a gift. I realize that I'm not in any way representative of an average Marquette resident. I realize that I may be the only person who walked to those stores. But in case I'm not, it sure seems to me like there's a huge market hole for a store selling food & stuff in downtown Marquette.

I know I could almost literally keep it in business single-handedly.

Like I've said before, I try to keep my carbon footprint as small as possible. I don't believe in hopping into my car and driving three blocks to pick up a jug of milk. It's not very environmentally responsible, and it seems like a good waste of gas money as well. Yet I'm not really being given much of a chance here. My pedestrian options are rapidly disappearing. I know it's not a conspiracy or anything, but it's almost like every single business in Marquette WANTS you to have to drive to them. For those of us who live near downtown or on the East Side there will soon be no places to go if we need something. We'll all have to hop into our cars, catch a bus, or catch a ride to pick up a roll of masking tape.

To me, at least, that just doesn't seem very sustainable. Or very right.

I know; once again I'm so far out of the mainstream that it's not even funny. Almost every single person out there probably doesn't even give a second thought to hoping in their car and driving the 5 miles and 15 minutes it takes to get to Target or to Meijers. And that's probably one of the reasons that the store I used to frequent are no longer there. That's just the way things are these days. Those of us who walk just don't make up enough of a market to keep these places in business.

I get it. I don't like it, and I don't agree with it, but I get it.

At least Walgreen's is still open. It's about the only store both within walking distance and not on the “wrong” side of a very busy highway that carries most of what I might need. And since they picked up Shopko's pharmacy business, I'm guessing they'll be busy enough to stay open for years. Heck, maybe they'll be so busy they have to open a second location.

And if that were the case, I have a great idea as to where they could locate it.

(jim@wmqt.com), walker

Monday, 2/11

You know, at least the spammers could put a little effort into it.

I don't know about you, but I've seen a marked increase in the amount of spam reaching my e-mail inbox the past month or so. It's actually getting to the point where I have to spend five minutes a day weeding out everything from offers for magazines I've never heard of to promises that I can make “(my) partner scream for hours”, which is something Loraine already does, at least when it comes to reading some of the subject lines in the spam that she herself gets.

I never actually open any of the spam I get; I just click “delete” and it's all gone. But someone, somewhere, must click on the spam and then actually reply to it. I mean, all it takes is for one sucker to justify sending out 10 zillion pieces of junk, right? However, I received one piece yesterday that made me laugh, and I had to open it, if only because it seems like whoever put it together wasn't even trying.

Now, I know almost all spam comes from a country other than the U.S. But it seems to me that the more savvy spammers make it sound like they know what they're talking about. After all, they're trying to reel in a sucker or two, and it's usually easier to do that when you look and sound like you know what you're talking about. Not the e-mail I received yesterday, though. First of all, it came from a company that called itself “Tax Releif” (spelled that way), and had as its subject line this--

“Taxes is our business”.

Like I said, I don't expect much out of spam (aside from the occasional laugh) but anyone in their right mind would know that, based on spelling and grammatical errors, this ISN'T a company that's legit. However, the errors were so egregious that I just had to see from where the e-mail came. So I opened the e-mail, which promised to get me “maximun (sic) savings on my taxes” sent directly to my bank account. And all I'd have to do is sent my Social Security and bank account numbers (nothing else) to a website that ends with a “.ru”. What does that all mean? Well, it means two things—that someone promised to do my taxes without needing to see any W2 forms.

And that “.ru” means the company is located in Russia.

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be having that particular company do my taxes this year. And I would hope that no one—absolutely no one--would get suckered in by such a low-rent, low-quality, obvious sham of a scam. But then that's the thing about spammers and scammers—it only takes one. Like I said before, it doesn't cost anything (aside from server time, which is usually pirated) to send out ten zillion e-mails, and if even ONE person decides that sending their Social Security and bank account numbers to a Russian company will give them a little “tax releif”, then they've succeeded without even putting much effort into it.

I know you're all smart and that you'd never fall for anything promised by spam, but just let me say this—if you ever DO fall for a spam scam, at least make sure you fall for one where everything's spelled right, okay?

Thanks.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 2/8

I am SO over this--

That's all.

Well, I suppose I owe you a few more words, right, especially because I have some extra time this morning because of the SIXTH straight cancellation of a “High School Bowl” taping. Next week should be fun; as I've been saying, we won't have any new episodes to air after tomorrow night, and since no one seems to share my enthusiasm for doing a live show, I have the feeling we'll be busy taping shows starting Monday or Tuesday or whenever we can get some students to Marquette.

Very. Very busy.

Okay. Since I don't wanna end the week the same way I started it, complaining about the weather, just let me tell you about a little encounter I had at work yesterday. A listener came in to pick up her prize, and as I was giving it to her she said, and I quote, “I've been winning things from you since your hair was brown”.

So, in other words, she's been listening for a long, LONG time.  And I've been doing my job for a long, LONG time.

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. If you're in one of those places inundated by the white crap, I hope your removal of it goes well. I myself may be at Target looking for a bottle of hair coloring.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/7

Well, today's another birthday in the Koski family. My dad turns yet another year older, which, if I remember correctly, places him in roughly the same age category as the dirt he’s walking on down in Florida. Now, I think I’ve told every goofy story I can about him and still be on speaking terms, so just let me throw this one out--

I owe my dad $1,000. And I’ve owed him a thousand dollars since I was 9 or 10.

When you’re 9 or 10, you’re at that age when you begin to realize that you’ve actually learned a few things in your short life. When you’re 9 or 10, you’re at that age when you believe those things that you’ve learned mean that you know everything. And when you’re 9 or 10, you often use those misplaced abilities to get yourself in trouble.

And THAT’S why I owe my dad $1,000.

One day when I was 9 or 10, we had driven out to Palmer to visit my aunt. As we were getting ready to drive back to Marquette, I noticed that our car’s gas gauge was dipping down around “empty”. Being 9 or 10, I was convinced that we would run out of gas on the way home, and for the life of me couldn’t understand why my dad wouldn’t stop and fill up. Being 9 or 10, it didn’t occur to me that my dad--who spent had spent his adult life up to that point fixing & rebuilding cars--might know a little bit more about cars & gas mileage than did I. Nope. I was convinced that we would run out of gas just as soon as we pulled out of Palmer.

In fact, I was SO convinced that I bet my dad $1,000 that we wouldn’t make it home.

Oops. My bad.

When we made it home, I realized that, just perhaps, my dad may have known a few things that I, at 9 or 10, had not yet discovered. But since one of the things I did know at that age was that you always do what you say you’re gonna do, I realized that I was gonna have to pay my dad $1,000. Now, being 9 or 10 and not having a grand stuck somewhere in a piggy bank, I wrote my dad an IOU for that $1,000. After all, I had bet him that we were gonna run out of gas, and I lost.

I had totally forgotten about the bet until a couple of years ago, when my dad pulled something out of his wallet to show me. That something, of course, was the IOU I wrote him when I was 9 or 10. For over 40 years he had been carrying it around with him. He never (or, at least hasn’t yet) made me repay it, and never once reminded me that, just perhaps, he may know more than I do.

Now, I don’t have any kids, but if I did, I know what kind of dad I’d be. I’d be the kind of dad who makes goofy bets with my kids, and the kind of dad who then carries around an IOU for over four decades years after winning said goofy bet. After all, I have a sneaking suspicion that that goofy bet and that goofy IOU are worth more than a thousand dollars, even after compound interest. And THAT’S the kind of dad I’d want to be.

Have a great birthday, dad. And make sure you share some of your cake with the dirt that's approximately the same age!

8-)

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday 2/6

You know, I wasn't gonna write about the weather again today, but then I walked three blocks to work this morning and noticed that the ice is still EVERYWHERE.

Don't believe me? I don't think you can pass a tree branch that's not coated with the stuff--

Even on signs--

Even on my favorite lilac tree--

48 hours after the storm, it's still everywhere!!

And since it's supposed to be below freezing the next couple of days, I wouldn't be surprised if we're still looking at this stuff throughout the weekend, a reminder of just how weird & wacky our 2019 has been so far.

This, however, is the last day this week I write anything about the weather. I promise. Tomorrow, in fact, comes the story of how I've owed someone a thousand bucks since I was 8 or 9 years old.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/5

Is this ever gonna end?

I know it may seem like I enjoy complaining about the weather, but really, I don't. It's not like I enjoy spending all my waking hours cursing the weather and wondering what's coming up next. But that's literally all I've been doing the past 24 hours.

So stop already, Mother Nature!

Yesterday was just a giant clustermunch of weather. It started off with that ice storm that shut down the entire city of Marquette (except those of us who have to work when everyone else can't), then switched into a snow storm, then added the wonderful little bonus of temperatures falling to below zero for most of the area overnight. I mean, is there anything else that can happen?

If you're curious I'm putting my money on a plague of locusts.

I don't know that we should really be surprised by the insane weather of the past week and a half. After all, it IS winter in the U.P., and with the ongoing change of the planet's climate scientists said that weather events would become more and more extreme...like temperatures of 20 below Friday morning followed by a massive ice storm 72 hours later. This is our new normal, apparently. So maybe I have an answer to the question I posed at the beginning of this piece--

Maybe it never WILL end.

To no one's surprised we're also not gonna have a “High School Bowl” taping this morning. Two of the teams are supposed to come from Hurley & Menominee, and I don't blame them at all for not even wanting to try to make it to Marquette. Like I mentioned yesterday I'm not quite sure when we'll be making all of these canceled (and canceled yet again) shows up, but I have the feeling we may end up doing them piecemeal...tape half a show on a Monday morning and the other half on a Wednesday night. At least they'll get done that way.

Assuming, of course, we just don't chuck it all and do those live shows I keep writing about. After all, and somewhat ironically, the only time we seem to have good traveling conditions around here is ON a Saturday night. So who knows.

I look forward to the day when I no longer have to spend this whining about the weather. I'm hoping that day comes sooner rather than later, but I'm enough of a realist to know that may not be realistic.

But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

(jim@wmqt.com)

(ps--Happy birthday, Syd.  Please send some Florida sun & warmth back to your Uncle Jim!!)

Monday, 2/4

So...who won the game last night?

I mean, I say that in jest. I KNOW who won the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever, despite the fact that I haven't watched it yet. Instead, our pizza & “Jurassic Park” marathon went quite well.  And it was a joy.  Every time I saw a dinosaur munch on someone I imagined that that someone was Tom Brady.

And a LOT of people got munched in that movie.

I know I spent most of last week mentioning all the things that were affected by the insanely cold weather that we had to suffer through for a week and a half, and I thought I'd just provide an update on one and provide a heavy case of irony for the second. First of all, it looks like we may get back on track in shooting “High School Bowl”. As you may recall we have ONE episode left that hasn't aired yet, and I was (kinda seriously) joking about having to do one live. As it turns out, that won't be happening. We're shooting one episode tomorrow (weather permitting, which I'll get to in a moment) and two of them on Friday, which means that we'll be back on schedule. I've never shot two episodes (or four games) in one day; hopefully, my voice will hold up.

But it should be fun.

Now, onto the heavy case of irony. You know how the past week and a half have just been BRUTAL as humanly possible? That's a rhetorical question; of course you know, if for no other reason that I've been complaining about it so much. Well, when I woke up to go running this morning I checked the weather and in the process noticed every single school in Marquette County is closed.  It's not cold--in fact, it's 30 degrees here--but we're also having a major bout of icy rain at the moment.  It's not good for running, I can tell you that.  Going down hills it was like I was skating more than I was running, so I can see why all the schools are closed again.  Still, at the same time it's making my head spin at the almost 50 degree change in morning temperatures since we last spoke..

Yup. Last time I typed one of these it was ten below, now it's 31 above. Who said 2019 hasn't been a weird year so far?

On that note, I really have to get going to work so I can work far enough ahead that shooting three episodes of “High School Bowl” this week won't be a pain. (Assuming, of course, there IS one tomorrow because schools are closed again).  If that's not a First World problem, I don't know what is!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 2/1

Well, look. For the third time in eight days I won't be taping an episode of “High School Bowl” this morning. I guess my dream of doing a show live is just a little closer to reality.

8-)

Speaking of live TV for the second year in a row I will not be watching the Super Bowl this year. Like last year I'm not boycotting it because of players and their social concerns or because of officials and their non-calls; nope, this year I'm boycotting it for the same reason I boycotted it last year.

Because the evil Tom Brady is playing in it.

As a long time Indianapolis Colts fan you can just imagine the relationship I have with the evil one; he's given me enough heartache and caused enough nightmares over the years. So last year, in an effort to save my sanity, my dear wife suggested that I DVR the game and the two of us instead spend our Super Bowl Sunday evening eating pizza and watching “Star Wars” movies. That way, if he did win yet another one I could just ignore it. We ended up having a blast, made even better by the fact that Philadelphia beat the evil Tom Brady and the evil New England Patriots. The next day I scanned through the game, stopping to watch the plays where he was picked up like a rag doll and thrown into the ground.

By the way, have I mentioned I don't like Tom Brady?

Since it worked so well last year we're gonna do it again this year. We even considering expanding it a little, by watching a “Star Wars” movie and then the new “Jurassic World” movie, which I was given as a Christmas gift. Then every time a dinosaur munches on a human I can just imagine it's munching on the evil Tom Brady instead.

It'll be fun.

I hope your weekend is spectacular (and warm, or at least above zero). If you do watch the game, enjoy it, and go Rams. And just think—the evil Tom Brady's gonna have to retire one of these years, and then it'll be safe to lay eyes on the Super Bowl again!

(jim@wmqt.com)