Friday, 5/28

If for no other reason than the way the weather's been the past two days it’s hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend in here, but it is, and that means three things--

The first is that it’s the beginning of “summer”. As we've been joking, summer seems to be popping in for a day or two and then running away in terror. Hopefully, whatever we're doing to scare it away will stop, and we can enjoy a few days of 80 degree temperatures and NOT have them followed by a 38 degree day (yesterday, I'm looking at YOU!)

Secondly, it means Loraine's parents will be visiting for a few days, and that's always a fun thing, especially we haven't seem them in person for almost two years and we get to show them all the ways in which Marquette has changed since their last visit.

And that's a lot.

Finally, the fact that it’s the Memorial Day weekend means that we’re s’posed to devote a little thought to those people for whom this weekend was designed, the people who paid the ultimate price so we can live the way we live.

Here’s the story of one of them. It's a story I've told a few times before, but I think it's perfect for this weekend.

Buried under a birch tree in Marquette’s Park Cemetery, not far from the Kaufman Mausoleum, lies a young man named Ralph Ellis. Ralph was a native of L’Anse who came to Marquette in the late 1930’s to attend classes at Northern Michigan College of Education (now, of course, NMU). While at Northern, Ralph played on the football team and joined a fraternity, and fell in love with a local girl named Margaret Kepler.

Just before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Ralph was drafted into the U.S. Navy, and became an aircraft test pilot stationed in California. Every chance he could, he came back to Marquette to visit Margaret and her family. They became engaged in late 1942, and in June of 1943, Margaret and her mother took the train out to the West Coast, where Ralph was still test-flying new Navy planes. On July 1^st, 1943, Ralph and Margaret were married, and took off on a week-long honeymoon to Yosemite. After their return, Ralph returned to duty as a test pilot. His first day back, July 9^th, 1943, he was killed when the plane in which he was flying crashed.

He and Margaret had been married 8 days.

Margaret and her mother, who were still in California, had Ralph’s body brought back to Marquette with them, and buried in Park Cemetery. In fact, if you ever find Ralph Ellis’ headstone, you’ll find he’s buried right next to his in-laws, Mr. & Mrs. F.J. Kepler. For her part, Margaret was married—and widowed—twice more before passing away in 2001.

There are many stories like that in cemeteries across Upper Michigan; if you have a few moments this weekend, and it’s actually nice outside, maybe go for a stroll in one of them, and say “thanks” to all those we’re supposed to honor this weekend. I have feeling that's one of the things we'll be doing, as well.

So on that note, have yourself a great 3-day weekend. I'm sure Ralph would want you to.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/27

If you see two pieces of bread lying around they're probably mine.

In yet another entry of our ongoing “Jim is an Idiot” program I brought part of my lunch to work yesterday. I had some leftover turkey already at the station, and in order to make one of my favorite sandwiches ever—turkey--all I needed was the bread. When I woke up yesterday morning I stuck the two slices of whole wheat in a sandwich bag, threw them into my back pack, and then took the bag out when I got to work so the bread would be ready to eat when the time came.

That was the last I saw of it..

I then spent waaaaay too much time I didn't have searching for the bread, to no avail. I retraced every place in the station I had been, and didn't find the bread. I tore every single thing out of my back pack, and didn't find it. I even went outside and asked my co-workers, the seagulls, if they took my bread, but to no avail.

So I went home, got more bread, and finally ate my lunch. But I still have no idea where the original bread went.

This is weird, and, perhaps, just a little bit unnerving. I had a sandwich bag with two pieces of bread when I walked into the station yesterday. I know that because I took the bag out of my backpack. But where the bread went after that...I'm at a loss. It has to be somewhere—things just don't disappear—but I have no idea where. Did I knock it down somewhere between the cracks and just not notice? Did I accidentally drag it somewhere, not to be found until it turns moldy and starts to stink up the joint? Did the tap dancers practicing above my office shake the place so much that the bread just disintegrated?

I have no idea. I just know that a sandwich bag containing two pieces of whole wheat bread is missing, and where it went I haven't a clue. So if you happen to come across that bag, you know to whom it belongs.

Sigh...

(jim@wmqt.com), an idiot.

Wednesday, 5/26

 I've probably devoted waaaaaaaay too much thought to this.

While walking to work yesterday (and stopping at every lilac tree to sniff and feed the addiction I have to them) I thought back to something I babbled about on the air a few weeks ago.

After playing Elton John's “Philadelphia Freedom”, I off-handedly mentioned that it was (at least in my opinion) one of the five best Elton John songs ever. I don't know why, but the off-handed comment stuck with me, and because my brain is, well, my brain, it has gone gaga over that comment, forcing me to sit down and figure out what I think are the best five Elton John songs ever.

And now you get subjected to them, in chronological order--

YOUR SONG--

This song was released when I was in grade school and too young to really understand music, but even then I knew there was something special about it. All these decades later, and my opinion has not changed one bit.

LEVON--

I'm a sucker for really good string arrangements. There's nothing else to say about that.

DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME--

See the comment I made about “Levon”. And then add in the fact that 60 percent of The Beach Boys and 50% of The Captain and Tennille sing background vocals on the tune, and it turns into this big melange of 70's pop culture. Besides, I think it was the only Elton John song that was remade into a number one tune for someone else, all while still featuring Elton John singing on it--

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM--

Like I said, the song that started this whole stupid mental exercise. I grew up listening to Philly Soul, and this homage to that particular musical style has been one of my favorites for 40 years now.

Finally...

MAMA CAN'T BUY YOU LOVE--

You know how I said I grew up listening to Philly Soul? Elton John was obviously a fan as well, as he recruited Philly Soul writer and arranger Thom Bell to produce the song, who then brought Philly Soul legends The Spinners to sing background vocals on it. I'm sure everyone else would disagree with me on it, and I'm the first to admit that I'm certainly biased, but this tune vies with “Your Song” as the one song that I would say is Elton John's best.

There you go. Now let's hope my brain puts the subject to rest. Otherwise, tomorrow you may have to put up with another totally random and bizarre top five list (the top five all time best colors for Frisbees?), and NO ONE deserves that!

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 5/25

 I could actually live with a schedule like that.

We've had weird & wacky weather recently—86 on Saturday, 41 on Sunday, & 64 yesterday. Now it's supposed to be 80 today, 44 tomorrow, and 65 Thursday. I know it's just a coincidence, but there is a pattern developing—one really hot day, one really cold day, and one normal day. The more I think about that, the more I come to a conclusion--

That might not be a bad way to spend a summer.

I mean, think about it. If we could guarantee that pattern—one hot day, one cold day, and one normal day—throughout the summer, that would kill several birds with one stone. If you're someone who craves heat, like me, you'd know which days you could take off from work and enjoy it. If you're someone who gets overwhelmed by the heat, you'd know that the next day you could cool things down. And then for everyone else there would be a normal summer day.

It's almost like it would be a win-win-win.

Now, obviously, I realize that would never happen. I realize the pattern we're in is just an anomaly. I also realize that if our weather ended up repeating the same pattern over and over that 1). we've really screwed our climate up, or b). someone's developed a weather control machine and just forgot to tell the rest of us.

Either way, that wouldn't be good.

We'll have to see how things go. If the pattern holds the weather should be very hot, but looking at the forecast it's, uhm, not. But there are still a few days to go. Who knows? Maybe Mother Nature likes falling into a routine. After what we've been through the past 15 months, nothing at all would surprise me.

Nothing at all.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/24

 I don't remember taking the picture.

That probably shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years. But when Facebook reminded me I posted a picture five years ago, I didn't remember posting it. And, for the life of me, I didn't even remember taking it.

And with the way the picture looks, you think I would have remembered it--

It seems like every May I go out and take shots of the recently bloomed flowers. I usually remember doing it and I usually remember the pictures I take. However, this particular shot from 2016—in fact, all the pictures I took that day—seem to have slipped my mind.

And that should NEVER happen with pictures taken of flowers on a warm spring day. It's bordering on the sacrilegious.

Of course, that also made me realized I haven't gone out for the past couple of springs and taken pictures of blooming flowers. 2019 was a cold spring, and 2020, aside from being cold itself was, you know, 2020. So it's been a couple of years. It's a habit I should really get back into. Maybe if I find some time in the next couple of days I'll grab a camera and head out to see what I can see.

After all, if nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to pay a visit to my new little friends.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 5/21

 Thirty seven degrees in one day? They can't be serious, can they?

Unfortunately, it's the UP. They're VERY serious.

If you look at the weather forecast to plan your upcoming weekend, you will notice that, to borrow and paraphrase a phrase, it'll be the best of times, and it'll be the worst of times. Saturday, it's supposed to be mostly sunny with a high of 80. A front then moves through Saturday night, which means that Sunday we'll have cloudy skies, rain, and a high of 43.

It'll be 37 degrees colder Sunday than it's supposed to be Saturday. Wanna guess which day I'll be outside playing?

8-)

In the UP we're used to Mother Nature's mood swings, although perhaps not to this (pardon the pun) degree. We should probably get used to it, though, because as climate change accelerates the weather gets stranger and stranger. Maybe in a couple of years a thirty degree swing won't seem like a big thing.

THAT should be an interesting time in which to live.

No matter what you're doing this weekend, whether it's on the warm day or the cold day, I hope you have a blast. I have a feeling I know how I might be spending a little of my time.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/20

 I have no idea how it's going to turn out.

I've mentioned in here before how I have the first Jim Koski ™ History Center walk since last decade coming up in just under two weeks. It's the walking version of “Third Street: Day & Night” that I was supposed to do last year when Covid decided to kick us in the you-know-whats. I ended up making a video about it. So this is the...what? Walk-turned-video-turned-walk again?

Something like that.

I'm hoping it goes off without a hitch. From what I've noticed there seems to be a whole lot more interest in this than in a lot of things I've done. I don't know if that's a function of not having done one for two years, of interest from the video, or of just pent-up demand for something—anything--to do, but it looks like it should be popular.

I just hope we're able to do it safely.

This is the only walk the History Center and I have on the schedule for this summer. Because we had no idea how things were going to turn out we didn't want to over-promise. But since restrictions are being lifted rapidly in Michigan and since there seems to be a pent-up demand, if (and that's a big “if”) Third Street goes well in a couple of weeks I'm going to be doing a couple of “pop-up” tours throughout the summer.

Here's the deal—if I notice the weather's gonna nice one evening, and if I don't have anything else going on, I'll give a tour I've already given, like “The Docks of Lower Harbor” or “And Put Up A Parking Lot” or even the bike tour. If five people show up, cool. If 100 people show up, even better. I've already done all the work, and there are few things I enjoy more than walking around Marquette on a warm summer night babbling about stuff. So for me it's a win-win, especially if I can make a few extra bucks for the History Center.

But like I said. It all depends upon how Third Street goes in 13 days. And if the early signs are any indication, I think it'll go well.

We'll just have to see!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 5/19

 I'm gonna have to maim you if you ever repeat what I'm about to say, but I really like my bifocals.

I know; it makes no sense to me, either. I complained quite a bit when I was told I needed them a few years ago. After all, bifocals are something “old” people wear, and coming from a family that's quite averse to aging, the bifocals seem almost antithetical. But when I run (like in the rain this morning) or work out I wear the glasses I had before I got my bifocals, and I've noticed something recently.  When I try to use them to read something off of my phone or see something clearly while I'm dashing up & down the street, I've noticed that they don't work quite as well as my bifocals.

To quote my friend Deanna...”shoot me now”.

8-)

Until the past few years the only problem with my eyes was that things were blurry far away. I could see just fine looking at things that were close up. But apparently, as mere mortals age, our eyes become less elastic and it's harder to see close up without assistance. It's hard for me to admit, but apparently I'm living proof of that. So the old glasses I occasionally use correct my vision far away just fine; after all, that part of me has remained constant over the years. But when I try to read something or glance at my phone while wearing these old glasses, I just can't look down at the bottom of them and clearly see what I'm reading, like I do with my bifocals. Nope. I temporarily have to act like an old person and hold the reading material at half an arm's length; otherwise, it's just a slightly fuzzy blur of text, pictures, and colors.

It seems as if I have become the person I used to (jokingly) mock. Karma, I hope my derriere doesn't hurt your teeth too much.

Actually, reading a book isn't that bad. Like I said, I just need to adjust my arms a little. It's looking at a computer screen that's the problem. Just out of curiosity, I threw the old pair on this morning to write this and it was, shall we say, interesting. I had to lean into the screen just to see what I was typing or what I was touching. I did my best, but I would just like to say right now that if there are any spelling errors in today's entry, it's not my fault.

It's the fault of my ding-dang eyes.

Thankfully, I do not have to deal with this problem if I don't want. Thankfully, I can put my old glasses away and throw on my bifocals. I'll just try not to think about how much of a hypocrite I've become in my old age.

You know, the kind of hypocrite who actually like his bifocals

****

Before I go, here's what they looked like at 9:40 am this morning--

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

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 5/18

 It's nice to know I was wrong about something.

It was a glorious day in Marquette yesterday...sunny and 80, a nice little sneak peak at what (we hope) the next three months hold. Needless to say, I was in and out of work quite a bit, and it was when I was outside of the station eating lunch that I noticed I was thankfully wrong about something.

Our smiles haven't disappeared.

Last year in the middle of the pandemic, when everyone was just starting to mask up, I wondered what would happen to all the smiles you get when you walk past someone. It's one of the great things about Marquette, home to some of the friendliest people on the planet. When you walk past someone, you get a smile and a “good morning” or some other kind of greeting. When we all had to mask up we lost that, and last year around this time I wondered if we would ever get it back.

I can report, thankfully, that we did.

Like I said, I was eating lunch outside and had a dozen or so people walking by. All of them smiled at me; several people, some I knew and some I didn't know, stopped for a second to chat. The one thing they all had in common, at least those who weren't masked?

A big smile.

Talking to one of the people I did know, she said she's been having the same problem I have—that it feels strange not to be wearing a mask. But we both got vaccinated (among other reasons) so we could shed them, and while it is a strange feeling it's a great feeling, like we've finally turned some sort of mythical corner in the fight against 2020. I don't know if that accounted for the smiles I saw, I don't know if the warm weather accounted for them.  Heck--for all I know we've been smiling at other people this whole time and just couldn't see them because we were protecting the health of our fellow humans.

No matter what the reason, it's just nice to know the smiles are back. And after 14 months of not really seeing them, it's a comforting feeling that one of the things for which Marquette is known didn't disappear after all.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/17

 I wonder if I'll feel naked for the first few days?

The weekend lifting of the state of Michigan's mask mandate for vaccinated people is a welcome step in the return to normalcy from the past year of wackiness. Setting aside the problem of not knowing which mask-less people have been vaccinated and which haven't and are just bending the rules because they can, it'll be nice to see smiles again.

And it'll be even nicer not to have to search your pockets to make sure you have your mask with you before going somewhere.

Still...it's been over a year that we've been wearing masks, and in that time we've gotten used to them. I continued to wear one when I went to a couple of stores on Saturday (out of habit and out of concern and respect for people who haven't yet been vaccinated) but I'm thinking that that won't be happening a lot in the future. The first time I go into a room or a store with other mask-less people, will I welcome the liberation of it all, or will I feel like I forgotten to put on my pants? As humans, we adapt to new things quickly, and they become part of our routine. Like you, I've become used to wearing a mask in public.

Now do I have to become used to not wearing one?

If I do (and knowing me, it will seem strange for a bit), I wonder if it'll take as long as it did for me to become used to wearing a mask. I'm hoping not, if only because almost all of my life I didn't wear one. It's the default way we've lived. So hopefully within a day or two being without a mask will seem normal. However, we've worn them the past year to (literally) save our lives. Has that rewired our brains so quickly that masks have become our new normal? I don't think so and I certainly don't hope so.

However, the human brain is a funny thing. We shall have to see.

Hopefully (and as long as you're vaccinated) you won't have a problem returning to normal. But if it does seem strange for the first couple of days, don't worry.

You won't be the only one with that problem.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 5/14

I find myself getting awoken earlier and earlier every morning. But I've decided I'm not gonna complain about it.

I usually sleep pretty soundly in the morning. In fact, it's when it seems I get my best REM sleep, which may account for why I have trouble functioning during the first part of the day. I'm still trying to rouse my body from a very deep level of unconsciousness. But I notice that I seem to be sleeping less soundly in the morning recently, and it's not because of people or sounds or the rumbling of street sweepers.

Nope. The early sunrise is waking me up.

It's not a jolting wakeup like you get from 3am phone call or a 7am alarm going off. Nope, it's a gentle wakeup call. It's a wake-up call where your mind gradually becomes aware that there’s something out there, and it keeps nudging you closer and closer to consciousness to find out what that something is, until you eventually wake up, and realize that for the first time in so long you can’t remember you’ve been welcomed into your day by sun bouncing off of nearby houses, sun that for the past few months hasn't even risen when you wake up.

And since it would be anathema to everything for which I stand to complain about the sun, I'm not gonna.

I usually don't get back to sleep after the sun wakes me up, and for some strange reason my body and my mind don't seem to care. I don’t know if it was because my body's just naturally adapting to the circadian rhythms of the sun or if was the way in which my alarm clock for the day was so gentle in doing its job, but I seem to bound into my days in a very strange way, at least for me—not dead. In fact, on a couple of days, I've actually had energy and a willingness to face whatever's coming my day. There's no lethargic wandering around, trying not to bump into things. There was no sitting on the couch, staring at the wall for two hours while trying to summon enough energy to actually get off the couch. Nope...the sun, while waking me up early, also apparently provided me with the unique manner in which everyone should start the day.

Too bad it only works that way for a few months each year, right?

On that note, since we're being promised sun and temperatures that are actually what they're supposed to be, I hope you're able to enjoy that sun this weekend —whether it wakes you up early or not!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/13

 I wonder if, in this instance, my mom is actually right?

Now don't get me wrong; my mom, like yours (I'm sure), is right about a lot of things. I'm always happy to get her take on things, and the fact that she managed to raise a family full of...unique individuals speaks volumes about her wisdom and her patience.

So she's right about a lot of things.

Of course, because she raised me (and my siblings) to be unique individuals sometimes we don't always see eye-to-eye on things. This was brought to the fore a couple of years ago when I was starting to host “High School Bowl” and asked readers of these ramblings whether or not I should cover up the gray hair on my head. Every single person but one said no, that the gray makes me look kind of distinguished. The only one who said I SHOULD color my hair was my mom, who said, and I quote here, “I'm too young to have a son on TV with gray hair”.

The fact that I did six years of the TV show with gray hair might indicate how much I paid attention to my mom on that occasion.

However, with the seventh season of the show just a few months away, I've begun looking at myself in the mirror. As much as I'm loathe to admit this, I seem to have developed a lot more gray than I had when I began this gig. I'm not totally gray; thankfully, it seems like half my hair is still dark brown. However, the patches of gray are growing, and they're especially notable when I wear gray or charcoal or some other similar colors. And since since a bunch of the suit jackets I own are those exact colors (to contrast with the colorful ties I wear), it seems as if they actually accent the gray in my hair.

And that's not necessarily something I want to happen.

I'm not saying I'm going to color my hair. After all, I've done six years of the show with (slowly) graying hair, and to show up for the seventh with my natural dark brown might lead some people to think that (gasp) I'm vain enough to color the gray. That's not to say I'm NOT vain enough to do it; I just don't know if I want people to notice it.

However, if I had taken my mom's advice when I started the gig, people would have only watched me with brown hair for six years. I could actually look at myself in the mirror and not sob quietly to myself. But no...I had to be unique and let everyone see the gray. And now, unless I turn it purple again, like I did last summer, if anyone sees me with anything BUT gray hair, they'll know I'm doing something to cover it up.

So thanks for the advice, Mom. In hindsight, it was really good advice. Maybe next time I'll actually take it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 5/12

Wait. Trenary has a Dollar General store?

I'm back from my day off, a day in which Loraine and I decided to give her car a much needed road trip and made our way to Green Bay, where we picked up Loraine some soccer cleats and both of us a haul of chocolate from Aldi.

I don't know who was happier in the end—Loraine's car, or us.

Aside from the shock of seeing Trenary, population a couple of hundred, with a brand new Dollar General store on US-41, the biggest discovery of the day had to do with marketing. Now, I'd like to think I know a little about marketing; it's one of the eighteen or so jobs I do on a daily basis. And as we were leaving Green Bay I saw something that just seemed so...perfect that I had to applaud the people who came up with the idea and then implemented it.

As you leave Green Bay heading north toward Michigan, there are a plethora of billboards reminding people that they're just a couple of hours away from legal cannabis. That's right—there were a ton of billboards for the Fire Station in Marquette and Lume in Escanaba telling Wisconsin residents that legal weed is just a drive away.

Genius.

I'm actually being quite serious about this. Michigan has legal marijuana, while Wisconsin doesn't. So instead of buying it from some dude on the street corner, you could just hop in your car and drive a couple of hours. There, you can shop to your heart's content, from people who know more about it than the dude on the street corner. Not only that, but you can't get arrested for buying it. It's legal to do that here.

Of course, for Wisconsin residents, I'm sure the flaw is that once you cross the state border with it in your possession you CAN get arrested, but that's a problem for another day.

The marketing aspect of it is genius.

Now, I have no idea how many people would actually drive up to Marquette or Escanaba just to buy their herb, but that might actually be incidental to the whole vibe the billboards give off. On the way, I also saw billboards for NMU featuring a surfer and for Travel Marquette featuring bike racers. Combined with the pot billboards, it would give someone traveling to Marquette the impression that this is one of the coolest places on the face of the Earth.

And for once, those billboards wouldn't be lying.

If things go the way I'm guessing, I'm venture that Wisconsin will join Michigan in having legal cannabis sooner rather than later. That's just the way the things are going these days. And when that happens, those billboards won't have quite the impact they do now. But for now, it was something that stood out, and stood out in a good way.

Almost as much, in fact, as the new Dollar General store in Trenary!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/10

 It looks like my parents won the race.

As you may recall, our very warm early April had lilac buds popping out, making me wonder if they would burst forth before my parents arrived back home from their yearly escape from the snow. Well, they didn't. My parents arrived home safely Friday, ironically in a snowstorm, while this is what the lilacs looked like yesterday--

I personally don't think they've grown much in the past, oh, two weeks, so I now have no idea when they'll actually burst forth.

By Memorial Day, maybe?

Maybe?

In another “as you may recall” moment, you may recall that Loraine & I are heading down to Savannah in early August as a way of dipping our toes into the water of travel after more than a year of being stuck home. Well, this weekend also brought forth the news that Germany—one of our favored European landing spots—will be opening later this year for vaccinated travelers. And since we've both been on a double date with Moderna, that includes us.

Hmmm.

Now, we won't be going any time soon. But, we are rolling around in the back of our mind about maybe, just maybe, heading back to Leipzig for another soccer match next spring (assuming, of course, they're allowing fans in the stands AND we can get tickets). Two reasons for that—one is that it's just a plane and train trip, which means that we don't have to worry about the world-wide shortage of rental cars. Two? The team just re-signed our two favorite players (Willi Orban for Loraine, Emil Forsberg for me), so we'll know they'll still be playing.

Like I said, it's a thought. I have no idea if it'll work out. But for the first time in a looooooong time, it's a thought we can actually think. And that's a good thing!

(jim@wmqt.com)

PS—I have tomorrow off so I can do a few things with Loraine, so there won't be one of these. Back on Wednesday!)

Friday, 5/7

 I keep forgetting there's a whole group of people out there who don't realize that I'm a slob.

As I've written in here before, in a perfect world my default wardrobe would be shorts and a T-shirt. It's a wardrobe choice that calms me, a wardrobe choice I think looks best on me, and a wardrobe choice I'm hoping to wear at least once this summer, although these days I'm having my doubts. If I could, I'd wear shorts and a T-shirt every day and be perfectly content.

But, unfortunately, I can't wear shorts and a T-shirt every day. Aside from the practical, weather-related considerations there are also lifestyle & job requirements that force me to dress up on occasion. In fact, if people only know the “TV Jim” part of who I am, they might think that I am, in fact, a snazzy dresser. And something yesterday proved that point.

Despite the fact that I would wear nothing but shorts and a T-shirt given the choice, I do dress up once a week, something else about which I've written in here before. In fact, yesterday was one of those days, when I was wearing a black shirt, black suit coat, and a neon blue & pink tie. (Hey--if I DO dress up, at least it's with a little color!) Anyway, I had to run down the street for something, and a lady walking past caught my eye. She said “hello”, and then wanted to compliment me on how I always “look so nice”. I thanked her, and realizing that she obviously is most familiar with “TV Jim”, decided not to share my secret about how, deep down, I'm really a slob.

You guys know it, but we'll let some people maintain the illusion. After all, it works for Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so who am I to argue?

I'm hoping the fact that deep down I'm really a slob wouldn't disappoint the people who think I dress well all the time. I mean, I would hate to shatter the illusion, but that's not just who I am. If I could, I'd wear shorts and a T-shirt when I was doing “High School Bowl” or any other TV show I'm part of. But unfortunately, I can't. So what you see on TV (or, in this case, on the street) is not always what you get. Maybe I'll have to start resurrecting that line from an old commercial and start saying something like “I'm not a sharp dresser, but I do play one on TV”.

I just hope people like the lady on the street would accept me for who I really am.

So if anyone's reading this who wasn't in on the secret, I hope you're okay with it. We all have our demons, we all have things we're trying to keep pushed deep down away from the light. Mine is this--

I'm Jim, and I'm a slob at heart.

8-)

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/6

 I'm bummed a little. But I totally understand.

Another big Marquette summer event has bitten the dust, at least for this year. Art on the Rocks has joined the Hiawatha Music Festival in postponing their event for the second July in a row. I can't blame them one bit; after all, trying to pull off an event safely, even as we're trying to get back to normal, is a daunting task.

Trust me. I know that first hand.

I think it's going to be a strange summer around here, with some events—like Art on the Rocks and Hiawatha—not going on, but with plans still in place for things like the Blueberry Festival and the Lake Superior Theater and Ore to Shore. I know some people will feel comfortable attending them and others won't, but knowing the organizers of the events I know they're doing everything possible to make sure everyone has fun.

And stays safe.

I know about all this because four weeks from yesterday I'm suppose to give the first walking tour in almost two years for the Marquette Regional History Center. We're still in the process of deciding how many people to allow, whether or not they should be masked, and how we're going to fit them all up & down the narrow sidewalks of Third Street in Marquette.

Personally, I have no idea what to expect. I wouldn't be surprised if five people showed up. I also wouldn't be surprised if 200 people showed up. After all, I know some people are clamoring for things to do as we're slowly crawling out of this whole mess. I also know that there are many people who are still a little skittish as we're slowly crawling out of this whole mess. I respect how both of those groups are feeling.

We'll just have to see how it turns out.

So if you're not doing anything June 2^nd and you feel comfortable in doing so, join us for our little Third Street stroll. If not, that's cool. You could always pick up the documentary I made of the whole thing last year when we couldn't have the walking tour. Either way works for me.

And, while you're at it, keep your fingers crossed that by next summer we're back to our normal, jam-packed local summer schedule.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 5/5

 Target owes me half a multi-vitamin.

I think I've written in here before about how both Loraine and I are insanely lucky that we're in good health. Neither of us has any major problems, and neither of us is on any kind of doctor-ordered medication, with the exception of a daily multi-vitamin. I can see why; after all, even though we try to eat as well as humanly possible, a little extra help never hurts, right?

So we buy the multi-vitamins in these big, 300-count bottles from Target. I knew my bottle was almost empty, and this morning when I went to take the final one I received a very odd surprise—only half of a vitamin tablet came out. Nothing else was in the bottle—just half a vitamin pill. It made me think for a second about a variety of things, foremost among them—would half a vitamin pill provide what I needed for the day, should I take a whole one from the new bottle, or should I combine the two and be super-powered throughout the day? (Don't laugh at the thoughts that pop into my head; it's been well-established in here how my brain doesn't function very well that early in the morning) I ended up taking a whole one from the new bottle and tossing the half pill. I figured since I need all the help I can get, it was probably the best course of action.

I have no idea how the half-vitamin got into the bottle. Was it a manufacturing error? Did Target decided to squeeze a little extra profit by giving me 299 ½ vitamins instead of the 300 promised? Or did they lose a little extra profit by giving me 300 ½ vitamins instead of the 300 promised? I don't know, and those are the kind of questions that run through my brain early in the morning when nothing else in my brain seems to function properly.

Whether that's a blessing or a curse I'll leave up to you.

That's how my morning's been so far. I'm almost afraid to wonder what else is on the way!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 5/4

 Of course I was being serious. You didn't think I could make something like that up, did you?

Yesterday, when writing about missing World Naked Gardening Day, I mentioned some of the strange e-mail I get on a daily basis. One of those things I mentioned was how a PR firm in Italy sends me several press releases each and every day for stuff happening in Milan and other nearby cities. As I said, I have no idea how I got on the list or what I'm supposed to do with the releases, but I still get them.

Well, semi-daily blog reader Becky of Marquette thought that sounded like something my strange mind might make up for a gag. And while I will admit that yes, it IS absurd enough to pop out of my brain, this time it wasn't. Becky, I was totally serious. I DO receive several press releases from an Italian PR firm every day.

Want proof?

That is a screen shot of one of yesterday's releases, apparently for an art festival in Milan (or Milano, depending upon which language you're using). I'd love to be able to go see it; now that the EU's beginning to talk about letting vaccinated Americans visit again, and maybe someday I will. But for now I can't, and I have to be content checking it out through one of the weirdest sets of press releases for which I never signed up.

It's a mystery.

So there you go Becky. Despite the fact that it IS absurd and it does sound like something that might have come out of my warped brain, it didn't.  It's an actual thing. And even as we're entering the 17^th month of the strangest year in history, it goes to show that the real world is a far stranger place than we could ever imagine.

And when you consider an imagination like mine, that's really saying something!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/3

 I can't believe I missed it!

First of all, I had a nice three-day weekend, thanks for asking. The weather wasn't perfect (although Saturday was pretty darn close), but I got to lounge around for three days doing what I wanted to do and just what I wanted to do. That was the best part of it.

One of the things I didn't want to do, and therefore didn't do at all, was to check my work e-mail. So when I started going through it this morning I noticed I had missed a press release sent out late Thursday night, and because I missed that press release I didn't have a chance to celebrate a holiday Saturday.

Yup. I missed World Naked Gardening Day.

I know; it's a tragedy of the highest order, isn't it? If only I'd checked my e-mail while I was off for my weekend. I could have skipped all the political releases, the event releases, and the press releases that I (for some reason) receive from a PR firm in Milan, Italy (in Italian, of course). But if only I had sifted through all the garbage I would've been aware of what I could have done on Saturday.

Instead, I missed it. Now I'll have to wait another year to romp around my garden without any clothing on. But on the bright side, that now gives me a year (minus a few days) to actually get a garden.

The press release itself was a ranking of the 100 top metro areas in the US and now they ranked on everything from gardening to the weather on May 1^st to public ordinances on people walking around their gardens without any clothes on. If you're curious (and I know you are) Miami is best place in the country to garden naked, while of the 100 biggest places in the US Lincoln, Nebraska ranks last. It's kind of ironic, considering they grow nothing but corn in Nebraska.

I guess they just do it with their clothes on.

So learn from my mistake. If you have a calendar upon which you write dates for the future, remember to mark down Sunday, May 1^st, 2022 when we can actually to remember to celebrate this momentous holiday.

After all, we don't want to miss another World Naked Gardening Day, do we?

(jim@wmqt.com)