Tuesday, 8/31

 Today would normally be my last day of work before I left. This year, not so much.

This would normally be the day, based on years of well-worked routine, that I needed to get everything finished and ready to go before Loraine and I headed off to Europe. Taking advantage of the holiday weekend we would always leave the Wednesday before Labor Day, spent 10 or 11 days doing whatever we needed to over there, and then come back the Sunday after the holiday.

But not this year. Or last year. Or, it's starting to look, anytime in the foreseeable future.

This will actually be the third Tuesday before Labor Day in a row that I haven't been rushing around getting ready to leave. In 2019 we went to Leipzig in April for a soccer match, so we didn't have a fall trip that year. Last year's fall trip was one of two we had canceled, and this year's trip never was even a possibility (except, perhaps, in our fever dreams).

I'm starting to think of Labor Day now as merely the end of summer, as opposed to the start of something fun. In all honesty, I think I liked it the old way. But that's just me.

8-)

I literally have no idea if I'll be thinking the same things next Labor Day. Because of the massive rise in cases and deaths in the US—even though a vaccine is available for everyone—the European Union is in the process of telling Americans (especially unvaccinated ones) that once again they can't visit. I'm sure that will be different by next Labor Day--at least, it had better be—but will it be different soon enough for us to start planning? You have to get things set months before you leave, and it's impossible to get things set if you don't know whether or not you're allowed in.

As an example—we were kind of considering heading back to Leipzig in late April of next year as a test case. We could take in another soccer match, celebrate our anniversary, and even take advantage of the after-Easter chocolate discounts. We would, though, have had to already been buying tickets and booking rooms. But since we don't know if we'll be allowed into Germany, if we'll be allowed (as Americans) to stay in a hotel, or if we'll be allowed to attend a game, there's no point in booking anything.

Even if the Easter chocolate would be on sale.

So yet another Tuesday before Labor Day comes & goes, and instead of it being the day before we leave it's just the Tuesday before Labor Day. I'm hoping it'll be the last “just the Tuesday before Labor Day” for a while.

I am, however, realistic enough to know that it probably won't be.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/30

 The note may have made it all worth it.

If you've been reading these recently you know I've been in the middle of a rather busy streak, starting with getting stuck in Charlotte for an unplanned day and going through many tours, several programs, getting our ESPN station ready for high school football, and more. And it's still going on; Loraine and I are going downstate this weekend to visit daily blog readers Floyd & Betsy of Reese, so I have to work ahead for that before having a few more history things on the calendar the first few weeks of September.

I know. The fun never ends, right?

8-)

Anyway, I received a hand-written note from someone who had been involved in one of the things that made the past month so busy. I wasn't at all expecting the note, so when I saw the words “Thank you for all the joy you bring”, I had to stop and think about it for a second. I mean; I've never quite thought of it that way. I hope this doesn't make me sound strange, but I've never really considered the effect that my work has on people. I put a tour or program together, I do it, I mentally go over what went right and what didn't go the way I thought, and then I move on to the next project.

This may be short-sighted of me, but I guess I never stopped to consider how the people attending the projects felt during and after.

I mean, I know they (hopefully) laughed and some will tell me how much they enjoyed it, but I guess I never thought of it that way. I never thought of it as bringing people joy. But if they did laugh a little and enjoyed what I did, then I guess I AM bringing people a little joy. And these days, is there anything more precious to share with a group of people?

I don't think so.

So I'd like to thank the person who gave me the note, for both giving it to me and for opening my eyes to this new perspective on my work. I've always known how it's impacted me; now I know how it effects others, as well.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 8/27

 I would like to introduce you to my summer friend--

Okay; right about now I'm sure you're wondering why I posted a picture of the 100 west block of Bluff Street in Marquette, a street populated mostly by parking lots and parking decks. Well, as you know, it's been a hectic summer, and as it's slowly coming to an end I wanted to give credit to one of the things that has kept me sane this season.

And that would be the 100 west block of Bluff Street in Marquette.

Let me explain. On those days when I had 8,000 things to do and just needed to escape them for a few minutes I would leave the station, walk around the corner, and come upon the 100 west block of Bluff Street. Because it's mostly a parking area I could walk up & down the street and not be bothered by much other than sunshine and the occasional glances of people who were returning to their cars. If it was a particularly sunny and/or hectic day I'd take a cup of tea (usually one from Germany) and sit for a few minutes at the picnic table someone had thoughtfully placed in the grassy area at the end of the parking deck.

It allowed me to enjoy a few extra minutes of summer weather the past few months. And that's something that everyone deserves.

Of course, summer's now coming to an end. Kids are getting ready to back to class, high school football begins tonight, and Labor Day weekend is but a few days away. And my summer “romance” with the 100 west block of Bluff Street must come to an end, as well. Last week, the picnic table disappeared. And beginning Monday, workers will be renovating the parking deck, which means that my few moments of quiet respite would no longer be quiet. Or respiteful. Instead, those moments would be filled with the sounds of construction workers and construction equipment no matter where you were on the street.

So just let me say “thanks” to the 100 west block of Bluff Street in downtown Marquette. I know our friendship was unusual, but I'm sorry it'll be coming to an end. You made this summer just a little bit better than it could have been.

On that rather bizarre note, have a great weekend. And try to gird yourself to the fact that September starts in a few days!!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 8/26

 I think the seagull had it in for me.

Because things have been so hectic the past few days I took an hour for myself yesterday to enjoy the sun and the heat (at least, the sun & the heat before the clouds moved in in the early afternoon) by taking a walk along the Lower Harbor breakwater. As I was making my way toward the rocky section of the wall, I noticed a very large group of seagulls just sitting on top of the breakwater, squawking and flapping their wings as seagulls are wont to do. I thought it kind of odd, considering most seagulls in that area spend their time either in Lower Harbor Park or on Ripley's Rock, but, I figured, they're birds. Maybe they just got distracted by something shiny.

As I walked near the group, most of the seagulls scattered. There was one, however, that either didn't see me, or didn't get the inter-office memo that I was coming, because it just stood there on the breakwater, watching me as I walked past. Being raised to have good manners, I even nodded my head and said "hello" to the bird as I walked by.

The bird, however, was NOT raised to be very mannerly. I was about 10 feet past it when I heard a squawk and the rustling of wings as the seagull took to the skies. I kept hearing this squawk above me, and looked up to see my friend the bird heading toward me, wings fully extended and its vocal capabilities pushed to the max.

It was then I realized that I was being dive-bombed by the seagull.

My first impulse was look around and to see if the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock was lurking around. My second impulse was to look around and see the bird pull up about five feet from my head, and then circle around to make another pass. It did the same thing again, this time flexing its talons as it flew by.

The seagull apparently had it in for me, and I had no idea why.

I looked around to where the group of birds had been sitting, to see if I had accidentally stumbled onto a nest, or a feeding ground. I hadn't; in fact, the only thing I saw were several prime examples of the calling cards seagulls leave all over the city of Marquette. Yet, for some reason, I had done something to irritate the seagull now getting ready to make its third pass over my head. As it swooped down, squawking, I decided to fight fire with fire. As it buzzed five feet over my head, I yelled out, as loud as I could, "Hey-- I'm allowed on here, too".

That's when the strangest thing happened. The seagull pulled up, looking like it was going to make another run, but then just circled high above me a dozen or so times, before flying off to join the rest of the original flock of birds, now bobbing on the waves of the lake.

I just stood there, amazed. Had I just run into the one seagull on the planet who listens to reason? Did the sound of my voice scare it off? Was it just getting bored playing its little game, and decided to go off and join its friends? I had no idea. As I finished my walk along the breakwater, I kept my eye on the group of birds, which remained bobbing up & down on the waves as I climbed over the rocks, out to the foghorn, and back again. The seagull did not bother me the rest of the time I spent in its immediate neighborhood.

As I was getting done with my walk along the breakwater, I turned around and, being mannerly, yelled out "Bye,Bye, Birdie. Have a nice day!" I'm sure the Coast Guardsman working on a boat a few feet away from me thought it a bit strange, but I just wanted to make sure that, the next time I stroll the breakwater, the same seagull does NOT have it in for me.

****

If you're curious (and even if you're not) last night's second show at the Lake Superior Theater was as much of a success as the first. If there's one thing people seem to like as much as (if not even more than) North & South Marquette it's the docks of Lower Harbor. And with over 120 pictures of old docks I think we satisfied just about everyone who was in the sold out crowd.

Hope everyone enjoyed it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 8/25

 I wonder what a “regular” Tuesday night is like? I think I've actually forgotten.

First of all, last night's gig at the Lake Superior Theater went quite well. Don't believe me? Just ask the crowd in the picture taken from my phone --

Even though Jack & I hadn't gone through the program or rehearsed it at all (except for a note from Jack that said “we should probably try to keep it under two hours”, which we (barely) did) we zoomed through it with jokes, a few gasps from the audience, and a good feeling from just being back on stage for the first time in a year and a half (like I mentioned yesterday).

Now, if we can only keep tonight's “What's Up Dock” show kinda short...seeing as how it clocked in at 2 hours and 10 minutes when we did it at Kaufman in 2019. I don't hold out much hope for that, but miracles CAN occur, right?

8-)

It was also the third straight Tuesday where something out of the ordinary happened in my life. Two weeks ago, I spent Tuesday stuck in Charlotte, North Carolina. A week ago, I spent Tuesday evening leading a bike tour around Marquette. And last night, I spent the night cracking bad jokes on stage. I don't think I have anything out of the ordinary to do next Tuesday night, so I don't know if I'll be able to handle it or not. I'll probably spend the evening walking around our apartment like I've forgotten to do something important or like I should be somewhere else.

I'm sure Loraine will appreciate that.

But, that's still six days away. Maybe by then I'll actually be to the point where I appreciate a Tuesday evening with nothing to do. It may seem weird, but hopefully it'll work out that way.

Keep your fingers crossed.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 8/24

 Do you realize it's been over a year since I've been on an actual stage? Over a year?

Yup. But that changes tonight.

Tonight's the first of a two-night stand Jack & I are doing at the Lake Superior Theater, reprising a couple of History Center shows we did at Kaufman Auditorium. And the one we're doing tonight--”North Vs South Marquette”--was in fact the last time I was on a stage doing a program, back in the halcyon days of the Before Times.

January of 2020, to be exact.

That means that while I've done a lot of outdoor walking tours, at least this summer, it's been over 19 months since I've presented to an indoor audience. I'm not sure, because I don't actually keep track of things like this, but it may the longest span of time in the, oh, past twenty years without me doing some kind of thing on some kind of stage somewhere.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, nor do I know if that says anything about the way I live my life or what I've chosen to do with it, but it's probably been the longest span of time without me being on a stage. It's just weird.

Of course, when tonight's shows were planned everything was (comparatively) honky-dory in the world. People were getting vaccinated, it seemed like the virus that had kept us offstage since January of 2020 was being conquered, and the hope was that things would (soon) be back to normal. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be reality in most of the country; fortunately, we're in one of the few places in the country where vaccination rates and careful living have kept this latest wave at bay, and has allowed to do things like get back on stage for the first time in nineteen months.

Hopefully, it stays that way. Thankfully, the theater has been taking precautions all summer long (with cleaning, extra space between seats, and the recommendation of mask usage); hopefully, during this final week of their season, nothing untoward happens.

But all that aside, it'll be nice to be back onstage for the first occasion since the Before Times. It'll be interesting to see if it's one of those things like riding a bike; do you just get back up there and start babbling, or while it take a little while to get back in the groove? I'm thinking it's the former, but we'll find out tonight.

And I'll report on the result tomorrow. Wish us luck!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/23

 This is going to be a weird week. But then, recently, which week hasn't?

Last Friday I alluded to the fact that I really need to have a talk with the person who does my scheduling. Because, you see, that person booked me to give a dock tour to a group of Airstream trailer enthusiasts traveling through Marquette today, and then booked me to do not one but two nights in a row at the the Lake Superior Theater with my pal Jack tomorrow and Wednesday night.

See? The person who does my scheduling and I really do need to have that serious talk.

Actually, it shouldn't be too difficult. I give dock tours in my sleep (literally; I've had dreams about doing it) and Jack & I are reprising two of the Kaufman shows we've done--”North vs South” Tuesday night and (carrying on the theme of the week) “What's Up Dock” Wednesday night. So I don't have to do much if any work; I just have to walk around or get up on stage and talk.

But that's not the other point. I would also like a little time in my life to relax. But I guess that's what Thursday's for, at least this week.

Right?

So if you have the chance join us Tuesday or Wednesday, or wave if you happen to see us wandering around today. I'm sure the person who handles my scheduling would appreciate it, as well.

*****

I don't know if this explains anything about now I turned out or not, but did you know my great-grandmother's brother was a clown? Yup; it;'s all in this Mining Journal article from my friends at the History Center. Of course, what it doesn't mention is that another sibling in the family ran away, joined the circus, and was part of an elephant act.

See? It DOES explain a lot, doesn't it?

Clink on the link below to check out the article--

https://www.miningjournal.net/news/2021/08/happy-the-clown-a-local-legend/

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 8/20

 How much watching time do you have this weekend?

It's a question the New York Times asks every Friday, and it actually makes me shake my head just a little, pre-supposing as it does that you have nothing to do with your weekend other than bingeing a TV show. I mean, whatever happened to playing outside? Visiting family and/or friends? Taking care of chores?

But I digress.

The reason I asked the question this that there's a show I just finished watching (and not in a binge) that I highly recommend--”Icon: Life Through the Lens”, a six part PBS show on music photographers and their experiences over the past six decades. It's a fascinating documentary series with people who've been on the front lines of music since the 60s, and well worth the time of anyone who's interested in music or in photography (or, like some of us, both). You hear some amazing stories and see some amazing work spread over over the six hours, and after a bit you actually come away with an appreciation of the fact that these photographers were incredible artists.

As is pointed out in the show, no ever really thinks of music photography as art, but once you see some of the shots and hear yourself softly mutter “wow” when they pop up on screen, you realize just how artistic it all is.

And that's a good thing.

So if you have some “watching time” this weekend, check it out on On-Demand, on the PBS app, or however else you stream Public TV these days. I hope you won't be disappointed.

*****

I know I won't be watching too much TV myself this weekend, as I have to get ready for a dock tour Monday morning and two shows Tuesday and Wednesday night at the Lake Superior Theater. More on those Monday, after I have a rather serious discussion with whichever bonehead is in charge of scheduling my life.

Oh, wait...

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 8/19

It really can't be, can it?

Just as I feel I've gotten into the groove of enjoying summer something I'm working on has jolted me back to reality. We have a sports station here—ESPN UP—and among the things we broadcast on ESPN UP is high school football.

Guess what starts a week from tomorrow?

Yup; one of the most cherished of American fall traditions kicks off in a mere eight days when the high school football season gets into gear. I've just finally started enjoying summer, and here we go with the season apparently just passing us by.

Why, oh summer, why???

Now, don't get me wrong. We've had a great summer up here, one that's been (especially in the past few weeks) nice and warm and sunny and everything you'd want from a summer. But that doesn't mean we're ready for it to end. It seems, at least to me, like it just started. It seems, at least to me, that I've finally started to thaw out from the winter we just lived through. It seems, at least to me, like we should be, at the most, halfway through the most glorious season of the year.

But alas, that's not the case. The sun no longer sets at 10 pm nor rises before 6 am. The flowers that bloomed in polychromatic majesty are now drying up. And if you look closely, you'll notice that a leaf or two on many trees aren't quite as green as they used to be.

In fact, in some cases they're orange or red. And no matter how much you try to ignore that their numbers just keep growing and growing.

So I probably shouldn't be surprised that high school football season starts a week from tomorrow. Pretty soon it'll be joined by a crisp feeling in the air, leaves falling, and that inevitable day when the first flakes pop up in the air. Even though it seems like summer just started, we all know we're closer to the first day of snow than we are the first day of summer.

The beginning of high school football season is, sadly, just another reminder of that.

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Wednesday, 8/18

 The bike tour went well, thanks for asking.

When I do these “Pop-Up” tours for the History Center, I never know how many people might show up. This is the first bike pop-up I've ever done; in fact, the first bike tour of any kind in almost five years. But what with this being Marquette and all, I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised when 23 riders (& a roller blader!) showed up for the little ride around this municipal bike haven.

And I was happy with that.

As I had mentioned yesterday, the reason Marquette has such an amazing bike path system is that it's built upon all the rail lines that snaked their way through the city's industrial past. And a lot of the people on the tour said they had no idea their bike paths used to be gateways to grunge. Some of the pictures I showed, actually kind of blew their minds.

Like the old coal yard where Lower Harbor Park how sits--

The vastness of the old Cliff Dow chemical plant--

All the sawmills that populated North Marquette--

And the dirty old DSS&A roundhouse where the pristine new UP Health System hospital how sits--

Marquette has undergone many changes during the 172 years of its existence; the change from dirty industrial hub to clean outdoor playground may be the biggest of those changes. At least that was the consensus from everyone on the bike tour last night.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 8/17

 Wanna go for a bike ride tonight?

What with the glorious weather we're having, and what with the fact that we've just finished Ore-to-Shore weekend here in Marquette, I'm doing another “Pop Up” tour for the Marquette Regional History Center tonight, a tour where we go for a bike ride around the city's bike path system and talk about what used to be there.

I actually think it'll be a lot of fun.

I've done this tour twice before, although not for four or five years now. You get a different crowd on a bike tour as opposed to a walking tour; the last time I did it, I got into a rather interesting conversation with some local beer brewers about whether or not they could used water from the Whetstone Creek to try & recreate the Drei Kaiser beer produced 110 years ago by the old Marquette Brewing Company on the west side of the city.

Unfortunately, I don't think they were able to make it work. Although the end result could have been interesting.

There's a lot to talk about on one of these bike tours; after all, the reason the city has such an amazing bike bath system is that it sits upon old railroad beds, and those tracks served everything from iron ore docks to chemical plants to saw mills & lumber yards. Those were symbols of the old Marquette; the bike paths are new Marquette's legacy of those long-ago times.

If you're in the area and if you're interested it gets underway at 630 at the History Center; bring a phone or other mobile internet-capable device to look at pictures, and a donation for the History Center, if you feel like it. And maybe tomorrow I'll post a few of the pictures that show what used to sit along the bike path.

You know—pictures of old Marquette.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/16

 I finally went through them over the weekend.

After announcing for hours on end at Ore-To-Shore Saturday, after doing laundry, and after getting stuff ready for a pop-up bike tour I'm doing for the History Center tomorrow, I was finally able to go through some of the pictures I took while we were in Savannah.

You remember that place, right? The place where, a week ago today, our flight got axed and started us on one of the most surreal weeks of our lives? Yeah, that place.

8-)

Anyway, before the flight insanity kicked off we had a great time down there. I took about 400 pictures, approximately 399 of which were of Spanish moss and/or houses. Well, okay, maybe NOT 399, but I did take a lot of pictures of that ilk.

It's really hard to take a bad shot down there. The city is so picturesque it's just begging you to keep snapping away. Well, except, perhaps, for all the construction on the main street-

How bad it the construction? One business has an opinion--

But at least Savannah still has Forsyth Park--

It also has a very cool development where they took an old power plant slated for demolition and turned it into a new (and rather large) hotel that anchors a whole new neighbor along the river.  That could've been a cool way to reuse the Shiras Plant in Marquette; maybe even tie it in to Founder's Landing somehow--

And it even had a nod to my great-grandfather!

Okay; I have no idea why a sign with the name of the guy after whom I was named was up. I'm assuming it was for a lawyer or an accountant or something along those lines. Still. It was cool to see.

Know what else was cool? Some of the amazing food we ate, including a peach & prosciutto pizza Loraine had--

But what wasn't cool? They stuck Johnny Mercer in jail!

I have no idea why the Savannah Police Department felt the need to cordon off the statue of the city's most famous songwriter. If I had to guess, though, it may have something to do with the fact that you can walk around the historic district with to go cups filled with alcohol.

Like I said, it's just a guess. But I'm guessing the guess is pretty accurate.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 8/13 (!)

Okay.  So maybe, just maybe, I underestimated the chaos the extra day caused.

I know I had mentioned that I might have a few trip pictures to share here today, but, with apologies in advance, that's not gonna happen. After spending almost 12 hours at work yesterday I THINK I got everything done that needed to get done, but by the time I finished I had no time left to even start going through the pictures.

Sigh.

I'd like to say that I'll be getting to them this weekend, but I was always told not to make promises I can't keep. Finish-line Announcer Jim has to return for the first time in a year and a half tomorrow thanks to Ore-To-Shore, I have a pop-up bike tour Tuesday that I really need to work on, Jack & I have two Lake Superior Theater shows in a little over a week that we haven't even talked about yet (although, in all fairness, we can probably do them in our sleep), and I have all kinds of household chores to take care of.

Oh, and did I mention it's one of the few remaining summer weekends and I should probably enjoy the heck out of it when I have the chance?

So I'll see what I can do about pictures. Maybe I'll just take my laptop to a sunny park and work on them there. We'll see. It all depends upon how things go. And given how they've gone this week so far...

It should be interesting. Really, really interesting.

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Thursday, 8/12

 As far as hotels that are in corporate office parks go, it wasn’t a bad one.

First of all, I am finally--finally--back home.  It took an extra day and almost an extra hour sitting on the runway at O’Hare yesterday as yet another thunderstorm--like the one that snarled air traffic Monday--went through, but I finally got home.  I even got to see Loraine for the first time in over a day.

Right about now, you may be asking yourself “Didn’t Jim go to Savannah with Loraine”?  And I’d be answering “Why, yes, I did”.  But because we booked tickets separately she was rebooked to come home as scheduled Tuesday while I, with the exact same flight numbers and times, was rebooked to fly home Wednesday, something we didn’t discover until I tried to check in at the Savannah airport Tuesday morning at 5-what-the-heck-am-I-doing-up-so-early AM.

I decided to try flying standby to see if I could ride home with her, and I did get from Savannah to Charlotte (an airport we weren’t originally supposed to visit).  But when I saw that I was number 21 on a list of 38 standby passengers on an already overbooked flight, I knew I was toast.  So I played Rick to Loraine’s Ilsa and sent her on her way, after which I went off to join the Free French garrison in Brazzaville.

Well, actually I spent the next eight hours seeing if I could get to Chicago, but that was a no-go.  However, I did move up to 19 on the standby list, if that means anything.

I ended up Googling hotels near the airport, and chose one of the least expensive (but with a shuttle), a Hilton Garden Inn.  When I noticed driving up to it that it was in a corporate office park my hopes dimmed; no restaurants or grocery stores nearby.  But since I had been in airports for the past 12 hours I went out to explore the surroundings, and was pleasantly surprised when I saw this--

That’s right--in the middle of a corporate office park there’s a lake and a really nice walking trail that goes in all directions.  I had no idea it was there, and when I mentioned how nice it was to one of the employees she agreed that they really need to do a better job of promoting it.

And she’d be right.

So even though Tuesday will not rank among the most favorite days of my life, there was at least one thing for which to be thankful.  And it’s something that popped up in the most unexpected of places.

Now, I get to deal with the refuse of being gone for an extra day.  I have no idea how long it’ll take to dig out from that, but hopefully I’ll have a little time before Ore to Shore Saturday to get a few pictures organized and let you know how the trip went.  Because up until 4 or so Monday afternoon it went really, really well!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 8/10

Hey.

Remember how I said I'd be writing a blog on the way home from Savannah to Chicago and then posting it when I got to Chicago?

Guess who never got to Chicago today.  Guess who gets to spend the night in Charlotte, a city in which I wasn't even supposed to set foot?

Yup.  Details to come!

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Wednesday, 8/4

 As far as Mother Nature making ironic weather statements go, this one could have been a doozy.

Loraine and I are leaving for Savannah tomorrow, for out first getaway in two and a half years. Normally, the high temperature in Savannah tomorrow would be 88. However, a front just moved through bringing rain with it, which means tomorrow’s high should be 83. I mean, that’s nothing to complain about, until you look at Marquette’s forecast for tomorrow and see that the high here is also supposed to be 83..

That’s right. The day we leave Marquette for Savannah, Marquette is the same temperature as Savannah.  ironic, huh?  Maybe Alanis Morissette should do a new version of her song just for that.

Not to worry, though. Things DO get back to normal in Savannah by Friday, and temperatures at the end of the weekend will be in the 90s. And while Marquette should be warm, as well, at least Savannah will be at least 15 degrees warmer. I just find it...weird that as soon as we leave things will usually warm up around here. That always seemed to happen at the end of August when we went to Europe; now, it’s happening at the beginning of the month when we’re going somewhere else.

Who says Mother Nature doesn’t have a sense of humor? But, at least it doesn't look like it'll rain anywhere near as much in Savannah as it could here. So at least we have that going for us.

8-)

That, of course, means there won’t be one of these for a few days. I hope you’re okay with that and, if not, tough. The plan is this--if everything goes to schedule (and in the past 16 months has ANYTHING gone to schedule?) we’re supposed to be flying home, with a four hour layover in Chicago. I’m planning on writing and posting one of these then, complete with any cool pictures I happen to take (and trust me, in Savannah there are a LOT of cool pictures you can take). So look back then. Hopefully, there will be a new one of these. If not, then you’ll know that the 19th month of 2020 has struck.

Yet again.

Okay; that’s it. Behave yourself, and wish us luck. We’re really looking forward to getting on an airplane again!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 8/3

 I wonder if the song is out of my dad’s head yet?

Sunday I received a text from Chicky-poo, mentioning that he, like often happens to me, had a song stuck in his head that wouldn’t go away. He recalled reading in here some of the tricks that I’ve used to try & make that stop, so he asked for any tips.

Nice to know the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?

The song he had stuck in his head was the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody”, a go-to love song for anyone of his generation (and, thanks to “Ghost”, a couple of generations after his). He had found a couple of different versions of it on You Tube, but those didn't work.

So I gave him my top 3 songs that drive a song stuck in your head out of your head. Of course, those songs then get stuck in your head, but at least the original song is gone, and that’s something right?

8-)

Anyway, if, like my dad & me, you ever get a song stuck in your head and it won’t leave, just try listening to one of these three. I can guarantee any of them will get rid of the original floating around your brain. I just can’t guarantee what’ll happen after that.

In no particular order, those three are…

Los Del Rio’s version of “Macarena”--

Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting”--

And Aqua’s “Barbie Girl”--

Now, here’s how powerful those three songs are. You probably didn’t watch any of the videos that I stuck up here. Yet I’m guessing one of those songs is now stuck in your brain. THAT’S how powerful those particular tunes are. So if you ever actually need to use them, use them sparingly. Use them wisely. Otherwise, they’ll be floating around in your head for days upon end, and you know what? I don’t know if there are any songs more powerful than those three. They’re kind of like the nuclear option for removing a song from your brain. They’re a weapon of last resort.

So if you, like Chicky-poo, ever get “Unchained Melody” or some other equally strange song stuck in your head, you know what to use to get them out. Just be careful when you’re removing them, okay?

The power of those three songs is not a power to be trifled with.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 8/2

 Who said it could be August already? No one asked MY permission!

I’m astounded at the speed with which this summer is passing. It seems like it was just a week or so ago that I was getting ready for Loraine's parents to visit over the Memorial Day weekend; it seems like it was just a couple of days ago that Loraine's nephews came to visit over the Fourth of July holiday Now, it’s August. By the time I wake up tomorrow (or so it’ll seem) kids’ll be back in school, I’ll be wondering why I'm not in Europe like I usually am, and Labor Day will have come and gone. Then, we have nothing but falling leaves, cold temperatures, and 7 straight months of snow staring us in the face.

Can’t anyone do anything about that? Please?

8-)

The more ancient I get, the more I’m amazed by how much “older people” actually knew when I was a kid. They’d tell me things like, oh, time speeds up the older you get, but I didn’t listen. I didn’t think it mattered. After all, they were “older people’. What did they know, right?

As it turns out, quite a bit. Now, I find myself trying to pass wisdom along to my nieces and other young people in my orbit. But I always add this caveat—I always tell them that they’re not gonna believe me when I tell them something now, but in 10 or 20 or 30 years, they may find remember some obscure fact or piece of wisdom that crazy old uncle Jim passed along and realize that maybe, just maybe, he knew what he was talking about.

After all, I never believed what I was told until I actually got old myself.

So, anyway, where were we? Oh yeah. . .the fact that that it’s August already. Can anyone please make the summer slow down, even if just a little? Please?? I’ll give you a lollipop and a puppy if you can. Really, I will!!

Thanks in advance,

(jim@wmqt.com)