Wednesday, 1/31

Don’t loathe me for saying this but I have a deep, dark secret to share I'd like to share.

My name is Jim, and I don’t get sick.

These days, I’m surrounded by sniffling co-workers at several jobs and passersby who say “hello” through a hacking cough or watery eyes. Yet, I feel fine. Better than fine, actually, considering the fact that our two weeks of winter is over and I expect flower buds to start popping up any day now.

What can I say, other than, perhaps, “Sorry”?

In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was seriously sick. I do remember one BAD bout back in the mid 70’s when I was a kid and had to stay home from school for a week, but other than hay fever every spring & fall, I just don’t seem to get sick. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually been in the hospital. Okay, I’ve visited people in the hospital before, but I’ve never been a patient (unless you count a trip to the E.R or walk-in clinics because of bike or roller-blading mishaps, but that's thanks to klutziness, not germs).

Now, I don’t know why this is. Maybe I’m just genetically lucky. Maybe it’s because I wash my hands every so often, eat well, try to stay in shape, get the vaccines I should, and don’t let myself get run down.

Or maybe it’s because I laugh.

I remember reading something a couple of years ago on how having a positive mental attitude can actually ward off disease. Apparently, people who are optimistic and/or laugh a lot get over a cold quicker, suffer fewer bouts of illness and, in general, have a stronger immune system. So, just maybe, there IS something to that, and I’m lucky enough to be the recipient of that.

Of course, I’m now aware that, by having written this blog on how I never get sick, I’m destined to come down with something like Bird Flu or Covid. And with the way some people look at me when I don’t catch their bugs...well, I know a few people who might laugh at the irony in that.

But think of it this way—at least they'll be boosting their immune systems while doing it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/30

The first time I saw the music video it really touched me. And now that one of its real-life inspirations is gone, it touches me even more.

The music video to which I'm referring is for Harry Styles' “Satellite”. It's an interesting piece of work; basically the story of a Mars-like rover on Earth and how it's trying to find home. As its battery slowly wears out the video ends with it making it to the Kennedy Space Center where it shuts down, having found “home”, causing space geeks around the world to go “aaaah” and try to hold back a tear or two.

Or at least that's what happened to one space geek whose name we shall not reveal.

Anyway, the video popped into my head last week when word came down that the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, which was sent up with the Perseverance rover, broke a rotor, can no longer fly, and is being left behind as Perseverance moves on. No one should really shed a tear for Ingenuity; after all, it was made of out (among other things) parts of a cell phone and was designed to fly five times. It ended taking to the Martian skies over 70 times, showing that humans really sometimes know what they're doing.

Sometimes.

Perseverance, which has its own first-person social media accounts, send out a picture of Ingenuity as it was being left behind, and my brain immediately flashed back to the Harry Styles video, especially the very sad ending because, I guess, Ingenuity never had the chance to make it “home”. It did things it was never expected to do, and maybe that's why just leaving it on the surface of another planet is sad, in a bizarre way.

It's strange how we as humans anthropomorphize things, especially machines, and especially Mars rovers. Whenever one of them—Spirit, Opportunity, you name them—dies, some of us feel as much sadness as we might if a pet had died. And it's strange; after all, these are just machines sent to another planet. But because they do things no one expected, and they do them for much longer than expected, we think they'll be doing these amazing things forever. But when they reach their inevitable end, for some reason we're shocked. We shouldn't be, because space is hard. But that's how we feel.

Just like some of did when the news of Ingenuity's “passing” came down.

Here—the video that started it all.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/29

I'll be able to sleep one of these years...right?

I made it through my weekend, which, if you recall, consisted of a big History Center show, a TV show, a radio show, announcing at one of the biggest ski races in the country, and writing for another TV gig that I'll be doing later today.

Because, you know, that's how “normal people” spend three days, right?

8-)

It was interesting announcing the race Saturday. Because of the lack of good snow it was held out at the Noque Forestville Trailhead instead of the Dome in Marquette. Overnight fog had melted more of the snow, and then the sun (believe it or not) the day of the race led to more of it going away. It's a good thing the race won't be held this week. I have a feeling that there won't be any snow LEFT by this upcoming Saturday.

Not that the conditions seemed to deter the participants in the Noque. Their races may have been shortened and the trails may not have been optimal, but as always everyone seemed to have a big smile on their face as they crossed the finish line.

And that's always a good thing.

So...now what? Do I take advantage of a (mostly clear) schedule and relax for a few weeks? Do I sit back, sigh a sigh of relief, and kick my feet off. Uhm...how long have you been reading these?

Details coming (very) soon on my next project!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/26

How did it go last night? Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, just let me say...

More on that Monday. Now, I'm off to host a TV show. And then go do a radio show. And then announce a cross-country ski race that'll probably take place in the rain. And then write a piece for another TV show.

Because, as I keep saying and as we all know, my life is weird.

Have a great weekend!!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/25

The next 48 hours should be interesting.

Here's what I mean. Starting at 6 tonight, I have a 48 hour span where each and every single “Jim” gets to do something, and hopefully do it well. It starts when History Jim has his big (and sold out) “Legends & Lore” show with Jack Deo at Kaufman for The History Center. After a little sleep, TV Jim has to get up and shoot the last of the quarter-finals for “High School Bowl” Friday morning. Radio Jim then spends the day Friday doing whatever the heck it is Radio Jim does. Tomorrow night, Normal Jim (and quit giggling; even though it sounds like an oxymoron there IS a Normal Jim) has to take care of whatever it is Normal Jim does (namely running & grocery shopping), because all day Saturday Finish Line Jim gets to spend the announcing the names of all 1,700 (or so) skiers coming across the finish line at the Noquemanon.

Then all the Jims combine into one and pass out. Or they would, except on Sunday at least one of the Jims has to write a TV piece for Monday and (probably) carry on a family tradition and cheer for the Lions.

Actually, I have no doubt I'll be able to physically do it all. I'm a little worried about my voice holding out, but as long as I don't talk when I don't need to talk, and I drink a lot of tea, I should be okay. Nope; the thing I'm kinda curious about is the decompression aspect of it all. Or, more to the point, the lack-of-decompression aspect of it all.

Let me explain—normally, when you do something “big”, like put on a history show in front of 800 people, or host a TV show, or announce 1,700 names, you like to “decompress” afterwards. You like to put your feet up, and reflect upon what just happened (or, at least, that's what I like to do). But with so many events in the next 48 hours coming bam-bam-bam, one right after the other, I won't have the chance to do that. I'll either be rushing from event to event, preparing for the next event to come up, or (trying to) eat & sleep. From the time I hit the stage at Kaufman to the time I announce the last person coming across the Noque finish line, I'll have done a whole bunch of amazing stuff.

I just have to hope I remember what it all was.

Now, I'm not complaining. After all, I know just how fortunate I am to be able to do all this. And I'm gonna have a blast doing it all. This may be picky on my part, but I just wish I'd have a few minutes to appreciate it all while it's happening, instead of looking back on it a few days later and hoping I got everything out of the 48 hours that I hoped to.

Oh well; that's life. And it all starts later tonight at Kaufman. Hope to see you at one or more of the events. I highly doubt there will be one of these tomorrow; if there is, it may just be a few words or a picture from “Legends & Lore”. Otherwise, a full report on Monday assuming, of course, I'm still alive.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/24

Since I have to go shoot yet another episode of “High School Bowl” (and, if you think we're shooting them a lot these days, we really are, but only have a few left to go) I'm going to leave you with the newspaper article I wrote for the big show tomorrow night. I've promised to do it a few times, and since I always try to keep my promises, here 'tis.

Tomorrow, how I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that we sold out the show three days before we hit the stage. And how the next few days are going to be...insane.

Sadly, perhaps, just the way I like it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

******

One of the rainiest days in Marquette history led to one of the worst scenes of destruction in the downtown area of the city since the Great Fire of 1868.

July 28th, 1949 started off as a hot & sticky day in Marquette, part of a nation-wide heatwave that would eventually claim a hundred victims throughout the U.S.  That afternoon a cold front began to move through the area, with a leading edge that brought rain to a wide swath of the Midwest.

The most torrential of that rain hit Marquette County.

Between 7:15 pm & 10 pm that evening 3.93 inches of rain fell on the city of Marquette, which at the time set a one-day record, according to the National Weather Service.  The rain (and the lightning that accompanied it) knocked out electric and phone service to most of the city, and overloaded Marquette’s water and sewer system.  It also flooded buildings, tore out railroad lines, and washed out an entire block of a Marquette city street–

The 100 East block of Spring Street.

The excess rain water, which was running down the street’s hill, eroded the pavement and dug a gaping valley through the middle of the street.  It also damaged the walls and foundations of the structures that at that time lined Spring Street.  On the south side of the street 40 feet of a wall of the Tonella & Rupp store was damaged, while at the bottom of the hill the south wall of the Reliable Service car dealership was washed away, threatening to collapse the three story tall building’s foundation.

The rushing water also washed out both the LS& I and the DSS&A railroad tracks that ran along Lake Street at the bottom of the Spring Street hill.  All of that damage, combined with flooding along the Whetstone Creek and in south Marquette, led city officials to estimate that the three hours of rain caused over half a million dollars damage (equal to about $8 million today).

Photo courtesy Superior View Studios

The damage wasn’t limited to just the city of Marquette.  Ishpeming reported receiving over 5 inches of rain during those three hours, but with no major incidents to report other than a few flooded basements and broken windows.  Passenger train service from the Chicago & Northwest Railroad was also shut down in Marquette County as track washouts near Goose Lake made travel impossible.

The damage ended as soon as the rain stopped.   Almost all Marquette residents had their electricity restored by the next day, and receding waters allowed the resumption of passenger train service the day following.  Work also began on the buildings damaged by the Spring Street flood, an area that became a popular destination for city residents looking to take pictures of the destruction and, perhaps, to pick up a souvenir or two.

The street itself was eventually filled in and rebuilt by city crews over the next several months.  The businesses operating along that block of Spring Street continued operations throughout the entire time.

Several days after the storm, C.O. Tucker, who was a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Marquette, did the math and estimated that 694 MILLION gallons of water fell on the city during the three hour downpour.

Since then, according to the National Weather Service, the one day rainfall record for Marquette has been broken twice–-with 4.1 inches on October 24th, 1959, and then again with 5.1 inches on May 12th, 2006.  But neither of those storms seems to have caused the massive amount of damage as was caused by the storm that hit Marquette the evening of July 28th, 1949.

Tuesday, 1/23

I kinda like the picture myself.

Here we are, two days before our big “Legends & Lore” show at Kaufman, and my pal Jack & I have finally put the show together. Our shows are often quite spontaneous (as we always quip to the crowd, “you're not paying for us to rehearse, you're donating to the History Center”) but once everything is compiled we do run through the show quickly to make sure all the pictures are in place and that we each know what the other will be talking about.

Well, we went through all 300+ (yes, 300+) pictures yesterday, and I think we have a GREAT show coming up. (Speaking of which, it sold out as of yesterday afternoon...the soonest we've ever done it!)  You'll see things you've never seen before and hear stories you've never heard before, and you'll also see a picture I took a few weeks ago of the building in which I work--

When we were going through them Jack commented on how he thought the picture was great, and coming from a professional photographer that's quite the compliment. I took it with my phone on New Year's Day, believe it or not, and the low winter sun angle (and lack of snow) just gave the picture a very colorful glow. I guess I hadn't realized it until Jack said something about it.

I guess it is kinda cool.

Now, you ask, why would I take a picture of the building in which I work? Well, I answer, it involves the people who had it built 99 years ago—the Knights of Pythias. I'm doing a gag segment on fraternal organizations and the weird get-ups they used to wear, and I'm closing with the Pythians because (and I had no idea about this) they were actually formed in the UP.

That's all I'm gonna say about it here. I'll spill the rest of the beans some day after the show. After all, I don't want to share ALL the good stuff before the crowd gathers on Thursday, do I?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/22

It’s not as much as you think it is. Trust me on that one.

I guess I write about chocolate in here on occasion, right? I mean, sure, when I say “occasion” I actually mean “writing about it so much that it borderlines on pathological obsession”, but I write about chocolate in here, and I mention it quite often on the air, as well. So when someone asked me last week just how much chocolate I eat in a week and I gave them my answer, they actually refused to believe me.

Trust me, though--I wasn’t lying!

I know some people seem to think that I eat nothing but chocolate, including the person who asked me the question, but it’s not true. If you look at my chocolate consumption on a weekly basis, you’d probably be stunned. This doesn’t happen every week--some weeks I eat more, many more weeks I eat less--but on average, I’ll enjoy a three ounce (100 gram) bar from Europe on the weekend, and then parcel out another 3-ounce bar of dark chocolate the rest of the week, eating one (or two) pieces a day at work. So on average, I eat two chocolate bars a week.

Not the two or three bars a day the person who asked the question assumed!

Actually, I don’t know if anyone could eat that much chocolate in a day; not only would your health probably suffer quite a bit, but if you ate that much chocolate it seems like you’d get sick of it fairly quickly. At least I know I’D get sick of it fairly quickly if I ate that much on a daily basis. Nope; I’m quite happy with the amount that I eat each week. And I’m even happier with the quality of that amount.

Take this week, for example. On Saturday and Sunday I consumed a German dark chocolate bar that was heavenly. Then during the week I’ll be nibbling on an Endangered Species bar made of 72% dark chocolate goodness (the perfect percentage for all those good antioxidants dark chocolate provides). I’ll finish that Friday, and that’ll be my chocolate consumption for this seven day period.

Surprised? I hope I haven’t misled you guys all these years. I mean, sure, I write about chocolate a lot because I have a bit of a passion for it. But maybe--just maybe--I may have, well, misinterpreted the depth of my passion for it. I don’t consume mass quantities. For one thing, if I ate as much chocolate as I sometimes infer, I’d probably weigh twice what I weigh now. And like I said, if I ate as much chocolate as I infer, I’d be sick of it by now. I mean, I love chocolate as much as the next person, but I also like fruits and vegetables and everything else that’s included in a balanced diet.

I’m almost being blasphemous when I say this, but there IS more to life than chocolate, despite what & how I may write in here on occasion. So now you know the truth--two bars a week, max. Just try not to hold it against me the next time I go off on a great new bar I’ve tried, okay?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/19

Okay...slight change of plans.

Because I have to be at NMU for another “High School Bowl” shoot in a few minutes I was just going to post the newspaper article I wrote for the “Legends & Lore” show next week. But...

You remember the video I mentioned yesterday, the one I shot at the History Center with a story we had to cut? Well, Emily got it done in record time, and did a GREAT job on it. So great, in fact, she even corrected (at least in the captions) me when I called a murder victim by two different names, both of which were close but neither of which were correct.

I was on such a roll I didn't even notice it when I made the mistake. Twice.

8-)

On that note, have yourself a great weekend. And remember—tickets are almost gone, so if you want them get them!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/18

One week from today it'll all be over.

My day of video shoots went fine yesterday. Most of the day, of course, was spent talking about “Legends & Lore”, the show Jack & I are doing for the History Center at Kaufman a week from tonight. All the promotion we're doing seems to be working out, as the house is already 90% sold out.

So if you don't have your tickets yet you'd better get 'em soon!

I had mentioned yesterday that one of the TV things I was doing involved some of the material we had to cut from the show because of length. We try to get people out of Kaufman at a reasonable hour, and after Jack & I realized we both had an hour or so of material each (plus one segment we're both doing) we realized something had to go.

I fell on the sword, cutting two of my segments. I mean, it's not like I don't write newspaper articles or make videos or give tours, so it's not like the stories won't get used in one form or the other.

In fact, they'll probably get used in many forms, the way I'm going these days.

Anyway, what I did at the History Center was to tell one of those stories as a tease for the whole show. My pal Emily Varga and I worked this out; I just walked around talking, and she shot me with a steadicam while I babbled for five minutes. She'll add a few pictures, post it on social media, and voila—a ready-made promo for the show.

Plus the story of a killer who hid out in a brothel is preserved for history. If we had just had a bootlegger somewhere in there, it would have been the PERFECT Jim Koski ™ history story.

8-)

I'll post the video when she gets it done, so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. And since I'm doing “High School Bowl” yet again tomorrow, I'll share the newspaper story I wrote for the show. No hookers or killers in this one.

Just lots & lots of rain.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/17

Even for me it may be a record.

I don't have too much time to write this morning, as I'm due on the set of “High School Bowl” in a few minutes. But I did want to point how how today's shoot is just the start of what even for me may be a day of waaaaay too much television.

To whit--

After “High School Bowl” this morning I run to work, drop my crap off, and then dash over to the History Center, where I'll be shooting a video (or 2) where I'll be doing promotional segments talking about a segment (or 2) that was dropped from next week's “Legends & Lore” show. Those will be used on social media. Then later tonight I'm going on my TV newscast not to do the “906” segment that got bumped Monday but to spend four minutes chatting with Sarah about the extravaganza a week form tomorrow.

So...three TV shoots in one day. That's what a normal person does on a Wednesday, right?

Right?????

8-)

With that, I'm off to TV shoot #1. Assuming I survive (and you know what they say about assuming stuff) I'll pass along anything strange that happens tomorrow, plus talk about just how much stuff won't be making it into “Legends” next week because, you know, we just have way too much good stuff.

Although if you're gonna have a problem, that's a great problem to have.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/16

 TUESDAY, 1/16:

Well, lookee here.  It finally happened.

For the past couple of months I’ve been writing about our lack of winter, about the warmth and the sun instead of the snow and the cold.  When I last wrote on Friday, we were under a Blizzard Warning with the hopes (if you were of that mindset) that winter would finally arrive.

Well, it did–

Many places outside of Marquette received almost three feet of snow.  As is our custom, we had a LOT less here in Marquette, but still over the ten inches we needed for a winner in our “Where’s the Snow?” contest–

Here in the city the wind and the blowing snow were more of a problem than the snowfall (in fact, there are a lot of patches around the city with partially bare ground, if only because the wind blew all the snow away).  But with the sub-zero temperatures in the forecast the next few days, it looks as if the snow will stick around for a while, good news for the businesses and events that depend upon it but a bit of a bummer for those of us who were wondering if we’d get through the entire winter unscathed.

We should have known better than that, right?

          *****

The entire country has had weird weather the past few days, and believe it or not the snow they had in Buffalo, New York, impacted me.  How, you ask?  Well, I answer, the snow caused the Buffalo Bills playoff game to be postponed from Sunday to Monday afternoon.  That meant the game, broadcast on CBS, was shifted to Monday, which meant that Monday’s 6 pm newscast on WZMQ was canceled, which meant that this week’s “Life in the 906” is now next week’s “Life in the 906”.

So…thanks, snowstorm in Buffalo??

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/12

Could this FINALLY be it?

As you know, we've been waiting for winter to actually arrive here in Marquette. We've sat through warm spells, rainy spells, false weather alarms, and, for those who actually like and/or make their living from the snow, major disappointment.

But that may be about to change. We're (once again) under a Winter Storm Warning, and (as of right now) we could see 18 to 24 inches of snow by tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, followed by bitterly cold temperatures for a few days after that. We've been burned enough this season to be skeptical that it'll actually happen, but people are taking it seriously enough that pre-emptive cancellations, including our “High School Bowl” shoot for this morning, have already begun.

Will we get the snow we're promised? I'm not a meteorologist, nor do I play one on TV, but we'll see. I wouldn't be surprised by whatever happens, including a rain storm that melts what we DO have on the ground or, I dunno, a plague of locusts.

It's just been that kind of winter.

For reference's sake, here's a picture (two, actually) of what Front Street in Marquette looked like late yesterday--

I'll take more pictures when (or if) we get the snow, and then you can judge for yourself whether or not it lived up to the hype.

We'll see.

*****

Now...you actually won't see the “after” picture until Tuesday, because Monday's MLK Day and we get it off. So have yourself a great (and hopefully long) weekend, and keep your fingers crossed that we either do get the snow or don't get the snow, depending upon which way you lean.

Stay warm!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/11

It took over eight years, but the dental floss is finally gone.

If you've been reading these forever (or at least since the last decade) you may recall that back in 2015 Loraine and I took a trip to Germany with our parents. You may also recall that while their luggage arrived with no problems ours was stuck in Philadelphia for two days. While they were enjoying themselves Loraine and I were at a Mueller store (Germany's version of Target) buying a bunch of stuff that we needed, including dental floss.

Specifically, this dental floss--

It wasn't the best floss; it didn't have very good glide and tended to get stuck in my teeth. So once our luggage arrived I used the floss I packed, and brought the German floss home with me. I brought it to work, and whenever I needed to get something unstuck from my teeth I used it. Well, after eating an apple yesterday (and having a piece of apple skin wedged in between my two front teeth) I went to grab the German floss and pulled the last piece out.

The German dental floss is no more.

Although it wasn't the best dental floss in the world, I'll still miss it a little, if only because of the fact that I've been using for over eight years now. I mean, I don't know your flossing habits, but I go through a normal roll of dental floss a LOT faster than eight years. So it's been a small part of my life for almost a decade now.

I'll also (strangely) miss it because very time I use it I'm reminded of the trip. I'm long past the point where I thought of exactly WHY I had to buy the floss; instead, whenever I pulled it out I thought of the fun (although slightly chilly) time I had with my parents.

Using one of those sample rolls of floss you get from the dentist just didn't engender the same feelings.

Hopefully, when Loraine and I go back to Germany in May, our luggage will make it with us. Otherwise, I may have to pick up another roll of dental floss, and if past experience holds, I'll be using for another eight and a half years.

You know, until sometime near the end of 2032.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/10

Well....THAT was a bit of a disappointment.

You know the big storm we were supposed to get? The one with the Winter Storm Warning and the possibility of a foot of snow? Here's what it looked like--

I, in fact, barely see much change from the picture I took 24 hours ago and posted here yesterday--

Now that I look at the two pictures, it seems like there's actually LESS snow on the ground now, after (he says sarcastically here) our "Winter Storm Warning".  Just between you & me...we're not gonna get ANY major snow this year up here, are we? At least, it's starting to look that way, isn't it?

Now...for something completely different. I would like to make a prediction that next Wednesday I'll be going through the Marquette Mining Journal and come across an article that seems strangely familiar. I'll read the first paragraph and realize that I wrote it and then forgot about it.

And I predict that will happen because it's happened before.

In the past I've mentioned that I have the habit of writing newspaper articles and then completely forgetting about them, which is why I'm fairly confident it'll happen again. I think I mentioned Friday that I was writing one over the past weekend for the big “Legends & Lore” show Jack & I are doing at Kaufman on the 25^th, which I did indeed do, turned in, and then forgot about until someone had a question about a picture I had included.

Oops.

The article is slated for publication a week from today, which gives me seven whole days to forget about it again. So I won't be surprised next Wednesday when I come across it yet again and it takes a few seconds for me to realize that I wrote it.

Because, apparently, I'm really good at stuff like that.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/9

Might it finally be happening?

I've been writing (almost obsessively, some might say) about the lack of snow we've had here in Marquette this “winter”. That's changing a little, and by the time some of you read this, it may have changed a lot.

First of all, here's what downtown looked like yesterday--

It still doesn't look like mid-January. Actually, it looks like late March, when most of the snow has already melted, leaving just the dirt that was spread on streets the previous three months. But you can legitimately say that it's starting to look like winter.

At least a little.

But like I said, that may be changing soon. We're under a Winter Storm Warning from this morning through tomorrow morning, and depending upon the track of the system moving through we could see our first serious snowfall of the year. In fact, it might even be serious enough for us to have a winner in our “Where's The Snow?” contest, and part of me didn't think that would happen at all this winter.

Will it actually happen? We'll have to see. The forecast calls for anywhere from four to twelve inches of snow before tomorrow morning, and while (at least this year) I'll believe it when I see it, it could potentially be happening.

We'll see. And depending upon how you feel, either keep your fingers crossed or start getting ready to curse out Mother Nature. I don't know that there's any other choice other than those two these days.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/8

Today's going to be an insane day. And I usually don't get those until the END of January.

Because of the way the holidays are falling today's the only Monday in a span of four I'll be working my radio gig (two Mondays ago was Christmas, last Monday New Year's Day, and next Monday MLK Day). So to “celebrate” I've decided to overbook my schedule and bring out Radio Jim, TV Jim, and History Jim, a combination usually all trotted out together at the end of month when I Have my big Kaufman show with Jack, “High School Bowl”, and radio stuff.

Because, you know, this apparently is quite the special Monday.

What exactly does this all entail? Well, aside from radio and all the attendant stuff with our “Where's the Snow” contest, I'm also giving a talk to one of Marquette's Rotary Clubs, a talk I agreed to a couple of months ago and then, uhm, promptly forgot about. But I'm talking about buildings that have burned in downtown Marquette, so that'; something I can do in my sleep. Then, I wrap up the day with my first “Life in the 906” appearance on TV in three weeks.

That's how a normal person would spend a Monday, right?

Oh, I suppose I should mention that I may be putting the finishing touches on a newspaper article I'm writing for the Kaufman show, too, as that's due Friday. So let me say this again--

That's how a normal person would spend a Monday, right?

No, I don't know how I get myself into these situations, and no, I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. But as I keep joking (at least I think I'm joking) I'd get bored if I was sitting around doing just one job or focusing on just one thing. So three (or four) in one day? Why not.

After all, isn't that what Mondays are for?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/5

Because I'm off to the TV factory for the first time in a whole two weeks (amazing I survived, huh?) I'm going to leave you with something I wrote a couple of years ago. But you know what? I thought of it again this past weekend as I was clearing stuff out while putting our Christmas tree away for another year.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

********

(as originally posted 1/5/21)

As I do every year, I did it as a little tip of the hat to my grandfather. I mean, I don't actually wear a hat, so it wasn't a literal “tip', but you get the idea, right?

My grandfather died over thirty years ago, but in a way I see him every day. You know those ungainly long legs and arms I'm always complaining about? They come from him. The sunken eyes, too. I'm sure that I picked up a few of my odd quirks and idiosyncrasies from him, as well. Those quirks may be lurking in the background, or they may present themselves out in the open like one in particular that happens every Christmas Day.

And that's what I'm talking about here.

When I was a kid, my grandfather would slowly unwrap his gifts and then, if at all humanly possible, put the present back in the wrapping paper and make it look as close to an unwrapped gift as he could. I don't know why; all I know is he did it, and it made him happy. I grew up watching him do it, and probably pretty much every year since he passed away, I've tried to carry on the tradition.

No I have no idea why.

Because I have nowhere near the skill level that he had, I always have to try it with a book (or, this year, a Blu-ray disc set). I'll slowly undo the tape (much to Loraine's consternation, who just wants me to get on with it), pull the book (or Blu-ray)out, see what it is, thank who gave it to me, and then slip it back into the wrapping paper, where it sits in its little cage acting as my little tribute to my grandfather, at least until I open it again to read the book or start watching the Blu-ray, which I did this past weekend.

Yeah, I know. I need help.

8-)

There's no real reason for me to do it other than to carry on a rather weird tradition, but you know what? For me, at least, it wouldn't seem like Christmas without doing it. And then every year in January when I re-unwrap the gift, I smile a little smile and think back to a guy who left an impression on me, not only with those long arms & legs I see every day, but in a much more quirky way, as well.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/4

If I knew, I'd be a psychic. Or a millionaire. Or both.

I've been writing a LOT in here about the wacky weather we've had so far this winter. It's been warm, it's been wet, and the one thing it hasn't been is snowy. In fact, after it “snowed” yesterday, here's what downtown Marquette looked like--

There's less than an inch on the ground; after all, you can still see blades of grass poking though the flakes. There's not a lot in the forecast the next week or so, and that means certain people are getting close to having to make a decision on several events that are just a few weeks away--

The Ishpeming Ski Jumps & the Noquemanon Cross Country Ski Marathon.

Obviously, both of those events need snow to come off, and in the case of the Noque need quite a solid base of snow so groomers can lay down tracks. Yet, like I said, there's little if no snow on the ground, and whether the ski jumps—two weekends away—or the Noque—three weekends away—have enough could be quite problematic as the days draw down. I wish I knew whether or not the weather would cooperate.

But the way this winter's been going, I wouldn't want to venture a guess, even if I was a weather professional. The way it's going, it wouldn't surprise me if was 65 and sunny on Noque day. It really wouldn't.

Hopefully, this (the postponing or canceling of local winter events) does not become the norm. But it's not without precedent. A few years ago, the Noque was cut short because there wasn't any snow on the ground at the finish line in Marquette, and just last year the UP 200 was outright canceled because there was no snow anywhere. And it's not only the big events; ski resorts and hotels that depending upon snowmobilers for winter revenue are out of luck when the weather, as it increasingly does these days, goes wacky.

We'll have to see what's in store, snow-wise, in the next week or two. And if it's not, you know, snowy, I have the feeling we'll be hearing more bad news than good.

I really do.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/3

I wanna know what happened to the other shoe.

First of all, Happy New Year! Hope your extended weekend, no matter how long (or short) it was went well, and that you're ready to face 2024 head on. And remember—if you still write checks, you really DO need to write “2024” on them now, and NOT “2023”.

So good luck with that.

Sunday night, New Year's Eve, Loraine and I took a walk downtown to see the set-up for the big ball drop on Washington Street. Even at 830 that evening things were starting to hop, and based on pictures I saw from midnight 5,000 or so people gathering to ring in the New Year.

And based on the experiences I had with broadcasting from ball drops over the years, I'm guessing that 5 or 6 of them many actually have been sober.

Anyway, walking back home we walked past the station, which has a little retaining wall next to it. Sitting on that wall was a pair of shoes. I don't know how the pair of shoes got there or why they were left, but the shoes were there. I didn't think too much of it; after all, it's downtown Marquette and strange things happen all the time, so I totally forgot about it.

Then New Year's Day, the next morning, I went running, and when I cruised up the hill by the station I noticed only one of the shoes was still there. This one--

First of all, I have to say I'm impressed there was still a shoe lying there. After all, when you have 5,000 (excuse me, 4,995) drunk people around, items that aren't tied down oftentimes disappear. But that led me to my other question--

If you see a pair of shoes lying around, why would you just take one? I mean, unless you lost one of your own shoes in some kind of footwear accident, do you really have a need for a single shoe? Taking a pair...I can see that no problem. Taking a single shoe?

Not so much.

Unfortunately, this is one of those questions to which I'll probably never have an answer, as when I came downtown yesterday the other shoe was gone, as well. I have no idea if the original owner came back to get their missing footwear, only to find half of it gone, nor do I know if the person who absconded with the first shoe decided that they'd really liked the pair and came back for the second.

It's a question that'll never have an answer.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)