Thursday, 3/28

I didn't think it would be that much of a landslide. And the results once again show that I'm a bit of an oddball.

Our “At Work/Online Network” for this week is tied into what's coming up Sunday, asking how individuals eat their chocolate Easter bunny—ear first, tail first, or some other way. I had no idea how people would respond, so I was a little stunned when almost everyone (or at least everyone's who's answered so far) said “ears first”.

Really?

Now, I don't want to make this into another one of those “which way to hang your toilet paper” controversies, but that's not the choice I would have made. Why, you ask? Well, I answer, there are many chocolate bunnies that have solid ears, unlike their hollow tails & bodies, so why not save the part with the most chocolate (the ears) for the end. You know, save the best for last.

At least, that's what I do.

Of course, I understand that some people want to scarf the good part first. I totally understand that, and won't fault you one bit. But unlike the Great Toilet Paper Controversy, I'm not totally agnostic on this. I do have a preference. I'm just surprised that my preference is so out of the mainstream. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised; after all, many of the things I do or find interesting are out of the mainstream.

But this far out? That's a new one even for me.

8-)

On that Easter-y note, we have tomorrow off, so there won't be a new one of these. I hope you have a great Easter weekend, and enjoy your chocolate bunny...no matter how you eat it!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/27

I wonder if anyone knows this about me?

I received a text from daily blog reader Chicky-Poo in Melbourne Beach, Florida over the weekend (hi, dad!), and he was telling me about a video he was watching. The video dealt with a seven year old, and how the seven year old's dad was supposed to speak to his class. The dad had something come up, so the kid instead asked his garbage collector to come in and talk about collecting trash.

Apparently, the garbage collector was the most popular speaker the class had all day.

Anyway, my dad brought this up because of his nerdy first-born. As has become readily apparently over the years, I was an unusual kid (thankfully, I grew out of that, right? (and as a side note, it's a pity sarcasm doesn't transform into the written word very well). And that...uniqueness apparently translated into my first-ever dream job. Nowadays, my dream job is to be a beach bum; when I was growing up, it was astronaut. But when I was five or so, I had a really different dream job.

I wanted to be a trash collector.

I don't really recall this personally, but both my parents have mentioned it over the years. When I was young, I would always wait for the day when the garbage truck would come by. I would then watch as the trash dudes threw stuff into the back of the truck, and stare in fascination as everything was compacted together. Whether it was the truck or the noise or something else, I don't know. But whatever it was made me proclaim to my ever-understanding parents that, one day, I wanted to be a garbage collector.

How I went from that to doing what I do now...I have no idea.

It actually reminds me of what happened here ten or so years ago, when we had a first or second grade class tour the station. There was one boy who, when told that we had a big battery downstairs to keep things running if the power went out, had no further interest in the station itself, or talking on the air, or recording himself. All he wanted to see was the big battery. He kept asking about it until I took him downstairs and showed him.

And by doing that, I'm pretty sure we made his day.

Kids are interested in what adults think are the strangest things. But that's what makes them kids. They're curious. They're learning about the world, and what makes it run. And if they see or hear about something that's big or loud or both, so much the better, whether it's a battery or a garbage truck.

Some kids, in fact, are so impressed that, if even for a short while, they dream of growing up and being able to put one to use every day when they go to work.

(jim@wmqt.com), garbage collector in another life.

Tuesday, 3/26

It's not my fault. I'm sure of that.

Winter finally decided to make an appearance (only its second of the season) yesterday in Marquette--

As a joke yesterday, we solicited people who were to “blame” for the return of the nasty weather. One listener blamed their husband because he put their snowblower away, while another blamed herself because her knees hurt every time it snows and she was trying to wish it away. I guess in the end it doesn't matter; as I mentioned last week or the week before, we've just become really spoiled this year, and when winter decides to reclaim its rightful territory, we get a little upset.

But still, winter—go away. It's April next week. Those flower blooms that are already popping our of the ground need their space. Really, they do.

****

Speaking of stuff I wrote about a while ago, you may recall that I mentioned, in once of those “my life just keeps getting weirder” posts, that I spoke with a reporter for Marquette Monthly, because they wanted to do a profile on me. Well, that profile is coming out this week, in their April issue. I have no idea what it'll be like, but the editor says it' a “highlight” of this month's edition. So, I guess, check it out and see if you agree.

By the way, have I mentioned my life is weird?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/25

You know, maybe I need to enunciate a little more clearly.

I’ve now had two people come up to me at entirely different times in the past two weeks and ask the exact same question--“How come, when you’re taking Instant Requests, you ask the caller about their station for “More Music, More Fun, and and Instant Request? Why do you say ‘and' twice”? Well, I actually don’t. I ask them about their station for “More Music, More Fun, and AN Instant Request”. And once I explain that to the person asking the question, they realize what’s going on, and nod their head in acknowledgment.

However, as I’ve found out many times over the hundreds of years that I’ve been doing this, if more than one person notices something, then a LOT of people are noticing that same exact thing. Therefore, I guess I need to enunciate a little more clearly.

In all honesty, I don’t even pay attention to stuff like that, and I’m sure I should. I’m sure a vocal coach could come in and explain dozens of things I’m doing wrong (like not enunciating clearly and being overly dependent on the words “okay” and “like”). I’m sure a real radio “professional” would point out that I don’t punch the right words or phrases, and that I often just sound like I’m talking to someone, instead of having a voice that sounds like I Should Be On The Radio.

My bad. I guess I just don’t really have a radio voice, something that’s been pointed out many times when people meet me for the first time and say, “You sound just like you do on the radio!” Well, yeah...that’s just because it’s me talking. I’ve never approached it like I should sound like I Should Be On The Radio; I just always figured it’s just me talking to you guys, and why should I have a “radio voice” to do that? Yet there are so many people in this business who are what are known as “pukers”; people with big RADIO voices that make themselves sound like their tonsils are coming out of their throats. I’m sure you’ve heard them before, and I know that’s what some people expect when they turn on the radio.

But that’s not me, and it’s not something to which I ever aspire.

However, maybe I SHOULD work a little on the enunciation, especially if people keep wondering about the double “ands” at the end of an Instant Request. I do tend to speak rather quickly, and maybe, sometimes, on occasion, my words tend to run together, especially if they have the same sounds, like “and” and “an”. So I’ll try and work on that.

Like I said, my bad.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/22

Because I have to go out and shoot a couple pieces of coverage for some “Pieces of the Past” before I head to work, I'm going to leave you with something I wrote a couple of years ago. But considering I'm working on another set of the videos, and I'm up to my eyeballs in old pictures, maybe it's appropriate.

Maybe.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

******

(as originally posted 3/1/21)

I know dreams don't literally come true. But I sure wish this one could.

As I've gotten older, the dreams I have at night have become less vivid. No longer about falling from the sky or walking down the street with no clothes on, my dreams now tend to be a bit more prosaic,.a bit more down-to-Earth. Because of that, I don't really seem to remember them when I wake up as much as I used to.

And that's why the dreams I had two nights ago really stuck with me.

The dream wasn't about anything weird or strange; it didn't involve zombies, dragons, Jennifer Aniston, or me heading down the street wondering where I had left my underwear. It was another in a series of prosaic, boring dreams. No one died, no one was in danger; my subconscious wasn't trying to tell me anything. It was just a dream. But it was an amazing dream, at least for me. It's a dream that has stuck with me the past two days, and a dream that makes me wish dreams really could come true. Some of you may laugh when I tell you about the dream, while others will think it makes perfect sense.

What was the dream that's stuck with me the past few days? Well, I had a dream that I was wandering around downtown Marquette, taking pictures with my 20 megapixel Nikon DSLR camera, which is something that I actually do all the time.

But in my dream, I was doing it in 1935.

That's right—the dream that I had involved me having a piece of modern technology in my hand and using it to document buildings and people that were around decades before I was even born. Instead of looking at the black & white pictures that exist from that era, I was able to capture structures that burned or were torn down in vivid, stunning color. In my dream, I saw the old Marquette in a way that I'd never actually be able to in real life. In my dream, I was able to walk down Washington & Front Streets and take pictures of the Opera House, of the Union National Bank building, of the Nester Block, of all the bars that existed on the 300 block of South Front, and all the old hotels that existed around the train station.

And all the pictures I was taking of those amazing old buildings were in color.

I know; I'm a dork. You won't get any argument from me. The fact that, in my dream, I was able to walk down the street and know exactly where each old building was is a testament to that. But just to have the chance to break multiple rules of physics and to go back in time, even if it was in a dream, was amazing. I've poured over hundreds of historic photographs in a decade-plus of doing programs for the History Center, but those were all black & white. In the back of my mind, I always wondered what those buildings looked like in person, what they looked like to those who passed by them on a daily basis.

And thanks to my dream, I now know. Kind of. I mean, whatever images popped into my brain while I was sleeping weren't true. They weren't real. They were just stylized images, put together with whatever clouding and shading my unconscious mind generated. But still...they were in color. Unlike every other time in my life when I've glanced at those long-gone buildings, they looked like living, vital structures, and not just mono-chromed images from decades past. I realize no one else would probably ever have a dream like that, but I still think that it was an amazing way to spend part of an REM cycle.

It's just too bad a dream like that can never come true.

Thursday, 3/21

I guess we really HAVE been spoiled so far this year.

I've written in here quite a bit about the mild winter we've had. It really hasn't been cold at all, we're only at about 40% of our usual snowfall, and even though Spring technically started a few days ago it seems like it's been Spring since, oh, Thanksgiving. So when we actually do get a little winter-like weather, which we have on occasion, we whine.

A lot.

Here's what it looked like outside yesterday--

Yeah, I know. There was an inch or so of snow and a cold north wind, both of which occur quite often as we head into the latter part of March. But because we've had such a mild winter it now seems as if we feel we're entitled to nice weather. So when we get “normal” late-March conditions, like we did yesterday (and should again today) we complain that it's cold and it's wet and it's yucky in general.

Amazing how quickly you can get spoiled, huh?

Now, if this was late April (or, heaven forbid, late May) I could see the reason for the complaining. In fact, I would probably lead the masses in that complaining. But even I realize that it's still March, and in many Marches if we had a day like we had yesterday we'd look at it as a sign Spring was on the way because we ONLY had an inch of snow and temperatures were up to (gasp) the 20s.

But not in the “winter” of 2024.

The way things have been going this year I'm guessing we'll soon be back to the sunny skies and, I dunno, temperatures in the 90s by next week. Honestly, in 2024, nothing would surprise me. But even if the more seasonal weather sticks around, we probably shouldn't complain about things being “normal” too much.

After all, as we all know, it could be a whole lot worse.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/20

Because I was curious (or because I'm a masochist...I'm not quite sure which) I went back into the archives to see what I wrote on this date back in 2020.

It was not a pretty thing to read.

That, of course, was right in the heart of the Covid shutdown. The week prior saw the world turn upside down, with no idea what would happen. Because radio was considered an essential service I still went to work every day into a studio complex that was devoid of people except for me (something that lasted for over a year, if you're curious). And because no one knew how bad things would get, on this date four years ago I wrote about something I hope I never have to write about again--

“I now find myself in possession of a document that I never thought I would have, nor one that I ever thought I would actually want. Should the state come under a quarantine or a stay-at-home order, I have permission to leave my apartment and go to work, and not get arrested for doing it.

That's just way too weird for me.

However, radio is considered an essential service in this country, and is still, despite all kinds of social media floating around, one of the primary ways in which people get information. So it's not like we can just stop our lives and hunker inside with everyone else. We're licensed to operate in the “public interest”, and this is one of those times that literally define “public interest”.

Hence, we're an 'essential service'”.

Thankfully, I never had to use the piece of paper. Thankfully things did, after several starts & stops, get better, even if the virus is now part of our everyday lives. But when you think about what we were going through four years ago this month & next it makes you shudder. Or, at least, it makes me shudder, not only because of what we went through back then but also because of the fact that we're still dealing with the fallout from it, in many different ways, four years later.

Our world really did change four years ago. And not for the better. But for now, at least, you don't need to be in possession of a piece of paper to walk three blocks to work.

And let's hope it stays that way.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/19

We now have a release schedule.

I think I've been mentioning on and off in here about how I'm prepping a new series of the “Pieces of the Past” video shorts I do for the History Center. In fact, that's why I took this past Friday off, to shoot interviews & B-Roll footage, and to get a little research done. I got so much done, in fact, that I also had a little time to sit down with the amazing Emily Varga at the History Center, my cohort in getting the videos posted, and we decided that they will go up on a weekly basis beginning April 3^rd.

So...yay???

Picking a date means, of course, that the new series is real. Before, I could play around with them and not really commit to doing anything. However, after sitting down with someone else and picking a date, that commitment becomes real, which means that I actually have to follow through. Not that that's a worry; I actually have the first three of them already finished, and the other (gulp) 16 are in various stages of production, but just to have a firm date means that I have to follow a schedule and get them done.

I just don't get to futz around with them, like I've done the past few months. I actually have to do them.

However, this has worked in the past, thanks to Emily, of all people. We were siting in a meeting a year and a half ago when I mentioned that I had been noodling around with my restaurant documentary “The Greasier the Spoon”. She suggested that if I had a release date that I might actually get it done, and you know what? She was right, and it was actually the kick in the butt that I needed to finish it.

Have I mentioned Emily's amazing?

So each Wednesday beginning April 3^rd there will be a new video for the world to peruse on all the History Center's social media, plus my Facebook. I will, of course, be posting many of them on here, as well. Because, as you know, I never waste the opportunity to re-purpose things over and over and over.

After all, now that I actually HAVE to make them, I might as well get as much out them as possible, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/18

Which way does your toilet paper hang?

I ask this because, unbeknownst to me, there's apparently a huge controversy regarding which way your toilet paper roll is “supposed” to hang once you put it up. There's a large, vocal group of people who are adamant that the tube must hang with the paper coming over the top of the roll. There's another large, vocal group of people who insist that the tube must hang with the paper coming from the bottom of the roll. And as far as I can tell, a member of one of those very vocal groups will never, ever agree that the other group could possibly be correct.

You thought politics was splitting this country in two? Heck, that's child's play compared to how you hang your toilet paper!

I've had this discussion with friends, family, and co-workers over the years. I myself could care less which way the roll is hung. If the paper comes off the top, fine. If the paper comes off the bottom, that's equally as fine. After all, it's just toilet paper. There are way too many problems in the world on which people should be concentrating and devoting their time and energy to solving. But which way the toilet paper hangs?

Probably not so much.

Of course, and as usual, I seem to be the oddball out in this situation. I didn't realize this was a problem. I didn't realize people had such strong feelings about the subject, especially with some of the people with whom I've discussed the topic. I also didn't realize that this was situation that's tearing at the very fabric of our country. But apparently it is. In fact, there are a ton of websites devoted to which way is “right” and which way is “wrong”. So in the future, when you sit down with your extended family at a holiday dinner, here are the topics you should NOT bring up while eating--

Religion.

Politics.

Toilet paper.

That's okay. You can thank me later.

8-)

*****

If you're curious, here's how the weekend's cheesecake project turned out--

(jim@wmqt.com), who, as someone named after an Irish great-grandfather, hopes you had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Thursday, 3/14

Happy Pi Day!!

(I'll take a slice of blueberry and a couple of pumpkin, if you don't mind).

But instead of pie, I'm gonna try making something else in the next few days...a pistachio raspberry cheesecake. I saw a recipe for one a few days ago, and after pondering it for those few days decided to do a variation of it. It'll consist of a graham cracker crust, four bricks of cream cheese, a big bag of ground pistachios, and a crumbled dark chocolate raspberry bar as a topping.

I'm sure it'll be yummy. And I did the math looking at all the ingredients. The whole cheesecake will be over 5,000 calories, enough to put a pound and a half of extra weight on a person.

Needless to say, I won't be eating it all myself.

I'm actually looking at the cheesecake the same way I do at all those Christmas cookies I make. I'll only eat a handful, and give the rest of them out to other people, to spread the calories around. I'm thinking I may only eat a (small) slice or two of the cheesecake. Loraine can have as much as she wants, and whatever's left either goes out to friends or to Loraine's co-workers, who have a seemingly inexhaustible ability to devour whatever's brought in.

Even if it's several thousand calories of cheesecake.

I haven't made a cheesecake in a bit, so I'll be curious to see how it turns out. I am, however, taking into account that it IS a cheesecake (with pistachios and chocolate), so even if it doesn't look the way I'd like, I'm pretty much guaranteed that it WILL be yummy.

We'll see this weekend!

*****

On that note, I'm taking tomorrow off, and will actually be doing a lot of work (in the form of interviews) on the next season of those “Pieces of the Past” videos I do for the History Center., so there won't be a new one of these tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, whether it's three days, filled with cheesecake, both, or neither!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/13

Let's stay on the theme, I guess.

Monday, I wrote about my upcoming driving expedition in Germany. Yesterday, I wrote more about cars. So today we'll continue the thread with a bonus of throwing a language lesson in, as well. I had mentioned that I needed to dig out the sheet I have explaining what German traffic signs and lights mean, and I was immediately reminded of my favorite aspect of the German language--

Compound words.

The German language seems to believe that the more syllables a word has, the better. And that's often shown in their use of compound words, words that take two words in another language to form one German word.

As an example, the German word for “glove” is handshuh, which would translate into English as “hand shoe”. And as a side note, it sometimes IS hard to believe that German is actually the mother language of English.

Really, it is.

Anyway, while looking at the sheet of traffic signs & lights I remembered my favorite German compound word of all time. I'm not quite sure how they get this many syllables from a single term, but would you like to see the German word for “traffic light”? Here it is--

Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungsschild

Oh, those wacky, wacky Germans and their wacky, wacky language.

8-)

In English, “traffic light” is three syllables. But in German, the language from which English is descended, it's (if I'm reading this correctly), ten. And what's even more amazing, the German word for “light” (Licht) isn't even part of the compound word. Neither is the word for “traffic” (Verkehr) Yet somehow, that 33-letter word is what a German would say if I were to point to a traffic light.

So if you ever need a good word for Scrabble, there you go. And if you ever get bored on a rainy day, head over to Google translate, type an English word in, and see what the German translation might be.

Because, I'm guessing, that's not the wackiest compound word that's out there.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/12

I wonder when (and how) the balance shifted?

Those of you who've read these forever may recall the results of a “survey” I've done twice in the past seven or eight years. That “survey” stemmed from observations made by me & Loraine walking around Marquette all the time, observations that led us to conclude that for every Subaru Outback you come across in the city of Marquette you will soon find a Chevrolet Silverado. The “survey” I did twice was basically just counting all the Outbacks and all the Silverados I saw in one week's span of time. The first time I did the “survey” there was an equal amount of both vehicles. When I did it a few years later, Silverados outnumbered Outbacks by two (out of several hundred counted).

So even though we just had a “theory” it was backed up (twice) by a “survey”. If you get rid of the quotation marks you could call it actual “statistical analysis”.

Almost.

Anyway, the past few months we've noticed an imbalance in the Force. It seemed as if we were seeing a lot more Outbacks than we were Silverados. So I decided it was time for another “survey”, and you know what I found? There IS an imbalance in the Force. In fact, it's quite a big one. During my latest one week count, I saw almost two Outbacks for every Silverado that rolled around (65-35, to be exact-ish).

It was weird.

I don't know what the deal is. I'd say I was just counting during the wrong week, but the “survey” just backed up anecdotal observations we've been making for several months now. There ARE now more Outbacks than Silverados. In fact, like I said, a LOT more. As to the why...I have no idea. Maybe because Outbacks are cheaper to operate? Maybe the new Silverados are flawed in some way that the old one weren't? I couldn't even venture a guess as to why.

All I know is that after years of equilibrium the title of “Marquette's favorite vehicle” has shifted in a BIG way toward Subaru Outbacks. I don't think any of us saw it coming, but it has.

We live in a weird world these days, don't we?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/11

I guess as Plan Bs go it's not too bad of a Plan B.

As you may recall two months from today Loraine and I will be in the middle of our trip to Germany. And as you may recall, that trip to Germany is fraught with uncertainty over train strikes, airport strikes, and municipal transit strikes. Because of that uncertainty we took a leap and decided not to travel to our destinations by train, as originally planned.

Guess who gets to drive a rental car instead?

8-)

We had originally decided to forego a rental car for trains for a number of reasons, including cost and environmental impact. However, with the uncertainty surrounding whether or not we'd get where we wanted we figured we might was well bite the bullet and get a car. It was either that or face the (unlikely, but still possible) fact that we might spend all 10 days at the Frankfurt Airport.

And I don't think anyone would consider that a “vacation”.

So now I have to get ready to drive in a foreign country, which means digging out and updating the GPS I haven't used in (gulp) six years since the last time I drove in Europe. I need to get an International Driving Permit, and I have to find the sheet of road signs I printed out the last time I drove in Germany (six years ago!) so I can remember not to do something stupid like, you know, ending up in jail because I drove the wrong way down a one-way street.

Excuse me...an Einbahnstraße.

But in the end that's nothing compared to the uncertainty with which we were faced. Now that we have a car, we don't need to worry that much about train strikes or municipal transit strikes. Airport strikes... well, that's another thing. So keep your fingers crossed for us, if you would, and who knows—maybe we'll actually get to see sites like this two months from today--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/8

So...what are YOU going to do today?

Here in Marquette, and in an increasing number of communities across the upper Midwest, it's “Spread Goodness Day”. Started by Marquette native Anna Dravland, it's just a day when you're supposed to do something nice. That's it—you just need to be kind to someone in some way. It's probably one of the easiest things you could ever do, and in a world where kindness sometimes seems on the verge of extinction, a day like today is welcome.

Very, very, welcome.

In the past couple of years I've been the recipient of a few acts of kindness on “Spread Goodness Day”, once when a pre-school here in downtown Marquette stopped by to give me a bag of gummies and crackers, and the other last year when some random lady called me out of the blue just to thank me for everything I do. I didn't need either of those acts, and I'm sure that other people could have probably benefited from them more than me, but they're both perfect examples of what “Spread Goodness Day” stands for.

After receiving those kind acts, I make sure I do a little something for someone. I don't wake up on “Spread Goodness Day” and think to myself that I'll do this thing or that thing, but when an opportunity presents itself I definitely take it. It might be something as simple as holding a door for someone whose arms are full, or telling someone who like their jacket, or by buying muffins for the next person in line at Babycakes.

It doesn't matter what you do. As long as it's done with kindness, that's the most important thing.

So go out and spread a little goodness not just today, but every single day you can. The world will be a better place for it. It really will.

And while you're at it, have a great weekend, too!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 3/7

Even after 18 hours, my brain still hurts.

I don't know if many people know this, but for the past couple of months I've been keeping a couple of Copper Country stations owned by the same company as us programmed, just like I do here in Marquette. One's a metal station, and the other's country. I know little (if anything) about metal or country, but I do know how to program a radio station, so it's been...interesting.

Yesterday I was going through things on the country station, to tighten up rotations and make sure the music clocks were playing the songs they were supposed to play. I also went online to check out several new songs that might be added; five of them, in fact. And it was after listening to them that my brain started to hurt...

If only because all five of them dealt with a guy, a truck, and a girl the guy wanted to get in the back of the truck.

Not only was the lyrical content the same, but all five songs pretty much sounded the same, as well. A lot of country music these days sounds like rock music of 25 years ago, and all of five of them had the same big beat, slightly rap-y vocals, and double entendre lyrics. Some people will describe Nashville (and the country format as a whole) as a music factory; after checking out the songs yesterday, I think I can safely say that factory is in mass production mode these days.

I'm not ragging on country music; it's one of the most popular formats in radio, and if you look deep enough there are artists putting out some amazing work these days (check out Kelsea Ballerini's “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” if you don't believe me). Unfortunately, that amazing music doesn't always translate to a hit on country radio, if only because it doesn't have a big beat or reference a pickup truck (or is done by a woman, a story for another day). In pop radio, work like that can break through to a mass audience.

In country, not so much.

I keep saying that my life is weird, that I never know what's around the next corner. And I'm pretty sure that if you had told me a couple of months ago that I'd be spending a couple of hours every few weeks listening to songs about guys & their trucks, I just would have scoffed.

I would have been wrong, but I still would have scoffed.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 3/6

I know that I, just like everyone else up here, can't stop from going on and on and on about what a weird “winter' this has been. But when you see something like this on March 4^th, you can't blame us--

That's right; we're just a few hours into the month of March, a time when we're usually still skiing and snowmobiling and generally complaining about the cold & the snow. But this year? Nope; this year, we're looking at flowers popping up out of the ground in Marquette a good month or so before the snow even usually starts to melt.

So when we keep going on and on and on about what a weird “winter” this is, we're not kidding.

8-)

******

I also need to note the fact that my favorite 4-year old in the world is now my favorite 5-year old in the world! It's blows my mind that my nephew Calum is five today, but I guess when your first birthday was a week before the world shut down and it's been a blur every since...maybe it's not THAT surprising, is it?

However, he's grown up to be a cool young man. Every time he pops by the station he runs into one of our studios, pulls the mic down to his level, and has me start a recording so he can listen to back to himself. Who knows...maybe he'll follow in his favorite (okay, his only) uncle's footsteps one day.

I know he has the dorkiness down already.

Anyway, happy birthday, Calum!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 3/5

I can't believe that's another regard in which I'm below average. But apparently, I am.

My “Weird Fact of the Day” yesterday was a simple one—that the average American spends about a thousand hours in their kitchen every year. That works out to a little over two hours a day which, for someone who likes to cook & bake, seems very do-able. But I started to think and that, as we all know, can be a very dangerous thing. So I sat down and figured it out, to see just how much time I spend in the kitchen every year.

And I don't even come close to the average, yet again.

I mean sure...there ARE some days when I might spend just over two hours a day in the kitchen. But those are far outnumbered by the days when I (sadly) spend little (if any) time in there. Some days, it's just a few minutes to grab something and shove it down my pie hole before moving on to whatever's next in my life. And those days are probably more the norm than the days when I get to luxuriate in the kitchen.

Although, in all honesty, there are many when I'd rather be in the kitchen than doing whatever else there is I have to do...you know?

8-)

Actually I had one of those days this past Sunday. After Loraine and I went out to play soccer (more on something we saw while doing it tomorrow) I made us a nice meal. Specifically, I made us this--

That's actually a riff on a dish that used to be one of Loraine's favorites at the old New York Deli in Marquette. It's penne pasta with artichoke hearts in a Gorgonzola tomato sauce, loaded up with fresh basil and topped with even more Gorgonzola. We ran out to my sister's grocery store a couple of weeks ago and noticed that they happened to have all the ingredients. So we picked them up for a day when we felt like using them, and that day just happened to have been Sunday.

And after running around a soccer pitch for two hours, we devoured it.

So I guess while I AM below average in the yearly time I spend in the kitchen, I try to make up for it. Those days may be few & far between, but when they happen, they're yummy.

Really, they are.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 3/4

With two months (and a few days) before we leave for Germany (and hoping that striking airport, Deutsche Bahn, and municipal transits workers are done with their labor actions by then), I was thinking about something over the weekend, and it made me realize I have a confession to make--

I actually like to fly.

I know; it's strange. Most people look upon flying somewhere with the same enthusiasm they would have looking forward to a root canal. But not me. For some reason, even on those days when it takes (for example) 22 hours to fly from Munich to London to Chicago to Marquette, I actually get excited that I'm gonna be up in the air soon.

Go figure.

I don't know why I always so look forward to flying. I just do. And before you think I'm totally insane, know that I am fully aware of the hassle of flying. I know what it's like having to stand in long security lines. I know what it's like losing luggage. And although I've never had to deal with a situation as extreme as one of my former TV co-workers recently did (when her Wednesday night flight from Detroit to Marquette didn't actually make it to Marquette until Saturday night), I know first hand what it's like having to make a short connection or re-book a canceled flight.

Yet, I still look forward to doing it.

I suppose, if I had to think about it, that maybe it's because I like the romance of flying. Not romance as falling head over heels in love, and not romance as in joining the Mile High Club, but just the “romance” of doing something out of the ordinary and going somewhere special. Maybe I like it because flying is a gateway to an adventure. And that's true. But it still wouldn't account for the fact that I even enjoy the flights home after the “adventure” is finished. I still enjoy boarding the plane, spending hours gazing out the window and watching the world slip by below me, and I still enjoy the rhythm of life that's unique to an airport.

I can't explain why. I just do.

Ask me again at the end of the May, after we may or may not have made it to Germany and back successfully. But you know what? Even if that were to happen, even if I spent a lot of time afterward grumbling about it, I'd probably still harbor a weird, secret wish--

That I'd be able to fly again, and fly again soon.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 3/1

You know Stacy, you may have a point.

Part of yesterday's blog dealt with the fact that schools were closed (for some) for the first time this year. I included a picture of the little snow we received, which prompted daily blog reader Stacy of Marquette to wonder if they close schools a lot quicker than they used to.

I'm kind of curious about that myself..

Now, I'm sure most of this is clouded by both time and memory, but I seem to recall going to school in conditions much worse than what we experienced yesterday. I remember walking to school in howling winds blowing massive snowflakes around, winds (that seemed) much stronger than the gusts that actually closed schools yesterday. I remember walking to school in big snow drifts. And I remember walking to school once with something to drink, and having that drink become partially frozen during the time it was exposed to the elements. So when I hear that schools have been closed because of a little snow and a little wind, I can see why Stacy might scoff and utter a phrase that's more of a joke than it is serious...

“Kids these days”.

Yet even while some (older) people may scoff at schools being closed in conditions they find borderline, I certainly do understand why administrators do it. After all, safety of their students is their number one concern, and in an age of litigation at the drop of the hat, helicopter parents, and increased safety standards, they're just doing their job. And they're doing it well; after all, I don't think anyone would mind if the people in charge of safety erred on the side of caution, which is I'm sure what local school administrators did when they canceled classes yesterday.

Times change. And standards change. Reasons for keeping schools open when I was a student no longer exist, much like leaded gasoline, political compromise, and a stable planetary climate system no longer exist. Just because things are different than they were years ago doesn't mean they're better or they're worse. They're just different. And if schools need to close on days when, when I was a kid, they'd have stayed open, that's life. That's progress.

And that's just the way it is.

Have yourself a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)