Friday, 2/20

Oh, look. Everything's shut down again because of the weather.

I know I've been whining a lot this week about the “Throwback Winter” we're currently enduring, but the optimistic part of me hopes this may be the last time. There's wet, heavy snow out there yet again, the winds are whipping all the crap that's falling around, most schools are closed, and our epic end-of-the-season “High School Bowl” shoot has been pushed back a few weeks.

So, you know, it's just another day in the never-ending winter of 2026.

What gives me hope that it may be the last time? Well, it's nothing I can tangibly prove. There's no forecast model I've looked at, and no hard data to back it up. But I have a...feeling. There just seems to be something that's saying that this might be the last time.

Like I said, I have nothing to prove it, and it might just be me grasping at straws as I slowly descend into madness, but it just...feels like this might be it. Maybe I'm reading something into the (relatively) warmer temperatures that's not there, and maybe the fact that it stays light later at night has stripped what's left of my sanity, but it just feels like this might be the last big one of the winter.

Of course, I realize that up here we can get a “big one” at any time before Memorial Day, and this year we'll probably get several, but like I said, I'm grasping at straws here. At least let me dream a little, right?

8-)

I'll be curious to see how it turns out. Maybe it'll be in the 60s some day soon, and the snow will melt. Or maybe the snowbanks, like this one outside of my house--

will keep growing at an exponential rate until they become the highest points in the entire state of Michigan.

This year, we're gonna get one extreme or the other. I have a feeling there's no middle point. Just like I have the feeling that we're (hopefully) closer to the end of all this crap than we are the beginning.

Keep your fingers crossed. And stay warm this weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/19

It's never gonna end, is it?

After suffering through the snow day yesterday, watching almost a foot of wet, heavy snow dumped on us, comes word that another system is moving through tonight and tomorrow, promising up to another foot of the crap on top of the crap we just received.

What the what, Mother Nature?

I'll be curious to see what happens with it all, as tomorrow we were supposed to shoot the final episodes of “High School Bowl”--the semi-finals, the championship match, and a bunch of material for the “Year in Review” show. However, since we have teams coming in from (literally) all four corners of the UP, I'm guessing we may have a few issues with that.

We'll see.

I did a little math for my “Weird Fact of the Day” yesterday, figuring out that it's been 86 days (and counting) since it was snow-free here in Marquette. That prompted a listener to call and suggest, politely, that maybe I should go to my happy place, and think about summer. Maybe, she said, even post a few pictures of flowers to take my mind off the snow.

We have the greatest listeners in the world, don't we?

So with that in mind...

There. I don't know if the pictures will get rid of the snow (okay, they won't) but for at least a few seconds, as i was going through the hundreds of flower pictures I've taken over the years, I didn't think about all the crap sitting outside.

And these days, we count that as a win, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), at 87 days and counting...

Wednesday, 2/18

It's not fair, when you really think about it.

We've had a nice stretch of weather recently, with sun, warm temperatures, melting snow, and a hint that after a throwback type of winter that Spring is on the way.

But apparently that's over--

That's what it looked like just a few minutes ago, on my walk to work this morning. We're under a Winter Storm Warning, with schools closed all across the UP, mostly because all the stuff that was melting the past few days has now frozen over, to be covered by the heavy snow that's blowing around because of the heavy winds.

Oh, joy.

After several mild winters in a row I think a lot of us forgot just how brutal of a slog a “Throwback” winter can be, especially in regards to the way it teases you into thinking it's over, only to cruelly slam it back into your face, laughing while it does so.

Summer doesn't do that to you.

The past several years Loraine and I have been able to get out on a soccer pitch and start kicking the ball around sometime in March, or even, in the case of two years ago, on Valentine's Day. Based on what this winter has been like and what's in the forecast, I know it's not gonna be anything like that this year.

In fact, if we're lucky, we might be able to get out there by, oh, Memorial Day. I mean, I know it won't be that long, but on a day like today?

It sure feels like it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/17

This one walked a bit of a tightrope.

Even though I didn't have to work my radio gig yesterday, I did have one of my TV jobs, and since it was President's Day I had the idea to riff on the topic. I was batting several ideas around, and then (as usual) I woke up in the middle of the night realizing the best way to do it.

The only deal? If I didn't set it up correctly the whole bit would fall flat on its face, and I'd look a fool. Or, at least, more of a fool than I usually do.

Basically, the entire TV piece last night lead up to the gag, to the punchline of the entire segment. If I didn't set it up correctly, or if I didn't leave enough clues, when I revealed the “gag” I ran the risk of people just shaking their heads in disbelief and/or throwing things at their TV sets or computer monitors.

And I probably get that happening enough as it is.

Not only did I need to set the bit up correctly, but the payoff—the gag, the punchline—had to be the best it could. I ran several different options through my head, and it wasn't until I came across the one that I eventually used that the piece lit up and, at least to me, seemed to work. But once it did, it came off even better than I had imagined.

See for yourself--

Sadly, as with most TV pieces it came in way too long, which means I had to cut out a couple of gags.  Thankfully, though, I WAS able to sneak in a possible campaign slogan--“You don't have to BELIEVE in him. You just have to believe IN him”.

Yup; I know I'm not normal. What's your point?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 2/13 (!)

Since I'm not working Monday, President's Day, I figured I'd write about the topic today, if for no other reason than to remind you that you may keep staring out the window and eventually asking yourself, “How come the mail hasn’t shown up yet”?

You know--one of those days!

Instead of spending the day Monday pondering the achievements (or lack thereof) from everyone from Millard Fillmore to Gerald Ford, most people will simply shrug and wonder, if you were to ask them, just who the heck Millard Fillmore and Gerald Ford were. And that’s kind of sad. I mean, I know I’m a history geek, and knew who all the Presidents in this country’s history were at a young age, but I’d like to think that names like James K. Polk, James Buchanan, and Rutherford B. Hayes should at least spark a tiny flame of memory in most people. I mean, I know they don’t, but I’d like to dream that they would.

And as long as I’m dreaming, can we have beach weather this weekend, too?

I know you guys are among the smartest people in the world, so here are two tests for you. First of all, before the current one, who was the only U.S. President to be elected to non-consecutive terms? In other words, he was President, then he wasn’t, then he was elected again? The answer to that comes at the end of this.

Secondly, going backwards from our current President, how many in a row can you name until you stump yourself? Go ahead, give it a try. I’ll wait for you.

(By the way, this is just me, waiting until you stump yourself).

(Stump yourself yet? Good. Keep going).

(Now are you stumped?)

From a statistic I saw, the average person can only go back FIVE Presidents before failing. FIVE. That means that they have no idea who was President before Bill Clinton. I mean, they may know the names of Nixon and Kennedy and at least one of the Roosevelts, but they don’t know where they fall in that order. And that’s kind of a shame. I don’t expect everyone to be able to name all 46 Presidents in reverse order--heck, even I can’t do that--but it is kind of nice to know who falls where and what effect that had on the growth and the history of this country.

And for the record--I can go back 20 Presidents. I always forget who came before William McKinley. I know; dorky, right?

So have yourself a great President’s Day Monday. If you wanna impress the people around you, slip into conversation how interesting you believe it to be that Grover Cleveland was the first President to be elected to non-consecutive terms. And if you REALLY wanna impress the people around you, add to the conversation the fact that during his second non-consecutive term Cleveland asked Peter White to head what would now be the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but that White turned him down because he was too busy being, well, Peter White.

President’s Day. More than just another day you don’t get mail.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/12

I wonder if Bob Seger ever considered this?

When I was out running yesterday morning Bob Seger's “Hollywood Nights” popped up on my iPod. If you're not familiar with the song, it's about a Midwestern boy who heads out to California and falls in love with a girl, a girl who dumps him by the end of the song. The girl, as described by Seger, is one of those stereotypical California girls who, as the lyrics put it, had been born with “a face that would let her get away” with just about anything.

But that's not what sent my brain into overtime. Nope; this is what sent my brain into overtime. The song is 48 years old. The album from which it came, “Stranger in Town”, was released in 1978. So, for a second, assume what took place in the song really happened. Assume that the girl born with “a face that would let her get away” was (for the sake of argument) 22 when the song happened. That would mean that the girl born with “a face that would let her get away”, the girl that broke the protagonist's heart, would now be 70 years old.

The girl born with “a face that would let her get away” would now, in all likelihood, be a grandmother. And the guy whose heart she broke? There would probably be kids calling him “grandpa”.

That's what sent my brain into overdrive.

No, I don't know why I thought of that. I mean, I knew in the back of my head that the song was almost 50 years old. I haven't heard it in a while, which probably led me to listen to the lyrics a little closer than I normally would've. And for some strange reason, stuff just started to add up until I realized that the two characters in the song are now eligible for Social Security and enjoying senior discounts at their favorite restaurant.

Where they probably eat dinner at 3 in the afternoon.

Like I said, this is just something that popped into my head while running. Hopefully, weird stuff like that won't send your brain into overdrive throughout the day

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 2/11

What? You don't use the phrase “face pants” in your everyday life?

As we all know, my life is weird, and it keeps getting weirder by the day. I mean, I could mention things like walking into a store Sunday, saying something, and having the young man waiting on me say “You're the dude from the history videos!”. I could also mention the e-mail I received yesterday from someone who saw me on TV Monday and really REALLY wants to make “Six Pack Speed Skating” a thing.

Or, I could just show you my face pants--

Yup; you're looking at exactly what you think you're looking at. A couple of weeks ago the Painesdale High School Bowl team decided to show up for a shoot wearing pajama bottoms with my face on them.

Have I ever mentioned my life is weird?

When I saw the “face pants” I almost lost it, laughing so hard that we had to delay taping a few minutes while I composed myself. I mean, strange things have been happening to me on a regular basis, but I really don't think I had “face pants” on my Weird Life Bingo Card.

I don't think ANYONE would have “face pants” on their Weird Life Bingo Card.

In the two weeks since, my friend Deanna has been using the phrase “face pants” as often as possible in conversation, attributing everything going on in the world—good & bad—to my “face pants”. Even I've found myself using the phrase once or twice, only to then have to explain the whole thing to the person who just heard it. Of course, once they hear WHY I'm using the phrase “face pants” they get it, and, if only for a second, realize that my life is weird.

Because, if you weren't aware, my life is weird.

So the next time something strange happens to you—and I'm assuming that I'm not the only person to whom weird things happen—don't give it a second thought. Just realize that there are forces greater than you & I at work in the universe. Whatever happens, we can just blame it on one thing and one thing only.

Face pants.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 2/10

Well, one of them COULD be a real sport, right?

Last night's TV piece was my latest flight of Yooper fancy, in which I (hopefully) accomplished two goals—making people chuckle a little, and ragging on a certain news anchor for not yet eating a pasty.

The second of those is, actually, quite easy. The first one's a little harder, and with any luck I at least came close.

I haven't really watched any of the Olympics yet, although I did see a clip of Lindsey Vonn's horrific crash, an experience that I really don't wanna repeat. But I know how many people really get into the Games, especially with a Yooper like Nick Baumgartner trying to get another gold, so I figured I would put my own unique spin on a couple of events that SHOULD be in the Winter Olympics but aren't.

Much, I'm sure, to the loss of the rest of the world.

Did I succeed? Well, that's not up to me to decide. It IS, however, something you can determine by checking it out for yourself--

This is one of those bits that just came to me in a flash of inspiration, as when I was walking home from TV last Monday night the phrase “Six Pack Speed Skating” popped into my head. By the time I finished dinner, I had most of the gags; the spot itself was fully written by Wednesday, and when I came back to it Sunday to put graphics together it still held up.

I wish all of my TV bits were that easy, you know?

Anyway, I suppose I should wrap this up. If nothing else, I should start drafting a letter to the International Olympic Committee. I'm pretty sure they'll be as excited by “Six Pack Speed Skating” as the rest of us, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 2/6

Who knew I was so hardcore, huh?

First of all, hope you had a great weekend. I enjoyed mine, as for the first weekend in a lot of weekends I didn't have much to do. I talked to my dad (the birthday boy; more on that in a bit), I took care of some chores, and Loraine and I headed over to the Fit Strip for a little outdoor winter exercise.

Look what I came back with--

It's not what it looks like. I mean, yes, it IS a cross country ski pole that's obviously broken in half, and if I wanted to leave you with the impression that I had a massive accident while head through the woods, I could use that as evidence, right? But, alas, I'm not that hardcore. I mean, I DID break the pole while skiing, but it wasn't while being hardcore.

It was while I was trying to move a tree out of my way.

As you know, we've had an intense winter up here, so intense that all around Marquette's Fit Strip there are trees & branches that have been blown down, and frozen in place. I came across one while heading around the woods on Sunday, and figured I would be a good community citizen and try to move it. I'm sure someone smarter than me would have figured this out, but it's REALLY hard to move a frozen tree while on cross country skis. So I tried using one of my poles are leverage, and voila...

I ended my skiing with one working pole. Oops.

I did eventually get the giant tree branch out of my path, and used my one working pole to get back to civilization. I'm guessing I won't be doing too much skiing until I get the pole replaced, although I do have an old pole from an old set somewhere on our basement. Maybe I'll try using the one I still have with the old one, and see how it works.

Although if I come across more tree branches on the ground, I'll know better than to use one of those poles to move it.

8-)

*****

I had mentioned that it was Chicky-Poo's birthday on Saturday. What he doesn't know is that the kids on “High School Bowl” wanted to say something to him!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 2/6

Well, you'll be happy to know I made it through a “normal” week okay.

At the beginning of this week I mentioned how this was my first “normal” week in, like, forever. I wondered how I would handle it, and you know what?

I think I handled it quite well. I got everything done I wanted to get done; I even got a head start on next week's TV piece. So I made the most of a “normal” week. And that's a good thing, because next week?

Anything BUT normal.

But before we even think about that, I have something I need to announce. I could not let this day go by without wishing a “happy birthday” tomorrow to my favorite old guy in the whole world. That's right; tomorrow it's Chicky-Poo's birthday.

When I mailed my dad's birthday card a couple of days ago and actually addressed it to “Chicky-Poo Koski”, someone asked how I had gotten into the habit of referring to him as “Chicky-Poo” instead of something normal like “Dad” or “Father” or “Sir” or “You know, that guy”. And in all honesty, I have no idea whatsoever. I don't even know when it started. I just know that one day, probably as a joke, I must have called him “Chicky-Poo” and, for some strange reason, it got stuck in my brain. I started referring to him in that manner. Not all the time, and certainly not when I'm actually having a conversation with him, but I address his mail to him that way, I refer to him that way when he wants me to tell Loraine something, and when talking to my Mom on the phone, I'll ask her to tell “Chicky-Poo” I said 'Hi”.

I know; great son, right?

Anyway it's Chicky-Poo's (excuse me, my dad's) birthday tomorrow, and I couldn't let the day go by without making sure that everyone else knew it was his big day, too. Since he's in Florida, I'm guessing he'll either be playing pickleball or going for a long bike ride (or both). So have a great day tomorrow, DAD. Enjoy the weather, and enjoy all the attention for a few hours!

Love,

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 2/5

You know what? I'm thinking it might be a pretty accurate description.

Over the past few months, as you well know, I've been putting out all kinds of content—these things every day, my TV-19 work every week, 12 “Pieces of the Past” videos, and a whole bunch more. I was speaking with someone who's seen most of it, and whether or not they intended to, they gave me a compliment that, as I think about it, describes what I seem to be these days.

They told me I'm a great “Two Minute Storyteller”.

It's a strange sobriquet, but you know what? It fits perfectly. The TV pieces I do every week? 2 minutes. These things, if you were to read them out loud? About 2 minutes. The history videos? Some are 90 seconds, some are a bit longer, so that averages to (around) two(ish) minutes.

I've never actually even considered it, but I do seem to have a talent for getting a point across in two minutes. I guess I really AM a “Two Minute Storyteller”.

It's funny, because I'm guessing that if you were to go back in time (which, as we know from yesterday, is pretty much impossible) and ask the younger me what title they would end up with, I can pretty much guarantee the younger me would NOT have guessed “Two Minute Storyteller”. In fact, I'm pretty sure the younger me would either laugh the laugh of the ironic at that suggestion, or just shake his head, make a sarcastic comment, and walk away.

But you know what? The younger me would have been quite shortsighted in that reaction.

I'd be curious to know if I've always, deep down, been a “Two Minute Storyteller”, or if it's a talent I've developed over the years, thanks to the type of work I've done (like writing these for 20+ years). Maybe it's a chicken or egg thing, or maybe there's just something in my brain that suited to short spurts of lucidity. I guess it doesn't matter; all I know is that it's a title that I never knew I had, but it's one that I'll proudly carry for the rest of my life.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll have to see if I can come up with a business card that says “Jim Koski: Two Minute Storyteller” on it.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 2/4

It's probably the closest I'll ever come to fulfilling an impossible dream.

I think I've written in here before about a fanciful dream I have that was actually inspired by a real dream, a dream from a couple of years ago where I was walking through downtown Marquette with a camera. That's something I actually do quite a bit in real life, but in that dream I was walking through the downtown Marquette of the 1930s with my 21 megapixel Nikon DSLR, taking pictures (and hi-def video) of a Marquette long-gone, of buildings no longer there and businesses consigned to history.

It was an amazing dream. Sadly, I know a little bit too much about physics (and the impossibility of time travel) to know that it's a dream that will never come true.

Or...so I thought.

When I was doing prep work for the season of “Pieces of the Past” that we just finished, I came across a treasure trove of photos of Marquette of 1929. They were taken by Robert S Platt, a sociologist working for the American Geographic Society. He was working on an article for the AGS's magazine, and spent a week in Marquette that summer just taking pictures. Now, aside from being a sociologist, Platt also had an amazing eye for photography, shooting some of the iconic pictures of Marquette of almost 100 years ago.

He shot many of the same things I shot in my dream, and that I would like to shoot if I could break every law of nature and head back in time.

I used a few of his pictures in various videos, and then saved the lion's share—some of his best work—for the final episode of the season. I also made them into the last segment of mine during “Legends & Lore III” at Kaufman last month, and I still have people coming up to me to talk about a particular shot of Platt's that has stuck with them.

So, while I know that I'll never ever be able to go back in time and take those pictures and videos, I'm thankful that someone at the time actually did.

And because of that, I will forever be in awe of Robert S. Platt.

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Tuesday, 2/3

Today, whaddya say we have a little fun with numbers?

The first number is 45. In a rare instance of something the predates even me (and that's saying something these days), Q107-WMQT became Q107-WMQT 45 years ago this past Sunday (the 1^st). In a move that I'm pretty sure was borrowed from “WKRP in Cincinnati” an elevator music station flipped things on its head one afternoon, when the elevator music stopped and the rock music began, hosted by a very..unique individual named “Marcus Marquette” (in reality, station co-owner Bob Olson). The older people of Marquette County (including, if I remember correctly, my grandfather) weren't too happy, but a station was born.

And it's been around ever since.

A couple of years later, the rock music left and the station switched to pop music, where it's pretty much been ever since. I've been lucky enough to be the steward of it for over three decades now, and I'm always humbled when I think about the awesome staying power of this place. Very few stations are able to become “:legacy” stations—ones that multiple generations of a family grow up listening to—but this is one of them. Credit for that goes to Joe Blake and Marcus Marquette's alter ego, Bob Olson, as well as Tom Mogush, who picked up the baton from them, and passed it along to the people now entrusted with the legacy, the KBIC.

Of course, to celebrate the milestone we have a contest all this month, our “Hot Rockin' Flame Throwing 45^th Birthday Bash”, in which we're giving almost $2,500 in prizes to one lucky listener. So if you feel like it, listen for your chance to qualify.

It's our birthday, but you might walk away with the gifts. After all, that's one thing at which we've excelled the past 45 years.

And, hopefully, will excel at for the next four and a half decades.

*****

The other number I mentioned at the beginning of this? Well, that would be 18.6.

Why? The reason is right here--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 2/2

This is going to be a weird week. After tonight, I don't have anything out of the ordinary going on.

As we all know, I've had an amazingly hectic past few weeks, with multiple episodes of “High School Bowl”, my weekly TV 19 appearances, a big History Center show at Kaufman, and the Noquemanon all pecking away at my time, my voice, and my sanity. Well, after I share a few numbers and make fun of Kevin tonight, I then have a week—a week—of nothing out of the ordinary.

Unless, of course, you consider radio as “out of the ordinary”.

I'm not quite sure how I'll handle it; after all, I've spent the past couple of weeks preparing for and then rushing from one thing to another that a few days of down time, a few days when there will be absolutely nothing pressing on my schedule, will seem strange. I can see myself waking up in the middle of the night, thinking that I forgot to do something or have a deadline to meet.

When that happens, I just hope I'll be able to get back to sleep.

How did all this happen? Well, after doing three episodes in the past ten days there will be no “High School Bowl” tapings until next Friday (the 13^th!), thanks to the schedules of the remaining schools in the competition. There's no big sporting event that requires my participation, and after dropping the last episode of “Pieces of the Past” last week I now have no official History Center duties for the next couple of months, when I have a new walking tour on the schedule.

See? It's gonna be a weird week, isn't it?

It's actually coming at a pretty good time, although between you & me it would have been better if it wasn't the beginning of February. In fact, can you imagine what I could do with a free week in, say, July, when there's actually no snow on the ground?

That would be magnificent. But seeing as how I could tell the strain on my voice was growing after shooting “High School Bowl” last Friday, I'll take what I can get.

Because, as we all know, nature abhors a vacuum, which means that before I know it, something—or many somethings—will soon be filling up my schedule and I'll be once again rushing from place to place wondering (as I did several times in the past few weeks) where I am and what day of the week it is.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/30

I have to go shoot yet another episode of “High School Bowl” in a few minutes, so I'm taking the cowardly way out and leaving you with a few more examples of what I do in one of my other jobs, that of historical storyteller. As you know, we've been dropping a new season of “Pieces of the Past”, and if you wanna check them out, here are three stories from the past few weeks.

The first? How Marquette's two “suburbs” actually have something in common--

The next is the tale of an event that people STILL talk about, 67 years after it happened--

And finally, the story of three generations of a family, three generations that could not be different than the other. I told the first part of the story on a walking tour a couple of years ago, Beth Gruber from the History Center then did a little genealogical research, and voila.

An epic story we didn't even know existed came into being--

With that, I really do need to get over to NMU. Hope you have a great weekend, and you know what? There's one more history video I do have to share, and I will some time next week.

If only because it's probably the closest I'll ever come fulfilling a dream I have, a dream that physics says will never come true.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/29

I made a discovery yesterday. And I'm not quite sure I'm comfortable with what I found.

This was a discovery I never thought I'd make, nor one that I ever assumed would have to be made. But after getting to work after shooting an episode of “High School Bowl”, and getting myself into my daily routine, I made a discovery that—hopefully--will not change my life as I know it.

I discovered I may be getting tired of eating chocolate.

I know...mind blown, right? Yet for a moment yesterday morning, right as I reached for my first piece of the day, that flash did cross my mind—did I REALLY want to eat it? For several seconds, I pondered the thought, holding the chocolate that really, in that immediate moment, didn't seem all that appealing.

Then I ate it.

I ate several other pieces that morning, too, proving that (I guess) I'm really not tired of eating chocolate. And as I ruminated on this bizarre reaction, I all of a sudden realized that I probably wasn't getting tired of eating chocolate so much as I was getting tired of eating chocolate with bits of candy cane crushed up inside, the kind I was holding in my hand when I had that strange feeling of not wanting any more chocolate.

And just between you & me, I'm okay with that.

As we entered the holiday season a few months ago Loraine and I may—may--have gone a little overboard in buying seasonal chocolate. And a lot of that chocolate, especially the dark chocolate of which I am a little too fond, had crushed up candy canes or some other peppermint flavoring inside. Those bars consist of the majority of the chocolate I've been eating recently, and yesterday morning just must have been a kind of breaking point, a way of my body reminding me that there ARE other kinds of chocolate, not just the kind with crushed up candy canes in them.

So that's why I thought I was getting tired of eating chocolate. And that's also why I spent a chunk of the day eating more chocolate. It just wasn't the kind with the candy canes in it.

Of course, I still have several various bars of chocolate containing candy canes or peppermint flavor lying around. I'm now kind of curious. If I let them lie around for a few months, will I still be sick of them? Will I be able to eat them with as much gusto as I usually attack chocolate, or will I be forced to, say, stick them in cookies and give them away to someone? I have no idea. We're in uncharted territory here, so we'll just have to see.

I'll let you know the answer in three or four months.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/28

I can not believe it's been forty years.

For those of us who were born in the 1960s and 1970s the first time we had a “generational” moment, a moment where we know exactly where we were when it occurred, occurred 40 years ago today. Much like people older than us know exactly where they were when John Kennedy was shot, we as a generation know exactly where we were when we heard that Challenger blew up 74 seconds after liftoff from an icy Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The event that occurred forty years ago today.

In one way, it's been amazing that it happened forty years ago, because it sure doesn't seem that long, at least to me. I don't if that's because I'm just getting old(er) and time flies by a lot quicker than it used to, or if it's because NASA was still flying shuttles a quarter century after the accident and that kept it at the forefronts of our brains, but if doesn't seem as if it happened four decades ago. It's really doesn't.

But then when you look at footage about the accident (something I really don't like to do, always covering my eyes at the words “Challenger, you are go for throttle-up”), you see grainy, standard-def video, you see spokespeople with big 80s hair, and you see computers that, while advanced for their time, probably have less processing power than the phones you hold in your hand. The evidence is there. It really DID happen 40 years ago today.

Since Challenger, of course, there have been two other “generational” moments that have occurred. And I think it's surprising that the loss of another space shuttle, Columbia in 2003, wasn't among them. I don't know if that's because we already had a spaceflight “trauma”, or because by that point people just didn't care, but for most people Columbia didn't mean a thing. Or at least it didn't mean as much as the other two “generational” events that occurred after Challenger.

What were those two events? Well, September 11^th is one of them. Everybody know where they were when the planes hit the towers. The other generational event might surprise you, but it's true. Everybody knows where they were the night O.J. Simpson took a ride in that white Ford Bronco. It's wasn't as earth-shattering of an event as Kennedy or Challenger or 9/11, but everybody seems to know where they were that Friday night. And some might even argue that since O.J hired an attorney named Robert Kardashian and gave he and his family their first access to fame, it's the most influential of the generational events.

And that's a scary thought.

But for many of us, the first “generational” event of our lifetime was Challenger, which occurred forty years ago today, whether you want to believe it or not.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/27

It's holding up for now, thanks for asking.

One day last week I had mentioned that, with all the stuff going on, I hoped my voice would hold out. And now that this week has become the second busy vocal week in a row, a listener gave me a call yesterday and asked how my voice was doing.

I'm happy to say it's cooperating, for now.

All I did last week was talk...on TV, on radio, to a sellout History Center crowd, and at the Noque. As it's turning out, all I'm doing this week is once again talking, on TV three days, on radio all five days, and to a small history group (but just for one hour).

Maybe one of these weeks I'll have a “normal” week and not have to talk too much at all. And yes, you can spend a few minutes laughing your head off about what I just said.

I'll let you get it out of your system.

My voice has actually been holding up remarkably well, with the exception of a brief episode yesterday when someone walked into the station after obviously being in a car full of cigarette smoke. That's one thing that really wrecks my voice, and it's something I've noticed has gotten worse as I get older. Thankfully, very few people around Marquette poison themselves anymore, and I'm rarely exposed to it.

But when I am, I can really tell how it affects me.

I have confidence that I can make it through both “High School Bowl”s and everything else this week with relative ease. Then maybe I have a few days with minimal vocal output, sitting around in silence as I...

Oh, who are we kidding? If I get a couple of hours of not speaking, I'll be happy. And it'll be a relief.

8-)

*****

One of the many ways in which I've been talking the past few days? Here 'tis--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/26

That was a Noquemanon unlike any I’ve ever seen. And I should know—I’ve been at all of them.

I’ve done the finish line announcing at Noque races that had too much snow, or were lacking snow, or were too warm. However, I don’t think I’ve ever announced at one where the temperatures were so cold and the winds so strong that I actually saw skiers being blown down the course or, at the very end, just blown down like a big chunk of ice.

It was bad.

I feel sorry for those hardy souls who took part in this year's marathon and half-marathon. Between the delayed start, the slow course, and the wind chills of 20 or 30 below it took most skiers, even the elite ones, a half an hour to 45 minutes longer (or even more) to complete the course than in a “normal” year. There were some people out skiing for four or five hours on Saturday, and as they crossed the line you could tell by the looks on their face that they had been through a struggle.

And these were the skiers who actually took part in the race. I can imagine that there were a ton who just took a look at the forecast and decided not to do it. And I don't think anyone would blame them whatsoever.

I do have to hand out kudos to everyone in the crowd who stood out and braved the icy cold for a few minutes, or those volunteers who stood outside at the finish line for hours in the bitter wind chill to collect chips or guide skiers where they needed to go. I’m one of the lucky volunteers. All I do is sit in a heated shed and talk. That’s nothing compared to those volunteers who spend the entire day outside in whatever Mother Nature throws at them.

Saturday, she threw her worst at them, and they persevered.

So the Noque is over for another year, and I’ll be curious to see what the 2027 race holds. After all, two years ago it was too warm. Last year was cancelled because of a lack of snow. This year, they were worried it would be too cold. What on tap for next year? Too many lava flows? A tornado?

These days, nothing would surprise me.

*****

By the way, you know last week was supposed to be my “busy” week? Well, what would you call TV tonight, “High School Bowl”s Wednesday and Friday, and the release of last “Pieces of the Past” of this batch, along with all the usual stuff I have to do?

Yeah; that's what I thought, too.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/23

Even wonder what the crowd at a sold out show at Kaufman Auditorium looks like? THIS is what it looks like-

That's right; despite the fact that frigid air was already starting to move into the area Jack & I were able to get “Legends & Lore III: Marquette Unknown” into the, ahem, history books. It seemed to go quite well; as always, I provided the laughs and the bizarre stories, while Jack (mostly) managed to hold back the tears as he recounted the story of the Donckers family, complete with special guests and lots of “aahs” from the crowd as he explained how they (in some cases literally) saved the business he ran for 30-some years.

All in all, quite the successful night. And based on what people I spoke with afterward said, they're already ready for the next one.

So, you know, no pressure, or anything.

8-)

Now, we wait & see what happens with the weather. As we thought, every single school and almost every single institution in the UP is closed today because of the bitter wind chills, so I don't have a “High School Bowl”. The Noquemanon is still up in the air; after cancelling today's events, they'll be making a decision later today on what they're doing tomorrow—shortening some or all of the races, altering the course, or, heaven forbid, saying “sorry” for the second year in a row.

That would suck, but when you have 1,200 skiers and 600 volunteers outside in Martian-like weather conditions, you have to think about stuff like that.

So, I have no idea what my weekend involves. I started the week knowing that it would be a busy one. I had no idea it would also be highly disjointed and slightly chaotic, as well.

But then it's 2026. Should we expect any different?

Have a great weekend. If you're in any part of the US that's freezing or covered with snow (and that's most of the US), stay warm!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/22

How do you make a week of insanity even more insane? Add a little chaos, and stir the heck out of it.

As we know, I'm the midst of a bunch of days of non-stop activities, everything from “High School Bowl” to the Noquemanon. But how can we make that even more interesting? Well, why not add a weather term I've never heard before, an Extreme Cold Warning, that'll be in effect from tonight through Saturday. In fact, temps shouldn't get above zero through that span, and wind chills are forecast to fall down to 60 (that's sixty) below zero in some areas of the UP tomorrow.

Fun, huh?

Because of that, my week of insanity has changed just a bit. No longer do I have “High School Bowl” tomorrow morning, as schools started preemptively cancelling classes as early as yesterday. That takes Friday off the table. And while no decisions have been made yet, if conditions are that bad Saturday morning is it actually safe for people to be outside cross-country skiing from Ishpeming to Marquette in the Noque?  They've already cancelled the youth events scheduled for Friday, so...

Thankfully, I don't have to make that decision, especially because it was shortened two years ago and scratched outright last year because of a lack of snow. It would indeed be ironic if it was axed for a third year running because there was too MUCH winter, as opposed to too little.

I guess we'll find out soon.

That Extreme Cold Warning goes into effect tonight, but not before we're (hopefully) able to get in “Legends & Lore III: Marquette Unknown”, which gets underway at 7 at Kaufman. Jack & I have a bunch of cool (and in my case, occasionally bizarre) stories to tell, all wrapped up with Jack's epic salute to an iconic Marquette business (complete with special guests).. One of the stories I'm most looking forward to sharing is how many of the classic pictures of Marquette were taken by one guy on one trip.

Pictures such as this one--

Wish us luck. And since I don't have “High School Bowl” tomorrow, I may actually have the chance to share how it went. Assuming, of course, the world doesn't freeze before then.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/21

Okay...my week 'o fun is now officially underway.

And because I have to get over to NMU in a bit to shoot the first “High School Bowl” since the beginning of December (we've had a few snow days since then, you know) I'm going to leave you with something I did Monday night, but that you may not have seen since it aired at 11 instead of its usual 6 pm slot.

That's right. I got bumped from my usual slot Monday night. But you know what? I got bumped so they could show Martin Luther King's iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety. And if there's one thing that I do NOT mind getting bumped for, it's the greatest piece of oratory in human history.

Trust me on that.

Since I have to scoot in a few minutes, I'll then leave you with this week's “Life in the 906”. Given what our weather has been (and will continue to be) like this week, I don't think I could have picked a better topic.

Your opinions may vary.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/20

This week should be interesting.

Here's what I mean. Today is a “normal” day, if one considers being on the radio all day “normal”. Tomorrow, I shoot a “High School Bowl” and then spend the rest of the day on radio. Thursday, I do radio, then head up to Kaufman for “Legends & Lore III: Marquette Unknown” with Jack for the History Center. I (hopefully) get a little sleep, then wake up Friday to another episode of “High school Bowl” and a full day of radio. Saturday, I head out into the (forecasted) below-zero cold at the Dome to announce the names of all 1,200 (or so) skiers coming across the finish line at the Noquemanon.

I'd then like to say I'll have time to pass out, but Sunday I'll have to do all my usual weekend chores AND write the TV piece that I'll be doing Monday.

I really need to have a talk with whoever plans my schedule.

8-)

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 two TV shows, or announce 1,200 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 six days 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 fit in things like eating & sleeping. From the time I head to NMU tomorrow morning to the time I stop making fun of Kevin Monday night 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 six days that I hoped to.

Oh well; that's (my) life. And if, over the next few days, I cheat on these by sharing a “best of” or put up a picture or a video in place in place of an entire blog of the usual weird thoughts and garbled syntax, forgive me.

The only excuse I can offer is that it's gonna one blur of a week.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/16

I think Facebook may have outdone itself this time. And even for them, that's saying something.

I've written in here many times about the world's most popular social media platform, and how at times it makes no sense and/or does something so unbelievable as to defy any sense of logic. Well, last night it actually did both of those, and made me laugh out loud while seeing one particular item..

And I can't say that happens a lot when scrolling through my news feed.

Here's the deal. Every 10 or so posts Facebook has this thing called “Suggested For You”, where they spotlight an individual or organization that their algorithm thinks you may want to follow. I don't know that I pay particular attention to the suggestions they make, as they often aren't that interesting or are just different versions of pages I already follow. However, while scrolling last night I did actually pay attention to this latest suggestion, one so absurd that, has I been drinking tea or water at the time, the spit take I would have done might have been the biggest spit take inn the history of spit takes.

Just who DID Facebook suggest I follow?

That's right. Facebook, in its infinite wisdom, suggested that I follow...me. I'm not quite sure how that happened; after all, I'm pretty sure that I know what I post, and that I probably don't need to follow myself to see what I'm up to. But for whatever reason Facebook thought I might find myself interesting and suggested I sign up, just to make sure that I don't miss anything I do.

That's awfully kind of them, isn't it?

I mean, I've had weird Facebook suggestions before, everything from them thinking I might need help in finding my next OB/GYN to its facial recognition software believing I'm some dude in France.

But a suggestion to follow myself? Even for Facebook, that's a new one.

*****

Monday is corporate holiday, which means I have myself a three-day weekend. Good thing, too, as next week is my annual “Week of Intensity”, this year with a bonus shot on insanity involved. I'll explain that when I'm back on Tuesday.

In the meantime, stay warm!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/15

I guess in one respect the timing of it was perfect.

We had another snow day yesterday, the third since the 2026 began. If there was any question that this year is a quirky return to what we're calling a “Throwback Winter' around here, that question has been answered.

In fact, Mother Nature, I think you may actually be trying to make up for three years of mild winters all at once, and you're more than welcome to take a break from your efforts. Really, you are.

Don't believe that it's an insane winter? Here's what it looked like yesterday--

However, the latest wind-whipped weather episode did, in a strange way, come at a fortuitous time. The latest video in this season's “Pieces of the Past” dropped on the snow day, and if nothing else it allowed us to give a shout out to the people who help keep streets and highways around here clean when Mother Nature throws a fit. Now, the video wasn't actually about road workers, although that might be an interesting topic for some future batch of episodes. Instead, the topic was about one of the roads they strive to keep clean, a stretch of highway that's actually one of the newest in the UP. For some bizarre reason, I had a blast researching this particular topic, and had my mind blown one fact in particular--

The day the stretch of highway opened. Watch the video, and you'll understand why--

Thankfully, the snow seems to have laid off for a little bit, which means that I really do need to get to work, just in time for it to snow a little more this afternoon and tonight.

This is getting a little tiring, Mother Nature. Like I said, you're more than welcome to give it a little rest. I'm really thinking that no one up here will complain all that much.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/14

I’ve bitten my tongue and, as a result, can’t say certain letters. But that’s okay; it’s not like I have speak clearly for a living, or anything.

Oh, wait...

Shucks.

The latest entry in the never-ending parade of my own self-abuse came courtesy of dinner last night. As I am wont to do, I was chewing on whatever it was I was eating when I, uhm, missed the food and instead formed a nice little hole at the end of my tongue with what are apparently my vampire-like teeth. Sad to say, it’s something I do on occasion; after many decades of feeding myself you’d think I’d know what I’m doing, but on those occasions when I bite my tongue, apparently I don't.

Anyway, my tongue has started to heal like my tongue usually does. But because of the position of this bite--right on the lower left tip of my tongue--I’ve found myself with the inability to properly say a couple of letters, mostly notably “d” and “s”. Well, I shouldn’t say that I can’t properly say the letters; I can, but when I do, the bite that’s slowly healing on my tongue hits my teeth and sends spasms of pain throughout the rest of my mouth, and probably slows down the healing process, to boot.

I don’t know about you, but a lot of the words I say in the course of an average day contain either “d” or “s” or both, and it’s not like I could leave them out of my vocabulary. Well, I suppose I could leave all words that contain a “d” or an “s” out of my everyday speech patterns, but then I’d ended up mostly using words like “Tomato”, “Anxiety”, and “Iowa”, and if you think I’m occasionally incoherent to being with, imagine what I’d be like with a vocabulary that consisted mostly of words like “Tomato”, “Anxiety”, and “Iowa”.

Although it would be kind of an interesting mental exercise, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, my friend Deanna, upon hearing that I was having trouble talking, sent me a list of long songs that I could play on the air to avoid speaking. Let’s just say that I’ll deal with a little pain and forego some of the suggestions she made, including a 48 minute and 53 second version of Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” and a 22+ minute version of “Chariots of Fire”. I mean, it hurts me to say the letters “d” and “s”, but it would hurt you guys a lot more to sit through songs like that.

That’s okay; you can thank me later.

So if in the next couple of days you throw on your radio and I sound strange (well, okay, stranger than usual), know that it’s not the fault of either your ears or your radio. It’s my fault entirely, and because of that, you can rest assured--one of these years, I WILL learn how to eat. If nothing else, I’m sure my tongue would appreciate it.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/13

Most people will come up with a question before an answer. But as we all know, I'm not like most people.

That was the gist of my TV piece last night, one that, admittedly, was just an excuse to tell a few bad jokes. I first gave out an answer, followed then by a question, and (hopefully) once you realized the relationship between the two you chuckled.

Or at least didn't throw things at the TV.

As with most segments of “906”, I have no idea how this one came into being. I was out running one day, had “answer before the question” pop into my head, and before the run was over had most of the gags already mapped out. Then the Packers lost to the Bears Saturday night and provided me with an extra joke, and I was all set.

The Packers aren't good for much. But every so often they do come in handy.

8-)

What answers popped into my head even before I had the questions they prompted? Well, check it out for yourself, as well as the extra bonus ribbing of a news anchor afterwards--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/12

My life is weird. Have I ever mentioned that?

The latest example of that weirdness occurred while I was out running Saturday morning. Now, as you may recall, we had a snow day on Friday, not because of a lot of snow but because of a lot of rain & slush on the roads. Most of the slush had been removed by Saturday morning, and that which hadn't had frozen, making certain parts of certain streets quite slippery. I found that out when I was running down Magnetic by the old hospital site and almost lost my footing. Luckily, I was able to upright myself before a car headed my way got to me.

And that's when I once again discovered that my life is weird.

As that car got closer, it slowed down until it got right next to me, when the driver—an older gentleman—rolled down the window and said, and I'm quoting here, “make sure you take care of yourself. You're too important to the UP to get hurt”. And with that, he rolled up his window and drove off. And with that, I continued running, taking care not to injure myself.

The whole experience was slightly surreal, although it IS nice to have complete strangers looking out for my well being. But me...too important to the UP to get hurt? Did the gentleman mistake me for someone, you know, noteworthy and vital to the continued existence of the peninsula as we know it? He does know I'm actually just a dork with a propensity for showing up in the media, right?

An occasional nuisance, yes. Important? Well, that's up for debate.

But it's something like that that makes me realize that I'm not joking when I joke that “my life is weird”. It also makes me wonder how and when all this happened. I have no idea when it started or how it started; I just know that increasingly over the past few years, things like this have occurred more and more. And I don't mean to sound like I don't appreciate it; in fact, I'm touched that people take actions or say things like the gentleman did on Saturday.

But really?  Me??

I know; there's nothing I can do about it, and if people feel that way about me, I'm one insanely lucky dude. We live in a world full of hate these days, and to have people actually treat me with fondness and respect means that I've apparently done something right. I have no idea what, but it sure beats what people COULD be doing or saying to me.

So while my life IS weird (and we all know it is), it sure beats the alternative. So yes, fine sir who stopped next to me on Magnetic Street Saturday morning, when I'm out running the next few months I will take care not to hurt myself.

Apparently, I'm a little too important for that.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/9

Okay. Enough of winter already.

After a couple of years of mild (or non-existent) winters, the season has returned with a vengeance this year. The latest example is today, when a mix of rain, fog, and snow had deposited slush all over and forced the cancellation of schools around the area..

It's just yucky out there.

So with that in mind, I think it's time to haul out a yearly tradition...pictures of flowers taken on sunny summer days, pictures that might hopefully (at least temporarily) take your mind off the crud you see outside your window.

With any luck, in just a few months you'll be seeing more than just gray, light gray, and dark gray. In fact, you might be seeing orange--

Or magenta--

Or more magenta (with a special guest)--

Or that special guest then visiting a sunflower--

Or flowers of different colors--

Or with two other different colors--

Or with just a whole lot of colors--

I know it probably doesn't help, especially because it feels like we're staring at another seven to nine months of winter, but you know?

In situations like this, you take what you can get.

8-)

Have a great weekend. Stay warm, and stay dry!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 1/8

I did not grow up in South Marquette. But I was spawned by someone who did.

In doing publicity for “Legends & Lore III: Marquette Unknown” (two weeks from tonight at Kaufman Auditorium; tickets still available, hint hint) someone had mentioned a factual error that has popped up over the past five or six years, and I'd like to set the record straight--

I am not from South Marquette.

I don't know how the story got its start, although it may have something to do with the South Marquette shows & tours I've given over the years, quite often mentioning a specific person who IS from that neighborhood. But I'm here to state categorically that I am NOT from South Marquette. I spent the first few years of my life out on the highway where Walmart now is, and then split the rest of my childhood between Norway Avenue, and Fairway Drive. The closest I came to being a resident of South Marquette might be the years I spent at Bothwell Middle School.

But I didn't grow up there.

I actually try to point that fact out when I'm talking about South Marquette. Maybe I just don't do a good enough job. Either that, or when people hear me talking about the fact that my dad is from South Marquette they automatically think I am as well, or they're not just paying attention to the words “my dad”. Any one of those would be a good explanation; I'm guessing it's a combination of all of them.

It's kind of funny, too, because when I was young and my dad took me to visit some of his relatives who still lived in South Marquette I always thought it was an exotic place. There were new, interesting families and lots of hills and a softball field stuck smack dab right in the middle of it all. I was fascinated by the place, which is probably why I enjoy telling stories about it so much.

Another thing that may have led to my interest in the area is that the old Hogan family homestead –where my dad grew up--was torn down before I was born. That means whatever tenuous link I may have had with the neighborhood was never around for me to exploit. I don't even know what the house in which my dad grew up looked like. But I do know where it was (the top of Jackson Street hill), and I kind of use that as an anchor when talking about the people and the places of the surrounding streets.

But still, like I said, I'm not from South Marquette. I do, however, think it's interesting and, if I'm being honest, kind of cool that people assume I'm from there.

It must just (literally) be in my DNA.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 1/7

I kinda had an idea that this one would be popular. I just didn't have an idea as to HOW popular it would get.

As you know, we're in the middle of rolling out a new series of “Pieces of the Past”, the videos I do for the Marquette Regional History Center. There are all sorts of topics being covered this time around, and they run the gamut from the founding years of Marquette to a little more modern history. Knowing that one of the videos would be coming out on New Year's Eve, I borrowed from one of my recent walking tours for the tale of how some people may have celebrated the holiday in the recent past.

17,000+ views (and counting) later, I'm glad I did it.

When we put out these videos, we consider it a success when we get a couple of thousand views on various Facebook and You Tube pages. But knowing how people love bar stories, and how people really loved the old Alibi in Marquette, the number of views we got really doesn't surprise me. I mean, it really makes me glad (and some of the comments on the video made me laugh), but I had a notion that it might be one of the most popular of this current series.

It's nice to know I can still get a few things right on occasion.

The funny thing is that there's not much to look at in the video. The only pictures that seem to exist of the Alibi are two separate and very poor shots of the building that appeared in newspapers. So I had to figure out a way to keep reusing those two shots, along with a bunch of newspaper ads, to make the video visually interesting. Thankfully, the story of the bar is so compelling, and the humor I was able to get out of it rather funny, that (for once) the visuals in the “Piece” really didn't matter.

Whatever pictures I might have used really don't matter. It's the tale of the bar and the people--many of them under aged—who used to frequent it that make it such a cool video.

So cool, in fact, that it's up to 17,000 views (and counting) on Facebook.

Wanna see it yourself?

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 1/6

It's nice to know it was finally done right.

I have now done 168 editions of “Life in the 906”, and 167 of them have come off without a hitch. Oh, sure, there have been a few where visuals didn't pop up or popped up in the wrong order, and there have certainly been more than a few where the person presenting it stumbled upon a word or didn't do it justice (that person, of course, being an occasional idiot), but there was only one that so totally flamed out that it has been banished from my brain forever.

But now it's welcome back.

The bit to which I'm referring occurred a year ago this week. Kevin was sick, and a fill-in anchor didn't know how to operate the teleprompter. During the first three segments of the show that anchor missed a few stories made up some of the copy, because the 'prompter had shot ahead (and that anchor didn't know how to rewind it). When my segment came up the first sentence was fine, and then all heck broke loose. I tried to stumble my way through it, the director has no idea where to put the graphics, and I ended up reading the last half of it from a hard copy that I always keep in my jacket pocket.

The only time, I should add, that I've ever needed to use that printed out copy. Doing live TV is always a bit like walking a tightrope, and that night was the only time I've ever been pushed off.

When I was walking home after the show that night I vowed to myself that when the next chance to use it presented itself I'd do it again, only this time (hopefully) the way in which it was intended. And since it was written for this particular time of the year, last night I hauled out the script and the graphics from last year, updated it just a bit, and this time it came out the way it was supposed to--

I can now say that every single segment I've written for “Life in the 906”, all 167 of them, have been presented the way I envisioned. We'll just ignore the fact that one of those scripts took two attempts (and someone who knows how to work a teleprompter) to get right.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 1/5

Wow. It's a week later and we're still feeling its effects.

One week ago we had our “Bomb Cyclone”, the storm that dumped anywhere from four to 35 inches of snow across the Central UP and caused a vast majority of the city of Marquette to be without power for anywhere from nine hours (like Loraine and me) to four days (parts of North Marquette and Chocolay Township). Effects from the storm and the power outage are still around in the strangest ways, like this--

Loraine and I have woken up without heat two of the past five days.

Once our nine hour power outage (try saying THAT three times fast) was over the furnace in our building came back on and warmed us up. But both past Tuesday and past Friday something happened during the overnight hours, as we were awoken by 60 degree temperatures thanks to a furnace that hadn't kicked in. Someone came to look at it Tuesday and was surprised that it had actually worked after the power outage, and when he came back Friday he was a bit curious as to why it hadn't worked again after he fixed it.

But it was fixed, and that's the important thing. There were people around here without heat for four or five days; our few hours was nothing compared to that.

But hopefully—hopefully--our furnace will stay on and continue to keep us warm. Keep your fingers crossed.

*****

Another lingering effect of the storm? There was such a dumping of snow that the city is just getting around to clearing off sidewalks, and I took advantage of that to grab a yardstick and take a picture--

That's right. The snowbank outside of the station is 34 inches tall. Now, we didn't get 34 inches of snow; that's what happens when snow plows go through multiple times and toss crap onto the sidewalk.

But still. A 34 inch snowbank is nothing to sneeze at, especially a week after the storm, one that was so big that we're still dealing with the aftermath.  And today?  Well, it snowed another two inches here in Marquette, but apparently more outside the city as schools are closed all across the UP.

After several years of not even bothering to appear, it seems as if winter is making up for it--and more--this year.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 1/2:

I am never going to eat again.

First of all, hope you had a great New Year's Day. I spent part of it doing what I seem to have been doing quite a bit the past few weeks, and that's cook, and then eat the cooking. I stepped on the scale this morning and noticed I've gained a pound & change the past month, so I really should stop that habit (cooking, that is, not stepping on the scale). However, if this is indeed the end for a bit, I'd like to think I went out in style.

Let me present to you New Year's Day Kaiserschmarnn, topped with home made cranberry sauce and Nutella--

I've written in here about making the Bavarian delicacy before; it's just basically a super-charged pancake that's torn up & covered in some kind of fruit topping. Usually, that fruit topping is applesauce, but since I had leftover fresh cranberries from Thanksgiving (which I had frozen) and leftover Nutella from one of the few kinds of Christmas cookies I made this year, I decided to throw them all together in one last final shot of food gluttony.

Kind of like the finale of a Fourth of July fireworks show, except without the big “booms”.

I have to admit the dish turned out quite well, especially in the way the tartness of the cranberries played off the gooey sweetness of the Nutella. But I now think I may have reached my limit (at least for now) of dishes that take hours to prepare and contain more calories in them than any human should ever consume in a single day. In fact, I find myself craving not Greek food, not Indian food, not some insanely huge desert, but instead a simple turkey sandwich and a carrot.

No cranberries,, no Nutella, no bechamel sauce, no nothing.

I'm sure that, too, shall pass, and in a few weeks or months I'll start to get adventurous again. But for now, for (at least) the beginning of the year, it's back to normal. It's back to simple. It's back to healthy.

At least until my body says it's“okay”, and until I lose that extra pound and change.

(jim@wmqt.com)