Monday, 6/22

I think I may have hit a major turning point in my life. For a few brief seconds during this past busy three day weekend, I literally stopped and smelled the roses.

Whoever it was who wrote that song back in the 70s (Mac Davis?) would be so proud.

After the bizarre year that we've been through, and after a couple of days when I literally didn't have a chance to catch my breathe, I started to think. I started to think about priorities, and I started to think about the fleeting nature of time, both short-term and long-term. I mean, here we are, almost the middle of June already. That means there’s what, three months (at the most) of nice weather left before the arrival of the crap we deal with the rest of the year. That means we have three months (at the most) to do things like go to the beach, and to do things like stopping and smelling the roses.

One of my houses between my apartment and downtown has several bushes of roses in their front yard, and over the past few days, they’ve started to bloom. I’ve walked past them many times in those past few days, always catching the lingering scent that rose bushes leave in their immediate area, but until yesterday, I hadn’t actually stop and stuck my nose deep inside one of them.

So I did. And I’m happy to report that I’m glad I did.

Now, roses will never replace lilacs as the greatest smell on the planet. I just don’t think that’s possible. But I do know that like lilacs roses aren’t around for long. They bloom, they smell nice, and then they die. If you don’t sniff them when you have the chance, then that chance is blown. There’s nothing you can do about. You have to sniff them while you can.

And as hokey as it seems, that may also be a perfect metaphor for things like getting out and enjoy the warmth and the sunshine while we can. While it may seem like we have a lot of time to head out and take part in all of our favorite summer activities, that window of time is actually quite brief. I mean, think of how quickly 2026 (an admittedly bizarre weather year) has gone by so far. The year’s almost half over, after all, even though it doesn’t seem like it. Now divide that by quickness by half, because if we have (at most) three months before all traces of summer are gone, that means that we’ve already lived through a span of time this year that’s twice as long as our “summer” has remaining. If the first six months of the year have gone by in the blink of an eye, what will the next three months seem like?

The start of the blink of an eye?

That’s one of the reasons I’m glad I stopped and sniffed the roses yesterday. It’s something I should’ve been doing more of this year, and it’s something that I’ll make sure I do more of as the summer goes on. As far as the going to the beach is concerned; well, let’s just that's one of the things on top of my list to do today.

After all, there’s not a lot of time to waste on that matter!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 6/18

It's nice to know that, in at least one respect, I haven't changed in the past 40 years.

I've always been a night owl; mornings (especially early mornings) are unnatural to me, and in a perfect world the day would actually begin no earlier than, oh, 11am. And I've been lucky in that I've been able to tie my professional life into that time frame, which is why I have never—nor will ever—do mornings on the air.

THAT would not be a pretty sight for anyone involved.

So when I saw that the New York Times' Wellness section had a quiz on your “chronotype”--whether you're a morning person, a night owl, or whatever—I had to take it. You go through a dozen or so questions, and if you're like me, you end up finding out you're a “nighthawk”.

And I think that fits me to a T.

A “nighthawk” differs from an “owl”, which is someone who goes to sleep when the sun rises. And I'll admit I've never been that kind of person. One or two in the morning? Yup; that bedtime fits me perfectly. But even though I spent several years working overnights early in my life I don't think I've ever been what some people might consider a “night owl” (or just “owl” in this survey). After all, I'm not a vampire. I DO like the sun.

I just don't like it at 6 or 7 in the morning.

But like I said—most of my current jobs involve me working afternoons and/or early evenings, and that suits me perfectly. I don't need to wake up before the crack of dawn, and on those rare occasions when I actually have to? I just sit and stare at the wall for minutes on end. But, as the quiz points out, that's one sign of being a “nighthawk”.

I just never knew there was an actual name for it.

Wonder what type you are? Take the quiz yourself by clicking or tapping here.

****

By the way, I have tomorrow (Juneteenth) off, so there won't be a new one of these. I'll be back on Monday, so until then—have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com), nighthawk

Wednesday, 6/17

Don't worry. I'm not turning into a “bro”, or anything.

Heaven forbid.

I did, however, do two things on TV Monday night that I hardly ever do. Or, at least, hardly ever do in public. I wore a jersey and I talked about sports. For those two minutes, I almost felt like a “guy”. But thankfully, when it was over, I went back to normal.

8-)

I joke, of course. Despite the public image I seem to have I DO have an interest in some sports, especially soccer. And now that the World Cup is going strong, I felt it would be a prime opportunity to bust out one of my jerseys and let Upper Michigan in on my little secret. So my TV piece Monday was, basically, “A Yooper's Guide to the World Cup”, describing soccer to people who might not be familiar, and suggested a few countries other than the US for whom they might like to cheer.

The reason I wore a jersey to do it? Well, the jersey itself was one of the gags, if only because the one I wore was pink & purple, and those colors on a jersey are a good reason to cheer for a team, right?

(See? I'm really NOT a guy, am I?)

if you're a fan, I hope you're catching a match here and there. And if you're not, check one out, especially when a country like Norway or Japan is playing. As I said in the bit, you might be surprised by what you see and, maybe, find yourself getting hooked in the process.

You don't even need a pink & purple jersey for that.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 6/16

In some ways it seems like it was forever ago. In other ways, it seems like it was yesterday.

If you haven't completely erased the shock of it from your brain yet, you may remember where you were three months ago. It was three months ago today—March 16th—that our epic three day dumping of snow occurred, an historic storm event that had few equals in history.

You remember, right?

Like you, part of me has tried to block the trauma of the event out of my brain, making it seem like it was something that happened years ago, if indeed it even happened at all. But I've come across a couple of notes on stuff I'm currently working on, stuff I actually started during that epic event because, well, there wasn't anything else you could do for the better part of a week. And that makes me realize that the storm really wasn't that long ago.

Especially when you think that three months really isn't that long of a time span.

We felt the after effects of the storm for weeks; in fact, I have a dude I work with at one of my other jobs who didn't have the last pile of snow in his yard melt until mid May. The cold & the lingering snow caused flowers to bloom later than usual, and some places still have dirt on the streets from the epic amount of it dumped after the storm. Not only that, but I still have the snowshoes sitting in my apartment that I used for two days just to get from my apartment to the station, three blocks away, because that was the only way to get around.

So, yeah. That was fun.

Thankfully, what's passing for summer this year (and, just as a side note, “summer” better get better soon) has erased most immediate memories of that week, consigning it, for most people, to “do you remember?” status. But for people who pay attention to these kind of things?

It all began three months ago today.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 6/15

Does anybody remember when I wrote what follows?

First, let me explain how I came across it. I decided to do something I haven't had the time to do on Friday—cleaning up a few things in my office. Over the 23 years the station's been in Marquette things have, uhm, started to pile up on my office floor, on my desk, and in every nook & cranny you can see (and some you can't). So the past few weeks, for 30 seconds a day, I grab something and see if I need it. If I do, I file it away. If I don't, I toss it. I figure it's a painless way to clean; after all, it doesn't take much time, and at the rate I'm going, my office should be spotless when I'm ready to retire in 20 or 25 years. And it must be working—when a former coworker came over to visit she noticed something was quite strange, and then realized that my office actually has carpeting on the floor, that my floor is not just a collection of cardboard boxes and stacks of paper.

I guess, if nothing else, I'm on the right track.

Anyway, when I was doing my 30 seconds of cleaning Friday I came across a list I once wrote. I have no idea when I wrote the list, nor do I have any idea about the context in which I wrote it, although I'm thinking it might've been during one of those bouts of “Is Jim a Yooper or Isn't He?” that seems to occur every few years. I don't know if I ever used it on the air or in here, although I recognize several pieces of if that have popped up on my TV bits here and there. Like I said, though, I don't know when (or why) I wrote it. All I know is that I did indeed write it, printed it out, and must've promptly stuck it in a wire basket, where it's sat buried under a bunch of other papers (and a thin layer of dust) for an unknown number of years.

So without further ado, here's the list:

SEVEN SIGNS YOU MAY NOT BE A TRUE YOOPER:

7. If you've never—even in a dream—thought about buying a pick-up truck.

6. If, when someone says “hilltop”, you think of a mountain, and not a sweet roll.

5. If you don't salute when you hear the name Vince Lombardi.

4. If you don't own a single piece of clothing in hunter's orange.

3. If you've never gone ice fishing, because you're afraid of cold feet.

2. If you realize the Appleton is NOT the shopping capital of the universe.

And the number one sign you may not be a true Yooper?

1. If you've ever—even once and even by accident—pronounced it PAY-stee

Well, that's the list. Like I said, I'm not quite sure of its date or its origin, so if any of the lame jokes seem familiar; well, maybe you can help me figure it out. I know I'd appreciate it.

See what I get for trying to clean my office?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 6/12

The lilacs have started to die.

It's funny, but it only takes a week or two after the most wonderful time of the year starts for the saddest time of the year to begin, the time when the lilac buds start to wilt and fall off their branches.. I know that's the natural life cycle of the plant, but it seems that every year it catches me by surprise. Every year I notice it beginning and silently shout “No, not yet!”.

Still it happens.

This year, it seems a little strange, as well, as right next to plants that are wilting are plants that still haven't yet fully budded. That may add a day or two to the sniffing season, but I'm sure that they will soon go the way of their lilac brethren and start slowly falling off the tree.

Of course, that's what makes lilac season so special. It isn't very long; so you have to enjoy it while you can. It's kind of like the Christmas season; or, at least, the was the Christmas season used to be before radio stations started playing Christmas music in September and that lazy neighbor down the street started leaving their decorations up until July. It's just here for a very short period of time, and you have to cram as much enjoyment into that period as you can.

Because, then, it's gone.

I've heard from a couple of people who've driven past and have noticed me with my nose stuck in a lilac bush. They almost seemed surprised that I like lilacs as much as I say do when I write about them. I don't know why they thought that; I really DO like them as much as I write about them. And since the season for them is so short, odds are you will see me with my nose in them.

After all, you only have a few days in which you can sniff. You have to make the most of them.

And with that, you won't have to put up with me writing about them any more this year. When they start budding next May, I make no promises, but until then?

I think you're safe.

Have a great weekend!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 6/11

I wonder how many people had guessed Lower Harbor Park?

“Mystery Spot: Marquette” was a smashing success last night, at least if the crowd size was any indication--

I'm still stunned that a group that size literally put their trust in me, so much so that they would show up for a walk, not knowing where they were going and with the (real) threat of rain, but having faith that I would show them a good time. And I think—I hope—that I did, as I talked about railroads, docks, businesses, wandering cows, a stairway that inspired a novel, an attempt to actually make cars in Marquette, and, of course, the very rich history of the patch of land that we now know as Lower Harbor Park.

I'm also surprised that fewer people than I imagined guessed our actual destination. I was chatting with a lot of people before the walk, and while a few were correct, so many people had so many different ideas of where we might be going, ranging from South Marquette to Park Cemetery. But in a way, that's kind of cool. That means there are so many places in the city that people consider “historic” that you can't guess just one. That, I think, is a testament to the place in which we live.

And, I guess, it also means that if I ever decide to do another version of “Mystery Spot” I have plenty of places from which to choose.

We'll just have to see.

******

Because part of today actually promises to be sunny (hopefully), I'm going to take a few hours off, which means I have to go to work to get a few things taken care of, which means I need to cut this short. It is, however, a big day in Marquette history.

Why? Check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 6/10

To quote a great Scottish philosopher (although in a WILDLY different context)--

Tonight's the night.

With any luck, my new “Mystery Spot: Marquette” tour will get underway at 630 from the Marquette Regional History center (hint hint). Everyone who shows up knows they're going on a walking tour, although no one (not even the people who work at the History Center) knows where they're going. All they know is that we're walking somewhere you can see a lot of history, and that I'll be telling a bunch of wacky, interesting, and/or unknown stories.

As long as the weather holds out (and, as I type this, it's supposed to be cloudy and 80, but with a chance of rain) I hope that the faith people are placing in me, the fact that they're willing to walk without even knowing where they're going, is rewarded.

And I think it will be.

The Mystery Spot to which we're walking not only has a lot of historical things that can be seen from there, but it has a lot of history in and of itself. When I started work on the tour, I was mostly just thinking of all the historic places you could see from there. But as I started getting into it, I realized that the location itself has such a rich history that it deserves to be the focus of a program in and of itself. So hopefully I've been able to combine the two into and evening that will not only entertain people, but will let them learn a bunch of stuff they didn't know they didn't know.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Now, it's all up to the weather. And if it holds, I'll be joined by hundreds of my closest history friends as we head out on a walk whose destination is known by one person and one person only.

A destination that is, at least for the next few hours, a “Mystery Spot”.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 6/9

Have I ever mentioned I really love lilacs?

I mean, both you & I know of the obsessive feelings I have for the blooms, if only because I take waaaaay too many pictures and talk about them waaaaay too often during this time of the year. Well, last night on TV I decided to come out to all of Upper Michigan about my, uhm, “problem”.

I hope people don't think any less of me because of that.

It's funny; when I was putting together the graphics for last night's piece I wondered if I would have enough good lilac pictures to use. Well, as it turns out, I didn't need to worry at all. I put all of the ones that I thought were good into a folder, used about 20 of them in various video montages, and found myself with only, oh, 100 or so that I didn't get to use.

So I'm guessing that, in the end,. I DID indeed have enough good shots of lilacs.

8-)

Unfortunately, even though they just came out last week, the first signs of their short life have appeared. I've seen many bunches turning brown, even while a few lilac trees in Marquette, mostly by the lake, have yet to sprout. But like I said in the piece last night, that's one of the things about the blooms. They're here and then they're gone, meaning that if you're like me (and hopefully, you're not) you have to make good use of them while they're here.

Even if it means coming out as a “lilac-holic” on TV--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 6/8

Who knew so many people liked the song?

Loraine and I were at lunch at a local establishment recently, enjoying our food and taking in the selection of late 60s/early 70s music being played. Most of it was forgettable and/or cheesy, and it was just treated as background noise by the people in the restaurant. However, when one song came on, people stopped talking and started listening. A few even started singing or humming along.

It was cool.

It was kind of amazing, too, because I didn't think many people remembered the song. I sure do; in fact, it's one of “Jim's Top Five Songs Ever Recorded (TM)”, a song that I have loved since I was a kid. In fact, it's one of those songs like, “September” or “Superstition”, that I can listen to over & over & over again. It's also perhaps the best example of one of my favorite kinds of music, Philly Soul. It was written and produced by a master, and even 50-plus years after it was recorded it can still cause an entire restaurant of people tapping their toes and humming along.

That song? “I'll Be Around” by The Spinners.

Like I said, I was flabbergasted when people sitting around us started humming the song, and one of the workers at the place even started singing along. I mean, it's not a song you hear a lot these days. It's not a song that's filled with power or deep meaning. But maybe that's the key to it. It's a simple song; three chords, strings and horns, and amazing vocals. When you have someone like the immortal Thom Bell sticking all of those those together, you end up with three minutes and thirty seconds of musical magic.

Musical magic that, apparently, still shines through over five decades after it was originally released.

I'm sure that everyone who was humming or singing along with the song didn't give it a second thought. Heck, they might not even have realized that they were even doing it. But that just goes to show the power of the song. I'm sure those people aren't like some dorks and consider it one of the five greatest tunes ever recorded. The people humming and singing along just know that they like it.

And that's all that matters.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 6/5

It'll be 82 years ago tomorrow when thousands of American, British, and Canadian troops hit four beaches on the northern coast of France to begin the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany. On one of those beaches--Omaha Beach, the setting for the opening 25 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan”--over 2,000 men died in just a few hours.

One of them was from Marquette County.

William Richards was born in Virginia, Minnesota, graduated from the Michigan College of Technology and Mining, and, in 1940, was working for Cleveland Cliffs at the same time he was a lieutenant in the 107^th National Guard Combat Engineering Battalion in Ishpeming. He had been married to a Negaunee girl--Mary Archibald--for two months, when the battalion was called up for a year of active duty. World War II then started, and that one year became “for the duration”.

The 107^th was shuttled around various camps in the U.S., and headed overseas in 1942, where Richards eventually attained the rank of Major. The invasion of Europe was on the horizon, and Richards’ battalion would be given one of the most dangerous of assignments--to clear the invasion beaches of mines, obstacles, and booby traps laid by the Nazis.

The 107^th was going in with the first wave of troops.

Now, if you’ve seen “Saving Private Ryan”, you get a pretty good idea of what the first wave had to face. That did not seem to daunt Richards and his engineers, especially when you read what was written about his actions in a Distinguished Service Cross citation he posthumously received--

“Major Richards landed with the initial assault waves under heavy enemy artillery, machine gun and rifle fire. He immediately effected the removal of barbed wire by directing the operations of a tank dozer, preceding it on foot under heavy small arms fire. After removing this obstacle, he personally reconnoitered inland to find the exact position of an enemy gun which was harassing troops and equipment at the entrance of one of the beach exits. After locating this gun, he made his way back to the beach and reported its location. He then proceeded to organize the units of his battalion for aggressive action against the enemy on the cliffs. Though wounded, Major Richards again proceeded to a beach exit to direct the efforts of the mine clearing and obstacle removing parties. While organizing these parties, he was killed by enemy fire. The courage and devotion to duty exhibited by Major Richards reflects great credit upon himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed forces.”

This is Major Richards’ final resting place, at the Normandy American Cemetery, on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, in St. Laurent sur Mer, France--

Aside from his wife in Ishpeming, Richards left a 2-year old daughter.

(As always, many thanks to Loraine for uncovering this amazing story and supplying the biographical data).

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 6/4

For those of you wondering—yes, I HAVE been sniffing lilacs to the exclusion of almost everything else.

Did you expect anything different?

Not only have I been sniffing the greatest flowers (or, more technically, the greatest tree buds) on the face of the Earth, I've also been snapping a few pictures of them. After all, they're only around for a week, week and a half at most; it's really a shame (at least in my weird opinion) if you don't take advantage of them while they're here. It is, after all, one of those classic “use it or lose it” situations, and I know on which side of that equation I would much rather err.

So here we go, starting with what some people might consider to be paradise--

Or another view of paradise--

Or, uhm, this view of paradise--

While I was just spinning around shooting every lilac I could find, I took this shot. Now, I don't know if it'll show up for those of you looking at this on a phone, but look at the upper half of the picture.

See the bee?

Oh...and how about one more shot of paradise, just for no particular reason--

Okay. I'll stop now. It's hard, but I'll stop now. Instead, let's pivot over to history, and the tour I'm giving next Wednesday, the one I wrote about yesterday. Here's the teaser video my pal Emily and I shot, giving absolutely nothing away. After all, we don't wanna spoil the gag, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 6/3

In one week we'll see if the history gag works out.

I wrote yesterday about my TV gag (gags, actually) from this week. Well, one week from tonight I'm trying another kind of gag for my latest History Center walking tour.

And I'm hoping this one works out as well as the TV seemed to.

The tour itself will be fairly straightforward, as all of my tours all. The gag comes from both the title and the way we're rolling out the tour. It's called “Mystery Spot: Marquette”, and the gag about is that no one knows where we're going. We'll meet at the History Center next Wednesday, and we'll start walking. We'll end up in a place only I know, a place from which you can see a whole bunch of history, but everyone who goes on the walk has no idea where that'll be.

They'll just have to trust me.

The idea for the tour popped into my head last summer as I was walking around the city, and I figured it might provide a hook for a tour. I've found a bunch of interesting and/or fun and/or weird stories, so it should be a good tour. And as far as the hook? Well, I've had a lot of people share their guesses, but no one seems to have gotten it quite right yet. The people at the History Center don't even know (nor have guessed it right yet), and they're joking that they should raise money by selling guesses as to where we're going.

I'd be all for that.

One week from tonight we'll see if the gag pays off. We'll see what the crowd is like. And, if nothing else, we'll see if anyone ever correctly guesses the final destination of “Mystery Spot: Marquette”.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 6/2

Well, what do you know. The gag actually worked out.

My TV piece last night was an out and out 2 minutes of jokes and stupid one liners, something I've been working on for a while now. As you may recall, thoughts just pop into my head, and I'll write them down on a scrap of paper to, perhaps, do something with one day. Well, a scrap of paper that's been lying around for a while now had the words "tourist bingo" written on it. And seeing as how the start of June is usually the start of the tourist season around here, I decided to put a "tourist bingo" card together, just in case people wanted to play along during the summer.

Putting the card together was one of the most fun things I've done recently.

I took every single tourist stereotype I could think of and placed them upon the card. I took a couple of other ideas that were just absurd and added them in. And then I had to take the running gag Kevin and I have and placed it in the one final spot I had left.

Needless to say, anyone who's playing along at home may have a little trouble completing that particular row.

I have no idea if anyone would actually download the card and fill it out during the tourist season, but just in case, we did make a downloadable version available at WZMQ19.com. If anyone does want to play along, that would be the icing on the cake. It was just a blast stretching whatever muscles of wackiness I seem to possess, and having an end product that turned out like this--

If you do happen to play along, good luck filling up your "Tourist Bingo Card"!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 6/1

I can't believe they tore the lilac trees out.

First of all, hope you had a great weekend. I did myself; since it was the first weekend not Germany or in-law related in over a month, Loraine and I went on a date. And, since the the most wonderful things on the planet outside of Loraine also started to bloom, I also spent waaaaay too much time with my nose stuck in these--

And that's when I noticed the lilacs had been torn out.

One of my favorite places to sniff (and sniff, and sniff) is Father Marquette/Lakeside Park in Marquette. I usually sniff all the bushes by the statue, and then make my way behind the old LSCP building and sniff everything there. Only, when I finished sniffing the bushes by the statue and went behind the building, I noticed that all of the lilac trees that were there were torn out, probably as part of the conversion of the structure to the new City of Marquette Arts & Culture office.

The horror. Oh, the horror.

I don't know if tearing out the bushes was planned, or just a by-product of the construction. Nor do I know if the bushes will be replanted once everything is finished. All I know is that for decades now people have strolled into the park--for many, the one time they're ever there--just to sniff the buds. To not have them there any more is...just not right. I mean, if they're gone for a year or two, I think most people can handle that. But if they're gone forever?

That's just a loss beyond words.

Lest you think I'm resistant to change, I'm not. I'm happy that someone is taking over the old building, and that it'll soon be filled with artists and actors and every other member of a very vibrant Marquette arts community.. A city like ours needs a place like that. But to lose one of the things that drew people to a park that hardly anyone visits?

Well, that would be a shame. So on behalf of lilac-holics everywhere, I hope the bushes are replaced, and one day in the future we pay a visit to sniff one of the loveliest fragrances on the face of the planet.

You know--this fragrance:

(jim@wmqt.com), bummed lilac-holic

Friday, 5/29

Maybe that’s why I’m always so calm.

While trying to find yesterday's “Weird Fact of the Day” (25% of women have cried after a bad haircut, if you're curious) I came across another interesting statistic. A new survey shows that people who compulsively check their phones for texts or messages or notifications suffer anxiety or depression at a rate up to 60% higher than people who don’t.

Let that sink in. Sixty percent higher.

I actually know a couple of people like that; people who will look at their phone every two minutes and then seem disappointed when there’s nothing new to attract their attention. These are the same people who will send me a text or an e-mail and then wonder why I don’t get right back to them, even if the text or e-mail was trivial in nature. Well, that’s probably because I don’t check my phone every two minutes. In fact, I can actually go (gasp) hours without even giving it a second thought.

Oh, the horror!!

Call me weird (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time) but I don’t see why I should be checking my phone every two minutes. After all, that’s like being at work or being on call 24 hours a day. I wouldn’t want to constantly be on call without a phone; why should I do it with a phone? There are times when you just need to separate yourself from whatever or whomever. You need to allow your brain to detach and de-tangle, and that doesn’t happen when you’re checking your phone every two minutes.

I can’t say I was surprised when I saw that statistic; we seem to live in a world where there’s too much information and not enough time to process it. And before you go thinking I’m a technological Luddite or something, be aware of the fact that I use technology just as much or more than the average person. I just don’t feel this...compulsion to use it every single second I’m awake. I’m fine with leaving my phone at home when I go to the beach or to leave it in another room when I’m spending time with loved ones. After all, what’s more important in the scheme of things, especially for your mental health--a walk on the beach, or a text message you really don’t need at that moment?

Now can you see why that survey was probably quite accurate?

So the next time you see someone in a restaurant or a store or even (heaven forbid) in a movie theater checking their phone every few minutes, make sure you don’t say “boo” around them. After all, they’re probably anxious enough as it is.

*****

Speaking of ways to remain calm, I'm trying to stay that way while awaiting the arrival of these--

Hopefully, this weekend. If they finally DO pop out, you know how I'll be spending a lot of my time the next few days, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/28

I could actually live with a schedule like that.

We've had weird & wacky weather recently—80 Tuesday (when I spent some time in my auxiliary office), 65 yesterday, and in a forecast only the 50s today. It's much like the holiday weekend, when we had a cold day Saturday, a normal day Sunday, and a very hot day Monday. I know it's just a coincidence, but it seems like there might there is a pattern developing—one really hot day, one really cold day, and one normal day. The more I think about that, the more I come to a conclusion--

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

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

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

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

Either way, that wouldn't be good.

We'll have to see how things go. I mean, the forecast shows it's not going to repeat, but these days, who knows? Maybe Mother Nature likes falling into a routine. After what we've been through the past seven months, weather-wise, nothing at all would surprise me.

Nothing at all.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 5/27

Yesterday, I was able to use my auxiliary office for the first time in a long time--

Those of you who have been reading these forever may recall that on nice summer days, if I have a lot of writing to do, I may skip out of the station with an old notebook computer, head down to Lower Harbor Park, and just write in the sun. Well, for the first time in, like, forever, yesterday it was nice enough to do so, so I unilaterally decided to move the seat of power for the station a block and a half away from where it normally sits.

It was nice.

After the winter (and now lack of Spring) that we've had, it's nice to be able to do little things like that. I mean, think of what we've had to deal with the last six or seven months. Do you think anyone would deny us the chance to enjoy a little sun and a little warmth?

Well, these days, you never know, but it's not anything I would deny anyone. So off to my auxiliary office I went.

Hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy it quite a bit the next few months. However, like most of you, I DID live through the winter and lack of Spring we just had, so I'm not taking anything for granted. I mean, I'm an optimist by nature, so I'm hopeful.

But, like I said, I also lived through the last seven months up here, so I know what's actually within the realm of possibility,.

I wasn't the only one down at the park. During my hour or so in my auxiliary office I saw other people taping on screens, several individuals enjoying their lunch, and an entire 7th grade class making as much noise as a class of 7th graders can make.

But you know what? I'm cool with that. Because, like me, they've had to live through the past seven months, and even seventh graders deserve their time in the sun. Hopefully they, like the rest of us, will get the chance to do this again and again and again.

After all, what's the use of having an auxiliary office if you can't use it on occasion, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Tuesday, 5/26

I guess it was a weekend for taking pictures of flowers.

The increasingly warmer temps we had this weekend accelerated the blooming of flowers around Marquette. They had been popping up everywhere before Friday, but after above conditions the past few days it seems like the whole city is blooming. And since I was out quite a bit with my visiting father-in-law, and wasn't gonna let weather like that go wasted, you get to see what my camera saw!

I saw red-ish tulips-

And yellow daffodils--

I saw these purple thingees, whatever they are--

And these magenta thingees, whatever THEY are--

I know. I take a ton of pictures of flowers, yet most of the time I have no idea what I'm photographing. I really should learn what grows around here so I don't have to keep making excuses. I guess I'll just have to add that to the list.

One thing I photographed that I DID know the name of, though, was all the stuff that was in this picture, non-flower division--

I was just just walking around and was struck by the geometry of the shot. I guess it just goes to show that, no matter how many times you've traversed the streets, there's always something new to see in Marquette!

Finally, I'm sure you're all curious as to whether the lilacs came out this weekend. Your answer? This picture was taken at 9:45 am this morning...

There's your answer.  They're close.  They're really close!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 5/22

There's a difference between the two. There's a HUGE difference between the two.

I'm finally starting to get caught up on all of my stuff at work and, if I'm being honest, I'm once again working ahead just a little, as a three-day weekend and a long-awaited visit from Loraine's dad will be occupying my time the next few days. All of this has come with some effort on my part, and more than once the past few days I've uttered a phrase that I usually do when plowing through things, a phrase that if nothing else allows me to vent a little, if only to myself.

That phrase? “I need a vacation”.

Normally, co-workers & friends will laugh if they hear me utter that phrase, although uttering it the past few days got me a few disbelieving looks and a phrase uttered back at me--”you were just on vacation”.

No, I was not on “vacation”. I was on a “trip”.

There IS a difference between the two. Vacations are when you sit on a beach or go on a hike; things that rejuvenate your body and your mind. A trip is when you spend hours in an airplane, then drive on foreign roads, and spend your time navigating through a land where your first language is only the second or third language of the area.

There's a huge difference between the two.

Don't get me wrong—I LOVE our trips. I'd do one every month, if I could. But they're not “vacations”, nor do I expect them to be. My “vacations” are those warm summer days we (usually) get around here when I skip out of work and go play in the sun. They're two different things. And I haven't had a “vacation” recently. I had a great trip, but I really could use a vacation some time soon.

Hopefully Mother Nature provides it. And hopefully she realizes there's a difference between a “trip” and a "vacation”.

Because that difference is quite a big one.

Have a great holiday weekend. I'm off of radio for three days, although I do have my TV gig Monday night. See you then!

(jim@wmqt.com)

Thursday, 5/21

I'm not going to weigh myself this weekend.

One of the first things I usually do on a Saturday morning, right before I go on my long, meandering run, is to weigh myself. I do so at the same time every week; that way, I get a pretty good idea if I’ve been a bad boy the previous week, a good boy the previous week, or, as is usually the case, an average boy the previous week.

But I won’t weigh myself this Saturday, and I believe you could guess the reason why—German chocolate, lots of bottles of German Dr. Pepper (the kind with sugar, and the kind that tastes like Dr. Pepper used to taste when I was a kid), and several very yummy German (or Italian, or Indian) dinners.

Germans do several things quite well. Raising your cholesterol level is one of them.

After our first two trips to Europe both Loraine and I weighed ourselves the weekend after we returned, and after being shocked out of our minds, vowed ever since to wait a few weeks before measuring our weight again. Sure, a week or two really wouldn’t seem to make that much of a difference, but you’d be surprised at how much 10 days of healthy eating and exercising can lessen the shock of stepping on the scale the first time after returning. It may be cheating a little, but it’s cheating in a good way.

Kind of like some schools do in college football.

If I had to guess, I’ve venture to say I gained two pounds while I was over there this year. I don’t base that guess on anything scientific, other than the fact that I “feel” two pounds heavier. As far as I know, I could step on the scale Saturday and find out I haven’t gained anything at all, or I could step on the scale tomorrow, and find that I shot up five pounds. The possibility of it going up five pounds is the reason why I haven't yet weighed myself since returning, but if I had to guess, I’d guess two pounds.

We’ll see if I was anywhere in the neighborhood when I step on the scale a week from this Saturday. If I’m back to what passes for normal, we’ll know my guess was fairly accurate. If I step on the scale next Saturday and see I’m still three or four pounds over what I was before we left, we’ll know that my guess was wrong, that I saved my system a shock by waiting a week to weigh myself, and that I probably shouldn’t eat too many dinners at restaurants or drink too much Dr. Pepper in Germany any time soon.

I'll just have to make sure I don't go back there in the next couple of months.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 5/20

I finally had a chance to get the pictures, no thanks to my Chromebook.

If you were reading along with our trip blogs, you may remember how on the Friday we got to Saarbrucken I had shot a lot of pictures with my big Nikon camera, but because the Chromebook I was using seemed to have a problem with an SD card as big as the one I had in my camera, I couldn't get the pictures off it it. I bought a smaller SD card the next day and had no problem the rest of the trip.

I just couldn't transfer (and use) the pictures I shot that particular day.

Last night I finally had a few seconds to stick the card in my laptop, where I was able to transfer them with no problem (what that says about Chromebooks? Well, that's a topic for another day). I was glad I was finally able to take a look at them, because I seemed to recall that they were pretty good.

And, for once, I was almost correct.

What kind of shots was I not able to share on our trip blogs? Well, several of them were taken on the Willi Graf Ufer, a riverside trail--

It was a nice night in Saarbrucken, and everyone seemed to be on that trail, just enjoying the evening--

In fact, looking down on the trail from the pedestrian bridge over it, it almost appeared as if you were in a painting--

Other shots I couldn't post? This one--

This one--

And a picture that really doesn't make much sense without context, this one--

So...here's the context. This was a guy who just walked into the middle of Saarbrucken's St Johannes Market Square, pulled out a boom box, played Simply Red's “Holding Back the Years”, and began an interpretive dance to it.

Because, you know, why not, right?

Anyway, I'm glad I finally had the chance to see the pictures (and about 70 others that I took at 1 FC Saarbrucken's practice that afternoon for Loraine). Now, I just have to lecture my Chromebook on the importance of actually working when I need it.

Because computers always listen when you do that, right?

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com) 

Tuesday, 5/19

I thought it would be easier this way. I, apparently, was wrong.

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things after our little visit to Germany. I thought it might be a little different this time around, as we came back last Friday and, for the first time, had a whole weekend to ease back into the real world. And while the weekend was fine for getting our body clocks readjusted, it really didn't help as far and anything else went.

I mean, it's probably my own fault, but still. We had a whole weekend!

8-)

I used to the weekend to do laundry, unpack, write my TV piece from last night, go through pictures, go through chocolate, and just try to get ready to get back to “normal”. Of course, when I went to work yesterday we had technical issues that took a while to fix, I never did get into the swing of things on the air, and I'll get to deal with the fallout from that this morning, aside from heading over to NMU to set up the schedule for next year's “High School Bowl”.

Although now that I think about it, aside from the technical issues I probably have no one to blame but myself for the insanity, right?

Hopefully things start to slowly work out today. Hopefully I can get things back on track. Hopefully, I can even work a little bit ahead because, wouldn't you know, we have a three day weekend coming up.

Hopefully, I'm not being too optimistic. We'll see, I guess.

*****

Speaking of the TV spot I write this past weekend and did last night, it talks about something cool I think we should do around here. Check it out if you dare--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/18

 Hey...I'm back!

I don't have a lot of time to write anything right now, as I'm trying to get caught up with, you know, everything, including two of my jobs (radio & TV-19) today, and my other TV job (High School Bowl) early tomorrow, plus a three day weekend looming.

So I'm not taking the easy way out, but I'm, uhm, going to take the easy way out.  Here's what i saw on my way to work this morning--

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.  Well, at least for today.  I promise nothing at all the next three or four weeks.

8-)

I'm off to try & get caught up.  A full one of these tomorrow!

(jim@wmqt.com)

While Jim's in Germany...

All you need to do is head to jimkoski.org (or simply click or tap HERE) and you can read along with whatever fun and/or mishaps come his way!

Tuesday, 5/5

It looks like all systems are go.

With but one day left before we (hopefully) hop on a plane and blow this Popsicle stand, it looks as if everything I need to get done is either done or will be finished today. It's something upon which I always cast a wary eye; after all, I've been working ahead on certain things for almost three months now, and it would not be cool if something (a dead computer, a mental breakdown, and/or the like) got in the way of all that work.

But thankfully, it appears as if fate has once again cast a loving aura upon everything. So thanks, fate!

Here's what's going on. There won't be a blog here tomorrow or (maybe) Thursday, and starting either Thursday or Friday afternoon (your time) I'll start posting on our trip blog. You can just keep coming back here to get to it; I'll make sure I leave a link right above this blog so all you need to do is click one extra time. Hopefully, it won't be too much. And if it is, you have my sincere apologies.

Really, you do.

As always, I plan on posting every day we're there, and based on past experience, I should have no problem. However, you never know if a new hotel we're staying at will have bad wi-fi, or if I'll have some kind of technical problem with the equipment I bring along, or if—like I've joking all along—we get stuck in the middle of somewhere because a flight's been canceled or the world's falling apart. It hasn't happened yet, and I hope it won't this time, but with the way the planet is these days I wanna put that out there just in case. I'm also hoping on send back radio reports on certain days, so you can listen for those, as well.

Well, I think that's it. The next time we speak I'll (hopefully) be a quarter of the world and (just as hopefully) munching on some really good chocolate.

See you then. And keep your fingers crossed. We're counting on every bit of luck possible!

*****

Before I leave...how did my “Star Wars” bit work out on TV last night? Check it out for yourself--

(jim@wmqt.com)

Monday, 5/4

Happy Star Wars Day!

Wait...you don't celebrate Star Wars Day? But it's May the 4^th...you know, as in “May the force (or, in this case, the 4^th) be with you”. You really don't celebrate?

Oh, that's right. You're normal.

8-)

Every so often when I ask a movie trivia question about a “Star Wars” film I'll get someone who has never seen one. Several times, I've spoken with people in my TV job and they'll admit not being a fan of the films. And over the years on “High School Bowl” I've even had one or two of the brightest young people on the planet say that they just don't get “Star Wars”.

And that kinda blows my mind. I mean, I know I'm a dork and I grew up with the original films, but in a macro sense I'm also aware that those movies are a cultural phenomenon. Even if you're not a fan of the films—and, apparently, there are a lot more people out there like that than I ever imagined—you're at least aware of the significance of the movie series.

You may not celebrate the holiday today, but at least you're aware of it.

But I get where some people are coming from. Obviously, I'm a “Star Wars” geek Like me, there are people who are also geeks for a series of films, but in their case they're “Harry Potter” geeks. They grew up with the films, and they'll drink butter beer and play Quiddich. And when I tell them I've never seen a “Harry Potter” film and could care less about ever seeing one, they give me the very same look that I'm sure I give people who say they're just not interested in “Star Wars”.

To each their own. And, by the way, I hope you don't think any less of me because I really don't care about Harry Potter. We all have our deep, dark, secrets. I guess that's mine.

So if you celebrate today, enjoy yourself. If you don't, that's fine too. Just don't be surprised if you do hear “May the Fourth be with you” a time or two today. In fact, if you're watching TV-19 news at 6 o'clock tonight, and just happen to come across a “Star Wars” dork doing something that will either be a huge success or fail miserably...

Well, some of us just can't help ourselves.

(jim@wmqt.com)

Friday, 5/1

T-5 days, and all systems are still go.

Yay.

A few weeks ago I wrote in here about whether or not I should blog during the trip, and based on the comments I received and questions people have asked, I guess I'll be doing it. Apparently, there are a LOT of people who travel with us vicariously, and really look forward to seeing what we do.

So...blogging during the trip it shall be.

In fact, we're going to once again put the word “repurpose” into practice here. I've written a pre-trip blog (also available at jimkoski.org), and to wrap up the week here we'll share it with you.

Have a great weekend. Everything from packing to finishing my either really good (or really bad) TV piece await me, so I know what I'll be doing.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

*****

To quote some old dude who once wrote a thing (or two)...once more, unto the breach.

Loraine and I are heading back to Europe for the first time in two years, and we're hoping—hoping--it all works out well. So many things have changed since we last visited one of our favorite places in the world, and there are many issues that could cloud our visit. This is just a partial list--

--What does the ongoing DHS/TSA shutdown mean for us trying to leave or get into the country?

--We're renting a car over there, so what will sky-high fuel prices do to our budget?

--Will tighter border security across Europe's Schengen Zone mean extra hassles in trying to cross from one country to another?

--And how will we be treated over there? Europeans once thought of America (and Americans) as a shining beacon on a hill. Now, they think of us—or at least our government—as bullies.

See? It's not like any of our past trips. But you know what? We'll take it as it comes. And, as always, you're invited to join with us.

Where are we all going, in fact? Well, we're going to Germany for what will be our shortest ever trip (if only by a day). We're flying into Frankfurt, picking up the aforementioned rental car, and then spending a night in Kaiserlautern (where we stayed last time) before heading to the city where we'll be headquartered the rest of the time--

Saarbrucken.

Saarbrucken is a city of about 70,000 people on Germany's extreme western side. In fact, it's one of those places that, during its long history, has been part of France, Prussia, France (again), Germany, France (yet again), and Germany (yet again). It has hills, water (in the form of a river), and a history of mining, so we should feel right at home. And we've chosen this place for two very important reasons, reasons that anyone who knows us (and we count you as among that group) will fully understand.

The first reason—Loraine likes their football team, FC Saarbrucken, and because it's a team in Germany's third tier league (3 Liga), their practices are open to the public, and we can check out her favorite player on the team, Tim Cevaja (he's the one on the left)

The other reason we chose Saarbrucken? It's only 15 or so kilometers to the French border, and only 60 (or so) to the Luxembourg border. So do you know what that means?

In one car ride, we can buy chocolate from Germany, France, and Belgium (which they sell in Luxembourg). Is Saarbrucken a great place, or what?

8-)

The whole adventure begins on Wednesday, May 6^th. Assuming none of the issues we discussed come to fruition, we should be ready to roll (and blog) the day after, having a blast before we (hopefully) head back to Marquette on Friday, May 15^th. And you know what?

As always, we hope you'll join us!

(jimkoskimqt@gmail.com)

Thursday, 4/30

It's either going to be amazing or it's going to implode spectacularly. I don't think there's any middle ground.

At T-6 days before we leave for Europe I have 100,000 things to take care of, among them making sure that I have not one but two TV bits ready to go this weekend, one that I'll be doing live on Monday and the other taped ahead of time to air on the 11^th., The latter, the one that airs while I'm in Germany, is pretty much taken care of. It's fully written, and just needs a few pictures to go along with it. The former, the one that'll do live Monday?

THAT'S the one that's either going to be amazing or implode spectacularly. At this point, I'm not quite sure which way it'll go.

The one I'm taping ahead of time for the 11^th will be reflective, will be something a normal adult would do, albeit with a few wisecracks. The one I'm planning on doing live Monday will be anything but. I mean, I could still change my mind between now and then; after all, I'm doing it live and, unlike the one I'll be taping, I have some leeway in what I do.

But I think I'm gonna go for it.

It's funny; after doing almost 200 editions of “Life in the 906” you'd think that every wild idea that could ever pop out of my head has popped out of my head. But you know what? Sometimes, getting an idea for a reflective one is hard. It's the wild ones that pop out of nowhere, prompted by something I see or, in the case of the one I'm planning for Monday, a date on the calendar. I don't know how and I don't know why, but that's the way it happens.

Lucky me, huh?

Like I said, I have a few days in which I could pull out of this wild idea, but I don't know that I will. And like I said, it's gonna go one way or another. It's either going to be amazing or it's going to implode spectacularly..

Keep your fingers crossed.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com)

Wednesday, 4/29

Wow. I guess I do have something that would almost qualify me as a Yooper.

We've discussed this in here before, about how I, even though I was born in the UP and have spent over 85% of my life here, am not considered a “Yooper”. I don't do things Yoopers do, and I've had people from all across the UP inform me that despite my birthplace I'm not a Yooper. According to people ranging from Munising to Champion I'm a “city boy”, both because I'm from Marquette and because I prefer concrete over trees & swamps.

I'm just a bad person, I guess. Or at least a bad Yooper.

(And, if truth be told, I'm fine with it. I KNOW I'm not a “real” Yooper. I'm more of an “Urban Yooper”, which I hope isn't too much of an oxymoron).

Anyway, this “Urban Yooper” noticed something while getting ready to head to Germany next week. The weather forecast calls for (thankfully) mild temperatures, and so I dug out several pair of shorts to bring with me. I like these shorts a lot; they're handy and they look good on me. The secret about them?

They're Carhartt shorts. That's right—I own two pieces of clothing from the line that “real” Yoopers call their own. NOW can I be considered a “real” Yooper?

8-)

Don't worry. I'm not going to take up hunting or 4-wheeling or ragging on “city boys”. I just have two pair of shorts that I really like, and they just happened to be from a company that also makes rugged jackets, work clothes, and and whatever else “real” Yoopers wear. Who knew, right? So now, I can proudly say “I own a piece of Carhartt”, even if it is just a pair (or two) of shorts.

In what's probably another sign that I'm not a “real” Yooper I'm wondering how I'll feel the first time I wear them in Germany and the Carhartt logo sticks out. After all, I've never worn a piece of their clothing in Europe before. Does one act differently? Will my attempts to fit in over there be rendered moot? Will they immediately peg me as an “American” and not just as me?

I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.

Since I do like them so much, as the weather gets warmer over the next few months and if you happen to see me around wearing a pair of tan or green shorts, you'll know I've stepped out in one of my pieces of Carhartt. It may have taken me awhile, but at least I do have something from that iconic, Yooper-loved label.

(jim@wmqt.com), Urban Yooper.  But one who DOES own Carhartt!