It was my turn to write the newspaper's editorial for our Christmas week edition. It's not an assignment I enjoy. I was supposed to write something about the holidays, but I didn't really feel that happy, thank you very much.
It was just after Lady Visine's dear Spouse had died, just as my father-in-law was preparing for his heart surgery. And I was also thinking about some of the blog friends I haven't heard from for a long time; about S, who I was especially missing around that time. And maybe I was feeling a little lonely. I wasn't feeling happy.
So this is what I wrote. I'll leave it for you to think about as 2007 ends and 2008 begins.
[QUOTE]A wistfulness pervades the air this time of year. The old year is nearly over, and we inevitably look back. We do a lot of thinking about what has happened in the last 12 months, both the happy memories and the sad ones.
Some people we know spend their lives looking in the rear-view mirror of their memory. We have always pre-ferred the view out the windshield—after all, how are you going to get anywhere if you’re not looking forward?
But the last half of December is different. We think about the things we have done and didn’t do and should have done and maybe shouldn’t have. We think about the people we know, the friends we love and hold dear in our heart.
Absent friends—those who have moved away, those who have died and those whom we simply haven’t seen very much recently. We remember the last kiss we shared, the last warm hug, the last laugh, the last drink we quaffed together. At that time, we never thought it would be the last one.
Sometimes you see something or hear a piece of music or something someone says—and the memories come flooding back. We sit and remember and wish those good times could come back somehow. Sometimes they can. Sometimes they can only live on in memory. Treasured memory.
Have you lost someone this year? You are hardly alone. All of us write our own story, our own joys and heartaches. The cast always changes. People exit the stage of our lives, never to return.
Then new characters enter. New people come who maybe are also feeling a little lost and lonely and who are looking for a friend. Maybe you’re the person each other is looking for. But how will you know if you don’t look out that windshield and think about the future?
Dan Fogelberg died recently. I don’t know if you know his music, but he had some really thoughtful, perceptive songs. The one running through my head for the last few days was “Another Auld Lang Syne.”
It tells the story of a chance meeting between two people who were once lovers, and how the memories came rushing back to both of them. They spent a little time remembering together, and then they part again.
And now we’re at that time of year ourselves, thinking about the ones who are gone from our lives, remembering the good times we shared together. The ghost of Christmas past.
It’s OK. We all do that this time of year. Next week we can look ahead to 2008. But not right now. Let’s enjoy the warm thoughts for a while.
Let’s also enjoy each other during this holiday season. We can’t see what lies ahead. Probably that’s just as well. But we have today. Our reality today is the people who are now around us—our friends, our family, the people we meet every day.
Tomorrow, today will be yesterday. So let’s enjoy today. Tomorrow may be too late.[/QUOTE]
To all my dear friends here on efx2blogs.com, I wish all of you a wonderful new year, filled with thrills and happy excitement and wonderful memories.
Tomorrow, today will be yesterday. So let's enjoy today. Tomorrow may be too late.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
My inscrutable son
In the end, we didn't have to resort to needles under the fingernails. My older son revealed a little about his life during the final night of his truncated holiday visit with us. He even volunteered the information.
More on that later. After getting home from the funeral on Christmas Eve night, we had some wrush-wrush wrapping to do. My wife and I quickly came to an agreement: We'll wrap the stuff for the kids. For each other, we'll just pull things out of bags and give them to each other--naked. The gifts, that is.
That made the wrapping business go a lot faster. We got to bed at a decent hour, slept a little later than usual (warned the kids first; the extra hour or so of shuteye was very welcome) and got down to the business of opening gifts at 10 a.m.
First of all, my wife gave me my birthday gift: a bag of root beer barrel candies. I like root beer, if you don't know.
Then off to the other stuff. I'll spare you the play by play. The kids got various games and DVDs. David got the Simpsons Season 8 and Shrek 3. Phil got the Looney Tunes Collection 5 and an anime DVD disk, "Paprika." There were other things; this is what I can remember.
I got two anime DVDs from the "Basilisk" series. A DVD about the early Beatles, Pete Best era. A book about a fictional interview with Groucho Marx. And some fleece socks; nice, colorful, warm and comfy. Ordered them myself, for my wife to give me. I've been wearing nothing else since! On my feet, that is.
My wife must have been [I]very [/I]good. She got a Disney True-Life Adventures DVD, a Monk Season 2 set, a pair of IMAX movies and some Tom and Jerry cartoons. She likes Tom and Jerry.
She also got a pair of blouses. One she had seen before, since she tried it on; the other was discovered when I visited Fashion Bug just before Christmas and saw a dark blue, long-sleeved blouse with "sparklies" all over. She is a sucker for sparklies. Unfortunately, it was a little too small, so we'll take it back and exchange it for the next size up. She also got a Fashion Bug gift card. So she made out like a bandit. (She also had one last gift, which came out later.)
We visited my mom that afternoon, but, frankly, we were all feeling a little tired. Phil was in a good mood but wasn't being very talkative about how his life is going. He can be too damn inscrutable at times! My mom noticed and was disappointed. It was, after all, the first time they had been together in a year. She asked me to try to learn more before he leaves.
Wednesday night was his final night with us: He left Thursday morning. Late in the day, he let the cat out of the bag. David had left by then, so it was just my wife and I--and she was getting tired.
Phil hasn't had a girlfriend for quite a while. And he's 31. So we have no grandkids yet. Recently, he registered with eharmony.com and has been sounding optimistic about the results. He told us (during the Wednesday night talk) that he had been seeing someone for the last month, but he wasn't sure what was going on: She had told him that she needs to back off on it for the next month because she is a substitute teacher while also taking college courses; too busy.
We agreed he should talk it out with her to decide whether he should hang in there while she considers herself out of circulation. My thinking is: She's not going to be studying and correcting papers ALL the time; she's going to need some time to relax, and they could see each other then. All he needs to be is a low-maintenance boyfriend for a month. Didn't seem so difficult to me.
Maybe not to me, but it apparently was for her. He called back Sunday afternoon to say that they had met and and agreed to break it off for now--she's just too busy. He sounded disappointed. I said, well, at least you have closure on that and can move on. He agreed.
Sometimes I wonder whether it's that high a priority with him. What he is into now--passionately--is improvisational comedy. He is taking classes with a Second City-type group in the Detroit area and has been accepted in their next/more advanced program. So he's happy about that.
That ties up most of the loose ends from the holiday season. On New Year's Eve, my wife and David and I are going down to visit my mom, have dinner, do a little shopping (It's time to stock up on cat food again!) and see a movie. We were watching some trailers on my laptop earlier today, and "The Water Horse" looked interesting.
More on that later. After getting home from the funeral on Christmas Eve night, we had some wrush-wrush wrapping to do. My wife and I quickly came to an agreement: We'll wrap the stuff for the kids. For each other, we'll just pull things out of bags and give them to each other--naked. The gifts, that is.
That made the wrapping business go a lot faster. We got to bed at a decent hour, slept a little later than usual (warned the kids first; the extra hour or so of shuteye was very welcome) and got down to the business of opening gifts at 10 a.m.
First of all, my wife gave me my birthday gift: a bag of root beer barrel candies. I like root beer, if you don't know.
Then off to the other stuff. I'll spare you the play by play. The kids got various games and DVDs. David got the Simpsons Season 8 and Shrek 3. Phil got the Looney Tunes Collection 5 and an anime DVD disk, "Paprika." There were other things; this is what I can remember.
I got two anime DVDs from the "Basilisk" series. A DVD about the early Beatles, Pete Best era. A book about a fictional interview with Groucho Marx. And some fleece socks; nice, colorful, warm and comfy. Ordered them myself, for my wife to give me. I've been wearing nothing else since! On my feet, that is.
My wife must have been [I]very [/I]good. She got a Disney True-Life Adventures DVD, a Monk Season 2 set, a pair of IMAX movies and some Tom and Jerry cartoons. She likes Tom and Jerry.
She also got a pair of blouses. One she had seen before, since she tried it on; the other was discovered when I visited Fashion Bug just before Christmas and saw a dark blue, long-sleeved blouse with "sparklies" all over. She is a sucker for sparklies. Unfortunately, it was a little too small, so we'll take it back and exchange it for the next size up. She also got a Fashion Bug gift card. So she made out like a bandit. (She also had one last gift, which came out later.)
We visited my mom that afternoon, but, frankly, we were all feeling a little tired. Phil was in a good mood but wasn't being very talkative about how his life is going. He can be too damn inscrutable at times! My mom noticed and was disappointed. It was, after all, the first time they had been together in a year. She asked me to try to learn more before he leaves.
Wednesday night was his final night with us: He left Thursday morning. Late in the day, he let the cat out of the bag. David had left by then, so it was just my wife and I--and she was getting tired.
Phil hasn't had a girlfriend for quite a while. And he's 31. So we have no grandkids yet. Recently, he registered with eharmony.com and has been sounding optimistic about the results. He told us (during the Wednesday night talk) that he had been seeing someone for the last month, but he wasn't sure what was going on: She had told him that she needs to back off on it for the next month because she is a substitute teacher while also taking college courses; too busy.
We agreed he should talk it out with her to decide whether he should hang in there while she considers herself out of circulation. My thinking is: She's not going to be studying and correcting papers ALL the time; she's going to need some time to relax, and they could see each other then. All he needs to be is a low-maintenance boyfriend for a month. Didn't seem so difficult to me.
Maybe not to me, but it apparently was for her. He called back Sunday afternoon to say that they had met and and agreed to break it off for now--she's just too busy. He sounded disappointed. I said, well, at least you have closure on that and can move on. He agreed.
Sometimes I wonder whether it's that high a priority with him. What he is into now--passionately--is improvisational comedy. He is taking classes with a Second City-type group in the Detroit area and has been accepted in their next/more advanced program. So he's happy about that.
That ties up most of the loose ends from the holiday season. On New Year's Eve, my wife and David and I are going down to visit my mom, have dinner, do a little shopping (It's time to stock up on cat food again!) and see a movie. We were watching some trailers on my laptop earlier today, and "The Water Horse" looked interesting.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Home from the storm
We've made it through another holiday season. Just about. We still have New Year's ahead of us, but after what we went through during the run-up to Christmas, it should be a piece of cake.
Those circumstances, of course, included my father-in-law's heart operation Dec. 17 and his death two days later. It was sad, but he had become a sick man over the last few years, and the operation didn't seem to accomplish much except transfer some of my FIL's financial assets to the hospital's income statement. Pardon my cynicism about the American health care system, but in this case the shoe fits very well.
My wife had told me he sounded "resigned" to having the operation, as if he had been pushed into doing it and finally said yes to stop them from pushing more.
The family was sad, of course, and many were crying during the visitation, service and the burial. Neither my wife nor I did. We don't cry very easily, and we both knew very well what the chances were of a sick 78-year-old man surviving major heart surgery. We had been bracing ourselves for bad news for quite a while. So it goes.
Since a big snowstorm was on the way, we left for the funeral a day earlier than planned to avoid having to driving through the storm. We arrived Saturday evening and visited a cousin. The snow started moving in after dark.
The snow continued for most of Sunday. I went out in the morning to get breakfast, and we stayed at the motel most of Sunday, watching the Packers' awful performance during the windstorm at Chicago. But I had to go out during the afternoon to get David a different pair of pants before the wake started. By that time, about eight inches of snow had fallen.
A plow had made one pass through the lot, and I managed to back the car to that path OK. But then I came to a large ridge of snow that the plow had built. There was no way to get to the road except to plunge through this scale model of the Rocky Mountains. I gave the car a running start, gunned it when we hit the Rockies--and made it through to the other side. When we returned, I crossed at the same place.
It was the first of several running starts I had to make. Late that afternoon, we left for the visitation in town. (By then, the Rockies had been plowed away.) That involved driving down U.S. 8 through downtown Ladysmith. Most of the snow on the highway had been plowed up into a big windrow down the middle of the street. It was about five feet high and five feet wide--no way you could plow your way through the Himalayas.
These pictures were taken on Monday morning, but it looked the same Sunday evening. Here is the street at an intersection, looking down the highway ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LadSnow-US8-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
A little further down the highway, we saw a big snow blower attacking the mountain range, blowing the snow into big dump trucks ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Windrow-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Once filled, the dump truck would haul the snow away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Bigtruck-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
... dump it and then return to the end of the line (far right) for another load ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Snowblow-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
When we turned onto a side street, it was the same thing, except the street was narrower. At intersections, where we had to stop at stop signs, we came upon intersecting windrows. Stop--then a running start and gun it over to the other side.
This one wasn't that big. But note the car coming from the other direction, just barely visible ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-SideStreet-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The snow was also blown into interesting patterns on the eaves at the funeral home ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Overhang-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Sunday night and Monday morning, we wondered what was happening back home--the forecast we read on the internet sounded ominous, and the radar images indicated heavy snow. The storm would be over Monday morning, and the parking area behind my house would be plowed out--but would we still have a foot of snow to shovel out on the walk leading to the house? That was on my mind as I drove home Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, my son Phil was en route from Detroit. We called each other's cell phones to keep track of our progress--I was relieved to discover we would get home before he arrived. He doesn't have a key, after all.
Finally, at about 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve, we got home--to find that we had all of one inch of snow to deal with. That's all--most had fallen as rain. Phil arrived about 45 minutes later.
Because of the funeral and our trip out of town, he only had two full days here. Tonight was his last night--he hits the road Thursday morning. But we got to watch a movie together and talk for a while. It's probably our last face-to-face talk till next summer.
Those circumstances, of course, included my father-in-law's heart operation Dec. 17 and his death two days later. It was sad, but he had become a sick man over the last few years, and the operation didn't seem to accomplish much except transfer some of my FIL's financial assets to the hospital's income statement. Pardon my cynicism about the American health care system, but in this case the shoe fits very well.
My wife had told me he sounded "resigned" to having the operation, as if he had been pushed into doing it and finally said yes to stop them from pushing more.
The family was sad, of course, and many were crying during the visitation, service and the burial. Neither my wife nor I did. We don't cry very easily, and we both knew very well what the chances were of a sick 78-year-old man surviving major heart surgery. We had been bracing ourselves for bad news for quite a while. So it goes.
Since a big snowstorm was on the way, we left for the funeral a day earlier than planned to avoid having to driving through the storm. We arrived Saturday evening and visited a cousin. The snow started moving in after dark.
The snow continued for most of Sunday. I went out in the morning to get breakfast, and we stayed at the motel most of Sunday, watching the Packers' awful performance during the windstorm at Chicago. But I had to go out during the afternoon to get David a different pair of pants before the wake started. By that time, about eight inches of snow had fallen.
A plow had made one pass through the lot, and I managed to back the car to that path OK. But then I came to a large ridge of snow that the plow had built. There was no way to get to the road except to plunge through this scale model of the Rocky Mountains. I gave the car a running start, gunned it when we hit the Rockies--and made it through to the other side. When we returned, I crossed at the same place.
It was the first of several running starts I had to make. Late that afternoon, we left for the visitation in town. (By then, the Rockies had been plowed away.) That involved driving down U.S. 8 through downtown Ladysmith. Most of the snow on the highway had been plowed up into a big windrow down the middle of the street. It was about five feet high and five feet wide--no way you could plow your way through the Himalayas.
These pictures were taken on Monday morning, but it looked the same Sunday evening. Here is the street at an intersection, looking down the highway ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LadSnow-US8-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
A little further down the highway, we saw a big snow blower attacking the mountain range, blowing the snow into big dump trucks ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Windrow-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Once filled, the dump truck would haul the snow away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Bigtruck-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
... dump it and then return to the end of the line (far right) for another load ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Snowblow-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
When we turned onto a side street, it was the same thing, except the street was narrower. At intersections, where we had to stop at stop signs, we came upon intersecting windrows. Stop--then a running start and gun it over to the other side.
This one wasn't that big. But note the car coming from the other direction, just barely visible ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-SideStreet-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The snow was also blown into interesting patterns on the eaves at the funeral home ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Ladsnow-Overhang-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Sunday night and Monday morning, we wondered what was happening back home--the forecast we read on the internet sounded ominous, and the radar images indicated heavy snow. The storm would be over Monday morning, and the parking area behind my house would be plowed out--but would we still have a foot of snow to shovel out on the walk leading to the house? That was on my mind as I drove home Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, my son Phil was en route from Detroit. We called each other's cell phones to keep track of our progress--I was relieved to discover we would get home before he arrived. He doesn't have a key, after all.
Finally, at about 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve, we got home--to find that we had all of one inch of snow to deal with. That's all--most had fallen as rain. Phil arrived about 45 minutes later.
Because of the funeral and our trip out of town, he only had two full days here. Tonight was his last night--he hits the road Thursday morning. But we got to watch a movie together and talk for a while. It's probably our last face-to-face talk till next summer.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Hightailing it west
First of all, thanks to all of you who passed along such kind words for my wife after her father died this week. Alas, the holiday season is a bit of an afterthought for us this year. But I have some updates to pass along.
That phone call to my mom wasn't so bad. She started crying when I told him he had died, but then I reminded her that his suffering is over, and he has gone off to rejoin his wife he had been separated from for five years. That made her feel a little better about it. (By the way, my dad died 12 years ago.)
My FIL died at the age of 78--making him the member of his family who has lived the longest. My mom is 85 now and doing fairly well.
The rest of this has to do a lot with the weather and the funeral. It has been scheduled for Monday morning (yes, Christmas Eve), with the wake on Sunday night. Our original plan was to drive over there on Sunday afternoon--it's about a four-hour drive in good weather.
Then we started paying attention to the weather forecast ... and as a result, we will leave about noon Saturday. A big winter storm is bearing down on this area. Its biggest impact (heavy snow and high winds) will be right where I live, and the swath of snow includes most of northern Wisconsin--my entire route.
The forecast says the storm will hit here overnight Saturday and last most of Sunday. No, I don't want to drive through that. So we plan to leave at noon today and hightail it west across northern Wisconsin to Ladysmith, WI, where the services will be held.
The forecast says, I'll drive through rain and fog that changes to snow as I head west--but the snow won't be too heavy until after we get to Ladysmith--it really gets cranking overnight. I've already reserved motel rooms. Tonight, we can visit a sister or two, or we can stay at the motel. Sunday, the storm will be blowing outside most of the day. Fortunately, the motel has a restaurant next door. (It's also got internet, so I'll take my laptop along.)
I'll bring a collapsible shovel--the wake is still set for Sunday evening, and we'll have to get there.
Even so, that's much preferable to the absolute hell of driving through a heavy snowstorm. Our only storm driving will be in town, and I can handle that.
Also, it now looks like my older son will be able to get home for Christmas after all. The new plan is that he will drive up on Monday from Detroit--the Lower Peninsula misses nearly all the storm. I told him to arrive Monday around 7 or 8 p.m.--I'm hoping we'll be back from the funeral by then.
Once we get back home, we start some extremely hurried preparations for The Big Day. What with my wife's job, she hasn't had much time to clean up the house, so it will be a rush-rush thing for both of us. He will be staying here two days instead of three (the original plan)--but he'll be here, and that's the main thing. We'll all drive down to visit my mom, of course.
I should clue you in on one thing about him. He just turned 31 and is still single--lives with his cat in a suburb north of Detroit. But he has been using a web dating site--and now he is being extremely secretive about what has happened as a result. So if we have a little time, my wife and I will try to get the cat out of the bag. At least a paw.
That--not Christmas morning--could be the most entertaining event of his short visit home.
That phone call to my mom wasn't so bad. She started crying when I told him he had died, but then I reminded her that his suffering is over, and he has gone off to rejoin his wife he had been separated from for five years. That made her feel a little better about it. (By the way, my dad died 12 years ago.)
My FIL died at the age of 78--making him the member of his family who has lived the longest. My mom is 85 now and doing fairly well.
The rest of this has to do a lot with the weather and the funeral. It has been scheduled for Monday morning (yes, Christmas Eve), with the wake on Sunday night. Our original plan was to drive over there on Sunday afternoon--it's about a four-hour drive in good weather.
Then we started paying attention to the weather forecast ... and as a result, we will leave about noon Saturday. A big winter storm is bearing down on this area. Its biggest impact (heavy snow and high winds) will be right where I live, and the swath of snow includes most of northern Wisconsin--my entire route.
The forecast says the storm will hit here overnight Saturday and last most of Sunday. No, I don't want to drive through that. So we plan to leave at noon today and hightail it west across northern Wisconsin to Ladysmith, WI, where the services will be held.
The forecast says, I'll drive through rain and fog that changes to snow as I head west--but the snow won't be too heavy until after we get to Ladysmith--it really gets cranking overnight. I've already reserved motel rooms. Tonight, we can visit a sister or two, or we can stay at the motel. Sunday, the storm will be blowing outside most of the day. Fortunately, the motel has a restaurant next door. (It's also got internet, so I'll take my laptop along.)
I'll bring a collapsible shovel--the wake is still set for Sunday evening, and we'll have to get there.
Even so, that's much preferable to the absolute hell of driving through a heavy snowstorm. Our only storm driving will be in town, and I can handle that.
Also, it now looks like my older son will be able to get home for Christmas after all. The new plan is that he will drive up on Monday from Detroit--the Lower Peninsula misses nearly all the storm. I told him to arrive Monday around 7 or 8 p.m.--I'm hoping we'll be back from the funeral by then.
Once we get back home, we start some extremely hurried preparations for The Big Day. What with my wife's job, she hasn't had much time to clean up the house, so it will be a rush-rush thing for both of us. He will be staying here two days instead of three (the original plan)--but he'll be here, and that's the main thing. We'll all drive down to visit my mom, of course.
I should clue you in on one thing about him. He just turned 31 and is still single--lives with his cat in a suburb north of Detroit. But he has been using a web dating site--and now he is being extremely secretive about what has happened as a result. So if we have a little time, my wife and I will try to get the cat out of the bag. At least a paw.
That--not Christmas morning--could be the most entertaining event of his short visit home.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sad phone calls
As we come into the holiday homestretch and I struggle with early deadlines and various demands of various kinds, my mind was on the drama taking place in a hospital in Eau Claire, Wis., where my father-in-law had major heart surgery on Monday.
The skinny is that we are going to a funeral in the next few days.
I could retype everything I wrote to S earlier today. But I'll just use copy and paste. It's faster.
This first e-mail was sent at 10:45 this morning ...
[I]My father-in-law had his operation on Monday. It seemed at first (again, this is all second- and third-hand info) that things went well--he seemed to handle the operation OK.
But he had a great deal of discomfort during the night, and before dawn on Tuesday, the doctors took him to the operating room again to put in a balloon pump. The phone call from a daughter who was urging everyone to come see him while they can--he was heavily sedated, so he wouldn't be aware of our presence; rather for our sake. My wife had talked to him on Sunday morning, just before they took him down to Eau Claire; anyway, we are six hours or so from Eau Claire, and we both had busy days ahead of us. We both are at peace with everything and with him.
I went down to Iron Mountain to do some last minute shopping and to visit my mom Tuesday. Then I covered a wrestling meet once I got back to town. While I was gone, my wife talked to her sister again. He seems to have stabilized during the day, after two separate operations on Tuesday morning (the second was to drain fluid around his heart). Her sister told her that they gave him 32 units of blood. Really? I looked it up, and the adult human body only has 12 units of blood in it--a unit is a little less than a pint. So take that with a few grains of salt. They did give him blood, though, but I doubt it was 32 units. That doesn't sound right.
So the latest is that he is doing better. As for what happens next, we'll let the Divine take care of that. We are trying to keep our plans for the holidays as flexible as possible, in case we have to throw it out the window. For what it's worth, there were no phone calls or e-mails on Wednesday morning, so things seem to be more stable. Or maybe it's that no news is good news. [/I]
Just after a few minutes after I sent that off, my wife called--it was time for me to drive her to work. This was sent around noon ...
[I]
Updating from what I just sent an hour or so ago.
While driving my wife to work a little while ago, she told me she talked to a sister this morning. The news is that they have a DNR order on him now, and she thinks it's very possible he will die today. They briefly discussed when they should hold the funeral. Is Saturday OK? Is Monday OK?
Tough time of year for this, of course. She also asked me to call my son in Detroit (which I just did), telling him what the situation is and giving him the option to stay down there if the main activity of his Christmas visit would be driving back and forth to a funeral.
So I've got my cell phone on again (usually I have it off), in case someone calls in. My wife, by the way, said not to call her at work; she knows what the situation is, and she can talk to her sisters this evening--we'll both be home.[/I]
And that's it. I sent that off and then walked to the pasty place next door--it's Wednesday, and they only sell pizza pasties on Wednesday. As I returned and was taking off my coat, the phone in my pocket rang. It was one of my sisters-in-law, telling me that he died about 11:20--about the time my wife and I were talking in the car.
Since then, I have phoned both the sons and told them the news. I did not call my wife, per her request. It wouldn't matter, anyway. If she wants to call me during her break, that's up to her.
Those calls were fairly easy. I've got one phone call still to make, and that one is going to be really hard: my mom. I told her what his situation was when I visited her yesterday--how he had to have the second operation that morning--and she started to cry.
No, I'm not looking forward to that one at all.
The skinny is that we are going to a funeral in the next few days.
I could retype everything I wrote to S earlier today. But I'll just use copy and paste. It's faster.
This first e-mail was sent at 10:45 this morning ...
[I]My father-in-law had his operation on Monday. It seemed at first (again, this is all second- and third-hand info) that things went well--he seemed to handle the operation OK.
But he had a great deal of discomfort during the night, and before dawn on Tuesday, the doctors took him to the operating room again to put in a balloon pump. The phone call from a daughter who was urging everyone to come see him while they can--he was heavily sedated, so he wouldn't be aware of our presence; rather for our sake. My wife had talked to him on Sunday morning, just before they took him down to Eau Claire; anyway, we are six hours or so from Eau Claire, and we both had busy days ahead of us. We both are at peace with everything and with him.
I went down to Iron Mountain to do some last minute shopping and to visit my mom Tuesday. Then I covered a wrestling meet once I got back to town. While I was gone, my wife talked to her sister again. He seems to have stabilized during the day, after two separate operations on Tuesday morning (the second was to drain fluid around his heart). Her sister told her that they gave him 32 units of blood. Really? I looked it up, and the adult human body only has 12 units of blood in it--a unit is a little less than a pint. So take that with a few grains of salt. They did give him blood, though, but I doubt it was 32 units. That doesn't sound right.
So the latest is that he is doing better. As for what happens next, we'll let the Divine take care of that. We are trying to keep our plans for the holidays as flexible as possible, in case we have to throw it out the window. For what it's worth, there were no phone calls or e-mails on Wednesday morning, so things seem to be more stable. Or maybe it's that no news is good news. [/I]
Just after a few minutes after I sent that off, my wife called--it was time for me to drive her to work. This was sent around noon ...
[I]
Updating from what I just sent an hour or so ago.
While driving my wife to work a little while ago, she told me she talked to a sister this morning. The news is that they have a DNR order on him now, and she thinks it's very possible he will die today. They briefly discussed when they should hold the funeral. Is Saturday OK? Is Monday OK?
Tough time of year for this, of course. She also asked me to call my son in Detroit (which I just did), telling him what the situation is and giving him the option to stay down there if the main activity of his Christmas visit would be driving back and forth to a funeral.
So I've got my cell phone on again (usually I have it off), in case someone calls in. My wife, by the way, said not to call her at work; she knows what the situation is, and she can talk to her sisters this evening--we'll both be home.[/I]
And that's it. I sent that off and then walked to the pasty place next door--it's Wednesday, and they only sell pizza pasties on Wednesday. As I returned and was taking off my coat, the phone in my pocket rang. It was one of my sisters-in-law, telling me that he died about 11:20--about the time my wife and I were talking in the car.
Since then, I have phoned both the sons and told them the news. I did not call my wife, per her request. It wouldn't matter, anyway. If she wants to call me during her break, that's up to her.
Those calls were fairly easy. I've got one phone call still to make, and that one is going to be really hard: my mom. I told her what his situation was when I visited her yesterday--how he had to have the second operation that morning--and she started to cry.
No, I'm not looking forward to that one at all.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The way it is in December
Life just gets way too hectic and crazy during December. This one seems more hectic and crazy than most.
Work has been very demanding lately. I've had many things to cover, and there hasn't been much time for fun and relaxation. Heck, there is almost no time for fun and relaxation. Not right now. Unless you count the last couple hours of the day before I go to bed.
The basketball schedule has been manic. They shortened the season by one week this year, with the same number of games squeezed into it. Some teams are playing three games a week--one of our girls teams has [I]consecutive [/I]three-game weeks in late January. Someone is going to have to explain to me how that is good for high school kids. And I'm a one-person sports department, trying to cover everything. I try. I just get discouraged at times.
Of course, if we have a major snowstorm or a long period of subzero weather--cold enough to close the schools--then games will be postponed or canceled, and the schedule becomes utter chaos. Such things been known to happen. This is the U.P., after all.
My wife has been working six hours a day, five days a week at the call center. On Saturday, she chose to take an extra eight-hour day. (I was going out of town to cover an important boys game, so it didn't affect our time together.) She finally got out at 6:30, I picked her up and took her out for supper. She went to bed about 10:30--I stayed up a while later. But we had some cuddle time this morning--before I went off to the office to do some writing. This afternoon, the usual--as I watched the Packers game, she sat next to me, pulled a quilt around us and dozed off.
Earlier Sunday morning, she called her dad--they were going to drive him down for the operation a few hours later. Later, she told me he sounded "resigned" to the operation. And that tells me he was talked into it, as we suspect. I already warned the staff at the office; depending on how things go Monday, my schedule could turn upside down this week. You have been duly warned.
(The operation could be postponed if a blood test indicates his platelet level is not at a level it has to be.)
Because of the holidays, we have an early deadline this week. And I have plenty of sports to cover this week. It's a madhouse, I tell you. Usually my work is fun. Right now, it's not that much fun.
One other thing I can tell you about: our office Christmas party, which took place on Saturday night, a week ago.
Really, not a lot to tell. It took place at a local restaurant/pub. We sat around the bar for drinks for a while and talked among ourselves. Then we went in the back for a steak dinner. It was nice and orderly and conservative and dull. Just like our paper. You'll never see mistletoe at our Christmas parties. And if it happens to be there, nobody would know what to do with it, anyway.
Work has been very demanding lately. I've had many things to cover, and there hasn't been much time for fun and relaxation. Heck, there is almost no time for fun and relaxation. Not right now. Unless you count the last couple hours of the day before I go to bed.
The basketball schedule has been manic. They shortened the season by one week this year, with the same number of games squeezed into it. Some teams are playing three games a week--one of our girls teams has [I]consecutive [/I]three-game weeks in late January. Someone is going to have to explain to me how that is good for high school kids. And I'm a one-person sports department, trying to cover everything. I try. I just get discouraged at times.
Of course, if we have a major snowstorm or a long period of subzero weather--cold enough to close the schools--then games will be postponed or canceled, and the schedule becomes utter chaos. Such things been known to happen. This is the U.P., after all.
My wife has been working six hours a day, five days a week at the call center. On Saturday, she chose to take an extra eight-hour day. (I was going out of town to cover an important boys game, so it didn't affect our time together.) She finally got out at 6:30, I picked her up and took her out for supper. She went to bed about 10:30--I stayed up a while later. But we had some cuddle time this morning--before I went off to the office to do some writing. This afternoon, the usual--as I watched the Packers game, she sat next to me, pulled a quilt around us and dozed off.
Earlier Sunday morning, she called her dad--they were going to drive him down for the operation a few hours later. Later, she told me he sounded "resigned" to the operation. And that tells me he was talked into it, as we suspect. I already warned the staff at the office; depending on how things go Monday, my schedule could turn upside down this week. You have been duly warned.
(The operation could be postponed if a blood test indicates his platelet level is not at a level it has to be.)
Because of the holidays, we have an early deadline this week. And I have plenty of sports to cover this week. It's a madhouse, I tell you. Usually my work is fun. Right now, it's not that much fun.
One other thing I can tell you about: our office Christmas party, which took place on Saturday night, a week ago.
Really, not a lot to tell. It took place at a local restaurant/pub. We sat around the bar for drinks for a while and talked among ourselves. Then we went in the back for a steak dinner. It was nice and orderly and conservative and dull. Just like our paper. You'll never see mistletoe at our Christmas parties. And if it happens to be there, nobody would know what to do with it, anyway.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Question marks in the air
Does this sound like a really good idea?
Some of you remember my father-in-law's health problems from this past spring. He had a bad case of pneumonia that put him in the hospital, and he lost some of his heart function.
He had been seeing the doctors in Marshfield, Wis., who considered doing open-heart surgery on him. Then they decided not to, deciding it would just be too risky on a 78-year-old man who is not in good health. They feared he might die on the table.
In the last month or two, he has been seeing a different doctor, in Eau Claire, Wis. And what do you know? The new doctor wants to go ahead with the heart surgery. It has been scheduled for next Monday, Dec. 17.
My wife tells me they plan to (A) wrap (not remove) an aneurysm in his chest with something--the aneurysm has been there for years, and he had done nothing about it; (B) do one heart bypass--the one that will do him the most good (he needs five); and (C) repair/replace (my wife isn't sure; we're getting all this second or third-hand) one of his heart valves.
Frankly, my wife is rather dubious about the operation, as I am. She thinks his new doctor has talked/persuaded him into the operation. But the decision is totally out of our hands.
My wife, who told me earlier that she doubts he will make it through the winter, now wonders whether he will ever leave the hospital--he'll have to stay there three weeks or so after the surgery.
I think you can see we are both being "realistic" in our expectations. I hope the rest of the family is, too. They are planning a get-together at his place this weekend (just before the operation) and asked if we could come. We can't--both of us are too busy with work. We'll phone him instead.
At our weekly staff meeting yesterday, I told the others what is going on and warned that we may have to make a sudden trip to NW Wisconsin. If the operation goes well, we may visit him at the Eau Claire hospital around New Year's.
If it doesn't go well ... then I guess we'll be going over there, anyway.
And let's be honest here. His wife died in 2002, and he has been missing her ever since. He continued to live at their house along the Chippewa River, but he really seemed to lose the zest he had for living.
The last time we saw him was three months ago, over the Labor Day weekend, when the main focus was [URL="http://drdog.efx2blogs.com/5226/Guns+and+woodpiles.html"]filling his basement with firewood[/URL] for the long, long winter. The next several winters, in fact.
My wife is the oldest of eight children. The kids all look up to him, and many of them live near him. Which is strange, I think, because they were all raised in a little town north of Milwaukee. I was raised in a nearby suburb; I met my future wife via a high school classmate who worked at the same store as her. We met through a blind date, and I guess we hit it off.
She was the first of the eight to leave the nest, and most of the others (5 of the 8) wound up living near their parents, following them to NW Wisconsin. All have left the nest, but he seems the focus of their lives. When we visit, they're always calling him on the phone or popping over to visit. They seem to depend on his opinion about this and that. He doesn't get lonely--except for his wife, and nothing but death will be able to resolve that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when he passes, it's going to hit many of them quite hard. My wife, frankly, not that much. She phones him, but only every two or three weeks. The rest of "keeping in touch" is by e-mails or phone calls with her sisters. When I give her the option of visiting him when we're in the region (such as when we're driving past on our way to the Twin Cities--last summer's vacation, for instance, or my aunt's funeral last January), she often opts not to.
My wife and I talked a few weeks ago, before the surgery was planned: Are we going to visit her dad and siblings over the holidays, as we have done in the past? The decision was no; she'd rather stay around here. Then the surgery was planned, and we are now making tentative plans depending on what happens.
It's just one of many things that are hanging fire in my life: how long my mom will live (though her arrangements, including the funeral, are already set); when her house will sell; how long her dad will live; how long our cats will live--both are nearly 16 years old now, so they are getting to be elderly felines.
All those are question marks as 2007 draws to a close.
Some of you remember my father-in-law's health problems from this past spring. He had a bad case of pneumonia that put him in the hospital, and he lost some of his heart function.
He had been seeing the doctors in Marshfield, Wis., who considered doing open-heart surgery on him. Then they decided not to, deciding it would just be too risky on a 78-year-old man who is not in good health. They feared he might die on the table.
In the last month or two, he has been seeing a different doctor, in Eau Claire, Wis. And what do you know? The new doctor wants to go ahead with the heart surgery. It has been scheduled for next Monday, Dec. 17.
My wife tells me they plan to (A) wrap (not remove) an aneurysm in his chest with something--the aneurysm has been there for years, and he had done nothing about it; (B) do one heart bypass--the one that will do him the most good (he needs five); and (C) repair/replace (my wife isn't sure; we're getting all this second or third-hand) one of his heart valves.
Frankly, my wife is rather dubious about the operation, as I am. She thinks his new doctor has talked/persuaded him into the operation. But the decision is totally out of our hands.
My wife, who told me earlier that she doubts he will make it through the winter, now wonders whether he will ever leave the hospital--he'll have to stay there three weeks or so after the surgery.
I think you can see we are both being "realistic" in our expectations. I hope the rest of the family is, too. They are planning a get-together at his place this weekend (just before the operation) and asked if we could come. We can't--both of us are too busy with work. We'll phone him instead.
At our weekly staff meeting yesterday, I told the others what is going on and warned that we may have to make a sudden trip to NW Wisconsin. If the operation goes well, we may visit him at the Eau Claire hospital around New Year's.
If it doesn't go well ... then I guess we'll be going over there, anyway.
And let's be honest here. His wife died in 2002, and he has been missing her ever since. He continued to live at their house along the Chippewa River, but he really seemed to lose the zest he had for living.
The last time we saw him was three months ago, over the Labor Day weekend, when the main focus was [URL="http://drdog.efx2blogs.com/5226/Guns+and+woodpiles.html"]filling his basement with firewood[/URL] for the long, long winter. The next several winters, in fact.
My wife is the oldest of eight children. The kids all look up to him, and many of them live near him. Which is strange, I think, because they were all raised in a little town north of Milwaukee. I was raised in a nearby suburb; I met my future wife via a high school classmate who worked at the same store as her. We met through a blind date, and I guess we hit it off.
She was the first of the eight to leave the nest, and most of the others (5 of the 8) wound up living near their parents, following them to NW Wisconsin. All have left the nest, but he seems the focus of their lives. When we visit, they're always calling him on the phone or popping over to visit. They seem to depend on his opinion about this and that. He doesn't get lonely--except for his wife, and nothing but death will be able to resolve that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when he passes, it's going to hit many of them quite hard. My wife, frankly, not that much. She phones him, but only every two or three weeks. The rest of "keeping in touch" is by e-mails or phone calls with her sisters. When I give her the option of visiting him when we're in the region (such as when we're driving past on our way to the Twin Cities--last summer's vacation, for instance, or my aunt's funeral last January), she often opts not to.
My wife and I talked a few weeks ago, before the surgery was planned: Are we going to visit her dad and siblings over the holidays, as we have done in the past? The decision was no; she'd rather stay around here. Then the surgery was planned, and we are now making tentative plans depending on what happens.
It's just one of many things that are hanging fire in my life: how long my mom will live (though her arrangements, including the funeral, are already set); when her house will sell; how long her dad will live; how long our cats will live--both are nearly 16 years old now, so they are getting to be elderly felines.
All those are question marks as 2007 draws to a close.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Memories of a walk through the snow
Two years ago I made a long, long drive--the longest drive of my life--to visit my friend, S, who had left her home for a while and was living in Ontario. I had first met her during summer that year. We were only together for a day or so ... but that was long enough for a great many things to happen.
I decided to visit her for a few days in early December 2005. They are among the most memorable days of my life. Believe me, I could write a lot about it.
Instead, I'll focus mainly on one afternoon we had, when we took a trip to a nature reserve, about 20 miles away. It was a cold, sunny day, the temperature about 10F. She told me about this place, and I decided why not.
The place was called Sulpher Spring. After getting out of the car, we walked by a fence and a wooden bridge with geese swimming nearby ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-GooseBridge-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We walked by some sheltered outdoor cages, where a variety of pheasants were being kept. These are called phoenix birds ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-PhoenixBirds12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Nearby was a fenced enclosure with some deer inside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-DeerField-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We decided to take a closer look, walking along the outside of the fence. The deer didn't scatter. Some came right up to S, who talked to them and gave them some treats from the woods nearby ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-deer12-05.jpg[/IMG]
The deer came to visit me, too. Talk to the hand ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-HiDeer12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Then we walked down a trail through the woods to where an artesian well bubbled to the surface--the Sulpher Spring. A sign explained that the water is a constant 9C (48F), so it never freezes ...
We walked down the trail together, as the late afternoon sun caught the upper branches ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-WoodsTrail-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
And we eventually got to the source of the spring itself, where the water comes up. It reflected the blue all around us ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulferSpring12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We turned around and retraced our steps, visiting the pheasants again. S talked to them ...
Daylight was fading quickly, as the deer came towards the headquarters building, where a fresh supply of hay was waiting for them ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-DeerFeeder-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
The spring that we had crossed earlier emptied into a little pond, and we saw dozens and dozens of Canada geese and mallard ducks swimming around, honking at times as the day faded away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-GoldPond-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-Lake12-05.jpg[/IMG]
It was "the end" to our visit.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-TheEnd12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We went back to where she was staying. The next morning, I woke around 6:30 a.m. and got up to look out the window. Then I turned and saw S lying in bed, sleeping on one arm, covers pulled up to her waist.
She looked so lovely and peaceful. I decided I had to try to get a picture in the low light of early morning, and I did.
But since some people are offended by pictures of the human body, I did some work on it with Photoshop Elements, and a slightly out-of-focus shot of a woman asleep in bed turned into this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-Sasleep-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Maybe taking the picture was something I shouldn't have done. Maybe it was unfair to S, who doesn't know about it to this day. But I think it was a good thing. If one picture could symbolize that trip, this is the one. Along with the one up above, showing the footprints on the trail through the woods.
When I look at it now ... many emotions race through me. Love. Sadness. Loneliness. Regret that those days may be over. Joy that they did happen once. Hope that someday they will happen again.
I felt that way two years ago. I feel that way now.
[I]Since December 2005, S has moved back to Wisconsin and is back with her husband. We visited them last summer, and we hope to see them again in January or February. The tentative plan is a visit, dinner and a few movies. It will be nice to see them again.[/I]
I decided to visit her for a few days in early December 2005. They are among the most memorable days of my life. Believe me, I could write a lot about it.
Instead, I'll focus mainly on one afternoon we had, when we took a trip to a nature reserve, about 20 miles away. It was a cold, sunny day, the temperature about 10F. She told me about this place, and I decided why not.
The place was called Sulpher Spring. After getting out of the car, we walked by a fence and a wooden bridge with geese swimming nearby ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-GooseBridge-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We walked by some sheltered outdoor cages, where a variety of pheasants were being kept. These are called phoenix birds ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-PhoenixBirds12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Nearby was a fenced enclosure with some deer inside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-DeerField-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We decided to take a closer look, walking along the outside of the fence. The deer didn't scatter. Some came right up to S, who talked to them and gave them some treats from the woods nearby ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-deer12-05.jpg[/IMG]
The deer came to visit me, too. Talk to the hand ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-HiDeer12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Then we walked down a trail through the woods to where an artesian well bubbled to the surface--the Sulpher Spring. A sign explained that the water is a constant 9C (48F), so it never freezes ...
We walked down the trail together, as the late afternoon sun caught the upper branches ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-WoodsTrail-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
And we eventually got to the source of the spring itself, where the water comes up. It reflected the blue all around us ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulferSpring12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We turned around and retraced our steps, visiting the pheasants again. S talked to them ...
Daylight was fading quickly, as the deer came towards the headquarters building, where a fresh supply of hay was waiting for them ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-DeerFeeder-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
The spring that we had crossed earlier emptied into a little pond, and we saw dozens and dozens of Canada geese and mallard ducks swimming around, honking at times as the day faded away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-GoldPond-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-Lake12-05.jpg[/IMG]
It was "the end" to our visit.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-TheEnd12-05.jpg[/IMG]
We went back to where she was staying. The next morning, I woke around 6:30 a.m. and got up to look out the window. Then I turned and saw S lying in bed, sleeping on one arm, covers pulled up to her waist.
She looked so lovely and peaceful. I decided I had to try to get a picture in the low light of early morning, and I did.
But since some people are offended by pictures of the human body, I did some work on it with Photoshop Elements, and a slightly out-of-focus shot of a woman asleep in bed turned into this ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/SulfSpr-Sasleep-12-05.jpg[/IMG]
Maybe taking the picture was something I shouldn't have done. Maybe it was unfair to S, who doesn't know about it to this day. But I think it was a good thing. If one picture could symbolize that trip, this is the one. Along with the one up above, showing the footprints on the trail through the woods.
When I look at it now ... many emotions race through me. Love. Sadness. Loneliness. Regret that those days may be over. Joy that they did happen once. Hope that someday they will happen again.
I felt that way two years ago. I feel that way now.
[I]Since December 2005, S has moved back to Wisconsin and is back with her husband. We visited them last summer, and we hope to see them again in January or February. The tentative plan is a visit, dinner and a few movies. It will be nice to see them again.[/I]
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
To flash or not to flash ...
Life is just never dull around here. After we returned from our long, long trip to the state football finals, we are spinning in new directions, in a number of ways.
On the Monday after we returned, my wife started working at the call center in town. She is taking orders for a highly seasonal company that sells gift baskets. People call on their 800 number and talk to someone at the call center (right here in town), who takes their order and credit card info and sends the order to the distribution center.
It's just for December, but we have to make some serious changes to our lives while it's going on. I'm driving her to the call center at 11 a.m. or so and picking her up at 5:30 p.m. Sometimes it's a very fast supper before I head off to a basketball game or wrestling meet. Tonight, I get to stay home. It's a busy time (for her, too), so we have to cooperate.
And we do. This is the second year she has done this, and she seems to be really enjoying the work. Maybe next year, she will take part-time work during the rest of the year, if it's available. Last year, the jobs started too early in the morning (she still doesn't like to get up early), and we had all the work at my mom's place anyway.
Just days after the football finals, the winter sports (basketball) season started locally. This is the first year Michigan has had the boys and girls seasons taking place at the same time, so it's a bit hectic. I think I'm going to be damn tired of basketball before it's all over. Besides, I prefer hockey, anyway.
Wrestling season also started last week, and an all-day tourney was held here on Saturday. I like wrestling more than basketball. Here's one of our guys facing a Negaunee opponent ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-grapplers-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Between matches, I took a look outside. When I arrived at the meet (9:30 a.m.), it was just cloudy. By about noon, the clouds seemed to have broken up into billions of tiny little pieces that were falling all over ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-HSlot-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Well, we knew it was coming. Snow and wind and more snow and more wind. Our temperatures had already done a nose-dive, and the snow made the transition to mid-winter conditions complete.
The wrestling meet lasted until mid afternoon, and it was snowing harder as I drove home. My wife and I had a quick supper together, and then we both bundled up. It was time for a parade.
It was the second annual "Holiday in Lights" parade in town. Last year it was called "Christmas in Lights," but the name had to be changed to "holiday" because the organizers were getting some government money. So that made some people unhappy, and they were crabbing, and a few were raising a big stink, saying they would boycott the parade and might even picket it. They were just plain making asses out of themselves.
The snow wasn't going to let up, so we bundled up in heavy coats and boots and drove downtown. I had, you see, volunteered to take photos of the parade.
Yes, it was still snowy. Here's a look down the street before the parade started ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-snowstreet-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
And then it began, starting with the local veterans' unit, carrying flags ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-VetsFlags-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
... followed by the high school band ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-HSband-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
By now I think you can see what I was up against. To flash or not to flash. If I didn't use my flash, I had to rely on the illumination from the street lights. You could do that with some units, like this one ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-PizzaExp-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
But most of the units weren't so well defined (indeed, they looked downright murky) without light from the flash unit on my camera. Of course, the light from the flash first had to pass through a million jillion snowflakes (all of them different!) that were between me and my subject.
Eventually, I decided to use the flash and try to get close to the subjects--so there wouldn't be so many jillion snowflakes in between. Here are some of the shots I got ...
This was from one of the churches that decided not to boycott ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-1stBapt-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
This tiny herd clip-clopped down the street ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Xparade-ponies-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
And this guy brought a famous Christmas season celebrity to town ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Reindeer-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
St. Lucia (from an upcoming museum celebration) rode in the back of a truck ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-StLucia-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
There were many floats from local businesses and organizations, mostly decorated in lights. Dozens of floats. If you want to see more photos, ask and I'll add more later. These should give you a good idea what it was like. Plenty of people lined the parade route, though some tried to watch from parked cars. (The sissies.)
And of course, at the end, riding in a fire truck, was the star of the show ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Santa-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
But that wasn't the end of holiday events on this night. Next, we walked down to the local chamber of commerce office, where they held a short tree-lighting ceremony. And then the town shot the works. People were wondering whether they would be able to see the fireworks through the snowflakes. They didn't wonder for long ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Fireworks-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The snow had let up a little bit, but it was still falling and blowing around quite happily. My wife and I walked back about three blocks to our car and drove home. We had been out about an hour and a half, and temperatures were in the teens. I tried taking off my gloves when taking pictures, but my fingers quickly got too cold--as cold as they were during that playoff football game a few years ago. Once I got feeling back in my fingers, they did pretty well.
For people who wear bushy mustaches, it was quite, umm, scenic ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-iceman-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
My wife had her boots on, but her feet got cold anyway. I found that out once we were back home--her toes felt icy. How could we feel warm again? We sat on the couch and put a comforter over us. She had her feet up, on my warm lap, and I put on a movie I had recorded from Turner Classic Movies a few days earlier.
It was called "Age of Consent" and featured James Mason as an artist who left the big city for life along the North Queensland coast of Australia, where he met a young woman--Helen Mirren ([I]that [/I]Helen Mirren; it was one of her first movies)--who was in her mid 20s and was an island girl, collecting oysters and crayfish to sell to people. She becomes the artist's model.
Some of the most beautiful scenes show the girl diving around the Great Barrier Reef in a light purple dress--and sometimes nude. Those scenes were absolutely beautiful ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Xparade-corals-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The two of us were entranced, seeing the girl diving among the corals, imagining how warm the water felt, how the sun was beating down. And for a little while, all the snow and wind blowing just outside our door was thousands of miles away. My wife's toes felt toasty warm again, and we both felt warm and happy. After feeding the kitty-cats, we went upstairs to a warm bed and slept soundly.
Of course, all the snow and wind became very real once again the next morning, as I had to dig out eight inches of snow around the car so my wife could get to church and her altar guild duties. But we got a short escape from reality.
P.S.: Overnight, we're heading for 10 below!
On the Monday after we returned, my wife started working at the call center in town. She is taking orders for a highly seasonal company that sells gift baskets. People call on their 800 number and talk to someone at the call center (right here in town), who takes their order and credit card info and sends the order to the distribution center.
It's just for December, but we have to make some serious changes to our lives while it's going on. I'm driving her to the call center at 11 a.m. or so and picking her up at 5:30 p.m. Sometimes it's a very fast supper before I head off to a basketball game or wrestling meet. Tonight, I get to stay home. It's a busy time (for her, too), so we have to cooperate.
And we do. This is the second year she has done this, and she seems to be really enjoying the work. Maybe next year, she will take part-time work during the rest of the year, if it's available. Last year, the jobs started too early in the morning (she still doesn't like to get up early), and we had all the work at my mom's place anyway.
Just days after the football finals, the winter sports (basketball) season started locally. This is the first year Michigan has had the boys and girls seasons taking place at the same time, so it's a bit hectic. I think I'm going to be damn tired of basketball before it's all over. Besides, I prefer hockey, anyway.
Wrestling season also started last week, and an all-day tourney was held here on Saturday. I like wrestling more than basketball. Here's one of our guys facing a Negaunee opponent ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-grapplers-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Between matches, I took a look outside. When I arrived at the meet (9:30 a.m.), it was just cloudy. By about noon, the clouds seemed to have broken up into billions of tiny little pieces that were falling all over ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-HSlot-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
Well, we knew it was coming. Snow and wind and more snow and more wind. Our temperatures had already done a nose-dive, and the snow made the transition to mid-winter conditions complete.
The wrestling meet lasted until mid afternoon, and it was snowing harder as I drove home. My wife and I had a quick supper together, and then we both bundled up. It was time for a parade.
It was the second annual "Holiday in Lights" parade in town. Last year it was called "Christmas in Lights," but the name had to be changed to "holiday" because the organizers were getting some government money. So that made some people unhappy, and they were crabbing, and a few were raising a big stink, saying they would boycott the parade and might even picket it. They were just plain making asses out of themselves.
The snow wasn't going to let up, so we bundled up in heavy coats and boots and drove downtown. I had, you see, volunteered to take photos of the parade.
Yes, it was still snowy. Here's a look down the street before the parade started ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-snowstreet-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
And then it began, starting with the local veterans' unit, carrying flags ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-VetsFlags-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
... followed by the high school band ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-HSband-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
By now I think you can see what I was up against. To flash or not to flash. If I didn't use my flash, I had to rely on the illumination from the street lights. You could do that with some units, like this one ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-PizzaExp-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
But most of the units weren't so well defined (indeed, they looked downright murky) without light from the flash unit on my camera. Of course, the light from the flash first had to pass through a million jillion snowflakes (all of them different!) that were between me and my subject.
Eventually, I decided to use the flash and try to get close to the subjects--so there wouldn't be so many jillion snowflakes in between. Here are some of the shots I got ...
This was from one of the churches that decided not to boycott ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-1stBapt-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
This tiny herd clip-clopped down the street ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Xparade-ponies-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
And this guy brought a famous Christmas season celebrity to town ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Reindeer-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
St. Lucia (from an upcoming museum celebration) rode in the back of a truck ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-StLucia-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
There were many floats from local businesses and organizations, mostly decorated in lights. Dozens of floats. If you want to see more photos, ask and I'll add more later. These should give you a good idea what it was like. Plenty of people lined the parade route, though some tried to watch from parked cars. (The sissies.)
And of course, at the end, riding in a fire truck, was the star of the show ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Santa-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
But that wasn't the end of holiday events on this night. Next, we walked down to the local chamber of commerce office, where they held a short tree-lighting ceremony. And then the town shot the works. People were wondering whether they would be able to see the fireworks through the snowflakes. They didn't wonder for long ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-Fireworks-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The snow had let up a little bit, but it was still falling and blowing around quite happily. My wife and I walked back about three blocks to our car and drove home. We had been out about an hour and a half, and temperatures were in the teens. I tried taking off my gloves when taking pictures, but my fingers quickly got too cold--as cold as they were during that playoff football game a few years ago. Once I got feeling back in my fingers, they did pretty well.
For people who wear bushy mustaches, it was quite, umm, scenic ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/XParade-iceman-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
My wife had her boots on, but her feet got cold anyway. I found that out once we were back home--her toes felt icy. How could we feel warm again? We sat on the couch and put a comforter over us. She had her feet up, on my warm lap, and I put on a movie I had recorded from Turner Classic Movies a few days earlier.
It was called "Age of Consent" and featured James Mason as an artist who left the big city for life along the North Queensland coast of Australia, where he met a young woman--Helen Mirren ([I]that [/I]Helen Mirren; it was one of her first movies)--who was in her mid 20s and was an island girl, collecting oysters and crayfish to sell to people. She becomes the artist's model.
Some of the most beautiful scenes show the girl diving around the Great Barrier Reef in a light purple dress--and sometimes nude. Those scenes were absolutely beautiful ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Xparade-corals-12-07.jpg[/IMG]
The two of us were entranced, seeing the girl diving among the corals, imagining how warm the water felt, how the sun was beating down. And for a little while, all the snow and wind blowing just outside our door was thousands of miles away. My wife's toes felt toasty warm again, and we both felt warm and happy. After feeding the kitty-cats, we went upstairs to a warm bed and slept soundly.
Of course, all the snow and wind became very real once again the next morning, as I had to dig out eight inches of snow around the car so my wife could get to church and her altar guild duties. But we got a short escape from reality.
P.S.: Overnight, we're heading for 10 below!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Good vibrations
(This is a "friends only" post. You'll soon see why.)
I thought life at home would get a little calmer and easier after we got back from our downstate trip.
Oh, sure!
On the Monday after we returned, my wife started/resumed her job at the local call center, where she is taking phoned-in orders for a national company with a highly seasonal business: gift baskets. She takes phone calls on an 800 number, gets their credit card info and places the order.
It doesn't matter that we're in the middle of nowhere up here. Thanks to the internet and broadband connections, orders can come from anywhere and can go anywhere. (They aren't shipped from here; bad transportation.) The customers get to talk to someone from here in the States instead of someone on the other side of the world.
She worked for the same company during the 2006 holiday season and made some nice money. To be honest, she could have had a job there all year if she wanted--but she doesn't like starting really early in the morning. (Besides, we knew we would be busy all summer at my mom's place.)
She gets home after 5:30 p.m. each day, so things have fallen behind at home, particularly the dishes. On Monday night, we both did something about it. She loaded the dishwasher, and then she tackled the hand-washing--the pots, pans, spatulas, etc., etc., etc. I played a supportive but secondary role--doing the drying, rounding up stuff that was hiding here and there and putting things away once washed and dried.
As we did this, she had on a Barry Manilow concert from the local public TV station's pledge drive, and she was singing along happily. She's my little songbird; it means she's happy. Doesn't matter that she is a little tone-deaf (and she is). When we drive somewhere, especially in summer, she finds a station she likes and sings along when they play something familiar. So she's happy. And I'm happy, listening to my little songbird sing. Even if it's to Barry Manilow.
Right now, I'm trying to decide what to get her for Christmas. She's not easy to shop for. Her typical line: "You already get me everything I want." Maybe that's so. But she can try a little harder to come up with an idea. Otherwise I have to think, and that can get dangerous.
I got her a couple things already. A blouse. A card game. A book or two we came across. This time, I'm thinking about something else, something that would help me, too. Something she would [I]never [/I]buy for herself if she lives to be 100. Something that would make her happy, I think, if she gets the nerve to try it.
Hmm. How can I say this discreetly? Why is the word "vibrator" so difficult to type? But sometimes I'm gone. Other times I'm busy or preoccupied by different things. I've got worries, too. When that happens, she can't/won't do the natural thing to relieve her tensions. It's just another negative legacy of her good Christian upbringing. Her parents were/are nice people, but they sure didn't do her many favors in terms of having a positive attitude about her sexuality. I could go on.
She does like sex with me. But if I'm not around, she won't take matters in hand, so to speak, so she doesn't get a good night's sleep. If something would ever happen to me ... she may not have another orgasm the rest of her life! Thank God I don't have her hang-ups!
So when we go to bed and she wants to play, one of my roles is to pet her and pet her, stimulating her "down there" until I finally find the magic button (which can be quite elusive) and she feels ready. I don't understand. In my life, I have had only one other real sexual relationship; you know who that is. And she is just the opposite. At times, all I had to do was stroke her side, and she'd be squirming. But these two women are poles apart in their attitudes about their sexuality. My friend is very happy with it, feeling it is a gift to share and celebrate. As I do. My wife is seems scared of it.
(I just realized today--my visit to her in Ontario was two years ago this week. I ought to send her a Christmas gift, too. But the gift she probably could use the most is the universal, absolutely-can't-fail variety.)
Back to my little songbird. What to do? Do I get something that can get her off? Would she use it? Would she even dare to touch it? Even with a finger? Even with Barry Manilow playing?
If any of you have any helpful advice, feel free to pass it along, even if in a private message. I would greatly appreciate some guidance. I just want her to be happy.
Then again, maybe I'll chicken out. Fashion Bug would love my backup plan: investing in a gift card.
I thought life at home would get a little calmer and easier after we got back from our downstate trip.
Oh, sure!
On the Monday after we returned, my wife started/resumed her job at the local call center, where she is taking phoned-in orders for a national company with a highly seasonal business: gift baskets. She takes phone calls on an 800 number, gets their credit card info and places the order.
It doesn't matter that we're in the middle of nowhere up here. Thanks to the internet and broadband connections, orders can come from anywhere and can go anywhere. (They aren't shipped from here; bad transportation.) The customers get to talk to someone from here in the States instead of someone on the other side of the world.
She worked for the same company during the 2006 holiday season and made some nice money. To be honest, she could have had a job there all year if she wanted--but she doesn't like starting really early in the morning. (Besides, we knew we would be busy all summer at my mom's place.)
She gets home after 5:30 p.m. each day, so things have fallen behind at home, particularly the dishes. On Monday night, we both did something about it. She loaded the dishwasher, and then she tackled the hand-washing--the pots, pans, spatulas, etc., etc., etc. I played a supportive but secondary role--doing the drying, rounding up stuff that was hiding here and there and putting things away once washed and dried.
As we did this, she had on a Barry Manilow concert from the local public TV station's pledge drive, and she was singing along happily. She's my little songbird; it means she's happy. Doesn't matter that she is a little tone-deaf (and she is). When we drive somewhere, especially in summer, she finds a station she likes and sings along when they play something familiar. So she's happy. And I'm happy, listening to my little songbird sing. Even if it's to Barry Manilow.
Right now, I'm trying to decide what to get her for Christmas. She's not easy to shop for. Her typical line: "You already get me everything I want." Maybe that's so. But she can try a little harder to come up with an idea. Otherwise I have to think, and that can get dangerous.
I got her a couple things already. A blouse. A card game. A book or two we came across. This time, I'm thinking about something else, something that would help me, too. Something she would [I]never [/I]buy for herself if she lives to be 100. Something that would make her happy, I think, if she gets the nerve to try it.
Hmm. How can I say this discreetly? Why is the word "vibrator" so difficult to type? But sometimes I'm gone. Other times I'm busy or preoccupied by different things. I've got worries, too. When that happens, she can't/won't do the natural thing to relieve her tensions. It's just another negative legacy of her good Christian upbringing. Her parents were/are nice people, but they sure didn't do her many favors in terms of having a positive attitude about her sexuality. I could go on.
She does like sex with me. But if I'm not around, she won't take matters in hand, so to speak, so she doesn't get a good night's sleep. If something would ever happen to me ... she may not have another orgasm the rest of her life! Thank God I don't have her hang-ups!
So when we go to bed and she wants to play, one of my roles is to pet her and pet her, stimulating her "down there" until I finally find the magic button (which can be quite elusive) and she feels ready. I don't understand. In my life, I have had only one other real sexual relationship; you know who that is. And she is just the opposite. At times, all I had to do was stroke her side, and she'd be squirming. But these two women are poles apart in their attitudes about their sexuality. My friend is very happy with it, feeling it is a gift to share and celebrate. As I do. My wife is seems scared of it.
(I just realized today--my visit to her in Ontario was two years ago this week. I ought to send her a Christmas gift, too. But the gift she probably could use the most is the universal, absolutely-can't-fail variety.)
Back to my little songbird. What to do? Do I get something that can get her off? Would she use it? Would she even dare to touch it? Even with a finger? Even with Barry Manilow playing?
If any of you have any helpful advice, feel free to pass it along, even if in a private message. I would greatly appreciate some guidance. I just want her to be happy.
Then again, maybe I'll chicken out. Fashion Bug would love my backup plan: investing in a gift card.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Improvised Thanksgiving
It looked very much like winter today. Exhibit A ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Snowyday-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
It was snowy, blowy and pretty darn cold. It was 18F (-8C) when I left for work. In mid-afternoon, it was 14 (-10C). Now it's about 11 p.m., and the temperature has fallen to +3 (-16C). Tomorrow, snow is in the forecast. A couple inches. (2.5 cm * "a couple").
It's also getting on towards Christmas, and I need to come up with suitable gifts for everyone. But that's another post for another time.
I wanted to fill you in about last week's trip downstate, with a few pictures. I wrote several times about it, so you may want to know.
The recent post about the trip to St. Ignace included several photos of the Mackinac Bridge. Here is one more: from the bridge itself as we crossed it. My wife took it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-OnBridge-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
That was five hours into the drive, as we crossed from the Upper Peninsula to the Lower Peninsula. Just south of the bridge, we saw some wind turbines. The only ones we ever get to see. "Might as well get a shot of them, too." OK ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Windturbns-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
The drive from here to there is really long, and we tried to make as few stops as possible. Some (gas, meals, pit stops) are unavoidable. Others (photos) are optional. The camera was put away, and I kept driving. Besides, it was cloudy and there wasn't much to see except the highway, oncoming traffic and the occasional town or city.
Part of the time, we talked. Mostly we listened to the radio. I've got Sirius satellite radio in the car, and lately we've been listening to a lot of classic radio. My personal favorite is "Gunsmoke"--the stories are always interesting and well-written. "The Lone Ranger," of course. A few months ago I found a site that has podcasts of old radio shows--and my iPod has a good library of them now.
After dark, with snow starting to fall, we finally reached our motel in Flint (an hour from my son's place). We called my son, Phil, to plan our visit the next day and then settled down for the night. Not much to report--we were pretty tired from the long day on the road.
The forecast called for an inch or two of snow overnight. We looked out the window Thursday morning. Ummm, not that much ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-AMSnow-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We got to Phil's place about 10:30 (Central Time), an hour before the Packers-Lions football game started. It gave Phil and David a chance to look over each other's stuff ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Apartmnt-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil's cat, Duchess, looked us over pretty closely. Eventually she decided we didn't pose a threat to her playthings ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Duchess-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
The main entertainment of the day was the Packers-Lions game. It wasn't a good game for the Lions. Though Phil was brought up with us in the western U.P. (i.e.: Packer Country), he's been following the Lions for years, since he's been living there since going off to college in the mid '90s. So he felt compelled to groan once in a while as the Lions struggled.
One football game was enough: We went on to another kind of macho entertainment: a Popeye cartoon collection that came out recently. Several hours were spent watching Popeye and Bluto battle for the fickle affections of the oh-so-skinny Olive Oyl. The DVD set had commentaries and everything. Cool. But after a while, we started thinking about supper.
Most restaurants in the States (even the fast food places) are closed on Thanksgiving Day. So what could we do about Thanksgiving dinner, since he lacks serious cooking skills? In past years, we went across the international border to Windsor, Ont., to check out the stores and get a nice meal--went to an Outback steakhouse one year and an Italian restaurant the next. But the exchange rate hasn't been too good for the greenback lately, and we stayed on our side of the border this year.
The solution to our culinary dilemma: frozen pizzas! He got two stuffed-crust pizzas, and we made short work of them. When in Rome, and all that.
After the pizzas, we moved on to the main event of the night: a movie. He suggested a few, and we finally settled on Ratatouille. Did I spell that right? About the rat who becomes an expert chef. It was a fun movie that I hadn't seen before.
We didn't stay late because everyone knew the plan for Friday. The three of us (my wife, David and myself) were to get up at 6 a.m. Central Time, drive down to Phil's apartment, pick him up, and continue south into downtown Detroit for the game, which kicked off at 9 a.m. Central Time.
(I specify "Central Time" because Detroit is in Eastern Time, an hour ahead of us. When Phil and I discussed schedules, I had to be very careful to avoid misunderstandings. It's rarely an issue, but this time it's obviously very important.)
Friday morning, everyone knew their jobs. We all went to bed early, and we all were able to get up at 6 a.m. and feel fairly well rested, with our things mostly packed up already. I called Phil: He was ready. Bottom line: We were inside Ford Field in plenty of time for the game. The rest of our contingent found seats near the field. Hi, guys! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Higuys-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil was somewhere else at the time. He got back a few minutes later ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Higuys2-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil wanted to come along because he had never seen Ford Field (where the Packers and Lions played the day before) from the inside. David and I had been there twice already, and my wife had been there once. I took some photos [URL="http://drdog.efx2blogs.com/5148/Name+of+the+game%3A+TV+or+not+TV%3F.html"]last year[/URL] and showed them to you.
I gave my wife a $20 bill, for her ticket and concessions. After a soda and some popcorn, she only had 25 cents left. The kids paid their own way.
Only two more shots this time. One was taken inside, about a half hour before the game ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-InsideFF-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And the other was taken just after our team was presented the state championship trophy. It's shaped like Michigan, if you can't tell ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Trophy-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
After the game I was busy for about an hour with interviews, running around to get stats and then finding my way out. Then, we got back onto I-75 and headed north. We dropped off Phil at his place and kept going north.
I had hoped to get back home that night, but we got away too late for that. By the time we got to the bridge (long after dark), we decided to stay at St. Ignace overnight and finish the trip the next morning.
And that's what we did.
In the end, we had a nice visit. But it was far less than it could have been--mainly because I was visiting on the clock. Everything revolved around getting up early for that game and then getting back home as quickly as we could afterwards. We didn't have the luxury of looking around the area, shopping, seeing the sights or even going out to eat at a nice restaurant.
Next year, maybe we'll be able to visit him in summer and do all the things we couldn't do on this trip. I hope we can.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Snowyday-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
It was snowy, blowy and pretty darn cold. It was 18F (-8C) when I left for work. In mid-afternoon, it was 14 (-10C). Now it's about 11 p.m., and the temperature has fallen to +3 (-16C). Tomorrow, snow is in the forecast. A couple inches. (2.5 cm * "a couple").
It's also getting on towards Christmas, and I need to come up with suitable gifts for everyone. But that's another post for another time.
I wanted to fill you in about last week's trip downstate, with a few pictures. I wrote several times about it, so you may want to know.
The recent post about the trip to St. Ignace included several photos of the Mackinac Bridge. Here is one more: from the bridge itself as we crossed it. My wife took it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-OnBridge-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
That was five hours into the drive, as we crossed from the Upper Peninsula to the Lower Peninsula. Just south of the bridge, we saw some wind turbines. The only ones we ever get to see. "Might as well get a shot of them, too." OK ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Windturbns-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
The drive from here to there is really long, and we tried to make as few stops as possible. Some (gas, meals, pit stops) are unavoidable. Others (photos) are optional. The camera was put away, and I kept driving. Besides, it was cloudy and there wasn't much to see except the highway, oncoming traffic and the occasional town or city.
Part of the time, we talked. Mostly we listened to the radio. I've got Sirius satellite radio in the car, and lately we've been listening to a lot of classic radio. My personal favorite is "Gunsmoke"--the stories are always interesting and well-written. "The Lone Ranger," of course. A few months ago I found a site that has podcasts of old radio shows--and my iPod has a good library of them now.
After dark, with snow starting to fall, we finally reached our motel in Flint (an hour from my son's place). We called my son, Phil, to plan our visit the next day and then settled down for the night. Not much to report--we were pretty tired from the long day on the road.
The forecast called for an inch or two of snow overnight. We looked out the window Thursday morning. Ummm, not that much ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-AMSnow-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We got to Phil's place about 10:30 (Central Time), an hour before the Packers-Lions football game started. It gave Phil and David a chance to look over each other's stuff ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Apartmnt-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil's cat, Duchess, looked us over pretty closely. Eventually she decided we didn't pose a threat to her playthings ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Duchess-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
The main entertainment of the day was the Packers-Lions game. It wasn't a good game for the Lions. Though Phil was brought up with us in the western U.P. (i.e.: Packer Country), he's been following the Lions for years, since he's been living there since going off to college in the mid '90s. So he felt compelled to groan once in a while as the Lions struggled.
One football game was enough: We went on to another kind of macho entertainment: a Popeye cartoon collection that came out recently. Several hours were spent watching Popeye and Bluto battle for the fickle affections of the oh-so-skinny Olive Oyl. The DVD set had commentaries and everything. Cool. But after a while, we started thinking about supper.
Most restaurants in the States (even the fast food places) are closed on Thanksgiving Day. So what could we do about Thanksgiving dinner, since he lacks serious cooking skills? In past years, we went across the international border to Windsor, Ont., to check out the stores and get a nice meal--went to an Outback steakhouse one year and an Italian restaurant the next. But the exchange rate hasn't been too good for the greenback lately, and we stayed on our side of the border this year.
The solution to our culinary dilemma: frozen pizzas! He got two stuffed-crust pizzas, and we made short work of them. When in Rome, and all that.
After the pizzas, we moved on to the main event of the night: a movie. He suggested a few, and we finally settled on Ratatouille. Did I spell that right? About the rat who becomes an expert chef. It was a fun movie that I hadn't seen before.
We didn't stay late because everyone knew the plan for Friday. The three of us (my wife, David and myself) were to get up at 6 a.m. Central Time, drive down to Phil's apartment, pick him up, and continue south into downtown Detroit for the game, which kicked off at 9 a.m. Central Time.
(I specify "Central Time" because Detroit is in Eastern Time, an hour ahead of us. When Phil and I discussed schedules, I had to be very careful to avoid misunderstandings. It's rarely an issue, but this time it's obviously very important.)
Friday morning, everyone knew their jobs. We all went to bed early, and we all were able to get up at 6 a.m. and feel fairly well rested, with our things mostly packed up already. I called Phil: He was ready. Bottom line: We were inside Ford Field in plenty of time for the game. The rest of our contingent found seats near the field. Hi, guys! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Higuys-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil was somewhere else at the time. He got back a few minutes later ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Higuys2-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Phil wanted to come along because he had never seen Ford Field (where the Packers and Lions played the day before) from the inside. David and I had been there twice already, and my wife had been there once. I took some photos [URL="http://drdog.efx2blogs.com/5148/Name+of+the+game%3A+TV+or+not+TV%3F.html"]last year[/URL] and showed them to you.
I gave my wife a $20 bill, for her ticket and concessions. After a soda and some popcorn, she only had 25 cents left. The kids paid their own way.
Only two more shots this time. One was taken inside, about a half hour before the game ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-InsideFF-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And the other was taken just after our team was presented the state championship trophy. It's shaped like Michigan, if you can't tell ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Finals07-Trophy-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
After the game I was busy for about an hour with interviews, running around to get stats and then finding my way out. Then, we got back onto I-75 and headed north. We dropped off Phil at his place and kept going north.
I had hoped to get back home that night, but we got away too late for that. By the time we got to the bridge (long after dark), we decided to stay at St. Ignace overnight and finish the trip the next morning.
And that's what we did.
In the end, we had a nice visit. But it was far less than it could have been--mainly because I was visiting on the clock. Everything revolved around getting up early for that game and then getting back home as quickly as we could afterwards. We didn't have the luxury of looking around the area, shopping, seeing the sights or even going out to eat at a nice restaurant.
Next year, maybe we'll be able to visit him in summer and do all the things we couldn't do on this trip. I hope we can.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Home again, home again, jiggity jig
Hi, everyone. We got back home at about 3 p.m. Saturday. In all, I had driven about 1,180 miles since leaving at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. That's a lot of driving.
Things went pretty well. Everyone cooperated very well with me, and we got to the game in pretty of time Friday morning. We ran into a few areas of snow during the drive (especially on the trip home), but nothing too bad.
My original plan was to drive all the way home Friday night, but I had a lot of work after the game (interviews, etc.), so we didn't start the trip home until about 2:30 p.m. We got to the bridge (about halfway) about 8 p.m., and we still had five hours of driving ahead of us. So we spent three nights in motels instead of two.
And ... our team won the game, 22-14, to win the state Division 8 championship. It's the first time I have ever covered our team winning a state title. So I'll be writing a lot tomorrow.
I'll write a report for you, too, with a few photos (just a few).
Things went pretty well. Everyone cooperated very well with me, and we got to the game in pretty of time Friday morning. We ran into a few areas of snow during the drive (especially on the trip home), but nothing too bad.
My original plan was to drive all the way home Friday night, but I had a lot of work after the game (interviews, etc.), so we didn't start the trip home until about 2:30 p.m. We got to the bridge (about halfway) about 8 p.m., and we still had five hours of driving ahead of us. So we spent three nights in motels instead of two.
And ... our team won the game, 22-14, to win the state Division 8 championship. It's the first time I have ever covered our team winning a state title. So I'll be writing a lot tomorrow.
I'll write a report for you, too, with a few photos (just a few).
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Seriously stressing out
Twelve hours from now, we will be on our 520-mile drive down to Detroit for the state finals. My role is chauffeur and chief navigator--I know the route pretty well by now, so the navigator work should be a snap. My wife and son will be in the role of passengers.
Well, they do more than that. My wife decides when we need a pit stop, and my son helps decide when we need to get snacks. Rather, when he needs to get snacks. The two events usually coincide with each other, so it usually works all right.
Part one (Wednesday) is driving to our motel in Flint. That should be about nine hours and 460 miles. By that time, it should be about 7 p.m., and I'll be ready for some rest.
My son's apartment is another hour away, and we'll travel that last part of the trip Thanksgiving morning. In fact, we'll probably spend most of the day at the apartment, watching football, movies and watching the kids playing videogames. With luck, I'll even get a chance to take a nap. Since most restaurants will be closed, we may opt for frozen pizza for our Thanksgiving dinner. So it goes.
Friday morning, we need to get going VERY early. The game starts at 9 Central Time. (10 a.m. locally, but I keep thinking Central Time for simplicity's sake). It's the first of four state championship games that day.
For us, it means we have to exit the motel by 7 to get a very quick breakfast, stop at my son's place (an hour away) to pick him up and then drive into downtown Detroit for the game. My older son is coming with us this time; he got the day off, and he's never been to Ford Field.
That Friday morning could be tough, getting my wife and son going much earlier than they usually do, plus the added stop at my son's place. Last year, it was just me and David, and my wife didn't come along; we got there in plenty of time.
I have to really impress upon everyone the importance of arriving there at least a half hour before the kickoff. If it were just me, there would be no problem. I know I can do it. But getting the others motivated enough to be ready in time is sometimes like herding cats. When my wife and I talked today and she said we should be ready to go by 8 a.m. Wednesday, I said to myself, "We'll see about that."
At least tomorrow, I don't have to be at the motel at any set time. But on Friday morning ... they're not going to hold up the game for me.
Then, after the game, we get back together, climb in the car, drop my son off at his place and then start the 500+-mile trip home. It will give me plenty of time to think about my story. But I won't be able to do any actual writing until I get home, whenever that is. And, by the way, maybe I'll be writing about a state championship.
And now here's the latest: They are forecasting possibly heavy rain in the Flint area on Wednesday, changing to rain and snow that night--several inches of snow, continuing into Thursday. (Back home, the weather should be just fine.) The storm should be gone by Friday.
Can you tell that I'm trying to deal with a lot of stress right now? I think I have been dreading this trip for months, and it's all coming down in the next couple days. Ready or not, here we come.
Well, they do more than that. My wife decides when we need a pit stop, and my son helps decide when we need to get snacks. Rather, when he needs to get snacks. The two events usually coincide with each other, so it usually works all right.
Part one (Wednesday) is driving to our motel in Flint. That should be about nine hours and 460 miles. By that time, it should be about 7 p.m., and I'll be ready for some rest.
My son's apartment is another hour away, and we'll travel that last part of the trip Thanksgiving morning. In fact, we'll probably spend most of the day at the apartment, watching football, movies and watching the kids playing videogames. With luck, I'll even get a chance to take a nap. Since most restaurants will be closed, we may opt for frozen pizza for our Thanksgiving dinner. So it goes.
Friday morning, we need to get going VERY early. The game starts at 9 Central Time. (10 a.m. locally, but I keep thinking Central Time for simplicity's sake). It's the first of four state championship games that day.
For us, it means we have to exit the motel by 7 to get a very quick breakfast, stop at my son's place (an hour away) to pick him up and then drive into downtown Detroit for the game. My older son is coming with us this time; he got the day off, and he's never been to Ford Field.
That Friday morning could be tough, getting my wife and son going much earlier than they usually do, plus the added stop at my son's place. Last year, it was just me and David, and my wife didn't come along; we got there in plenty of time.
I have to really impress upon everyone the importance of arriving there at least a half hour before the kickoff. If it were just me, there would be no problem. I know I can do it. But getting the others motivated enough to be ready in time is sometimes like herding cats. When my wife and I talked today and she said we should be ready to go by 8 a.m. Wednesday, I said to myself, "We'll see about that."
At least tomorrow, I don't have to be at the motel at any set time. But on Friday morning ... they're not going to hold up the game for me.
Then, after the game, we get back together, climb in the car, drop my son off at his place and then start the 500+-mile trip home. It will give me plenty of time to think about my story. But I won't be able to do any actual writing until I get home, whenever that is. And, by the way, maybe I'll be writing about a state championship.
And now here's the latest: They are forecasting possibly heavy rain in the Flint area on Wednesday, changing to rain and snow that night--several inches of snow, continuing into Thursday. (Back home, the weather should be just fine.) The storm should be gone by Friday.
Can you tell that I'm trying to deal with a lot of stress right now? I think I have been dreading this trip for months, and it's all coming down in the next couple days. Ready or not, here we come.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Reports from the road
When I last wrote, I was in the middle of my crazier-than-hell part of the sports year.
Nothing has changed since then.
First, the latest. I (plus my wife and son) went to Marquette today for the Division 8 state football semifinal game, played in the Superior Dome ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/FPgrid07-dome-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
I could write a lot about it, but I'll be doing that tomorrow, anyway. The bottom line is that our team won 22-7 and will be playing in the state championship game for the fourth consecutive year ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/FPgrid07-team-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
They are 0-3 in those games. Can they pull it off this year? We'll find out next Friday morning, when they play at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
Yes, it's going to be my fourth consecutive Thanksgiving Day away from home. I resigned myself to this fact some time ago; the team is very, very good. Are they the best Division 8 team in the state this year? Time will tell.
I called my older son (who lives in the north suburban area) after the game, alerting him that he's going to get company. At this point, it appears David will be coming along with me. My wife isn't sure yet. I think she wants to, but work pending at the call center may prevent it. We'll see.
I need to know Monday because I have to reserve motel rooms. Do I need to reserve one room or two? It depends on what my wife finally decides. Reason: To put it plainly, my wife snores. It doesn't bother me--I've slept with her for 36+ years, so I'm used to it--but it does bother David.
At any rate, we won't be able to hit the road until Wednesday morning; my son works until about 9 p.m. Tuesday. I had hoped we could get 200 miles down the road on Tuesday. It ain't gonna happen.
Thanksgiving Day will be spent at my older son's apartment, watching football (the Packers and Lions will be battling), visiting and watching movies. Thanksgiving dinner may consist of frozen pizzas, since nearly every stateside restaurant is closed.
Friday is the game (9 a.m. local time; 10 Eastern). After it ends and I get some quick interviews, we all jump back in the car and start the 500+-mile trip home.
****
That wraps up the football news. Now, a recap on the Tuesday trip to St. Ignace for the girls volleyball quarterfinals. Our girls won that match and went to the state semifinals in Battle Creek--where they lost 3-2. They had a great year.
But this isn't about the match. This is about our trip and the photos I got. So let me set up my slide projector and the screen. OK? Dim the lights.
First, remember when I wrote recently about my missing ice scraper? So I bought a new one. On the morning of the trip, guess what I saw peeking out at me, from under the driver's seat ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Scrapers-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Murphy's Law, proven once again.
The weather was coolish and gray. Fairly standard November weather. It was the day before Michigan's firearms deer season started. Many of the gas stations up here sell big bags of apples, potatoes and carrots that hunters put out as bait ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Deerfeed-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
What amazed me most of all was the size of some of the carrots. They were sold in 30-pound bags, and they had some monsters inside. How can I give you an idea of the size? I put my camera bag on the carrot bags ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Carrotbag-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
One of those could feed Bugs Bunny for a week.
As daylight started fading, we saw some wave action along the north shore of Lake Michigan ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg-Wavesdusk-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And as we neared St. Ignace, the site of the match, we finally saw the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's peninsulas ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgedusk-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
More on the bridge later.
We reserved our motel room and then went to the match. The girls played hard ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-FPdive-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Dblbump-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And were they ever happy after getting the winning point, earning them a trip downstate!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Happygirls-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
My wife and I celebrated by going out for a pizza. Then we went to take a look at the bridge, and I tried photos at night--without a tripod!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgenight-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
At the motel, we were amazed when we saw the sunrise and sunset times. Didn't make much sense to us ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-TWCsunset-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We were tired and full of pizza, so we slept well. The wind picked up a lot during the night. We went back to "Bridge View Park" to take more photos in the morning, and the strong wind had the waters dancing ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgewaves-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
When we looked more closely at the bridge, we saw big waves crashing around the abutments. Look at the water splashing here ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgesplash-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We headed back west, but the wave action along the beach was distracting. Big wave action, considering it's on inland lakes ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-WavesDay-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Someday (in summer, of course), I'd like to get out in this kind of wave action and feel the hydraulic power all around me. The water is warm enough in late summer--it may even be over 60 degrees F! But since we live so far away (this is still about 200 miles away from our home, remember), it would have to be planned out over a weekend.
One last picture from our trip. Just a sign that says--if you read it a certain way--new and bizarre pasty recipes have been unleashed upon an unwary world ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Pasties-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Nothing has changed since then.
First, the latest. I (plus my wife and son) went to Marquette today for the Division 8 state football semifinal game, played in the Superior Dome ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/FPgrid07-dome-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
I could write a lot about it, but I'll be doing that tomorrow, anyway. The bottom line is that our team won 22-7 and will be playing in the state championship game for the fourth consecutive year ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/FPgrid07-team-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
They are 0-3 in those games. Can they pull it off this year? We'll find out next Friday morning, when they play at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.
Yes, it's going to be my fourth consecutive Thanksgiving Day away from home. I resigned myself to this fact some time ago; the team is very, very good. Are they the best Division 8 team in the state this year? Time will tell.
I called my older son (who lives in the north suburban area) after the game, alerting him that he's going to get company. At this point, it appears David will be coming along with me. My wife isn't sure yet. I think she wants to, but work pending at the call center may prevent it. We'll see.
I need to know Monday because I have to reserve motel rooms. Do I need to reserve one room or two? It depends on what my wife finally decides. Reason: To put it plainly, my wife snores. It doesn't bother me--I've slept with her for 36+ years, so I'm used to it--but it does bother David.
At any rate, we won't be able to hit the road until Wednesday morning; my son works until about 9 p.m. Tuesday. I had hoped we could get 200 miles down the road on Tuesday. It ain't gonna happen.
Thanksgiving Day will be spent at my older son's apartment, watching football (the Packers and Lions will be battling), visiting and watching movies. Thanksgiving dinner may consist of frozen pizzas, since nearly every stateside restaurant is closed.
Friday is the game (9 a.m. local time; 10 Eastern). After it ends and I get some quick interviews, we all jump back in the car and start the 500+-mile trip home.
****
That wraps up the football news. Now, a recap on the Tuesday trip to St. Ignace for the girls volleyball quarterfinals. Our girls won that match and went to the state semifinals in Battle Creek--where they lost 3-2. They had a great year.
But this isn't about the match. This is about our trip and the photos I got. So let me set up my slide projector and the screen. OK? Dim the lights.
First, remember when I wrote recently about my missing ice scraper? So I bought a new one. On the morning of the trip, guess what I saw peeking out at me, from under the driver's seat ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Scrapers-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Murphy's Law, proven once again.
The weather was coolish and gray. Fairly standard November weather. It was the day before Michigan's firearms deer season started. Many of the gas stations up here sell big bags of apples, potatoes and carrots that hunters put out as bait ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Deerfeed-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
What amazed me most of all was the size of some of the carrots. They were sold in 30-pound bags, and they had some monsters inside. How can I give you an idea of the size? I put my camera bag on the carrot bags ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Carrotbag-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
One of those could feed Bugs Bunny for a week.
As daylight started fading, we saw some wave action along the north shore of Lake Michigan ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg-Wavesdusk-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And as we neared St. Ignace, the site of the match, we finally saw the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's peninsulas ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgedusk-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
More on the bridge later.
We reserved our motel room and then went to the match. The girls played hard ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-FPdive-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Dblbump-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And were they ever happy after getting the winning point, earning them a trip downstate!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Happygirls-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
My wife and I celebrated by going out for a pizza. Then we went to take a look at the bridge, and I tried photos at night--without a tripod!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgenight-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
At the motel, we were amazed when we saw the sunrise and sunset times. Didn't make much sense to us ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-TWCsunset-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We were tired and full of pizza, so we slept well. The wind picked up a lot during the night. We went back to "Bridge View Park" to take more photos in the morning, and the strong wind had the waters dancing ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgewaves-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
When we looked more closely at the bridge, we saw big waves crashing around the abutments. Look at the water splashing here ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Bridgesplash-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
We headed back west, but the wave action along the beach was distracting. Big wave action, considering it's on inland lakes ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-WavesDay-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Someday (in summer, of course), I'd like to get out in this kind of wave action and feel the hydraulic power all around me. The water is warm enough in late summer--it may even be over 60 degrees F! But since we live so far away (this is still about 200 miles away from our home, remember), it would have to be planned out over a weekend.
One last picture from our trip. Just a sign that says--if you read it a certain way--new and bizarre pasty recipes have been unleashed upon an unwary world ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/StIg07-Pasties-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
On the road again
Gas prices here currently stand at $3.30/gallon, and I'll be burning a bit of it this week.
We're deep into the fall sports playoffs now, and I have a pair of long drives ahead.
Today (Tuesday), I'm crossing the U.P. (about 235 miles) to St. Ignace, on the north end of the Mackinac Bridge, for the girls volleyball state quarterfinals. Our team won the regional championship on Saturday. If they win at St. Ignace Tuesday night (and I think they will), they continue downstate to the state semifinals and finals in Battle Creek. Another 280 miles away.
They may go down there, but I'm not. I'm staying in St. Ignace Tuesday night and driving home Wednesday--won't be crossing the bridge, at least not this week. The reason: There is a very good chance I'll have to drive down to Detroit for Thanksgiving Day. Our football team won its regional championship at the Superior Dome in Marquette last Saturday, and they play in the state semifinal game at the dome this Saturday. If they win, they'll play at Ford Field on the day after Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23.
That would be my fourth consecutive Thanksgiving spent on the road because of high school football. So it goes. I've written about that. It's out of my hands.
Anyway, with the prospect of a very long drive next week, no drive to Battle Creek. Sorry, girls. The bottom line for me is that there is more interest in high school football than volleyball, plain and simple. I always try to give the girls strong coverage--and I'll follow the team across the peninsula today. But it's not as if the paper has a lot of money, or that the local economy (ad revenue) is strong. I'll do the best I can--get a batch of fresh photos from the quarterfinals and use them in next week's paper, win or lose.
At least I'll have some company today--my wife is coming along. On Saturday, both my wife and son will go to Marquette. (David came along last Saturday.) It's nice to have company. The trips can get long otherwise.
I've got more to say, but it can wait. Within an hour, I'll be on the road.
We're deep into the fall sports playoffs now, and I have a pair of long drives ahead.
Today (Tuesday), I'm crossing the U.P. (about 235 miles) to St. Ignace, on the north end of the Mackinac Bridge, for the girls volleyball state quarterfinals. Our team won the regional championship on Saturday. If they win at St. Ignace Tuesday night (and I think they will), they continue downstate to the state semifinals and finals in Battle Creek. Another 280 miles away.
They may go down there, but I'm not. I'm staying in St. Ignace Tuesday night and driving home Wednesday--won't be crossing the bridge, at least not this week. The reason: There is a very good chance I'll have to drive down to Detroit for Thanksgiving Day. Our football team won its regional championship at the Superior Dome in Marquette last Saturday, and they play in the state semifinal game at the dome this Saturday. If they win, they'll play at Ford Field on the day after Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23.
That would be my fourth consecutive Thanksgiving spent on the road because of high school football. So it goes. I've written about that. It's out of my hands.
Anyway, with the prospect of a very long drive next week, no drive to Battle Creek. Sorry, girls. The bottom line for me is that there is more interest in high school football than volleyball, plain and simple. I always try to give the girls strong coverage--and I'll follow the team across the peninsula today. But it's not as if the paper has a lot of money, or that the local economy (ad revenue) is strong. I'll do the best I can--get a batch of fresh photos from the quarterfinals and use them in next week's paper, win or lose.
At least I'll have some company today--my wife is coming along. On Saturday, both my wife and son will go to Marquette. (David came along last Saturday.) It's nice to have company. The trips can get long otherwise.
I've got more to say, but it can wait. Within an hour, I'll be on the road.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Wheelchair wrestling
This past Wednesday turned out to be busier than I thought. It started getting very busy once I put on my jacket at about 2 p.m. and took "the rest of the day off."
Technically, I did. In reality ...
The main reason for the trip was to see my mom. I had visited her twice in the last couple weeks, but those were just fast visits during busy weeks, and I was alone both times. (Well, David was with me once; we had a playoff football game that night.)
This time my wife could come along, and we could visit a little longer. My mom was ready for us. First thing on her list: a new cord for her phone. Whoever had that phone earlier apparently played with the cord a lot, so it was all twisted up. Need a replacement.
She also hadn't gone out to supper for a few weeks, and the cool temperatures on Wednesday (just above freezing) weren't about to change her mind. She didn't have gloves (with her winter coat, which had not yet been brought out of storage), but she had a heavy sweater and a spring coat that she thought would be warm enough. Apparently it was.
My mom is 85 and goes around in a wheelchair. My car is small, so getting her anywhere involves a lot of wheelchair wrestling. Two phases: (1) getting her in and out of the car, and (2) getting the wheelchair in and out.
Step 1 is getting her to the front passenger door. Open it. Position the wheelchair right by the door. Lock the wheels. Help her slowly stand up. Then she has to get one foot inside the car. Then transfer her weight to the seat, bracing her hands on the car. Then pulling in the other foot. My wife buckles her in while I unlock the wheelchair wheels and move it to the back of the car.
Then it's time for Step 2. Open the trunk, of course. Lock the wheelchair's wheels. (It works so much better that way; took a lot of trial and error to discover that.) Remove the cushion from the wheelchair seat and back. (It folds up.) Collapse the wheelchair. Lift it over the tailgate and into the trunk, top edge first. Fit the wheels inside so the trunk will close. Put the cushions over it wherever there is space. Close the trunk. Whew!
Those steps are, of course, done in reverse order whenever she gets in and out of the car. My wife and I have gotten pretty good at that. My wife sits in the back seat, by the way, when my mom is in the co-pilot's seat.
So the first stop on Wedneday was to get a new phone cord. We stopped at K-Mart, and I ran inside--just a quick walk, find and pay--while my mom and wife stayed in the car. Then it was time for supper.
This time we decided to go to Subway, where we got her an oven-roasted chicken breast sandwich. She chose wheat bread and only one add-on: tomatoes. Six-inch size, but she had it cut in half--my wife and I split the other half. The verdict: She liked it a lot. She said it's better than the chicken at Hardee's, where we usually go, so we might go to Subway more in the future.
As we had supper, my mom asked that we stop at a dollar store; she needed new slippers. There was one a short distance away, so we got her packed back into the car, drove there, got her out of the car and inside.
(Of course, it's the whole manual of arms with the wheelchair each time. But for reasons of brevity ...)
The slippers there were no great shakes, but we went up and down the aisles for a while, looking at the various things they had. My mom came away with butter mints, some highlighter pens and something else I can't remember at the moment. While there, she remembered that she needs a calculator, too. The dollar store didn't have anything like that. "We may have some coming on the truck," said the girl.
Not soon enough. We paid for out stuff, got her packed back into the car, and I drove back to K-Mart, land of pocket calculators. This time, it was another solo trip; my wife and mom stayed in the car and talked, while I went inside, found a calculator that met my off-the-cuff criteria for a calculator for my mom: (1) small enough to be held on one hand; (2) large buttons; (3) large number display; (4) good contrast on the keys (white on black is hard to beat; and (5) was simple and fairly cheap. Found one for about $5, and that should fill the bill nicely.
From there, we took her back to the nursing home--she had been gallivanting around for two hours. Unpacked her from the car, wheeled her down to her room, talked for a few minutes, and then we had to leave--it was already after 7, and we had some shopping we had to do.
This time, over to Wal-Mart. My wife got some various groceries, while I walked around the electronics department and looked at all the cool stuff I won't be buying. In the end, I didn't get anything at all. We paid for the groceries, loaded them in the car and were ready to start driving home.
That's when I realized: I had forgotten one of my major priorities for this trip! A new ice scraper for the car! Somehow since last winter, my yellowish-green ice scraper has disappeared, and it has stayed well hidden despite a thorough search of the car, the trunk, even under the seats. With the first snow of winter a recent memory, I couldn't wait any longer.
So I ran back inside (my wife stayed in the car) and made the long walk to automotive. They didn't have the type of scraper I had before, but I found one that seems sturdy enough for many Northwoods mornings of scraping ice, snow and other types of frozen junk off the windshield and other windows.
(Scraping snow and ice and other junk is one of the duties of every driver in this part of the country. On CBC, when they play "Oh Canada" at the end of the broadcast day, they play a montage of shots about Canadian life. One of them is someone scraping a car window as winter howls around them. Beautiful. And entirely fitting.)
Finally, we hit the road for home. After about 10 miles, we ran into a snow shower, and it was snowing fairly heavily for a while--we had to turn off the brights. But the roads were OK, and the deer stayed on the grassy shoulders of the road. Good deer! Hope the hunters don't get you!
By the way, earlier in the day, we saw some deer in a field while driving to the nursing home, and they stayed there while I got a picture ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Deerfield-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
This was between my mom's house and the nursing home--almost exactly the same place where I hit a deer in October 2005, just after my mom went into the nursing home ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerScene10-05.jpg[/IMG]
The two sites couldn't be more than 100 yards apart. Fortunately, these deer were satisfied just to look at us.
Technically, I did. In reality ...
The main reason for the trip was to see my mom. I had visited her twice in the last couple weeks, but those were just fast visits during busy weeks, and I was alone both times. (Well, David was with me once; we had a playoff football game that night.)
This time my wife could come along, and we could visit a little longer. My mom was ready for us. First thing on her list: a new cord for her phone. Whoever had that phone earlier apparently played with the cord a lot, so it was all twisted up. Need a replacement.
She also hadn't gone out to supper for a few weeks, and the cool temperatures on Wednesday (just above freezing) weren't about to change her mind. She didn't have gloves (with her winter coat, which had not yet been brought out of storage), but she had a heavy sweater and a spring coat that she thought would be warm enough. Apparently it was.
My mom is 85 and goes around in a wheelchair. My car is small, so getting her anywhere involves a lot of wheelchair wrestling. Two phases: (1) getting her in and out of the car, and (2) getting the wheelchair in and out.
Step 1 is getting her to the front passenger door. Open it. Position the wheelchair right by the door. Lock the wheels. Help her slowly stand up. Then she has to get one foot inside the car. Then transfer her weight to the seat, bracing her hands on the car. Then pulling in the other foot. My wife buckles her in while I unlock the wheelchair wheels and move it to the back of the car.
Then it's time for Step 2. Open the trunk, of course. Lock the wheelchair's wheels. (It works so much better that way; took a lot of trial and error to discover that.) Remove the cushion from the wheelchair seat and back. (It folds up.) Collapse the wheelchair. Lift it over the tailgate and into the trunk, top edge first. Fit the wheels inside so the trunk will close. Put the cushions over it wherever there is space. Close the trunk. Whew!
Those steps are, of course, done in reverse order whenever she gets in and out of the car. My wife and I have gotten pretty good at that. My wife sits in the back seat, by the way, when my mom is in the co-pilot's seat.
So the first stop on Wedneday was to get a new phone cord. We stopped at K-Mart, and I ran inside--just a quick walk, find and pay--while my mom and wife stayed in the car. Then it was time for supper.
This time we decided to go to Subway, where we got her an oven-roasted chicken breast sandwich. She chose wheat bread and only one add-on: tomatoes. Six-inch size, but she had it cut in half--my wife and I split the other half. The verdict: She liked it a lot. She said it's better than the chicken at Hardee's, where we usually go, so we might go to Subway more in the future.
As we had supper, my mom asked that we stop at a dollar store; she needed new slippers. There was one a short distance away, so we got her packed back into the car, drove there, got her out of the car and inside.
(Of course, it's the whole manual of arms with the wheelchair each time. But for reasons of brevity ...)
The slippers there were no great shakes, but we went up and down the aisles for a while, looking at the various things they had. My mom came away with butter mints, some highlighter pens and something else I can't remember at the moment. While there, she remembered that she needs a calculator, too. The dollar store didn't have anything like that. "We may have some coming on the truck," said the girl.
Not soon enough. We paid for out stuff, got her packed back into the car, and I drove back to K-Mart, land of pocket calculators. This time, it was another solo trip; my wife and mom stayed in the car and talked, while I went inside, found a calculator that met my off-the-cuff criteria for a calculator for my mom: (1) small enough to be held on one hand; (2) large buttons; (3) large number display; (4) good contrast on the keys (white on black is hard to beat; and (5) was simple and fairly cheap. Found one for about $5, and that should fill the bill nicely.
From there, we took her back to the nursing home--she had been gallivanting around for two hours. Unpacked her from the car, wheeled her down to her room, talked for a few minutes, and then we had to leave--it was already after 7, and we had some shopping we had to do.
This time, over to Wal-Mart. My wife got some various groceries, while I walked around the electronics department and looked at all the cool stuff I won't be buying. In the end, I didn't get anything at all. We paid for the groceries, loaded them in the car and were ready to start driving home.
That's when I realized: I had forgotten one of my major priorities for this trip! A new ice scraper for the car! Somehow since last winter, my yellowish-green ice scraper has disappeared, and it has stayed well hidden despite a thorough search of the car, the trunk, even under the seats. With the first snow of winter a recent memory, I couldn't wait any longer.
So I ran back inside (my wife stayed in the car) and made the long walk to automotive. They didn't have the type of scraper I had before, but I found one that seems sturdy enough for many Northwoods mornings of scraping ice, snow and other types of frozen junk off the windshield and other windows.
(Scraping snow and ice and other junk is one of the duties of every driver in this part of the country. On CBC, when they play "Oh Canada" at the end of the broadcast day, they play a montage of shots about Canadian life. One of them is someone scraping a car window as winter howls around them. Beautiful. And entirely fitting.)
Finally, we hit the road for home. After about 10 miles, we ran into a snow shower, and it was snowing fairly heavily for a while--we had to turn off the brights. But the roads were OK, and the deer stayed on the grassy shoulders of the road. Good deer! Hope the hunters don't get you!
By the way, earlier in the day, we saw some deer in a field while driving to the nursing home, and they stayed there while I got a picture ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Deerfield-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
This was between my mom's house and the nursing home--almost exactly the same place where I hit a deer in October 2005, just after my mom went into the nursing home ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/DeerScene10-05.jpg[/IMG]
The two sites couldn't be more than 100 yards apart. Fortunately, these deer were satisfied just to look at us.
Monday, November 5, 2007
A short break in the action
This will be brief. I just wanted to show you something.
This was taken from the sidewalk in front of my front door at about 5 p.m. today, looking towards the middle school located a block away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Firstsnow-front-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And here is the view from my back porch at the same time. You can easily see the sidewalk and my car ... can't you?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Firstsnow-back-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, I'm afraid it's true. Winter has caught up to us at last. We had some brief periods of snow and wind at times during the day, but it quickly melted. Then, towards the evening, a heavier band arrived, and that's what you see here. It's been snowing on and off since then. I guess we have about an inch of wet snow right at the moment, and it's supposed to continue overnight. Since it's so wet, it probably will be gone within 48 hours, but the snowflakes will come more often.
At least I didn't have to drive around in it--this time, anyway. I got to stay home and relax for a while, watched a movie with my wife, and now I'm doing a little writing.
This week will be much less frantic than last week. The football and volleyball playoffs are both on hold until Saturday; so I won't have to run anywhere in the evening. They both resume action at the same time, about 100 miles away from each other, so I'll have to pick one or the other. I'll also work on some basketball previews--that will be starting around the end of November.
It's a quiet week. I can stand it. It's very welcome.
This was taken from the sidewalk in front of my front door at about 5 p.m. today, looking towards the middle school located a block away ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Firstsnow-front-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
And here is the view from my back porch at the same time. You can easily see the sidewalk and my car ... can't you?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Firstsnow-back-11-07.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, I'm afraid it's true. Winter has caught up to us at last. We had some brief periods of snow and wind at times during the day, but it quickly melted. Then, towards the evening, a heavier band arrived, and that's what you see here. It's been snowing on and off since then. I guess we have about an inch of wet snow right at the moment, and it's supposed to continue overnight. Since it's so wet, it probably will be gone within 48 hours, but the snowflakes will come more often.
At least I didn't have to drive around in it--this time, anyway. I got to stay home and relax for a while, watched a movie with my wife, and now I'm doing a little writing.
This week will be much less frantic than last week. The football and volleyball playoffs are both on hold until Saturday; so I won't have to run anywhere in the evening. They both resume action at the same time, about 100 miles away from each other, so I'll have to pick one or the other. I'll also work on some basketball previews--that will be starting around the end of November.
It's a quiet week. I can stand it. It's very welcome.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Anything can happen
Well, it's been ... interesting, all right.
This has been a weekend with very little spare time for the things I wanted to do, including keep up with your blog posts. The magic number has just crossed the two dozen mark. Maybe I can start slicing into that number later tonight. But I wanted to get this out first.
On Friday, it was the football playoff game. Saturday, I was at the volleyball district tournament for most of the afternoon. When I got back home, David was here. It was his birthday, and we had gifts for him. But he didn't want them--not until Sunday. Whatever.
We took him out to dinner. Then, after getting home, we watched a movie with him. Then, he asked me to drive him home (he wore a jacket that was too light for the weather). After that, my wife wanted to watch a movie with me. And we did. It was a 1940s-era movie about a dog. She went to bed. I stayed up for a little while--finally got to watch some hockey--but not long. The last few days have been pretty exhausting, what with an all-day trip for the medical tests and volleyball tourney on Thursday; a regular day of work and a football game Friday night; some frantic writing, another volleyball tourney, dinner out and movies on Saturday.
David came back Sunday to watch the Packers game with us; we gave him his gifts at halftime: a "Transformers" DVD, a PSP game and a new camera--I had promised I would help him buy a new one after his old one died on him. My wife sat next to me on the couch during the second half, fell asleep during the fourth quarter and stayed asleep until halftime of the second game. After she woke up, she remembered that we we had to go out and get some groceries.
That's because the weather here is going to get ugly. On Monday and Monday night, we're supposed to get 2 to 4 inches of snow, and it's supposed to be coming down sideways--high winds from the northwest, with gusts as high as 45 mph (72 km/hr) during the day. Parts of the U.P. closer to Lake Superior are forecast to get as much as 12 inches (30 cm).
Both our teams won, by the way, and their next games will both be taking place in the Winter Storm Warning areas. Of course, that isn't until late this week, but it's something to think about. This time of year, after all, anything can happen.
I'll try to get caught up on blog alerts over the next couple days. My schedule quiets down for a few days. Then, next Friday and Saturday, I will be extremely busy with a pair of long trips out of town. One extreme to another.
As for anything can happen--here is proof of it. It came in an e-mail from my friend, S, a few days ago:
[QUOTE]My posting and blogging may be sparse for awhile. A few mornings ago I leashed up the dogs and headed out the front door to walk them. They bolted! All I can figure is that they saw a squirrel. My seven concrete steps suddenly became two doozies, and I went flying. Still not sure if it was the humble ornamental donkey in the front yard or a tombstone that got me on my upper lip on the way down. The impact caused abundant swelling, some great facial bruises and my blue eyes became highlighted by a background of solid red. It was almost Halloween and I got my mask for free! :)
Then I realized I couldn't get up. Not a good sign. We had decorated the front yard in tombstones as a Halloween treat for the grandkids and, there I was, laid out between rows 1 and 2. Started yelling for the hubby (he had been dressing). Out he comes in his underwear to assist me (I sure do love that man) ... and I'm telling him to go find the dogs. Choosing my problem over theirs for the moment, he tried to get me up. It was a no-go. As he headed for the house to call an ambulance, one dog returned and went in with him. Looked like the squirrel chase was over, so I figured the other would return shortly. Sure enough, by the time my husband dialed 911, pulled on some pants and grabbed a blanket to keep me warm, the second dog came trotting home. That was a big relief, because I would not have agreed to go anywhere until I knew they were safe.
Within minutes, the ambulance guys pulled up and located me lounging amongst the tombstones and one pipes up, "Well, if that isn't fitting...or...maybe not". I responded, "Yeah, where's the video camera when you need it?" They hoisted me onto the gurney and into the ambulance, where I proceeded to go on the ambulance ride from hell. You'd think they'd make those things so they rode smooth and didn't bounce. They'd better not try doing any circumcisions in the back of that thing!
Well, I won't even go into the whole hospital experience. Let it suffice to say that it lacked in entertainment value. Thankfully, my face was just colorful, but there was no major damage. My right leg was not so fortunate. It was fractured, and I won't be able to bear any weight on it for six weeks. They also had to do surgery to drain off the excess fluid, blood and marrow. Can you say 'elephant's knee'? In computer terms, this translates to at least a week or so of little or no activity. However, the good news (or not) is that once I get past the worst of the pain in a week or so, I'll be able to write frequently once again and plague you all with my weird sense of humor on a regular basis. Now isn't that something to look forward to?
Have a great week, and look out for squirrels![/QUOTE]
Well, of course, I worry about her. I wrote her a reply the next day, but it bounced. "Permanent fatal errors." I tried again. Same thing. I tried again. No bounce notice this time. I'm guessing it went through, but I'm not sure.
Today I sent her a egreeting.com funny get well card. I didn't get a bounce notice. I am tempted to phone her, but I really don't want to do anything that would force her to get up, since her leg is probably pretty painful right now.
So I'll sit here and wish that she keeps her leg elevated and that her recovery is quick and uneventful.
This has been a weekend with very little spare time for the things I wanted to do, including keep up with your blog posts. The magic number has just crossed the two dozen mark. Maybe I can start slicing into that number later tonight. But I wanted to get this out first.
On Friday, it was the football playoff game. Saturday, I was at the volleyball district tournament for most of the afternoon. When I got back home, David was here. It was his birthday, and we had gifts for him. But he didn't want them--not until Sunday. Whatever.
We took him out to dinner. Then, after getting home, we watched a movie with him. Then, he asked me to drive him home (he wore a jacket that was too light for the weather). After that, my wife wanted to watch a movie with me. And we did. It was a 1940s-era movie about a dog. She went to bed. I stayed up for a little while--finally got to watch some hockey--but not long. The last few days have been pretty exhausting, what with an all-day trip for the medical tests and volleyball tourney on Thursday; a regular day of work and a football game Friday night; some frantic writing, another volleyball tourney, dinner out and movies on Saturday.
David came back Sunday to watch the Packers game with us; we gave him his gifts at halftime: a "Transformers" DVD, a PSP game and a new camera--I had promised I would help him buy a new one after his old one died on him. My wife sat next to me on the couch during the second half, fell asleep during the fourth quarter and stayed asleep until halftime of the second game. After she woke up, she remembered that we we had to go out and get some groceries.
That's because the weather here is going to get ugly. On Monday and Monday night, we're supposed to get 2 to 4 inches of snow, and it's supposed to be coming down sideways--high winds from the northwest, with gusts as high as 45 mph (72 km/hr) during the day. Parts of the U.P. closer to Lake Superior are forecast to get as much as 12 inches (30 cm).
Both our teams won, by the way, and their next games will both be taking place in the Winter Storm Warning areas. Of course, that isn't until late this week, but it's something to think about. This time of year, after all, anything can happen.
I'll try to get caught up on blog alerts over the next couple days. My schedule quiets down for a few days. Then, next Friday and Saturday, I will be extremely busy with a pair of long trips out of town. One extreme to another.
As for anything can happen--here is proof of it. It came in an e-mail from my friend, S, a few days ago:
[QUOTE]My posting and blogging may be sparse for awhile. A few mornings ago I leashed up the dogs and headed out the front door to walk them. They bolted! All I can figure is that they saw a squirrel. My seven concrete steps suddenly became two doozies, and I went flying. Still not sure if it was the humble ornamental donkey in the front yard or a tombstone that got me on my upper lip on the way down. The impact caused abundant swelling, some great facial bruises and my blue eyes became highlighted by a background of solid red. It was almost Halloween and I got my mask for free! :)
Then I realized I couldn't get up. Not a good sign. We had decorated the front yard in tombstones as a Halloween treat for the grandkids and, there I was, laid out between rows 1 and 2. Started yelling for the hubby (he had been dressing). Out he comes in his underwear to assist me (I sure do love that man) ... and I'm telling him to go find the dogs. Choosing my problem over theirs for the moment, he tried to get me up. It was a no-go. As he headed for the house to call an ambulance, one dog returned and went in with him. Looked like the squirrel chase was over, so I figured the other would return shortly. Sure enough, by the time my husband dialed 911, pulled on some pants and grabbed a blanket to keep me warm, the second dog came trotting home. That was a big relief, because I would not have agreed to go anywhere until I knew they were safe.
Within minutes, the ambulance guys pulled up and located me lounging amongst the tombstones and one pipes up, "Well, if that isn't fitting...or...maybe not". I responded, "Yeah, where's the video camera when you need it?" They hoisted me onto the gurney and into the ambulance, where I proceeded to go on the ambulance ride from hell. You'd think they'd make those things so they rode smooth and didn't bounce. They'd better not try doing any circumcisions in the back of that thing!
Well, I won't even go into the whole hospital experience. Let it suffice to say that it lacked in entertainment value. Thankfully, my face was just colorful, but there was no major damage. My right leg was not so fortunate. It was fractured, and I won't be able to bear any weight on it for six weeks. They also had to do surgery to drain off the excess fluid, blood and marrow. Can you say 'elephant's knee'? In computer terms, this translates to at least a week or so of little or no activity. However, the good news (or not) is that once I get past the worst of the pain in a week or so, I'll be able to write frequently once again and plague you all with my weird sense of humor on a regular basis. Now isn't that something to look forward to?
Have a great week, and look out for squirrels![/QUOTE]
Well, of course, I worry about her. I wrote her a reply the next day, but it bounced. "Permanent fatal errors." I tried again. Same thing. I tried again. No bounce notice this time. I'm guessing it went through, but I'm not sure.
Today I sent her a egreeting.com funny get well card. I didn't get a bounce notice. I am tempted to phone her, but I really don't want to do anything that would force her to get up, since her leg is probably pretty painful right now.
So I'll sit here and wish that she keeps her leg elevated and that her recovery is quick and uneventful.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A busy Thursday on deck
My Tuesday was easy. Wednesday should be OK. Then it gets ... interesting.
About 10 days ago I told you about my recent doctor's visit. How they found my heart was beating too fast, so they wanted me to see the cardiologist in Marquette.
That's why I'm driving up to Marquette on Thursday. They are going to give me some tests, which appear to be the same tests I have had up there every year or so for about 10 years.I plan to leave here at about 6:45 a.m. The drive is about two hours long, and the tests start at 9 Central time. The thing of it is, they don't want me to have anything to eat or drink after midnight. So I'm looking forward (not really) to a long, thirsty drive. I hope they let me chew gum--something, at least, to get some moisture in my mouth. I hate it when my mouth is dry.
The information they mailed to me calls it an "echocardiogranm with cardiac doppler and Myoview stress test." What it means is that they are going to inject a radioactive dye in a vein, take some pictures, then do a stress test (treadmill) and take more pictures. I don't like the treadmill; I can walk fairly fast but no faster, and they keep increasing the speed of the belt (they're also increasing the angle to make it harder). They don't let you run, either.
The letter gave a long list of "do nots." "Do not smoke four hours prior to the test." Do I ever? "Do not eat or drink anything after midnight." Grumble, grumble. "Do not take your diabetic medicine, but do bring it with you." Uhhh, what? "Do not wear underwire bras." I'll try. "Do not wear shirts/blouses with zippers/snaps or embroidery/beadwork." Don't worry; I'm no rhinestone cowboy. "Do not have any coffee, decaffeinated beverages, caffeinated beverages or caffeinated food 24 hours before the test." By caffeinated food, they mean anything with chocolate. Not too many options for beverages, right?
Anyway, they do the test. Later they send me a letter telling me what the cardiologist learned from it. The weather should be OK, at least. Once I'm done there (about noon), I get to have lunch (yay!) and then drive south to Iron Mountain, where the district volleyball tournament takes place that evening. Maybe I'll stop over to see my mom, too. I'll probably get back home about 9 p.m. It's going to be a long day.
On Friday, I'm covering a football district championship game, and Saturday is the other volleyball district tourney. Those two are short drives. It's tourney time; the regular season is over.
It's relatively quiet here during November, but there is a very real chance I will have to drive down to Detroit during Thanksgiving week for the state high school football finals. If so, it would be the fourth consecutive year I will miss Thanksgiving at home. I like football and I like seeing our team win ... but I would happier just staying home on Thanksgiving for once.
Anyway, it's a situation I have absolutely no control over. Time will tell. I had noticed that the Red Wings are playing at home Wednesday night, so I told my son that maybe I'd like to do that. But later I saw what the ticket prices are like to see an NHL game in Detroit ... so I told him to forget about; we can have a better time at his apartment, watching the game on TV and messing around.
Yesterday, with winter on its way, I got some new tires for my car--I had to; the old ones had a lot of miles on them. So far, no snow has fallen here. The weather has remained mild for the most part. On Tuesday, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and temperatures were in the low 60s (16C). Up here, of course, that can change on short notice.
Today, on Halloween, it's cloudier, cooler and windy, and tonight I will be getting pictures at a kids' Halloween parade here in town. Chilly kids in Halloween costumes. Then more shots at a kids' party in another town about 15 miles away. That one's indoors.
Some people in that town did up a big "haunted house" in a old school building, and it really sounded like fun. They had that last weekend. I was covering football on Friday. On Saturday I took my wife to Iron Mountain--we had a special dinner to mark her birthday earlier in the week. But I didn't take the usual route home. Instead, the car happened to wind up in the town with the haunted house. Quite by accident, of course. ;) I like to surprise her.
Ideally, we would have gone through the haunted house inside the old school and seen our share of scary sights. But alas, it was about 7 p.m., and when we got there, we saw a long line of people waiting to get inside. I guesstimated we would be waiting at least an hour and a half to get inside (they were taking people through in groups of five!), and my wife wasn't dressed for standing around in the cold that long. So we reluctantly drove home.
In recent e-mails with S, we have been discussing the possibility of visiting them in November or December. But that may have to be put on hold until after the holidays: My wife has applied for the call center job she had during the holiday season last year, and she thinks she will start work there in mid November. Last year, she worked nearly every day until Christmas. So any longish trips will have to wait till after Santa and his elves are on the beach, drinking concoctions that have paper umbrellas in them.
Wonder if he ever gets to Hed II.
About 10 days ago I told you about my recent doctor's visit. How they found my heart was beating too fast, so they wanted me to see the cardiologist in Marquette.
That's why I'm driving up to Marquette on Thursday. They are going to give me some tests, which appear to be the same tests I have had up there every year or so for about 10 years.I plan to leave here at about 6:45 a.m. The drive is about two hours long, and the tests start at 9 Central time. The thing of it is, they don't want me to have anything to eat or drink after midnight. So I'm looking forward (not really) to a long, thirsty drive. I hope they let me chew gum--something, at least, to get some moisture in my mouth. I hate it when my mouth is dry.
The information they mailed to me calls it an "echocardiogranm with cardiac doppler and Myoview stress test." What it means is that they are going to inject a radioactive dye in a vein, take some pictures, then do a stress test (treadmill) and take more pictures. I don't like the treadmill; I can walk fairly fast but no faster, and they keep increasing the speed of the belt (they're also increasing the angle to make it harder). They don't let you run, either.
The letter gave a long list of "do nots." "Do not smoke four hours prior to the test." Do I ever? "Do not eat or drink anything after midnight." Grumble, grumble. "Do not take your diabetic medicine, but do bring it with you." Uhhh, what? "Do not wear underwire bras." I'll try. "Do not wear shirts/blouses with zippers/snaps or embroidery/beadwork." Don't worry; I'm no rhinestone cowboy. "Do not have any coffee, decaffeinated beverages, caffeinated beverages or caffeinated food 24 hours before the test." By caffeinated food, they mean anything with chocolate. Not too many options for beverages, right?
Anyway, they do the test. Later they send me a letter telling me what the cardiologist learned from it. The weather should be OK, at least. Once I'm done there (about noon), I get to have lunch (yay!) and then drive south to Iron Mountain, where the district volleyball tournament takes place that evening. Maybe I'll stop over to see my mom, too. I'll probably get back home about 9 p.m. It's going to be a long day.
On Friday, I'm covering a football district championship game, and Saturday is the other volleyball district tourney. Those two are short drives. It's tourney time; the regular season is over.
It's relatively quiet here during November, but there is a very real chance I will have to drive down to Detroit during Thanksgiving week for the state high school football finals. If so, it would be the fourth consecutive year I will miss Thanksgiving at home. I like football and I like seeing our team win ... but I would happier just staying home on Thanksgiving for once.
Anyway, it's a situation I have absolutely no control over. Time will tell. I had noticed that the Red Wings are playing at home Wednesday night, so I told my son that maybe I'd like to do that. But later I saw what the ticket prices are like to see an NHL game in Detroit ... so I told him to forget about; we can have a better time at his apartment, watching the game on TV and messing around.
Yesterday, with winter on its way, I got some new tires for my car--I had to; the old ones had a lot of miles on them. So far, no snow has fallen here. The weather has remained mild for the most part. On Tuesday, there was hardly a cloud in the sky and temperatures were in the low 60s (16C). Up here, of course, that can change on short notice.
Today, on Halloween, it's cloudier, cooler and windy, and tonight I will be getting pictures at a kids' Halloween parade here in town. Chilly kids in Halloween costumes. Then more shots at a kids' party in another town about 15 miles away. That one's indoors.
Some people in that town did up a big "haunted house" in a old school building, and it really sounded like fun. They had that last weekend. I was covering football on Friday. On Saturday I took my wife to Iron Mountain--we had a special dinner to mark her birthday earlier in the week. But I didn't take the usual route home. Instead, the car happened to wind up in the town with the haunted house. Quite by accident, of course. ;) I like to surprise her.
Ideally, we would have gone through the haunted house inside the old school and seen our share of scary sights. But alas, it was about 7 p.m., and when we got there, we saw a long line of people waiting to get inside. I guesstimated we would be waiting at least an hour and a half to get inside (they were taking people through in groups of five!), and my wife wasn't dressed for standing around in the cold that long. So we reluctantly drove home.
In recent e-mails with S, we have been discussing the possibility of visiting them in November or December. But that may have to be put on hold until after the holidays: My wife has applied for the call center job she had during the holiday season last year, and she thinks she will start work there in mid November. Last year, she worked nearly every day until Christmas. So any longish trips will have to wait till after Santa and his elves are on the beach, drinking concoctions that have paper umbrellas in them.
Wonder if he ever gets to Hed II.
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Wagonmaster
In the news today was a story about Porter Wagoner, dead of lung cancer at 80 after a long career in country music.
I know some of you don't care very much for country music. True, a lot of it is crap--like when the fiddles are replaced by violins. But a lot of it is great stuff, about the rich tapestry of life, and it's sung with such honesty and a passion and a sincerity that you don't find anywhere else. The school of Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn and Porter Wagoner.
I've known Porter for much of my life, thanks to his TV show, which my family liked. Then we all moved on. I moved on with my life but occasionally would touch base with Porter. He sang many songs like I liked. "The Carroll County Accident." "The Cold Hard Facts of Life," especially "A Satisfied Mind." At times we would hear him on the Grand Ole Opry while driving here or there on a Saturday night.
Earlier this year, I touched base with Porter again, with his new album, "Wagonmaster" on the Anti label. "Real artists creating great recordings on their own terms," according to the Anti website. He recorded "Wagonmaster" at the age of 79, and I got it. His voice wasn't as strong or powerful as it used to be, but the straight-on view of life, warts and all, was still there. In many ways, "Wagonmaster" was a lot like Johnny Cash's American Records releases. Instrumentation was pretty sparse. But the singing was direct and penetrating. It's on my iPod; later today, I'm going to listen to it again.
Many great songs, bracketed around a "Wagonmaster's coming" song by Marty Stuart. But right at the end was the highlight for me: Porter and Stuart singing two classic Hank Williams songs, "Men With Broken Hearts" and "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow." Just the two of them with an acoustic guitar. I was transfixed.
From the AP news story: [I]Wagoner's final album, "Wagonmaster," was released in June and earned him some of the best reviews of his career. Over the summer, he was the opening act for the influential rock duo White Stripes at a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden.
"The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me," Porter said with tears in his eyes the day after the New York show. "If only they knew how that made me feel — like a new breath of fresh air."[/I]
Porter was known for helping launch the career of Dolly Parton and for his rhinestone-studded Nudie suits that he wore on stage. But he also released an album called "Skid Row Joe: Down in the Alley." It showed a Skid Row drunk on the cover, trying to stand up in a doorway, wearing an ugly, dirty, worn suit on his back. It was Porter.
Here are the lyrics of "Satisfied Mind." A nice song to think about when things don't go your way ...
[CENTER]
[I]How many times have you heard someone say
If I had his money I could do things my way
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind
Once I was waiting in fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
When life has ended my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave there's no doubt
But there's one thing for certain when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind[/I][/CENTER]
Sleep well, Porter.
I know some of you don't care very much for country music. True, a lot of it is crap--like when the fiddles are replaced by violins. But a lot of it is great stuff, about the rich tapestry of life, and it's sung with such honesty and a passion and a sincerity that you don't find anywhere else. The school of Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn and Porter Wagoner.
I've known Porter for much of my life, thanks to his TV show, which my family liked. Then we all moved on. I moved on with my life but occasionally would touch base with Porter. He sang many songs like I liked. "The Carroll County Accident." "The Cold Hard Facts of Life," especially "A Satisfied Mind." At times we would hear him on the Grand Ole Opry while driving here or there on a Saturday night.
Earlier this year, I touched base with Porter again, with his new album, "Wagonmaster" on the Anti label. "Real artists creating great recordings on their own terms," according to the Anti website. He recorded "Wagonmaster" at the age of 79, and I got it. His voice wasn't as strong or powerful as it used to be, but the straight-on view of life, warts and all, was still there. In many ways, "Wagonmaster" was a lot like Johnny Cash's American Records releases. Instrumentation was pretty sparse. But the singing was direct and penetrating. It's on my iPod; later today, I'm going to listen to it again.
Many great songs, bracketed around a "Wagonmaster's coming" song by Marty Stuart. But right at the end was the highlight for me: Porter and Stuart singing two classic Hank Williams songs, "Men With Broken Hearts" and "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow." Just the two of them with an acoustic guitar. I was transfixed.
From the AP news story: [I]Wagoner's final album, "Wagonmaster," was released in June and earned him some of the best reviews of his career. Over the summer, he was the opening act for the influential rock duo White Stripes at a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden.
"The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me," Porter said with tears in his eyes the day after the New York show. "If only they knew how that made me feel — like a new breath of fresh air."[/I]
Porter was known for helping launch the career of Dolly Parton and for his rhinestone-studded Nudie suits that he wore on stage. But he also released an album called "Skid Row Joe: Down in the Alley." It showed a Skid Row drunk on the cover, trying to stand up in a doorway, wearing an ugly, dirty, worn suit on his back. It was Porter.
Here are the lyrics of "Satisfied Mind." A nice song to think about when things don't go your way ...
[CENTER]
[I]How many times have you heard someone say
If I had his money I could do things my way
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind
Once I was waiting in fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind
Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
When life has ended my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave there's no doubt
But there's one thing for certain when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind[/I][/CENTER]
Sleep well, Porter.
What's Little Debbie hunting?
Do you ever read signs "wrong"? Do you ever read signs differently from the way they were intended?
To give you an example, for many years my mom had a favorite sign when we were visiting a nearby town. Three words in a yellow diamond:
[CENTER]SLOW
CHILDREN
AHEAD[/CENTER]
"Why would they be bragging about having slow children?" she would ask nobody in particular.
My dad had one that would make him laugh, too. It was the same kind of yellow diamond-shaped sign:
[CENTER]HORSES OR
TRACTORS
WITH LUGS
PROHIBITED[/CENTER]
"I've seen many things in my life," my dad would say, laughing, "but I've never seen a horse with lugs."
I thought about that a day or two ago while driving through town and seeing this sign outside a local grocery store ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-LDsign-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
So why is Little Debbie, that cute 1950s-style girl on the boxes of sweet treats, hunting after Manwich? What did Manwich do to her? What does Little Debbie want to do with Manwich? Do I really want to know?
Nearby, there's a gas station/convenience store sign that also deserves a double-take from passers-by ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-Gassign-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
Hmm. Now that's a convenience most gas stations don't offer. Given the peculiarities of our town, they should be getting some extra business.
Of course, there are also the signs with the removable letters that present endless opportunities to those of a mischievous nature who are good at anagrams. On the road to my mom's place, there is a place called Sweet Dreams that sells stuff like candles, aromatherapy stuff, artwork. You get the idea. They had a sign like that to advertise their specials.
One spring day this year, we drove past and saw that somehow the S and one of the E's were missing from the store's name. That was worth a few snickers and chortles. Not long after that, Sweet Dreams stopped using that sign.
My wife and I did a little shopping at the grocery store today. While we were there we discovered that Little Debbie had gotten her man(wich) ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-Found-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
You wouldn't think they'd get along. But there's no accounting for taste, is there?
To give you an example, for many years my mom had a favorite sign when we were visiting a nearby town. Three words in a yellow diamond:
[CENTER]SLOW
CHILDREN
AHEAD[/CENTER]
"Why would they be bragging about having slow children?" she would ask nobody in particular.
My dad had one that would make him laugh, too. It was the same kind of yellow diamond-shaped sign:
[CENTER]HORSES OR
TRACTORS
WITH LUGS
PROHIBITED[/CENTER]
"I've seen many things in my life," my dad would say, laughing, "but I've never seen a horse with lugs."
I thought about that a day or two ago while driving through town and seeing this sign outside a local grocery store ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-LDsign-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
So why is Little Debbie, that cute 1950s-style girl on the boxes of sweet treats, hunting after Manwich? What did Manwich do to her? What does Little Debbie want to do with Manwich? Do I really want to know?
Nearby, there's a gas station/convenience store sign that also deserves a double-take from passers-by ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-Gassign-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
Hmm. Now that's a convenience most gas stations don't offer. Given the peculiarities of our town, they should be getting some extra business.
Of course, there are also the signs with the removable letters that present endless opportunities to those of a mischievous nature who are good at anagrams. On the road to my mom's place, there is a place called Sweet Dreams that sells stuff like candles, aromatherapy stuff, artwork. You get the idea. They had a sign like that to advertise their specials.
One spring day this year, we drove past and saw that somehow the S and one of the E's were missing from the store's name. That was worth a few snickers and chortles. Not long after that, Sweet Dreams stopped using that sign.
My wife and I did a little shopping at the grocery store today. While we were there we discovered that Little Debbie had gotten her man(wich) ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/LDeb-Found-10-07.jpg[/IMG]
You wouldn't think they'd get along. But there's no accounting for taste, is there?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Ululating on the sidelines
It's just me, checking in, taking a break from a very busy week here at the OK Corral. We're finishing up articles for a special section, plus I've got an all-day sportswriters meeting out of town on Thursday :( and then football playoff games on Friday. The volleyball district tournaments are next week. Slowly but surely, the fall season is winding down.
The meeting tomorrow is the one when they pick the all-U.P. football teams. I hate it. It's long and dull. Years ago, they held the meeting over two days, and on the night between meetings, they would gather at a strip bar called Orphan Annie's. Way before my time, but some of the old-timers (there are a [I]lot [/I]of old-timers there) still invoke Orphan Annie's memory once in a while.
If Orphan Annie's were still open, maybe I'd enjoy the experience more. As it is, I leave at 6:30 a.m., about an hour before sunrise, spend most the day in a never-ending meeting and get home after sunset. The most exotic place I'm likely to visit is ... Staples, the office supply store.
On Tuesday morning, I looked outside to see white. Not snow. But it was the first really heavy frost we've had so far, as temperatures got down to 24F (-5C). Today, while walking back from an interview, a few snowflakes seemed to be dancing in the air. So far, there hasn't been any snow around. That should change as soon as the temperature falls a few more degrees.
Slowly but surely, I am dragging out my warmer clothing. Today I wore a zip-front sweater for use at the office (except it got too warm, so I took it off). I'll need to dig out my gloves before I hit the road at 6:30 tomorrow morning.
I also have to "invest" in some new tires for the car. They have already been ordered--they get installed late this week or next week. Of course, we need the mud/snow rated tires up here for extra traction in winter.
My wife's birthday was Monday; she got flowers (carnations) and we went out for a pizza and watched a movie ("The Painted Veil") later. David went with me to the football game at Lake Linden (way up in the Copper Country, north of Houghton) last Saturday. His birthday is on Nov. 3. Gotta get something for him, too.
All of our birthdays are within two months of each other. My older son's b-day is Dec. 19, and mine is five days later. Both of the kids are grown and gone, but to me they are still part of "us."
Just for fun, I went to a Wisconsin high school playoff football game Tuesday night. Wisconsin has a goofy (to me) schedule: the final game of the regular season is on Thursday. The first playoff game is the following Tuesday. The second playoff game is that Saturday. So that's five days between the final game of the season and the first playoff game; and then four days between the first and second playoff games. In Michigan, all the games are a week apart (mostly Fridays, with a few on Thursdays and Saturdays).
Anyway ... this one was being played just 30 miles away, so I decided to go see the fun. I took the camera along, of course. A little light (and cold) rain fell during the game, but the oddest thing came from one of the fans.
It was a woman who walked up and down the sidelines behind her team's bench, cheering loudly. And ululating. It was one of the darndest things I've ever seen at a high school football game. She would yell, "Come on guys! You can do it! Woo-HOOOO! Ulululululluuuu!" She made this sound like you hear Arab women making at times of great emotion (joy or sadness), high pitched and wavering.
She was a smallish woman, younger than me, shortish hair, wearing her team's colors and carrying an umbrella. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except that she kept going "Woo-HOOO! Ulululululluuuu!"
I wish I could tell you that her team won, but they were the underdogs. Didn't matter to her, it seems. She kept on rooting for her team on and going "Ululululululluuuuu" even when her guys were down 27-0. The final score was 34-14.
Anyway, I feel myself getting tired despite it only being 9 p.m. Could it be that I'm subconsciously getting ready for my 6:30 departure tomorrow morning ... on the road to The Meeting That Never Ends?
The meeting tomorrow is the one when they pick the all-U.P. football teams. I hate it. It's long and dull. Years ago, they held the meeting over two days, and on the night between meetings, they would gather at a strip bar called Orphan Annie's. Way before my time, but some of the old-timers (there are a [I]lot [/I]of old-timers there) still invoke Orphan Annie's memory once in a while.
If Orphan Annie's were still open, maybe I'd enjoy the experience more. As it is, I leave at 6:30 a.m., about an hour before sunrise, spend most the day in a never-ending meeting and get home after sunset. The most exotic place I'm likely to visit is ... Staples, the office supply store.
On Tuesday morning, I looked outside to see white. Not snow. But it was the first really heavy frost we've had so far, as temperatures got down to 24F (-5C). Today, while walking back from an interview, a few snowflakes seemed to be dancing in the air. So far, there hasn't been any snow around. That should change as soon as the temperature falls a few more degrees.
Slowly but surely, I am dragging out my warmer clothing. Today I wore a zip-front sweater for use at the office (except it got too warm, so I took it off). I'll need to dig out my gloves before I hit the road at 6:30 tomorrow morning.
I also have to "invest" in some new tires for the car. They have already been ordered--they get installed late this week or next week. Of course, we need the mud/snow rated tires up here for extra traction in winter.
My wife's birthday was Monday; she got flowers (carnations) and we went out for a pizza and watched a movie ("The Painted Veil") later. David went with me to the football game at Lake Linden (way up in the Copper Country, north of Houghton) last Saturday. His birthday is on Nov. 3. Gotta get something for him, too.
All of our birthdays are within two months of each other. My older son's b-day is Dec. 19, and mine is five days later. Both of the kids are grown and gone, but to me they are still part of "us."
Just for fun, I went to a Wisconsin high school playoff football game Tuesday night. Wisconsin has a goofy (to me) schedule: the final game of the regular season is on Thursday. The first playoff game is the following Tuesday. The second playoff game is that Saturday. So that's five days between the final game of the season and the first playoff game; and then four days between the first and second playoff games. In Michigan, all the games are a week apart (mostly Fridays, with a few on Thursdays and Saturdays).
Anyway ... this one was being played just 30 miles away, so I decided to go see the fun. I took the camera along, of course. A little light (and cold) rain fell during the game, but the oddest thing came from one of the fans.
It was a woman who walked up and down the sidelines behind her team's bench, cheering loudly. And ululating. It was one of the darndest things I've ever seen at a high school football game. She would yell, "Come on guys! You can do it! Woo-HOOOO! Ulululululluuuu!" She made this sound like you hear Arab women making at times of great emotion (joy or sadness), high pitched and wavering.
She was a smallish woman, younger than me, shortish hair, wearing her team's colors and carrying an umbrella. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except that she kept going "Woo-HOOO! Ulululululluuuu!"
I wish I could tell you that her team won, but they were the underdogs. Didn't matter to her, it seems. She kept on rooting for her team on and going "Ululululululluuuuu" even when her guys were down 27-0. The final score was 34-14.
Anyway, I feel myself getting tired despite it only being 9 p.m. Could it be that I'm subconsciously getting ready for my 6:30 departure tomorrow morning ... on the road to The Meeting That Never Ends?
Friday, October 19, 2007
Lots on my plate
Just a visit for an quick update. I'm working on a post about an old hotel in town that is being town down ... but the story has proven to have a life of its own. After writing part of it, I remembered a bunch of other things (incidents, anecdotes) that will make it a livelier story. Even if parts of it are a little naughty. But it's going to be a few days before I even get time to write it all up.
(I have done [I]very [/I]little of anything that could even remotely be called "naughty" for a long, long time. That could explain why I've been feeling down lately.)
This was kind of a tiring week. I had two early morning (7 a.m.) meetings with a board that I serve on, so I had to be up, up and away early. The baseball playoff games have been running late--sometimes too long for me to stay up till the end. I've found an AM station in Chicago that carries them, and the signal usually comes in pretty good that late. I try to listen to the end, but I doze off. Fancy that: me dozing off while lying in bed after midnight.
We had some shocking news in the office today. Remember my efforts earlier this year to be taken off some exhausting meeting coverage that I "temporarily" had covered for the last three or four years? In April or May, they made an arrangement with the woman who covers those meetings for the local radio station, and that was what freed me.
The other day, she was working at her real job (at a local realty office) and was complaining about heartburn--she called it the worst she had ever felt. She had gone upstairs and was gone for a while, and eventually they found her on all fours, feeling chest pain. The ambulance took her to the local hospital and from there to the regional medical center in Marquette, where she is being treated/observed. Things are apparently going OK there, but she will be out for a while.
I bet you can guess what thought immediately went through my mind once I heard that: When are they going approach me about covering those meetings again until she returns? "When." Not "if." And what would I say?
I have come up with three answers: No, No and No. After all, the last time I "temporarily" took a regular news assignment, it was three or four years until I could get off that merry-go-round. This time, I'm not getting on.
That brings me to my doctor's appointment this afternoon. All the blood tests came back OK. Blood pressure was fine. My cholesterol was great, as usual. He did the prostate exam. :eek:
Everything was going OK until he listened to my heart. It was beating fast. Normal rhythm, just fast (about 120/minute). They took an EKG and sent it to a cardiologist in Marquette. He said it could be a side-effect of one of my other meds, and adding a beta blocker should take care of it.
But he wants me to go up to Marquette to see the cardiologist. I'm having a problem with that. First of all, that's two hours each way, so that wipes out an entire day of work. Second, my health insurance is of the Swiss cheese variety--plenty of holes. For one thing, it doesn't cover doctor's office calls at all. Not one penny. And it's only a little bit helpful for prescription drugs. We get to pay a group rate for them, somewhat of a discount, but we pay all of that. And by a strange coincidence, that discount disqualifies us from the various discount programs offered by the drug companies. How about that?
(Oh, we have such a screwed-up health care system in the U.S.! Unless you are with an insurance company or a drug company, that is. If you are, then it's heaven on earth.)
So what I think I'm going to do is get the prescription for the beta blocker and start taking that. Then we'll see. If things seem to be working out OK, I'll cancel any appointment in Marquette.
Let's see, what else is happening? I have two important football games to cover, on Friday night (right in town; it's supposed to rain) and Saturday afternoon (about 120 miles away; weather should be OK). One week later, the playoffs start. The all-U.P. football writers meeting is next Thursday, and I learned today that the guy who represents our other school won't be there. For whatever reason. So instead of two votes from our county, we have one. I hate those meetings, but ...
Lots and lots of things on my plate right now. And again, not much of it can be described as "fun."
OK. Covering the football is fun, and writing the sports stories is OK, too. But all the other monkey business--articles for special sections, special meetings with my board, the sportswriters' meeting, the doctor's appointment, lack of progress with the sale of the house--is just adding more and more stress.
Oh, I just remembered one more thing I must do tomorrow! My wife's birthday is Monday, so I have to stop at the florists' and maybe get a reservation so we can go out for a nice dinner. Can't forget that!
(I have done [I]very [/I]little of anything that could even remotely be called "naughty" for a long, long time. That could explain why I've been feeling down lately.)
This was kind of a tiring week. I had two early morning (7 a.m.) meetings with a board that I serve on, so I had to be up, up and away early. The baseball playoff games have been running late--sometimes too long for me to stay up till the end. I've found an AM station in Chicago that carries them, and the signal usually comes in pretty good that late. I try to listen to the end, but I doze off. Fancy that: me dozing off while lying in bed after midnight.
We had some shocking news in the office today. Remember my efforts earlier this year to be taken off some exhausting meeting coverage that I "temporarily" had covered for the last three or four years? In April or May, they made an arrangement with the woman who covers those meetings for the local radio station, and that was what freed me.
The other day, she was working at her real job (at a local realty office) and was complaining about heartburn--she called it the worst she had ever felt. She had gone upstairs and was gone for a while, and eventually they found her on all fours, feeling chest pain. The ambulance took her to the local hospital and from there to the regional medical center in Marquette, where she is being treated/observed. Things are apparently going OK there, but she will be out for a while.
I bet you can guess what thought immediately went through my mind once I heard that: When are they going approach me about covering those meetings again until she returns? "When." Not "if." And what would I say?
I have come up with three answers: No, No and No. After all, the last time I "temporarily" took a regular news assignment, it was three or four years until I could get off that merry-go-round. This time, I'm not getting on.
That brings me to my doctor's appointment this afternoon. All the blood tests came back OK. Blood pressure was fine. My cholesterol was great, as usual. He did the prostate exam. :eek:
Everything was going OK until he listened to my heart. It was beating fast. Normal rhythm, just fast (about 120/minute). They took an EKG and sent it to a cardiologist in Marquette. He said it could be a side-effect of one of my other meds, and adding a beta blocker should take care of it.
But he wants me to go up to Marquette to see the cardiologist. I'm having a problem with that. First of all, that's two hours each way, so that wipes out an entire day of work. Second, my health insurance is of the Swiss cheese variety--plenty of holes. For one thing, it doesn't cover doctor's office calls at all. Not one penny. And it's only a little bit helpful for prescription drugs. We get to pay a group rate for them, somewhat of a discount, but we pay all of that. And by a strange coincidence, that discount disqualifies us from the various discount programs offered by the drug companies. How about that?
(Oh, we have such a screwed-up health care system in the U.S.! Unless you are with an insurance company or a drug company, that is. If you are, then it's heaven on earth.)
So what I think I'm going to do is get the prescription for the beta blocker and start taking that. Then we'll see. If things seem to be working out OK, I'll cancel any appointment in Marquette.
Let's see, what else is happening? I have two important football games to cover, on Friday night (right in town; it's supposed to rain) and Saturday afternoon (about 120 miles away; weather should be OK). One week later, the playoffs start. The all-U.P. football writers meeting is next Thursday, and I learned today that the guy who represents our other school won't be there. For whatever reason. So instead of two votes from our county, we have one. I hate those meetings, but ...
Lots and lots of things on my plate right now. And again, not much of it can be described as "fun."
OK. Covering the football is fun, and writing the sports stories is OK, too. But all the other monkey business--articles for special sections, special meetings with my board, the sportswriters' meeting, the doctor's appointment, lack of progress with the sale of the house--is just adding more and more stress.
Oh, I just remembered one more thing I must do tomorrow! My wife's birthday is Monday, so I have to stop at the florists' and maybe get a reservation so we can go out for a nice dinner. Can't forget that!
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