Before I do my show-and-tell about the quilt show we attended recently, I think you may want to know about Charlie's latest feat. You should be impressed by it.
Sunday night, after the hockey game ended and my wife went upstairs to bed. I was sitting on the couch, reading over a legal contract for a meeting Monday morning. Routine stuff; I was just scanning it over. Charlie was lying on the couch next to me, napping. Or so I thought. It was late, after all.
I flipped a page--and the next thing I knew, Charlie had dived over and spread herself out over the contract. Maybe she wanted to read it over for herself ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Charlie-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Don't know what she would find interesting in it. It was just a renewal of the cable company's contract to carry the Lifetime network. But Charlie reached for a page and pulled it down, then started nibbling on a corner of a page, evidently to bookmark it.
Clever little cat.
****
I fear I am going to have to break the report on the quilt show into two pieces. One about our day there, and the other showing some of the quilts. There were very many beautiful quilts there, so it won't even scratch the surface. I marked numbers of some of the images I wanted to use--and I went past 50. Cutting them down to a reasonable number won't be easy or quick.
As I said, the quilt show took place on the far west side of Chicago, near O'Hare Field. I watched some of the O'Hare traffic from the motel room's window. Big jets were taking off and landing all the time--coming down out of a low overcast or else rising up to be enveloped by it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Cquilt-Jetfog-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
On Saturday morning, we went to the show, which was held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. The late Donald E. Stephens must have been a good guy to know. He helped found Rosemont and died during his 13th consecutive four-year term as its mayor.
According to the Wikipedia article about him, Stephens was suspected of being associated with organized crime; he had been indicted on charges of tax fraud and bribery but was acquitted on both charges. The Wikipedia article about Rosemont lists many places named after Stephens and notes accusations of "rampant nepotism." He also was quite fond of Hummel figurines and started a museum of them. Just so you know.
Here is what the convention center looks like from outside, as we walked from a nearby parking garage to the show...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Site-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Parking, by the way, was $11 per vehicle. Tickets to the show were $10 per person.
During the long, long walk from garage to show, we passed what appears to be the entrance to one of the ballrooms in the complex ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Hallway-4-8.jpg[/IMG]
Check out that humble, understated light fixture ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-HallLight-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
After more walking, we got to the entrance to the quilt show ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Entrance-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
This is what it's like inside, as show-goers look at a display of some smaller pieces ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Displays-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
As I said, the main display of quilts will come later. But this one was judged "Best of Show." It was made by a guy from Colorado, who here is explaining how he made it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-BestShow-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
One of the things my wife had heard about was a quilted version of the "Last Supper" painting by Da Vinci. It was hanging over one of the walkways ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuiltLSupA-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
From up close, it looked like a low-res digital photo: Here is a close-up of the last picture, showing Jesus at the head of the table ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-LSupB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
In fact, the Last Supper quilt was made up of thousands of little tiny squares of different colors--and yes, a digitized photo was involved ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-LSupC-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
We walked around, examining the quilts for several hours. Finally, it was time to get some lunch. We wound up in a cafeteria and made our way down a long, long line. And when we finally got to the front, it was like "Saturday Night Live."
The cook who took the order may have been of Indian descent. He definitely spoke with a thick accent, as he asked "Shee-boorger, shee-boorger, shee-boorger" over and over. Just the way John Belushi did on SNL many years ago. We didn't hear "No Cokes--Pepsi" but we weren't there for long.
The french fries were barely lukewarm and soggy, and the shee-boorger was of a normal size. What wasn't a normal size was the bill. Just remember what I wrote earlier about prices in the Chicago area. Here is the bill from our modest little meal of two shee-boorgers, soggy french fries and two cokes ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-LunchRecpt-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yeowch! You know, for a big bill like that, you'd think that the date on top would be at least somewhat accurate.
Back on the floor. The exhibition hall was huge and crowded. We finally came to the end of the quilt displays and started meeting vendors. That area was crowded, too ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Displayarea-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Many of the booths had a large assortment of "fat quarters" for sale. My wife looked at some of them, but after a while, she said she wouldn't look at any more of them--they were all running together in her mind. I said, "If you've seen 10,000 fat quarters, you've seen them all." Here are a few dozen of them ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-FatQtrs-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
They had all the latest, most exotic sewing machines there. As well as some oldies but goodies ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-SewMachns-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
What my wife had wanted to see most of all (her main reason for going to the show) were long-arm quilting machines--machines that can assemble the components of a quilt, the top, the back and the batting inside, putting a stitch design on it at the same time. She is thinking about getting one for herself in a year or two, and this was her chance to do a little in-person research.
She thought they would have two vendors there. In fact, they had about a dozen, from as far away as Australia, including some models that attach to a regular sewing machine. Here, she is giving a "Tin Lizzie" machine a test run ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Longarm-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
So she collected a lot of brochures, other handouts and business cards with web addresses, and will be going over them carefully at some time in the future. By the way, she deliberately left her purse behind in the motel; she wore two fanny packs (one for her camera, one for her wallet) and carried a backpack for collecting things. That plan worked well.
It took several more hours to give the exhibitor section a "once over lightly." When she got to the very last row--and discovered that a vendor was giving massages with a hand-held machine--she was quite happy to sit down for a while ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/CQuilt-Massager-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
In all, we were at the quilt show for about seven hours, so we were pretty tired by the time we made the long walk back to the car. For the record, we never got separated from each other--I stayed pretty close to her, even when breaking away to get a photo of a particularly interesting quilt.
It was the biggest event either of us had ever attended. No wonder we were tired that night.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
On location in Oshkosh
Hello, one and all. I haven't written since we returned from our trip to Chicago late Sunday night. The last few days have been quite busy for me, including a trip to Marquette on Tuesday for a track meet inside the Superior Dome. So it's time to catch you up with things.
But first, unfinished business: I have to pass along a photo I took last week, on the first night of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's the CBC's Don Cherry, welcoming the start of the NHL playoffs with a jacket that probably glows in the dark. I think once I saw a picture of Peter Townsend or Roger Daltry of The Who from the late '60s, wearing a jacket like that in a concert--but that jacket was just black and white.
Eat your hearts out, guys! This, folks, is the quintessential Don Cherry photo ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-CoachCrnr-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
I'll start with the end of our Chicago trip. Later, I'll tell you about its start. The middle part (at the quilt show) will come later.
We had a long, exhausting day at the quilt show on Saturday and spent Saturday night at the motel. Sunday at 9:30 a.m.., we left for home, taking a different route than when we arrived--I had to get an oil change for the car.
Breakfast was at the McDonald's in Des Plaines. As I was parking the car, I saw an old, old McDonald's across the street. Like one built around the time of the Pyramids.
It turns out that this was the very first McDonald's drive-in in the U.S., which opened in 1958--50 years ago. They are renovating it into--get this--a McDonald's museum. Anyway, I got a picture of it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-McDrest-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
A little further up the road, we stopped at a railroad crossing for a very long freight train. It was so long, in fact, that a second very long freight train passed by in the opposite direction while the first one was still rumbling through. We were there 15 or 20 minutes. Here are the two trains passing each other, with a long line of cars just waiting and burning their precious gasoline. (Except intelligent drivers like me, who shut down and relaxed.) ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Trains-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Back on the road, we got the oil change. The only think I'll say about that is that everything in the Chicago area seemed to cost about 20% more than it does elsewhere. Call it the greased palm tax, if you want.
Then back north. Aside from the pit stops, we made only one stop, in Appleton, Wis. My wife wanted to visit a fabric store (they have two there) and a Barnes and Noble. They turned out to be long, long stops--and then she bought very little. Then, after a lot of looking around and driving in circles, we found an Arby's for "lunch"--except by then, it was after 4 p.m.
My mood wasn't good. I just wanted to get home. I can only start unwinding from a long drive after my work is finished. She can snooze in the car; I can't. So I was ticked. We got home about a half hour after sunset. There was six inches of snow on the sidewalk from our weekend storm--but it had crystallized, so it was easy to walk on.
****
That's how the trip ended. Now I'll write about the best part of the whole weekend--to me, at least. It came late Friday morning, when we visited S and her husband at their home in Oshkosh, Wis.
We sat at their table and talked for an hour or so. At some point, I went to the car and brought back a box, which contained the two jumbo-size bath towels my wife had made for them. As you may remember, S and her husband have a hot tub, and they also visit a nude beach in summer when the weather is nice. Plus, jumbo bath towels come in handy in normal household use, too.
Then a cat jumped up onto the table and walked towards us. This, S said, is a little lynx kitten that has been with the family for five years or so. It walked towards me and seemed friendly, so I picked it up and started stroking it. And, just like Charlie, it put its paws on either side of my neck and before long you could hear it purring.
I wanted to get a photo of it--but the camera was in the car and I didn't want to let the kitty go. My wife, though, couldn't stand not holding the kitten, so she soon took the cat from me; I went to the car, got the camera, came back and got a photo or two ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-LynxA-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-LynxB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
S pointed out the tufts of fur on her ears, the large paws and even a ruff of fur around her neck. And, for all her friendliness towards us, S said she is a terror to neighborhood birds when she gets outdoors--sort of a split personality. As for size, it was small for a cat her age--Charlie is bigger and heavier. It has a little stub of a tail, like a lynx.
After a while, we went out to eat at a nearby restaurant that has a buffet for lunch. We all ate well.
Then another treat.
Before we left, David had told us they are shooting a Johnny Depp movie in Oshkosh. S and her husband mentioned it, too, and that part of the downtown area had been transformed back to the 1930s--the John Dillinger era--for some location shots.
The film is called "Public Enemies," and it is scheduled to be released in 2009. Depp plays John Dillinger, and other stars in the film include Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and Channing Tatum.
So after lunch, we drove downtown to see what we could see. They were putting rubber "cobblestones" on one intersection. We didn't know cobblestones come in rubber rolls, but you can't argue with pictures ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-StreetSigns-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Streetwork-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The fronts of many stores in that area had been redone with 1930s-era products and merchandise in the windows. Little (easily removable) signs identified what the store really is today, for the sake of today's shoppers.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Importfront-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
We went inside one shop (actually a restaurant), and I was impressed by the floor ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TileFloor-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
If we had the time, a visiting band looked interesting, if the poster is any clue ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-DrKick-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
S's husband was lamenting that they had taken down a big sundial in the middle of town--and then they blocked that entire area off with a display of vintage signs, so that you wouldn't have been able to see it anyway.
The signs are in that picture above, with the roll of rubber bricks. That's the front side. Here is the back side ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-SignsBack-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
This has been quite the news in Oshkosh. Read about it for yourself: The Oshkosh Northwestern [URL="http://tinyurl.com/3yo6fe"]has a section[/URL] about Oshkosh going Hollywood.
And the area merchants are putting out T-shirts to mark the occasion ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TshirtA-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TshirtB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
We walked around there for about 45 minutes, looking at this and that. Here's pictures from a men's store ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-MensWearB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-MensShop-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a cigar shop and newsstand ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Cigarshop-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Interested in a new typewriter?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Typewriters-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
What about a clock or a radio?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Clocks-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Perhaps I can interest you in a beautiful new fountain pen ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-FountainPens-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Or how about matches and some exotic smokes?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Smokes-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
I know what you are looking for--a handsome record player ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Gramophn-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Maybe you need to borrow a little money. These people would be happy to help ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Thermometr-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
It should be obvious: This is the part of the trip I enjoyed most. Of course, I enjoyed being with S and her husband, too. We are talking about trying again for a movie night some time soon. Maybe in the next month or so, after the movie crews have gone.
****
That's the story of our trip except for the part about Chicago and the quilt show itself.
So there's more to come in a few days, once I get a chance to sort through some 200 pictures I took at the show and pick the best/most interesting ones. That's not going to be easy, believe me!
But first, unfinished business: I have to pass along a photo I took last week, on the first night of the Stanley Cup playoffs. It's the CBC's Don Cherry, welcoming the start of the NHL playoffs with a jacket that probably glows in the dark. I think once I saw a picture of Peter Townsend or Roger Daltry of The Who from the late '60s, wearing a jacket like that in a concert--but that jacket was just black and white.
Eat your hearts out, guys! This, folks, is the quintessential Don Cherry photo ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-CoachCrnr-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
I'll start with the end of our Chicago trip. Later, I'll tell you about its start. The middle part (at the quilt show) will come later.
We had a long, exhausting day at the quilt show on Saturday and spent Saturday night at the motel. Sunday at 9:30 a.m.., we left for home, taking a different route than when we arrived--I had to get an oil change for the car.
Breakfast was at the McDonald's in Des Plaines. As I was parking the car, I saw an old, old McDonald's across the street. Like one built around the time of the Pyramids.
It turns out that this was the very first McDonald's drive-in in the U.S., which opened in 1958--50 years ago. They are renovating it into--get this--a McDonald's museum. Anyway, I got a picture of it ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-McDrest-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
A little further up the road, we stopped at a railroad crossing for a very long freight train. It was so long, in fact, that a second very long freight train passed by in the opposite direction while the first one was still rumbling through. We were there 15 or 20 minutes. Here are the two trains passing each other, with a long line of cars just waiting and burning their precious gasoline. (Except intelligent drivers like me, who shut down and relaxed.) ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Trains-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Back on the road, we got the oil change. The only think I'll say about that is that everything in the Chicago area seemed to cost about 20% more than it does elsewhere. Call it the greased palm tax, if you want.
Then back north. Aside from the pit stops, we made only one stop, in Appleton, Wis. My wife wanted to visit a fabric store (they have two there) and a Barnes and Noble. They turned out to be long, long stops--and then she bought very little. Then, after a lot of looking around and driving in circles, we found an Arby's for "lunch"--except by then, it was after 4 p.m.
My mood wasn't good. I just wanted to get home. I can only start unwinding from a long drive after my work is finished. She can snooze in the car; I can't. So I was ticked. We got home about a half hour after sunset. There was six inches of snow on the sidewalk from our weekend storm--but it had crystallized, so it was easy to walk on.
****
That's how the trip ended. Now I'll write about the best part of the whole weekend--to me, at least. It came late Friday morning, when we visited S and her husband at their home in Oshkosh, Wis.
We sat at their table and talked for an hour or so. At some point, I went to the car and brought back a box, which contained the two jumbo-size bath towels my wife had made for them. As you may remember, S and her husband have a hot tub, and they also visit a nude beach in summer when the weather is nice. Plus, jumbo bath towels come in handy in normal household use, too.
Then a cat jumped up onto the table and walked towards us. This, S said, is a little lynx kitten that has been with the family for five years or so. It walked towards me and seemed friendly, so I picked it up and started stroking it. And, just like Charlie, it put its paws on either side of my neck and before long you could hear it purring.
I wanted to get a photo of it--but the camera was in the car and I didn't want to let the kitty go. My wife, though, couldn't stand not holding the kitten, so she soon took the cat from me; I went to the car, got the camera, came back and got a photo or two ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-LynxA-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-LynxB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
S pointed out the tufts of fur on her ears, the large paws and even a ruff of fur around her neck. And, for all her friendliness towards us, S said she is a terror to neighborhood birds when she gets outdoors--sort of a split personality. As for size, it was small for a cat her age--Charlie is bigger and heavier. It has a little stub of a tail, like a lynx.
After a while, we went out to eat at a nearby restaurant that has a buffet for lunch. We all ate well.
Then another treat.
Before we left, David had told us they are shooting a Johnny Depp movie in Oshkosh. S and her husband mentioned it, too, and that part of the downtown area had been transformed back to the 1930s--the John Dillinger era--for some location shots.
The film is called "Public Enemies," and it is scheduled to be released in 2009. Depp plays John Dillinger, and other stars in the film include Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and Channing Tatum.
So after lunch, we drove downtown to see what we could see. They were putting rubber "cobblestones" on one intersection. We didn't know cobblestones come in rubber rolls, but you can't argue with pictures ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-StreetSigns-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Streetwork-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The fronts of many stores in that area had been redone with 1930s-era products and merchandise in the windows. Little (easily removable) signs identified what the store really is today, for the sake of today's shoppers.
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Importfront-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
We went inside one shop (actually a restaurant), and I was impressed by the floor ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TileFloor-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
If we had the time, a visiting band looked interesting, if the poster is any clue ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-DrKick-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
S's husband was lamenting that they had taken down a big sundial in the middle of town--and then they blocked that entire area off with a display of vintage signs, so that you wouldn't have been able to see it anyway.
The signs are in that picture above, with the roll of rubber bricks. That's the front side. Here is the back side ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-SignsBack-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
This has been quite the news in Oshkosh. Read about it for yourself: The Oshkosh Northwestern [URL="http://tinyurl.com/3yo6fe"]has a section[/URL] about Oshkosh going Hollywood.
And the area merchants are putting out T-shirts to mark the occasion ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TshirtA-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-TshirtB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
We walked around there for about 45 minutes, looking at this and that. Here's pictures from a men's store ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-MensWearB-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-MensShop-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a cigar shop and newsstand ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Cigarshop-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Interested in a new typewriter?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Typewriters-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
What about a clock or a radio?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Clocks-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Perhaps I can interest you in a beautiful new fountain pen ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-FountainPens-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Or how about matches and some exotic smokes?
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Smokes-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
I know what you are looking for--a handsome record player ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Gramophn-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
Maybe you need to borrow a little money. These people would be happy to help ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Chi08-Thermometr-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
It should be obvious: This is the part of the trip I enjoyed most. Of course, I enjoyed being with S and her husband, too. We are talking about trying again for a movie night some time soon. Maybe in the next month or so, after the movie crews have gone.
****
That's the story of our trip except for the part about Chicago and the quilt show itself.
So there's more to come in a few days, once I get a chance to sort through some 200 pictures I took at the show and pick the best/most interesting ones. That's not going to be easy, believe me!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Report from the road
Hello to one and all. It's a little after 7 a.m., and I am writing this from a dark motel room near O'Hare Field in Chicago--outside, jets are landing and taking off every minute or so. Even with the motel's thick walls, you can hear them. Here comes another one now.
Just wanted to briefly (!) fill you in on the last couple of days.
We decided to leave early for Chicago because yet another snowstorm was bearing down on the western U.P. The snow was supposed to start about midnight Thursday night, and we didn't want to get caught up in it. So we left home at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
We ran into short showers of sleet and snow on the way south. Near the end, we came upon very strong wind and rain, blowing from left to right across the road as I drove south on a two-lane highway. If it had been a couple degrees colder, it could have ended our trip--it would have been very heavy snow. But it was rain, and we eventually drove out of the worst of it it and got to Appleton, Wis., where we stayed that night. Got there about 10 p.m.
I had been letting S know about our change in plans. We slept a little late Friday (got in late, after all) and then went to visit her and her husband in Oshkosh, about 20 miles away. We stayed there about three hours and had a very nice time. (Much more to come about that later on, including some pictures.)
We left there at about 2 p.m. and resumed our journey south. It was cloudy all day, and we ran into showers here and there. Passed around Milwaukee, got gas, then continued south and into Illinois. Construction on the Tri-State Tollway and some slow places, but we got to our motel at about 6:30 p.m. Supper at Arby's.
This morning, we're heading to the big quilt show. My wife is still sleeping, but now it's just after 8 a.m., so it's time to start waking her up. Pardon me while I open the shades. (Still cloudy, I see.)
Not everything has gone hunky-dory. The motel in Appleton was supposed to have wireless internet, but they were having problems with it. :groans: I did get to watch the end of the late hockey game.
Here in Chicago, it's the reverse: The wireless internet works, but the TV doesn't have the NHL playoffs anywhere! Like it's going on in India or something! :bigger groan: I was ticked! Instead, we went off to do shopping at Target (but didn't get a thing--we were looking for three specific things and went 0 for 3). Then returned to the motel and eventually to bed.
At least I was able to catch up on the news and saw the hockey highlights at a couple of the websites I wrote about last time. I got to see that Don Cherry's jacket Friday night was much more subdued than his Wednesday night psychadelic spectacular. A photo of that is coming, too.
We also called David Friday night. He estimated we had received eight inches or so of snow by that time. He is planning to walk over to the house (it's about five blocks away) to check on the kitties and replenish their food and water. I told him to wait until after the snow ends. That should be this afternoon. He's pretty dependable, so we know he'll get the job done.
The clock radio went on at 5 a.m. today, to a Spanish language station. The TV turned itself on, too. Evidently, the last guy in this room had to catch an early flight.
We are planning to leave for home Sunday morning--as soon as we can get going. Since there will be no hockey to keep me up till midnight, we might even hit the hay early.
Oh, hello My wife is up now, so it's time to wrap this up, post it and start getting ready for a busy day.
Just wanted to briefly (!) fill you in on the last couple of days.
We decided to leave early for Chicago because yet another snowstorm was bearing down on the western U.P. The snow was supposed to start about midnight Thursday night, and we didn't want to get caught up in it. So we left home at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
We ran into short showers of sleet and snow on the way south. Near the end, we came upon very strong wind and rain, blowing from left to right across the road as I drove south on a two-lane highway. If it had been a couple degrees colder, it could have ended our trip--it would have been very heavy snow. But it was rain, and we eventually drove out of the worst of it it and got to Appleton, Wis., where we stayed that night. Got there about 10 p.m.
I had been letting S know about our change in plans. We slept a little late Friday (got in late, after all) and then went to visit her and her husband in Oshkosh, about 20 miles away. We stayed there about three hours and had a very nice time. (Much more to come about that later on, including some pictures.)
We left there at about 2 p.m. and resumed our journey south. It was cloudy all day, and we ran into showers here and there. Passed around Milwaukee, got gas, then continued south and into Illinois. Construction on the Tri-State Tollway and some slow places, but we got to our motel at about 6:30 p.m. Supper at Arby's.
This morning, we're heading to the big quilt show. My wife is still sleeping, but now it's just after 8 a.m., so it's time to start waking her up. Pardon me while I open the shades. (Still cloudy, I see.)
Not everything has gone hunky-dory. The motel in Appleton was supposed to have wireless internet, but they were having problems with it. :groans: I did get to watch the end of the late hockey game.
Here in Chicago, it's the reverse: The wireless internet works, but the TV doesn't have the NHL playoffs anywhere! Like it's going on in India or something! :bigger groan: I was ticked! Instead, we went off to do shopping at Target (but didn't get a thing--we were looking for three specific things and went 0 for 3). Then returned to the motel and eventually to bed.
At least I was able to catch up on the news and saw the hockey highlights at a couple of the websites I wrote about last time. I got to see that Don Cherry's jacket Friday night was much more subdued than his Wednesday night psychadelic spectacular. A photo of that is coming, too.
We also called David Friday night. He estimated we had received eight inches or so of snow by that time. He is planning to walk over to the house (it's about five blocks away) to check on the kitties and replenish their food and water. I told him to wait until after the snow ends. That should be this afternoon. He's pretty dependable, so we know he'll get the job done.
The clock radio went on at 5 a.m. today, to a Spanish language station. The TV turned itself on, too. Evidently, the last guy in this room had to catch an early flight.
We are planning to leave for home Sunday morning--as soon as we can get going. Since there will be no hockey to keep me up till midnight, we might even hit the hay early.
Oh, hello My wife is up now, so it's time to wrap this up, post it and start getting ready for a busy day.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Day 1
"Day 1 of what?" you probably are asking.
Day 1 of the NHL playoffs, of course!
For the next two months, most of my evenings will be spoken for. I'll be in front of the big TV in the living room (or at my computer desk, with the little TV nearby) watching whatever transpires, as 16 teams battle for one old, rather ugly trophy. It is nothing less than the Holy Grail, as far as hockey fans are concerned.
Thanks to some far-sighted work by our local cable TV service (of which I am a director), our local area will be seeing both the broadcasts on CBC and (for the first time this spring) on Versus. Tonight, the first night of playoffs, both channels are broadcasting two games. And wouldn't you know--they both chose the same two games!
But tomorrow night, they will also be carrying two games. And this time, each is different. Plus, the Detroit Red Wings have their first game on another channel. So that's five different games, three taking place early (6 p.m. start locally) and the other two late (9 p.m.).
Regular season games usually last about 2 1/2 hours. But during the playoffs, they go to sudden-death overtime, and if no team scores, they keep on playing. And playing. And playing. The longest game I have watched personally went to four overtimes.
That means they can go way late. I try to stay up to watch the fun, but when they start a period around 1:30 a.m., that's really pushing it for me. In the past, I have tried to make it until 2; after that I let the recorder watch the rest for me.
Those of you who aren't hockey fans won't understand. But Little Miss Confused (Minnesota Wild) does. Indigo Moon Arts (Red Wings) does. Kinnigurl (Vancouver Canucks--oops, they didn't qualify--Anaheim Ducks) does. And I think Texican is allied with the Dallas Stars, though I may be mistaken.
It's a lot of fun and a real adrenaline kick. The games are usually a lot more intense than regular season games, and there are incidents and dust-ups galore. There's tension, waiting for a good chance on goal or the next heavy hit. And each year, one player--each team's goaltender--can carry his team by doing his impersonation of a brick wall.
My team is the Detroit Red Wings. They had the league's best record this year, but I'm not absolutely sure how far they will go, due to injuries late in the season and sometimes erratic play in goal. One other thing bothers me, too. Many of the teams in their conference have beefed up with muscle players who can really deliver a hit. That's not Detroit's game--they go with speed and finesse. That trumps heavy hitting--as long as the top players stay healthy.
Bottom line is, I don't know. I'm hoping for the best, and the story will be told over the next two months.
By some odd coincidence, today was the day when several hockey-related websites have amped themselves up with new content. [URL="http://www.nhl.com"]NHL.com[/URL] has new video channels and [URL="http://tsn.ca"]TSN.ca[/URL] debuted a new look today, also with video links.
We don't get TSN here (the Canadian flavor of ESPN), but CBC and Versus will be watched closely over the next few weeks.
It's a lot of fun, and believe me, I have been eagerly waiting for this. And I'll stay with it to the end, no matter what happens to the Red Wings.
****
The trip to Chicago is definitely up in the air right now. It's because of the weather.
A massive storm will be passing through the eastern U.S. late this week. Parts of the U.S. expect a major tornado outbreak. Other parts (including some of the tornado areas) will see flooding rains on top of rivers that are already over their banks.
Areas near Duluth, Minn., are facing a blizzard. DeeJay will have to make her pre-blizzard shopping trip. And Little Miss Confused will be handling all those anxious shoppers.
Us? We're just supposed to see some snow, sleet and wind up here. Relatively speaking, pretty small potatoes. But I'm the driver.
It's just too hard to call right now. Right now, the warning areas include only the northern tier of counties in northern Wisconsin. If that's really the case, maybe we could drive out of it as we go south. After that, we'll only see rain and wind.
(Sigh.) I'm afraid it's not going to be a pleasant trip. I'm really tired of winter, especially when it extends into mid April. And when I have to drive through a snowstorm ... it's something I try to avoid as much as possible.
So I just don't know right now. We have at least another 36 hours to make a decision--we don't get into the car until Friday morning.
The forecast for Friday is already talking about 3 to 5 inches, following rain, sleet and snow Thursday night. I'm crossing my fingers.
****
We got about 4 inches of wet snow overnight. Ironically, as I was walking home for lunch, I saw a robin--the first robin I've seen this spring.
He was sitting on the roof of the building across the street. He was looking anxiously at a map, and I think he was swearing,
Day 1 of the NHL playoffs, of course!
For the next two months, most of my evenings will be spoken for. I'll be in front of the big TV in the living room (or at my computer desk, with the little TV nearby) watching whatever transpires, as 16 teams battle for one old, rather ugly trophy. It is nothing less than the Holy Grail, as far as hockey fans are concerned.
Thanks to some far-sighted work by our local cable TV service (of which I am a director), our local area will be seeing both the broadcasts on CBC and (for the first time this spring) on Versus. Tonight, the first night of playoffs, both channels are broadcasting two games. And wouldn't you know--they both chose the same two games!
But tomorrow night, they will also be carrying two games. And this time, each is different. Plus, the Detroit Red Wings have their first game on another channel. So that's five different games, three taking place early (6 p.m. start locally) and the other two late (9 p.m.).
Regular season games usually last about 2 1/2 hours. But during the playoffs, they go to sudden-death overtime, and if no team scores, they keep on playing. And playing. And playing. The longest game I have watched personally went to four overtimes.
That means they can go way late. I try to stay up to watch the fun, but when they start a period around 1:30 a.m., that's really pushing it for me. In the past, I have tried to make it until 2; after that I let the recorder watch the rest for me.
Those of you who aren't hockey fans won't understand. But Little Miss Confused (Minnesota Wild) does. Indigo Moon Arts (Red Wings) does. Kinnigurl (Vancouver Canucks--oops, they didn't qualify--Anaheim Ducks) does. And I think Texican is allied with the Dallas Stars, though I may be mistaken.
It's a lot of fun and a real adrenaline kick. The games are usually a lot more intense than regular season games, and there are incidents and dust-ups galore. There's tension, waiting for a good chance on goal or the next heavy hit. And each year, one player--each team's goaltender--can carry his team by doing his impersonation of a brick wall.
My team is the Detroit Red Wings. They had the league's best record this year, but I'm not absolutely sure how far they will go, due to injuries late in the season and sometimes erratic play in goal. One other thing bothers me, too. Many of the teams in their conference have beefed up with muscle players who can really deliver a hit. That's not Detroit's game--they go with speed and finesse. That trumps heavy hitting--as long as the top players stay healthy.
Bottom line is, I don't know. I'm hoping for the best, and the story will be told over the next two months.
By some odd coincidence, today was the day when several hockey-related websites have amped themselves up with new content. [URL="http://www.nhl.com"]NHL.com[/URL] has new video channels and [URL="http://tsn.ca"]TSN.ca[/URL] debuted a new look today, also with video links.
We don't get TSN here (the Canadian flavor of ESPN), but CBC and Versus will be watched closely over the next few weeks.
It's a lot of fun, and believe me, I have been eagerly waiting for this. And I'll stay with it to the end, no matter what happens to the Red Wings.
****
The trip to Chicago is definitely up in the air right now. It's because of the weather.
A massive storm will be passing through the eastern U.S. late this week. Parts of the U.S. expect a major tornado outbreak. Other parts (including some of the tornado areas) will see flooding rains on top of rivers that are already over their banks.
Areas near Duluth, Minn., are facing a blizzard. DeeJay will have to make her pre-blizzard shopping trip. And Little Miss Confused will be handling all those anxious shoppers.
Us? We're just supposed to see some snow, sleet and wind up here. Relatively speaking, pretty small potatoes. But I'm the driver.
It's just too hard to call right now. Right now, the warning areas include only the northern tier of counties in northern Wisconsin. If that's really the case, maybe we could drive out of it as we go south. After that, we'll only see rain and wind.
(Sigh.) I'm afraid it's not going to be a pleasant trip. I'm really tired of winter, especially when it extends into mid April. And when I have to drive through a snowstorm ... it's something I try to avoid as much as possible.
So I just don't know right now. We have at least another 36 hours to make a decision--we don't get into the car until Friday morning.
The forecast for Friday is already talking about 3 to 5 inches, following rain, sleet and snow Thursday night. I'm crossing my fingers.
****
We got about 4 inches of wet snow overnight. Ironically, as I was walking home for lunch, I saw a robin--the first robin I've seen this spring.
He was sitting on the roof of the building across the street. He was looking anxiously at a map, and I think he was swearing,
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Charlie's fishing trip
I had some time Wednesday night to work on photos. Once that work was done, I uploaded them to Photobucket and then started writing a blog entry. I'd say I was about 98% finished with it when I hit the magic combination of keys. I think it was Alt-Cmd-Shift-Z+ Enter. Whatever it was, it was enough to go back to the previous page.
When I hit the forward key again, I discovered that all my dubious creativity had disappeared for a different dimension in a parallel universe.
The Twilight Zone, for short. Let's just say that I was not pleased. As I said at the time, "Grrrrrr."
The most recent photos I worked up were from the big snowstorm early last week. The April Fool's Day storm. It started on Monday afternoon, and really got going after dark that night. When I looked out the back door window on Tuesday morning, the back porch looked not at all like it had the day before, when most of the snow was gone ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-flyingsnow-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The snow shovel was still in position, but now it wore a cloak of white. The railings were burdened with snow. And the wind was throwing around more snowflakes from the roof of the neighboring building. It looked a lot like January.
That was before I shoveled the front walk, caught a glimpse of Plowman, moved my car, and spent the morning at work. By the time I went back for lunch, here's what it looked like--with the addition of my footprints on the porch ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-bkporch-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The wind had stopped, and while the snow was still pretty deep on the porch, the sun was starting to work on it. Later that afternoon, my wife put the shovel to work. On Wednesday, the sun was out for most of the day, temperatures got to close to 40, and the snow melted a little more. For the next two days, temperatures kept climbing ... into the 50s on Thursday and Friday and well into the 60s on Saturday. Much too warm to wear our jackets when we went to Iron Mountain to visit my mom--although we were glad we brought them along when the sun started setting. By the time we got back home, we were back down around 40.
With all the warm weather, the snow has taken a severe pounding--but they are warning that some snow may come back here on Tuesday night. It was snowing in Minnesota and the Dakotas on Sunday morning.
OK, now for the long-promised pictures of Charlie. She has been a busy little cat lately.
A week or so back, it was late at night, my wife was in bed, and I was at the computer when Charlie came to visit. This time, she climbed from my lap up onto the desk and lay down among the cables, papers, magazines and pens that normally reside there. Charlie doesn't mind a cluttered desk ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Then she reached down and started fishing around in the desk drawer. Something had caught her eye. What was she after? ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Look! I think she's got a bite! Slowly, carefully, she pulled out her catch of the day: the earbuds from my iPod ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
But Charlie! Kitties don't listen to iPods! And they aren't made the right size for kitties! You can try it if you want, but ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Do you know what this shot reminds me of? The famous picture of that little white dog who seems to listen intently to the sound coming from a gramophone. Is this a 21st century version of "[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper"]His master's voice[/URL]"?
A few days later, I was watching something on TV while my wife was working at her sewing machine, sewing some scraps of fabric together for a quilt top. Seated nearby, enjoying a box seat view of the action, was Charlie ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Her kitty mattress was the box where my wife keeps some of her fabric scraps. I got a little closer and discovered that Charlie was watching closely as my wife ran the sewing machine. Except when I distracted her ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
My wife said that the whirr of the sewing machine at first bothered Charlie, but she's clearly gotten over that. Here, she tries to steady my wife's hand as she guides the fabric to the needle ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Now how's that for a helpful kitty? When I got a little closer, she wriggled towards me to get her head scratched ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Of course, there's one thing that cats can do better than any human: relax and hang loose. Here, Charlie shows us how it's done, in her own style ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-NapA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
And it looks like my wife has taken a lesson from Charlie, simply by sitting next to her. Sweet dreams ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-NapB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
The big thing coming up for us this week is pretty darn big, all right. We are going to that huge quilting show in Chicago, near O'Hare Field. We plan to leave next Friday morning (stopping in to visit S and her husband on the way south), spend Saturday at the show and drive back home on Sunday.
When I hit the forward key again, I discovered that all my dubious creativity had disappeared for a different dimension in a parallel universe.
The Twilight Zone, for short. Let's just say that I was not pleased. As I said at the time, "Grrrrrr."
The most recent photos I worked up were from the big snowstorm early last week. The April Fool's Day storm. It started on Monday afternoon, and really got going after dark that night. When I looked out the back door window on Tuesday morning, the back porch looked not at all like it had the day before, when most of the snow was gone ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-flyingsnow-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The snow shovel was still in position, but now it wore a cloak of white. The railings were burdened with snow. And the wind was throwing around more snowflakes from the roof of the neighboring building. It looked a lot like January.
That was before I shoveled the front walk, caught a glimpse of Plowman, moved my car, and spent the morning at work. By the time I went back for lunch, here's what it looked like--with the addition of my footprints on the porch ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-bkporch-4-08.jpg[/IMG]
The wind had stopped, and while the snow was still pretty deep on the porch, the sun was starting to work on it. Later that afternoon, my wife put the shovel to work. On Wednesday, the sun was out for most of the day, temperatures got to close to 40, and the snow melted a little more. For the next two days, temperatures kept climbing ... into the 50s on Thursday and Friday and well into the 60s on Saturday. Much too warm to wear our jackets when we went to Iron Mountain to visit my mom--although we were glad we brought them along when the sun started setting. By the time we got back home, we were back down around 40.
With all the warm weather, the snow has taken a severe pounding--but they are warning that some snow may come back here on Tuesday night. It was snowing in Minnesota and the Dakotas on Sunday morning.
OK, now for the long-promised pictures of Charlie. She has been a busy little cat lately.
A week or so back, it was late at night, my wife was in bed, and I was at the computer when Charlie came to visit. This time, she climbed from my lap up onto the desk and lay down among the cables, papers, magazines and pens that normally reside there. Charlie doesn't mind a cluttered desk ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Then she reached down and started fishing around in the desk drawer. Something had caught her eye. What was she after? ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Look! I think she's got a bite! Slowly, carefully, she pulled out her catch of the day: the earbuds from my iPod ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
But Charlie! Kitties don't listen to iPods! And they aren't made the right size for kitties! You can try it if you want, but ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-DeskD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Do you know what this shot reminds me of? The famous picture of that little white dog who seems to listen intently to the sound coming from a gramophone. Is this a 21st century version of "[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper"]His master's voice[/URL]"?
A few days later, I was watching something on TV while my wife was working at her sewing machine, sewing some scraps of fabric together for a quilt top. Seated nearby, enjoying a box seat view of the action, was Charlie ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Her kitty mattress was the box where my wife keeps some of her fabric scraps. I got a little closer and discovered that Charlie was watching closely as my wife ran the sewing machine. Except when I distracted her ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
My wife said that the whirr of the sewing machine at first bothered Charlie, but she's clearly gotten over that. Here, she tries to steady my wife's hand as she guides the fabric to the needle ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewC-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Now how's that for a helpful kitty? When I got a little closer, she wriggled towards me to get her head scratched ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-SewD-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
Of course, there's one thing that cats can do better than any human: relax and hang loose. Here, Charlie shows us how it's done, in her own style ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-NapA-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
And it looks like my wife has taken a lesson from Charlie, simply by sitting next to her. Sweet dreams ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Learn-NapB-3-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
The big thing coming up for us this week is pretty darn big, all right. We are going to that huge quilting show in Chicago, near O'Hare Field. We plan to leave next Friday morning (stopping in to visit S and her husband on the way south), spend Saturday at the show and drive back home on Sunday.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Memories of a terrible day
Nobody, of course, had any idea what was going to happen. It was an ordinary day, after all, in early spring where I was raised--in the suburbs of Milwaukee. I think it was a Thursday. Not sure about that.
I am sure that it was my senior year in high school. I was two months from graduation, and I had a rehearsal after school. I was in the class play. It was a modernized version of the Greek story, "Antigone," and I was King Creon.
The rehearsal went on until about 5:30 p.m. I lived within walking distance of the school and got home around 5:45. The first thing my mom said when she saw me: "Did you hear? Martin Luther King died."
I hadn't heard.
"Why? What happened? Did he get shot?" President Kennedy had been slain less than five years earlier, and the memory of that day was still a raw wound.
And so I caught up with the news on TV. The details were coming out in bits and pieces. Dr. King had been in Memphis, Tenn., to help the city's sanitation workers, who were striking. They didn't know who did the shooting. This happened at a time when a lot of other things were going down. The war in Vietnam wasn't going well. The Tet offensive had taken place a few months ago, shaking confidence in the government's rosy confidence that the war was going their way.
More and more protests about the war and the draft were going on, and the clamor was increasing. Sen. Eugene McCarthy was challenging President Johnson in the Democratic primaries. Then, after McCarthy did very well in the Wisconsin primary, Sen. Robert Kennedy also decided to run against LBJ. I didn't like the war, but I supported Johnson, anyway, because of his work on behalf of Civil Rights and his war against poverty.
Then, at the end of a televised speech about Vietnam, Johnson announced that he would not seek a new term as president. That only happened a few days earlier. And now this.
I don't remember much from that night. Maybe I was in a daze. I knew the TV networks played parts of King's speech from the night before, when he said that he "may not get to the promised land," like Moses. Premonition?
My only clear memory from that night was the Tonight Show, which went on as usual, despite the national tragedy that had taken place. But Johnny Carson made it clear from the start that it was a night for thought and reflection. What I remember most from that show were the Supremes, the popular Motown group, singing "There's a Place for Us" from "West Side Story." And the tears streaming down Diana Ross' face as she paid tribute to Dr. King during the song. I don't think I will ever forget that.
The next few days passed in a blur. I heard there would be a march in downtown Milwaukee in King's memory. It may have been the first time I ever drove down into the central city area. But I made the trip, and I walked from the near north side--the center of the city's black population--to the downtown area and back. Nothing happened except that I skipped a day off from school, so I had to serve a day or two of detention. Small price to pay.
The play came. And went. I did OK. Not great. Graduation came. And went. I did OK. Didn't really seem to matter a lot. Priorities were shifting. Times were changing. What seemed important before had lost its value, and other things were taking over. I started seeing things differently. Thinking for myself.
In two more months, Bobby Kennedy was killed. Murdered, like Dr. King. Two months after that, the Democratic Convention broke down into riots in downtown Chicago; anti-war protesters confronted Mayor Daley's police. And in the end, Richard Nixon was elected president, and the war went on for another six years.
I don't know what the moral of this piece is. By rights, some great insight should be written here, in the very last paragraph, that may illuminate that time and provide light for all of us today. I don't know if there is one.
I just wanted to write about this terrible day 40 years ago that changed the way I look at the world. And I still wish to hell it had never happened.
I am sure that it was my senior year in high school. I was two months from graduation, and I had a rehearsal after school. I was in the class play. It was a modernized version of the Greek story, "Antigone," and I was King Creon.
The rehearsal went on until about 5:30 p.m. I lived within walking distance of the school and got home around 5:45. The first thing my mom said when she saw me: "Did you hear? Martin Luther King died."
I hadn't heard.
"Why? What happened? Did he get shot?" President Kennedy had been slain less than five years earlier, and the memory of that day was still a raw wound.
And so I caught up with the news on TV. The details were coming out in bits and pieces. Dr. King had been in Memphis, Tenn., to help the city's sanitation workers, who were striking. They didn't know who did the shooting. This happened at a time when a lot of other things were going down. The war in Vietnam wasn't going well. The Tet offensive had taken place a few months ago, shaking confidence in the government's rosy confidence that the war was going their way.
More and more protests about the war and the draft were going on, and the clamor was increasing. Sen. Eugene McCarthy was challenging President Johnson in the Democratic primaries. Then, after McCarthy did very well in the Wisconsin primary, Sen. Robert Kennedy also decided to run against LBJ. I didn't like the war, but I supported Johnson, anyway, because of his work on behalf of Civil Rights and his war against poverty.
Then, at the end of a televised speech about Vietnam, Johnson announced that he would not seek a new term as president. That only happened a few days earlier. And now this.
I don't remember much from that night. Maybe I was in a daze. I knew the TV networks played parts of King's speech from the night before, when he said that he "may not get to the promised land," like Moses. Premonition?
My only clear memory from that night was the Tonight Show, which went on as usual, despite the national tragedy that had taken place. But Johnny Carson made it clear from the start that it was a night for thought and reflection. What I remember most from that show were the Supremes, the popular Motown group, singing "There's a Place for Us" from "West Side Story." And the tears streaming down Diana Ross' face as she paid tribute to Dr. King during the song. I don't think I will ever forget that.
The next few days passed in a blur. I heard there would be a march in downtown Milwaukee in King's memory. It may have been the first time I ever drove down into the central city area. But I made the trip, and I walked from the near north side--the center of the city's black population--to the downtown area and back. Nothing happened except that I skipped a day off from school, so I had to serve a day or two of detention. Small price to pay.
The play came. And went. I did OK. Not great. Graduation came. And went. I did OK. Didn't really seem to matter a lot. Priorities were shifting. Times were changing. What seemed important before had lost its value, and other things were taking over. I started seeing things differently. Thinking for myself.
In two more months, Bobby Kennedy was killed. Murdered, like Dr. King. Two months after that, the Democratic Convention broke down into riots in downtown Chicago; anti-war protesters confronted Mayor Daley's police. And in the end, Richard Nixon was elected president, and the war went on for another six years.
I don't know what the moral of this piece is. By rights, some great insight should be written here, in the very last paragraph, that may illuminate that time and provide light for all of us today. I don't know if there is one.
I just wanted to write about this terrible day 40 years ago that changed the way I look at the world. And I still wish to hell it had never happened.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Grrrrr
Once again, efx2's wonderful online editor has bit me in the ass. I mishit a key or two, and a nearly complete entry vanishes to another dimension in a parallel universe.
When will I ever learn? Google Docs, people. Google Docs.
When will I ever learn? Google Docs, people. Google Docs.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The joke's on us
I had a great April Fool's joke played on me today. So did everyone who lives in this region.
Last week, temperatures were slowly (ever so slowly) edging up. The snow in the back yard was almost gone, and I dared think that maybe we were done with winter. Then a storm formed over the weekend, and we were forecast to get 8 to 12 inches of snow. It started mid afternoon Monday, but lightly.
It was still light snow after dinner, when I happened to look at the back porch. The footprints I made when I came home from work several hours earlier were still mostly uncovered. I speculated to my wife that maybe it's not going to be too bad of a storm.
Silly me!
By 8 p.m., the snow was coming down like gangbusters, and it kept on coming for most of the night. When I got up this morning, everything was covered with a thick blanket of white.
How thick? I'm estimating 12 inches easy. I never got out the yardstick. After breakfast today, I set out to clear the front walk. It was supposed to be heavy, wet snow ... and it sure was. Heart attack snow, they call it. And I'm in my late 50s and take some heart medicine.
But my arteries are in very good shape, so it was simply a matter of not overheating, not overexerting and keeping at the shovel. I got to the highway, walked back and started clearing the walk to the neighbor's house (used by the mail carrier--a convenience for her).
It was a little windy, and a few flakes were still flying around but it didn't bother me. Let me put it this way. I've shoveled snow this winter when it was 30 above and I've shoveled snow when it was 10 below. I'll take the 30 above assignment every time.
I noticed my wife had come to the front door. At first I thought she just wanted to watch me throw snow around or guess how much snow we had gotten. But then, down the gap behind the houses, I saw him. Plowman was here!
Plowman is the guy with the big pickup truck and the snowplow who clears the parking area used by our two homes. My car sleeps outside--it looked like a giant snowball on wheels. So I quick had to go through the house, wade down the snowy steps and down the walk to the car, get out the brush and clear enough snow off the windows (we got 12+ inches in the back yard, too) so I could navigate the vehicle. And I had to do it fast--Plowman was nearly done. But he had seen me come out and was waiting for me.
I started up the car, rolled forward a few inches, then backwards and around. Advanced down the alley (to give Plowman the room he needs to do his thing), where I stopped and cleared more snow from the windows and lights.
Before I started shoveling I took a few photos and wanted to get more, but Plowman's arrival pushed that thought out of my mind. Maybe I'll post those I did get in a day or two.
Late winter snowstorms are no fun, especially when the snow is wet. But I look at it another way, too. True, the snow is very wet. That means lots of water content, so it will be melting quickly once temperatures get back into the 40s, like they are supposed to later this week. It will be sloppy and slushy and muddy for a while. Well, that's spring for you. And our water table needs the moisture--it's been a relatively dry winter up here.
****
It's still very quiet on the local sports beat. But the track teams are practicing for the new season, which starts in mid/late April or whenever the snow melts, the grass grows and it's possible to run around in shorts.
Our plans for the Chicago trip (a week from this weekend) are still on. We may visit S briefly on our way south, but only for an hour or so. She doesn't know if her husband can get free to see us. On the trip north, we figure we'll be in no mood for visiting--both too tired and to eager to get home.
I haven't been writing as much as usual lately. Put some of the blame on Charlie. At nights, after my wife goes to bed, I often go to read blogs or write a new entry of my own.
But then I hear an "Urrow?" from under the desk. Yes, that's who you think it is. She hops up on the chair next to me and then steps over onto my lap, where she lies down. Sometimes she sits there quietly for a while and then moves on. At other times, she's snuggling and purring loudly. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! I should try recording it--it should be loud enough for my little recorder to pick up.
After a while, Charlie goes back to the other chair, where she lies down. But then I look over at her ... and she's looking back at me with sleepy eyes. I start feeling it, too. It's getting late. I shut down the computer, take my pills and head for bed.
A few minutes after I lie down, I feel her walking across my legs and then lying down next to my knees or shins. She stays there most of the night. Menage a quatre (with Maggie in position in the opposite corner, next to my wife's pillow).
Intersting thing about Charlie is that she makes a soft, husky sound when she's sleeping. At first we thought she was snoring. But it doesn't come from her throat--we learned it's from her chest. Maybe it's related to purring.
Charlie is a smart cat, and she has been learning things at our house already. I've got photos, and I'm planning to share them before we head off to the Windy City.
Last week, temperatures were slowly (ever so slowly) edging up. The snow in the back yard was almost gone, and I dared think that maybe we were done with winter. Then a storm formed over the weekend, and we were forecast to get 8 to 12 inches of snow. It started mid afternoon Monday, but lightly.
It was still light snow after dinner, when I happened to look at the back porch. The footprints I made when I came home from work several hours earlier were still mostly uncovered. I speculated to my wife that maybe it's not going to be too bad of a storm.
Silly me!
By 8 p.m., the snow was coming down like gangbusters, and it kept on coming for most of the night. When I got up this morning, everything was covered with a thick blanket of white.
How thick? I'm estimating 12 inches easy. I never got out the yardstick. After breakfast today, I set out to clear the front walk. It was supposed to be heavy, wet snow ... and it sure was. Heart attack snow, they call it. And I'm in my late 50s and take some heart medicine.
But my arteries are in very good shape, so it was simply a matter of not overheating, not overexerting and keeping at the shovel. I got to the highway, walked back and started clearing the walk to the neighbor's house (used by the mail carrier--a convenience for her).
It was a little windy, and a few flakes were still flying around but it didn't bother me. Let me put it this way. I've shoveled snow this winter when it was 30 above and I've shoveled snow when it was 10 below. I'll take the 30 above assignment every time.
I noticed my wife had come to the front door. At first I thought she just wanted to watch me throw snow around or guess how much snow we had gotten. But then, down the gap behind the houses, I saw him. Plowman was here!
Plowman is the guy with the big pickup truck and the snowplow who clears the parking area used by our two homes. My car sleeps outside--it looked like a giant snowball on wheels. So I quick had to go through the house, wade down the snowy steps and down the walk to the car, get out the brush and clear enough snow off the windows (we got 12+ inches in the back yard, too) so I could navigate the vehicle. And I had to do it fast--Plowman was nearly done. But he had seen me come out and was waiting for me.
I started up the car, rolled forward a few inches, then backwards and around. Advanced down the alley (to give Plowman the room he needs to do his thing), where I stopped and cleared more snow from the windows and lights.
Before I started shoveling I took a few photos and wanted to get more, but Plowman's arrival pushed that thought out of my mind. Maybe I'll post those I did get in a day or two.
Late winter snowstorms are no fun, especially when the snow is wet. But I look at it another way, too. True, the snow is very wet. That means lots of water content, so it will be melting quickly once temperatures get back into the 40s, like they are supposed to later this week. It will be sloppy and slushy and muddy for a while. Well, that's spring for you. And our water table needs the moisture--it's been a relatively dry winter up here.
****
It's still very quiet on the local sports beat. But the track teams are practicing for the new season, which starts in mid/late April or whenever the snow melts, the grass grows and it's possible to run around in shorts.
Our plans for the Chicago trip (a week from this weekend) are still on. We may visit S briefly on our way south, but only for an hour or so. She doesn't know if her husband can get free to see us. On the trip north, we figure we'll be in no mood for visiting--both too tired and to eager to get home.
I haven't been writing as much as usual lately. Put some of the blame on Charlie. At nights, after my wife goes to bed, I often go to read blogs or write a new entry of my own.
But then I hear an "Urrow?" from under the desk. Yes, that's who you think it is. She hops up on the chair next to me and then steps over onto my lap, where she lies down. Sometimes she sits there quietly for a while and then moves on. At other times, she's snuggling and purring loudly. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! I should try recording it--it should be loud enough for my little recorder to pick up.
After a while, Charlie goes back to the other chair, where she lies down. But then I look over at her ... and she's looking back at me with sleepy eyes. I start feeling it, too. It's getting late. I shut down the computer, take my pills and head for bed.
A few minutes after I lie down, I feel her walking across my legs and then lying down next to my knees or shins. She stays there most of the night. Menage a quatre (with Maggie in position in the opposite corner, next to my wife's pillow).
Intersting thing about Charlie is that she makes a soft, husky sound when she's sleeping. At first we thought she was snoring. But it doesn't come from her throat--we learned it's from her chest. Maybe it's related to purring.
Charlie is a smart cat, and she has been learning things at our house already. I've got photos, and I'm planning to share them before we head off to the Windy City.
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