I'm in the final countdown before my trip to that neopagan camp this week. Right now, I'm in the process of rounding up the stuff I will need and finding the stuff I have already. (Where are you hiding, head-mounted LED light?)
I invested in a larger cooler, capable of carrying taller Propel bottles. It's even big enough to carry frozen pizzas--they don't carry the kind we like in town, so it will come in handy during out of town shopping trips.
I also invested--that's the word I use--in a new brimmed hat I saw at Kohl's. It's a nice hat, that sells for $25. But it's the end of the season, so the price was cut to $12.50. Then, my wife had a Kohl's coupon worth $10 that expires on July 4th. It was in the car. It isn't any longer. A $25 hat for $2.50. Not too bad. And I gave them a little more room for back-to-school stuff, so everybody wins.
The temperatures in that area are supposed to be in the upper 70s/low 80s, and that's mild for the Fourth of July week in southwestern Wisconsin. They say a slight chance of rain Wednesday and nice the rest of the week. I leave on Wednesday morning and return home Sunday night, so that's four nights on the road.
My friend S can't go, but she suggested that I visit her on the way over there. So I will. It's a few miles out of the way, but not too much--instead of going west, then south, I'll go south, then west.
It will be our first visit without our spouses since Ontario in December 2005. Her husband will be at work, my wife will be back home, so it will be just me, her ... and two grandchildren. Except now she tells me the 8-year-old will be elsewhere that day, leaving just the 7-week baby.
So what's going to happen? Time will tell. Maybe we'll go to lunch. Maybe we'll have a nice long talk. Maybe we will amuse ourselves some other way. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on "nice long talk." In any case, I want to be back on the road by about 1 p.m.--it's about another 3 1/2 hours to the camp.
On Saturday, I was in Marquette for a U.P. all-star high school football game. David came along and invested in a new printer for himself. Not much to report. Our end of the U.P. won 38-14.
That's all for this time. I will be working on some photos from the Milwaukee trip later tonight and plan to post them before I go. Right now, though, I'm going downstairs to watch something with my wife. Don't know what. We'll find something we like.
Meanwhile, if you see a head-mounted LED light somewhere, let me know.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Empty nest syndrome
I have been getting some dangerous ideas lately.
Me? My ideas? Dangerous?
Dangerous in terms of breaking out of the status quo, the rut where my creativity has been stuck for a long time. I must confess to being in the doldrums mentally for more than a little while. Yesterday and today, I discovered some new ideas bubbling around in my skull. I just need time to work on them. Time at the keyboard. Time to think and develop them.
More on that soon, I hope. The big news at home is that the nest on our front porch is empty. We checked it with the mirror this morning, just as I went to work. All that was left was a single unhatched egg. Nobody else is around.
Frankly, I haven't felt too motivated to report on life inside the nest this year. But you have to understand, this is the fourth robin's nest on our porch in the last three years, so how much can I say or show about it that I haven't done before?
I did take a few pictures over the last couple weeks. This first one was taken the morning of June 11, as we left for the Milwaukee trip. At that time, we had two brand new baby birdies ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-611-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next picture was taken on June 17. My, how the little ones have grown!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-617-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Three days later, last Friday, they were poking their heads above the side of the nest when mom's shopping trips weren't fast enough for their hungry tummies ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-620-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next day, I may have inadvertently led to the nest's abandonment. I had to run to the office to get something, and I was late. I rushed out the front door ... forgetting the young family in the nest. Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings above and around me, and birds seemed to be flying everywhere. One of the young birds landed under an awning next door. There wasn't anything to do about it after the fact--I kept on walking to the office.
My wife said she didn't see any action at the nest on Sunday. We got out the mirror Monday morning, and this is what we saw ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-623-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We spent most of Sunday in Iron Mountain, visiting my mom and seeing the newest Indiana Jones movie. We had planned to take my mom along, since she is a big Harrison Ford fan, and the Indiana Jones series were some of her favorite films. But she said she didn't want to go. She wanted to, she said, but her stomach just wasn't up to it.
I'll make some photos soon from our trip to Milwaukee. Last week was busy; I have a little more time next week.
****
This is the week before next week ... when I return to that neopagan camp in southern Wisconsin. I went there for the first time in 2005, which was when I first met S. I took my wife there in 2006, but she didn't care for it, was unhappy--and we only spent a single day there. Grrrrrr. In 2007, I was focused on cleaning out my mom's house, and I decided not to go.
This year, I'm definitely going, and I will spend much of next week there. Like in 2005, I'll have my cell phone along so I call my wife and let her know I'm thinking about her. But she's not going this time. No way, no how. She hasn't asked or hinted, and I'm sure she knows what I'd say if she did.
In fact, S also wanted to attend this year, because she is interested in some of the planned discussions. (She really enjoyed the single day she was there in 2005.) A lot of last week was spent exchanging e-mails about the chances of her getting there somehow, but it's just not meant to be. So what I will be doing is recording those talks on the little digital tape recorder that I use for interviews. Back home, I can convert the files MP3 files, burn them to a CD and send it to her.
The topics?
“The Future of Religion.” Given the limits of rational knowledge and the negativity associated with religion, does religion have a future as a function of civilization? I----- [the guy who runs the event with his wife] thinks so as cults of mythopoetic enthusiasms or enchantments of a post-modern age. The talk will be given in the picnic shelter."
“A Neo-pagan interpretation of the Golden Rule, or why I am not a Christian.” I------ will explore the religious, philosophical and psychological meaning of this teaching. He will provide historical/cultural context and show Gnostic influence to the teaching."
In fact, S is involved in a church herself, a tiny church you haven't heard of, based on early Christian writings, such as the Gospel of St. Thomas.
Anyway, I'm getting off topic.
Here is more about it, from the e-mail I got:
The camp "is a place where people of like mind and shared values can camp, picnic, contemplate, honor the passing of life's seasons, create personal shrines, learn and recreate. It is a place where the human community & the community of nature can co-exist in peace and harmony.
"Come, enjoy and share this beautiful forest eco-system dedicated to the Green Growth of Eco-Human Community. This gathering will be held on a 60-acre parcel in southwestern Wisconsin in the driftless area. It has a mix of open hayfield (planted by a local farmer), pine and mixed hardwoods. The campsite is primitive (no water on site), but porta-johns and there is a 30X40 picnic shelter. Firewood is plentiful. The site is clothes-optional where landscape and night can provide the necessary privacy. A large circle in the woods has been cleared for ritual and celebration. [Village] is about 5 miles away where food, ice, gas and water can be obtained. Directions and other info will be sent to those who register."
Reference is made to "the driftless area." That is the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, which the glacier didn't cover during the last ice age. It's much more hilly there than the rest of the state, which was sort of scraped flat by the glacier.
I wear what most of the people wear at the camp: a T-shirt, shorts, sandals and a hat. But down at the circle (during special rituals and then at night around the fire, when the drummers really get going) many of them wear a lot less, and I am no exception. Most of the people there are in their 40s and 50s. Some younger people, but not as many.
****
After writing this, I recalled about the first camp I attended, in 2005, and when happened over there. It got long, and I finally decided to use it in [URL="http://drdog.vox.com"]my Vox blog[/URL] instead.
If it's not there now, check back in a day or two--I'm still working on it.
****
Yesterday, I woke up with an idea: taking a trip west, by myself. By car. A few hundred miles to visit a friend I made here. Just a visit. I would get some nature photos along the way, of course. Go farther west than I have ever gone before in my life. An adventure!
I don't know. Am I too old for adventures? Is there time enough this summer? We'll see. I'll tell you, though, I really like the idea. Whether I can do it, that's another thing.
Me? My ideas? Dangerous?
Dangerous in terms of breaking out of the status quo, the rut where my creativity has been stuck for a long time. I must confess to being in the doldrums mentally for more than a little while. Yesterday and today, I discovered some new ideas bubbling around in my skull. I just need time to work on them. Time at the keyboard. Time to think and develop them.
More on that soon, I hope. The big news at home is that the nest on our front porch is empty. We checked it with the mirror this morning, just as I went to work. All that was left was a single unhatched egg. Nobody else is around.
Frankly, I haven't felt too motivated to report on life inside the nest this year. But you have to understand, this is the fourth robin's nest on our porch in the last three years, so how much can I say or show about it that I haven't done before?
I did take a few pictures over the last couple weeks. This first one was taken the morning of June 11, as we left for the Milwaukee trip. At that time, we had two brand new baby birdies ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-611-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next picture was taken on June 17. My, how the little ones have grown!
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-617-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Three days later, last Friday, they were poking their heads above the side of the nest when mom's shopping trips weren't fast enough for their hungry tummies ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-620-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next day, I may have inadvertently led to the nest's abandonment. I had to run to the office to get something, and I was late. I rushed out the front door ... forgetting the young family in the nest. Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings above and around me, and birds seemed to be flying everywhere. One of the young birds landed under an awning next door. There wasn't anything to do about it after the fact--I kept on walking to the office.
My wife said she didn't see any action at the nest on Sunday. We got out the mirror Monday morning, and this is what we saw ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-623-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We spent most of Sunday in Iron Mountain, visiting my mom and seeing the newest Indiana Jones movie. We had planned to take my mom along, since she is a big Harrison Ford fan, and the Indiana Jones series were some of her favorite films. But she said she didn't want to go. She wanted to, she said, but her stomach just wasn't up to it.
I'll make some photos soon from our trip to Milwaukee. Last week was busy; I have a little more time next week.
****
This is the week before next week ... when I return to that neopagan camp in southern Wisconsin. I went there for the first time in 2005, which was when I first met S. I took my wife there in 2006, but she didn't care for it, was unhappy--and we only spent a single day there. Grrrrrr. In 2007, I was focused on cleaning out my mom's house, and I decided not to go.
This year, I'm definitely going, and I will spend much of next week there. Like in 2005, I'll have my cell phone along so I call my wife and let her know I'm thinking about her. But she's not going this time. No way, no how. She hasn't asked or hinted, and I'm sure she knows what I'd say if she did.
In fact, S also wanted to attend this year, because she is interested in some of the planned discussions. (She really enjoyed the single day she was there in 2005.) A lot of last week was spent exchanging e-mails about the chances of her getting there somehow, but it's just not meant to be. So what I will be doing is recording those talks on the little digital tape recorder that I use for interviews. Back home, I can convert the files MP3 files, burn them to a CD and send it to her.
The topics?
“The Future of Religion.” Given the limits of rational knowledge and the negativity associated with religion, does religion have a future as a function of civilization? I----- [the guy who runs the event with his wife] thinks so as cults of mythopoetic enthusiasms or enchantments of a post-modern age. The talk will be given in the picnic shelter."
“A Neo-pagan interpretation of the Golden Rule, or why I am not a Christian.” I------ will explore the religious, philosophical and psychological meaning of this teaching. He will provide historical/cultural context and show Gnostic influence to the teaching."
In fact, S is involved in a church herself, a tiny church you haven't heard of, based on early Christian writings, such as the Gospel of St. Thomas.
Anyway, I'm getting off topic.
Here is more about it, from the e-mail I got:
The camp "is a place where people of like mind and shared values can camp, picnic, contemplate, honor the passing of life's seasons, create personal shrines, learn and recreate. It is a place where the human community & the community of nature can co-exist in peace and harmony.
"Come, enjoy and share this beautiful forest eco-system dedicated to the Green Growth of Eco-Human Community. This gathering will be held on a 60-acre parcel in southwestern Wisconsin in the driftless area. It has a mix of open hayfield (planted by a local farmer), pine and mixed hardwoods. The campsite is primitive (no water on site), but porta-johns and there is a 30X40 picnic shelter. Firewood is plentiful. The site is clothes-optional where landscape and night can provide the necessary privacy. A large circle in the woods has been cleared for ritual and celebration. [Village] is about 5 miles away where food, ice, gas and water can be obtained. Directions and other info will be sent to those who register."
Reference is made to "the driftless area." That is the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, which the glacier didn't cover during the last ice age. It's much more hilly there than the rest of the state, which was sort of scraped flat by the glacier.
I wear what most of the people wear at the camp: a T-shirt, shorts, sandals and a hat. But down at the circle (during special rituals and then at night around the fire, when the drummers really get going) many of them wear a lot less, and I am no exception. Most of the people there are in their 40s and 50s. Some younger people, but not as many.
****
After writing this, I recalled about the first camp I attended, in 2005, and when happened over there. It got long, and I finally decided to use it in [URL="http://drdog.vox.com"]my Vox blog[/URL] instead.
If it's not there now, check back in a day or two--I'm still working on it.
****
Yesterday, I woke up with an idea: taking a trip west, by myself. By car. A few hundred miles to visit a friend I made here. Just a visit. I would get some nature photos along the way, of course. Go farther west than I have ever gone before in my life. An adventure!
I don't know. Am I too old for adventures? Is there time enough this summer? We'll see. I'll tell you, though, I really like the idea. Whether I can do it, that's another thing.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Rough way to make a living
We're back from our mini-vacation. We got back Saturday afternoon after three nights on the road in eastern Wisconsin.
Things went fairly well. We ran into some heavy rain on Thursday, but don't get the wrong idea: It doesn't measure up (literally) to the rain that soaked other parts of the Midwest in recent weeks. They got more in the city where S lives; 4 to 5 inches of rain that night, enough to flood streets and create havoc.
Earlier on Thursday, we visited the Mitchell Park Conservatory and the Milwaukee Public Museum. The rain hit us as we were driving back to the motel--very heavy rain, but traffic on the expressway was fairly light and we got back to the motel OK. The rain stopped for an hour or two while we were having dinner, and then it started coming down hard again once we were back in the motel. Enough to create a river in the parking lot ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-RainyNite-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next day, we went north to Cedarburg, where my wife was raised, and saw several roads closed by high water ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-HighWater-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The little creek that passes through town was a rushing river, suitable for whitewater rafting ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-Upstream-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-Downstream-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
S said they wound up with about six inches of water in their basement on Thursday night. But by the time we got there late Friday afternoon, it was hard to see signs of the watery chaos.
That visit went well. She talked with my wife and I until her husband got back from work. Then we went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant (I had a "choriloco") and the next stop was the pool and whirlpool at our motel.
That was different. It was the first time I had been in an indoor pool in many years--maybe the first time since high school! And it was my first time ever in a whirlpool. That was fun. S and her husband stayed with us until about 10 p.m. We left for home the next morning.
In a few days, I'll write more about our trip and the things we saw. Right now, though, I want to show some of the shots I took at the rodeo that was in town recently. I like getting shots of the cowboy action.
First, a few "mood" shots. Like these cowpokes sitting on the fence, waiting for the show to start ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Corral-6-08-1.jpg[/IMG]
Here's a cowpoke getting ready for his next ride--bandaging up the injured parts ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Tapingup-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
And here is another cowboy, cigarette in place, getting his saddle ready. What magical concoction is he sprinkling on it? Baby powder ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-BabyPwdr-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We saw a bull that must have been a magician. He sure made his rider disappear. Now you see him ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Seehim-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
... now you don't ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-NowYou-Dont-6-08-1.jpg[/IMG]
One of the broncs must have been showing off for the camera. Honest. Here, he's got his head turned my way. "You want some action? Watch this!" ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyA-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, it's the cowboy with the smoke and the baby powder. First, off went his hat ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyB-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Then he started bouncing up and down ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyC-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yeah, this bronco buster was getting some sick air ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyD-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
What goes up must come down ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyE-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
But it doesn't always come down where you want ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyF-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Look out below! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyG-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
And another cowboy winds up eating the arena dirt ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyH-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, he walked away from it. A little shakily, but he's a tough dude. You have to be if you want to do this for a living. Could be hazardous to your health.
Things went fairly well. We ran into some heavy rain on Thursday, but don't get the wrong idea: It doesn't measure up (literally) to the rain that soaked other parts of the Midwest in recent weeks. They got more in the city where S lives; 4 to 5 inches of rain that night, enough to flood streets and create havoc.
Earlier on Thursday, we visited the Mitchell Park Conservatory and the Milwaukee Public Museum. The rain hit us as we were driving back to the motel--very heavy rain, but traffic on the expressway was fairly light and we got back to the motel OK. The rain stopped for an hour or two while we were having dinner, and then it started coming down hard again once we were back in the motel. Enough to create a river in the parking lot ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-RainyNite-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The next day, we went north to Cedarburg, where my wife was raised, and saw several roads closed by high water ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-HighWater-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
The little creek that passes through town was a rushing river, suitable for whitewater rafting ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-Upstream-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Mil08-Downstream-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
S said they wound up with about six inches of water in their basement on Thursday night. But by the time we got there late Friday afternoon, it was hard to see signs of the watery chaos.
That visit went well. She talked with my wife and I until her husband got back from work. Then we went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant (I had a "choriloco") and the next stop was the pool and whirlpool at our motel.
That was different. It was the first time I had been in an indoor pool in many years--maybe the first time since high school! And it was my first time ever in a whirlpool. That was fun. S and her husband stayed with us until about 10 p.m. We left for home the next morning.
In a few days, I'll write more about our trip and the things we saw. Right now, though, I want to show some of the shots I took at the rodeo that was in town recently. I like getting shots of the cowboy action.
First, a few "mood" shots. Like these cowpokes sitting on the fence, waiting for the show to start ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Corral-6-08-1.jpg[/IMG]
Here's a cowpoke getting ready for his next ride--bandaging up the injured parts ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Tapingup-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
And here is another cowboy, cigarette in place, getting his saddle ready. What magical concoction is he sprinkling on it? Baby powder ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-BabyPwdr-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
We saw a bull that must have been a magician. He sure made his rider disappear. Now you see him ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-Seehim-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
... now you don't ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-NowYou-Dont-6-08-1.jpg[/IMG]
One of the broncs must have been showing off for the camera. Honest. Here, he's got his head turned my way. "You want some action? Watch this!" ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyA-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, it's the cowboy with the smoke and the baby powder. First, off went his hat ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyB-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Then he started bouncing up and down ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyC-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yeah, this bronco buster was getting some sick air ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyD-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
What goes up must come down ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyE-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
But it doesn't always come down where you want ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyF-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Look out below! ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyG-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
And another cowboy winds up eating the arena dirt ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Rod08-SkyflyH-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
Yes, he walked away from it. A little shakily, but he's a tough dude. You have to be if you want to do this for a living. Could be hazardous to your health.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Muse got sleepy
I was going to stay up a little late on Monday night, writing about something that is on my mind. But I did a couple other things first.
Bad mistake.
I finally got back to the main reason for sitting at the keyboard ... only to discover that my muse had decided to turn in early.
Some things are on my mind. One is about Charlie. While watching her over the weekend, the lightbulb suddenly flashed on.
We have a problem with Charlie. Actually, it's with our older cat, Maggie, who is still not being sociable with Charlie. Maggie, after all, has been with us for 15 years. Charlie's been part of the household for something like three months.
In recent weeks, she has been coming up to Maggie and putting her nose next to Maggie's. Maggie responds to this by snarling and raising a paw. Charlie withdraws with what seems to be a puzzled look on her face. Other times Maggie is lying down, and Charlie comes over and sniffs her fur. Same thing.
It seems to me that Charlie just wants to be friendly, but Maggie isn't having any of it. After watching several of those encounters over the weekend, the lightbulb flashed on over my head. I thought: Charlie is lonely and wants somebody to play with.
We play with her, of course. Sometime it's a marble that we roll on the floor. Sometimes a cat toy--a ball with a little bell inside. Sometimes it's a pair of old shoestrings tied together. Athletic shoestrings, so they are a little stretchy. She enjoys playing with them. But we're not cats, and we've got our silly human things that we always seem to be doing, like going off to work or watching TV or sleeping. Well, Charlie understands sleeping. She's pretty good at it, too.
So now ... I'm really starting to wonder whether we ought to get another cat, a third cat, to be a friend and co-conspirator with Charlie. We know we will get another cat once Maggie reaches the end of her days. Now, though, I'm wondering whether we ought to wait that long.
The cats have been making themselves scarce at home this week: We have some guys putting in new windows upstairs. The old windows were old and ugly and barely worked and leaked heat like gangbusters. We finally could afford to replace them, and we did. So the guys started that on Monday, and Charlie has been using her favorite hiding place--the quiet, dark place behind the TV. When I come home at lunch and sit down and turn on the TV, Charlie comes out of hiding. Purr, purr, purr.
Meanwhile, Maggie has been in her favorite spot, as usual: the seat of an old comfy chair in an adjacent room where my wife does her sewing.
The kitties will be on their own this week. On Wednesday, we leave for a mini-vacation to the Milwaukee area, about 250 miles away. We will be in the city on Thursday, then north of the city, where my wife was raised, on Friday. On Friday night, we will visit S and her husband for dinner and whatever--to be decided. We complete the trip home Saturday morning.
We had the rodeo here over the weekend. Weather forecasts called for storms and wind and heavy rain. We had a little wind, but the other stuff passed far south of us. I took many shots of the action, and some of them are pretty good. I'll try to post a few soon.
Bad mistake.
I finally got back to the main reason for sitting at the keyboard ... only to discover that my muse had decided to turn in early.
Some things are on my mind. One is about Charlie. While watching her over the weekend, the lightbulb suddenly flashed on.
We have a problem with Charlie. Actually, it's with our older cat, Maggie, who is still not being sociable with Charlie. Maggie, after all, has been with us for 15 years. Charlie's been part of the household for something like three months.
In recent weeks, she has been coming up to Maggie and putting her nose next to Maggie's. Maggie responds to this by snarling and raising a paw. Charlie withdraws with what seems to be a puzzled look on her face. Other times Maggie is lying down, and Charlie comes over and sniffs her fur. Same thing.
It seems to me that Charlie just wants to be friendly, but Maggie isn't having any of it. After watching several of those encounters over the weekend, the lightbulb flashed on over my head. I thought: Charlie is lonely and wants somebody to play with.
We play with her, of course. Sometime it's a marble that we roll on the floor. Sometimes a cat toy--a ball with a little bell inside. Sometimes it's a pair of old shoestrings tied together. Athletic shoestrings, so they are a little stretchy. She enjoys playing with them. But we're not cats, and we've got our silly human things that we always seem to be doing, like going off to work or watching TV or sleeping. Well, Charlie understands sleeping. She's pretty good at it, too.
So now ... I'm really starting to wonder whether we ought to get another cat, a third cat, to be a friend and co-conspirator with Charlie. We know we will get another cat once Maggie reaches the end of her days. Now, though, I'm wondering whether we ought to wait that long.
The cats have been making themselves scarce at home this week: We have some guys putting in new windows upstairs. The old windows were old and ugly and barely worked and leaked heat like gangbusters. We finally could afford to replace them, and we did. So the guys started that on Monday, and Charlie has been using her favorite hiding place--the quiet, dark place behind the TV. When I come home at lunch and sit down and turn on the TV, Charlie comes out of hiding. Purr, purr, purr.
Meanwhile, Maggie has been in her favorite spot, as usual: the seat of an old comfy chair in an adjacent room where my wife does her sewing.
The kitties will be on their own this week. On Wednesday, we leave for a mini-vacation to the Milwaukee area, about 250 miles away. We will be in the city on Thursday, then north of the city, where my wife was raised, on Friday. On Friday night, we will visit S and her husband for dinner and whatever--to be decided. We complete the trip home Saturday morning.
We had the rodeo here over the weekend. Weather forecasts called for storms and wind and heavy rain. We had a little wind, but the other stuff passed far south of us. I took many shots of the action, and some of them are pretty good. I'll try to post a few soon.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
That's that
There. That's that.
I've definitely reached a breakoff point for 2008. The spring sports season is over--it ended last Saturday. Hockey season is almost over, too; the NHL playoffs, I mean. It's not over yet, but it will be in the next few days--maybe as soon as tonight.
I thought it would end Monday. We were less than a minute away from the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup, but Pittsburgh scored a late goal, the game went into overtime, and about two hours later the Penguins got another goal to win it.
Their last gasp, I hope. It's gone on long enough. It's time to watch the Wings lift the cup. Then I can move on to other things. I want to turn the page. I have been very devoted to the playoffs, but it's gone on long enough. (Sometimes I think I am overly loyal--to my favorite sports teams and (without being too specific) to other parts of my life.)
Next week, my wife and I will be doing some other stuff. It's our first vacation trip this summer (not counting the April trip to that quilt show in Chicago). This time the destination is Milwaukee. We plan to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Mitchell Park domes and some of the sights in a town about 30 miles north of the city, the town where my wife grew up. She says they have a quilt cottage or museum there. Or something like that. It's related to quilts, anyway.
She said she would be doing some internet research on other places to go in that area.
As for me, I have no real plans. We lived in Milwaukee just after we got married (I was raised in the suburbs, went to school and worked in the city), but we moved away about 30 years ago, and the place has changed a lot. That, I feel, is my past life, and it's over and done with. I might be interested in seeing the Brewers, but my wife's tolerance for baseball is not much greater than it is for hockey, so I'll just let that pass. Frankly, it's not a big priority for me, either. Not any more. Things have changed, and I have changed, too.
About 10 years ago, I visited the suburb where I was raised. Needless to say, it wasn't very similar to my memories. I remembered some of the streets and the places I used to go. But that was long ago. Those places now live only in memory. What stands there now just isn't the same.
Whew! Getting sidetracked and philosophical there. 'Scuse me!
There is a chance we can visit S and her husband, since we'll be driving right past their city. I mentioned that in the e-mail I sent her earlier today.
I'm also going to lift several other paragraphs I wrote to her: just news updates. Good old copy and paste. So I will quote myself:
[I]The high school sports season ended last Saturday with the track finals. I had the tennis and golf finals earlier in the week. Our local team won the U.P. championship in both boys tennis and boys golf, and the girls golf team was third. The track team didn't do as well. The other school I cover also won a boys golf title, and its track teams were third (boys) and fourth (girls) in the small schools division.
Anyway, all that's over. This weekend, we have the rodeo in town. We should return from our trip in time to get pictures at the local car show on Father's Day.
The other big event coming up in the near future is taking my mom to see the new Indiana Jones movie. She is a BIG fan of Harrison Ford, loved the other Indiana Jones movies, and I think a matinee show at the theater near the nursing home (less than five miles away) would be a nice treat for her.
Sort of a delayed birthday gift--she turned 86 last week. When I mentioned it to her recently, she sounded very interested. Not many things interest her nowadays, but that movie made the grade. She just seems a lot more tired more often than before. I suppose that is to be expected.
One more update: Ms. Robin has four bright blue eggs in her nest.[/I]
I didn't send S a picture, but here is a photo I took over the weekend. I got out the chair and mirron and camera and took a look. And inside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-4eggs-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
There was a storm the next night, with the wind kicking up after dark and a little thunder. I turned on the porch light. There was Mrs. Robin, loyally settled in on her future progeny ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-MomOnDuty-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
The other news is a sad note about the passing of one of my all-time favorite musicians: Bo Diddley.
Oh, I love Bo Diddley. And I know how it all started. When I was a kid, the Rolling Stones were just coming over to the U.S.--this was 1965. At that time, they were mostly doing covers of R&B classics, not their original stuff. I liked their music, and I liked their songs--to the point where I looked at the record labels to see who wrote them. And I would see names like Burnett and McDaniel and Dixon.
Dixon was Willie Dixon. He authored many an R&B classic for Chess Records. Chester Burnett was the actual name of Howlin' Wolf. I know OF him at the time, but I never really got to hear much of his music until about 10 or so years ago. And it knocked my socks off. Great, great stuff. Howlin' Wolf instantly became one of my favorites.
But Wolf's music wasn't played on the pop radio AM stations around Milwaukee nor on the FM rock stations that followed. But you would occasionally hear from Ellas McDaniel--whose stage name was Bo Diddley. You would hear Bo Diddley's thumping, hard-rocking music once in a while--done by the man himself. More often, it was done by his disciples. I always loved "Mona" by the Rolling Stones, featuring Brian Jones' guitar work. That was ported over intact from Bo Diddley's version of the song he wrote. And the Yardbirds' rocking version of "I'm a Man," where they spelled the word out and launched that rocket into orbit. That was another Bo Diddley song. Another Bo Diddley classic.
Years pass, and I'm in a record store in Green Bay when I spot a 2-CD Bo Diddley box set put out by Chess. Now I finally had the real stuff. And it's great stuff, folks. I could hear the humor, the interplay with his band, especially maracas player Jerome Green. Bo and Jerome did "Say Man," where they would basically play an upbeat instrumental (guitar, piano and maracas), not sing a single note but trade insults about each other and their girlfriends all through the record.
It starts out ...
J: "Say man."
B: "What's that, boy?"
J: "I want to tell you about your girlfriend. Hehehe."
B: "What about my girl?"
J: "But you don't look strong enough to take the message."
B: "I'm strong enough."
J: "I might hurt your feelings."
B: "My feelings are already hurt, by being here with you."
J: "Well ... I was walkin' down the street with your girl the other day."
B: "Uh-huh."
J: "And the wind was blowing real hard."
B: "Is that right?"
J: "And the wind blew the hair into my face."
B: "Uh-huh."
J: "Hehe. And you know what else happened?"
B: "What happened?
J: "The wind blew her hair into her face."
B: "Yeah?"
J: "And we went a little further. Do you want to hear the rest of it?"
B: "I might as well."
J: "The wind blew her hair into the street."
He would brag about being a man. It seemed every other song had "Bo" or "Diddley" or both in the title. "The Story of Bo Diddley" is another funny one. "A man came up with a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng cigar. And he said, Sign this line, and I'll make you a star." Man, he put out so much good stuff!
And he would do "Road Runner" and make his boxy guitar do riffs that garage bands tried to copy for years. He was trained in violin and played the violin in an instrumental. He'd sing about his home in Mississippi. He reminded us that "You can't tell a book by looking at the cover."
He never felt he got the credit--especially financially--for what he did for music. And he did a lot for music. That ever-present "Bo Diddley" beat. That "shave and a haircut" tempo. Bu-bu-bu-bu-bump-bump. Bump-bump. Many of his songs only used one chord. But would you believe he wrote the '50s song "Love Is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia? It's true. "How do you call your lover boy?" "Come here, lover boy!"
Bo kept touring until near the end--a stroke finally took him off the road permanently. Now he's gone at the age of 79. The man who walked 47 miles of barbed wire. Who used a cobra snake for a necktie. Who had a brand new house on the roadside made of rattlesnake hide. Who had a brand new chimney on top made of a human skull. "Now come on, take a little walk with me, Arlene, and tell me who do you love?"
Here's one famous story. Bo was to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show in the mid 1950s, right about the time when Tennessee Ernie Ford had a monster hit with "Sixteen Tons." Bo recorded that song on one of his albums, and Ed Sullivan wanted him to do that song on his show. So he did "Sixteen Tons" during the rehearsal. And then, during the live broadcast, Bo steps up to the mike ... and plays "Bo Diddley."
Ed Sullivan was less than delighted. Bo never appeared on Sullivan's show again.
J: "I was out with your girlfriend the other day."
B: "Is that right?"
J: "Yeah. Man, that chick was so skinny she had to tie some knots in her legs to make some knees. Hehehe."
B: "Oh, that wasn't none of my girlfriends."
J: "Who was it?"
B: "That was your wife."
J: "Them is fighting words man!"
B: "Is that right?"
J: "You meet me in the alley tomorrow night, after dark, by yourself."
B: "That's OK with me."
J: "You gonna be there by yourself?"
B: :"I'll be there. All by myself."
J: "I know it, 'cause I ain't coming! Hehehe."
I've definitely reached a breakoff point for 2008. The spring sports season is over--it ended last Saturday. Hockey season is almost over, too; the NHL playoffs, I mean. It's not over yet, but it will be in the next few days--maybe as soon as tonight.
I thought it would end Monday. We were less than a minute away from the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup, but Pittsburgh scored a late goal, the game went into overtime, and about two hours later the Penguins got another goal to win it.
Their last gasp, I hope. It's gone on long enough. It's time to watch the Wings lift the cup. Then I can move on to other things. I want to turn the page. I have been very devoted to the playoffs, but it's gone on long enough. (Sometimes I think I am overly loyal--to my favorite sports teams and (without being too specific) to other parts of my life.)
Next week, my wife and I will be doing some other stuff. It's our first vacation trip this summer (not counting the April trip to that quilt show in Chicago). This time the destination is Milwaukee. We plan to visit the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Mitchell Park domes and some of the sights in a town about 30 miles north of the city, the town where my wife grew up. She says they have a quilt cottage or museum there. Or something like that. It's related to quilts, anyway.
She said she would be doing some internet research on other places to go in that area.
As for me, I have no real plans. We lived in Milwaukee just after we got married (I was raised in the suburbs, went to school and worked in the city), but we moved away about 30 years ago, and the place has changed a lot. That, I feel, is my past life, and it's over and done with. I might be interested in seeing the Brewers, but my wife's tolerance for baseball is not much greater than it is for hockey, so I'll just let that pass. Frankly, it's not a big priority for me, either. Not any more. Things have changed, and I have changed, too.
About 10 years ago, I visited the suburb where I was raised. Needless to say, it wasn't very similar to my memories. I remembered some of the streets and the places I used to go. But that was long ago. Those places now live only in memory. What stands there now just isn't the same.
Whew! Getting sidetracked and philosophical there. 'Scuse me!
There is a chance we can visit S and her husband, since we'll be driving right past their city. I mentioned that in the e-mail I sent her earlier today.
I'm also going to lift several other paragraphs I wrote to her: just news updates. Good old copy and paste. So I will quote myself:
[I]The high school sports season ended last Saturday with the track finals. I had the tennis and golf finals earlier in the week. Our local team won the U.P. championship in both boys tennis and boys golf, and the girls golf team was third. The track team didn't do as well. The other school I cover also won a boys golf title, and its track teams were third (boys) and fourth (girls) in the small schools division.
Anyway, all that's over. This weekend, we have the rodeo in town. We should return from our trip in time to get pictures at the local car show on Father's Day.
The other big event coming up in the near future is taking my mom to see the new Indiana Jones movie. She is a BIG fan of Harrison Ford, loved the other Indiana Jones movies, and I think a matinee show at the theater near the nursing home (less than five miles away) would be a nice treat for her.
Sort of a delayed birthday gift--she turned 86 last week. When I mentioned it to her recently, she sounded very interested. Not many things interest her nowadays, but that movie made the grade. She just seems a lot more tired more often than before. I suppose that is to be expected.
One more update: Ms. Robin has four bright blue eggs in her nest.[/I]
I didn't send S a picture, but here is a photo I took over the weekend. I got out the chair and mirron and camera and took a look. And inside ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-4eggs-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
There was a storm the next night, with the wind kicking up after dark and a little thunder. I turned on the porch light. There was Mrs. Robin, loyally settled in on her future progeny ...
[IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b289/drdog/Nest08-MomOnDuty-6-08.jpg[/IMG]
****
The other news is a sad note about the passing of one of my all-time favorite musicians: Bo Diddley.
Oh, I love Bo Diddley. And I know how it all started. When I was a kid, the Rolling Stones were just coming over to the U.S.--this was 1965. At that time, they were mostly doing covers of R&B classics, not their original stuff. I liked their music, and I liked their songs--to the point where I looked at the record labels to see who wrote them. And I would see names like Burnett and McDaniel and Dixon.
Dixon was Willie Dixon. He authored many an R&B classic for Chess Records. Chester Burnett was the actual name of Howlin' Wolf. I know OF him at the time, but I never really got to hear much of his music until about 10 or so years ago. And it knocked my socks off. Great, great stuff. Howlin' Wolf instantly became one of my favorites.
But Wolf's music wasn't played on the pop radio AM stations around Milwaukee nor on the FM rock stations that followed. But you would occasionally hear from Ellas McDaniel--whose stage name was Bo Diddley. You would hear Bo Diddley's thumping, hard-rocking music once in a while--done by the man himself. More often, it was done by his disciples. I always loved "Mona" by the Rolling Stones, featuring Brian Jones' guitar work. That was ported over intact from Bo Diddley's version of the song he wrote. And the Yardbirds' rocking version of "I'm a Man," where they spelled the word out and launched that rocket into orbit. That was another Bo Diddley song. Another Bo Diddley classic.
Years pass, and I'm in a record store in Green Bay when I spot a 2-CD Bo Diddley box set put out by Chess. Now I finally had the real stuff. And it's great stuff, folks. I could hear the humor, the interplay with his band, especially maracas player Jerome Green. Bo and Jerome did "Say Man," where they would basically play an upbeat instrumental (guitar, piano and maracas), not sing a single note but trade insults about each other and their girlfriends all through the record.
It starts out ...
J: "Say man."
B: "What's that, boy?"
J: "I want to tell you about your girlfriend. Hehehe."
B: "What about my girl?"
J: "But you don't look strong enough to take the message."
B: "I'm strong enough."
J: "I might hurt your feelings."
B: "My feelings are already hurt, by being here with you."
J: "Well ... I was walkin' down the street with your girl the other day."
B: "Uh-huh."
J: "And the wind was blowing real hard."
B: "Is that right?"
J: "And the wind blew the hair into my face."
B: "Uh-huh."
J: "Hehe. And you know what else happened?"
B: "What happened?
J: "The wind blew her hair into her face."
B: "Yeah?"
J: "And we went a little further. Do you want to hear the rest of it?"
B: "I might as well."
J: "The wind blew her hair into the street."
He would brag about being a man. It seemed every other song had "Bo" or "Diddley" or both in the title. "The Story of Bo Diddley" is another funny one. "A man came up with a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng cigar. And he said, Sign this line, and I'll make you a star." Man, he put out so much good stuff!
And he would do "Road Runner" and make his boxy guitar do riffs that garage bands tried to copy for years. He was trained in violin and played the violin in an instrumental. He'd sing about his home in Mississippi. He reminded us that "You can't tell a book by looking at the cover."
He never felt he got the credit--especially financially--for what he did for music. And he did a lot for music. That ever-present "Bo Diddley" beat. That "shave and a haircut" tempo. Bu-bu-bu-bu-bump-bump. Bump-bump. Many of his songs only used one chord. But would you believe he wrote the '50s song "Love Is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia? It's true. "How do you call your lover boy?" "Come here, lover boy!"
Bo kept touring until near the end--a stroke finally took him off the road permanently. Now he's gone at the age of 79. The man who walked 47 miles of barbed wire. Who used a cobra snake for a necktie. Who had a brand new house on the roadside made of rattlesnake hide. Who had a brand new chimney on top made of a human skull. "Now come on, take a little walk with me, Arlene, and tell me who do you love?"
Here's one famous story. Bo was to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show in the mid 1950s, right about the time when Tennessee Ernie Ford had a monster hit with "Sixteen Tons." Bo recorded that song on one of his albums, and Ed Sullivan wanted him to do that song on his show. So he did "Sixteen Tons" during the rehearsal. And then, during the live broadcast, Bo steps up to the mike ... and plays "Bo Diddley."
Ed Sullivan was less than delighted. Bo never appeared on Sullivan's show again.
J: "I was out with your girlfriend the other day."
B: "Is that right?"
J: "Yeah. Man, that chick was so skinny she had to tie some knots in her legs to make some knees. Hehehe."
B: "Oh, that wasn't none of my girlfriends."
J: "Who was it?"
B: "That was your wife."
J: "Them is fighting words man!"
B: "Is that right?"
J: "You meet me in the alley tomorrow night, after dark, by yourself."
B: "That's OK with me."
J: "You gonna be there by yourself?"
B: :"I'll be there. All by myself."
J: "I know it, 'cause I ain't coming! Hehehe."
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