How Grand

Last January Newsweek listed Grand Rapids, Michigan as one of the top ten cities in decline. I lived in Grand Rapids for a few years working for a couple of ad agencies. Actually, we packed up our "62 Beetle with our treasured possessions, along with daughter Elaine and baby Derek, and left our downtown Chicago apartment for the call of the wild North. Now GR is no NY, NY, but it has its charm and its own brand of excitement. Amway is just one town away, Holland MI with its tulips is a short distance in the other direction, Lake Michigan beaches are fairly close and former President Jerry Ford came from GR. (It even sports a museum bearing his name) At one time GR was probably the "Office Furniture Capital of the US and SteelCase Corp, is still located there. (I think) At any rate, GR, undoubtedly had its hackles hackled by the Newsweek article and have replied with what Roger Ebert called "The greatest music video ever made". Even though I was never madly in love with GR, I did enjoy living there and met some wonderful folks, some of who are friends to this day. After watching this video I what a nice place it really was and how I hope that their spirit will keep it off of Newsweek's (or anybody else's dying town lists. What makes this video even more incredible is that it was (supposedly) shot in one take. Take a look at a "dying town".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjjZCO67WI

Who the hell is Carl???

Now that I've recovered from the freezer burn that hit me as I deplaned in Madison Wednesday evening, I'll try to report on our recent Florida trip. (A thirty or forty degree drop in temperature can sure get your attention.) First I would like to thank the Florida Welcome Council for providing a torrential downpour, complete with lightening, thunder and hail, for our arrival. Nothing is more interesting than driving a strange car down a strange expressway in strange weather. Armed with a set of very specific directions, we found our lodgings, checked in and plotted out our four day adventure.
Saturday we decided to head down to Tampa for a visit to Busch Gardens. I have heard many horror stories about driving in Florida. (I guess because some of the other drivers are older than me) Much to my amazement, I found that, if I drove the speed limit (within five or ten miles an hour), I would not be tying up traffic but would be way ahead of it. I know that you will not believe this but, I swear it's true. Driving at fifty five miles per hour, I actually passed, not just one, but two BMWs. I blew by Cadilac Escalades and Lincoln Towncars. Undoubtedly the owner's manuals didn't include the clauses about local speed and traffic laws not pertaining to owners of these vehicles. Busch Gardens was pretty much as advertised and the weather held out until after lunch before pouring some buckets of "Florida Sunshine" on us. Fortunately we had covered most of the outdoor activities in the morning and found a number of "shows" in sheltered areas in the afternoon. After returning to Kissimmee (I believe this is an old Seminole word for "kiss your money bye, bye") we searched out a restaurant for dinner. How cool is Florida? They have slow BMWs, big talking mice, alligators in many forms (shoe, purse and and biting) and restaurants for every taste including the one we chose for Saturday night dinner. This place could have easily been featured on the Sapranos. Greeted by hostess Mama Marie, waited on by daughter Teresa, bartended by son Vito and tables bussed by Aunt Sophie's goofy kid Vinnie. Food was great, we avoided any direct eye contact but after stating how much we enjoyed the meal "Artie the Cleaver" came out of the kitchen to give us appreciative kisses. Needless to say, we left quite a healthy tip.
Sunday we chose to head to the opposite coast to Cape Canaveral/Cape Kennedy/Coco Beach. Once again I was lead dog on the highway passing more than my share of fellow AARP members. The Space Shovel was due to be launched on Monday so, The Space Center was really crowded. This led us to bypass it and head to the beach. It was beach weather to the max. Probably 80ish and an occasional cloud to give a little relief from the Florida sun. The only thing(s) that can disrupt a fine day on a Florida beach is "LOVEBUGS". I had encountered them once before on a photoshoot up on the Florida Panhandle years ago. These delightful little guys seem to swarm in beach areas at certain times of the year (the times of year when I'm at the beach). They are aptly named "Love Bugs" because these horny little devils are seldom seen unattached. They are entirely plural in nature as you can see here.
Monday and Tuesday were devoted to Walt's place. Monday at Epcot and Tuesday at Disney Hollywood Studios. Both were loaded with constant entertainment and lived up to all their hype. We caught as many exhibits and shows as possible and stayed for the final fireworks presentations at both parks WOW!!! Interspersed in the excitement of Disney was a reunion with one of my best high school buddies, George. George along with Ken, Rich and I were were thrown together at a school where, to say the least, we were somewhat out of place. The student body was made up of North Shore elite. Our group was from the Northwest side middle class. But with our DA haircuts, pegged pants, long key chains and box toed suede shoes or engineer boots we made our presence known. Unfortunately after graduation we parted ways. I guess Ken, Rich and George kept in touch to some extent as they took their places in society while I did my best to avoid society. At any rate last Fall after Ken, who lives in the Chicago area, found me via FaceBook. I got together with him a couple of times and got in cybertouch with the other two. Now I had the opportunity to see George after over fifty years. He lives in Fort Meyer and as luck would have it had planned to drive up to Orlando at the same time I was visiting the area. Had a great, but too brief, gab session with George and his wife Anne at Epcot. It was truly wonderful to catch up on each others exploits of the past fifty years. My next goal is to visit Rich in Maryland some day soon.
All in all we had a fine vacation with good weather, great entertainment, good food and a fantastic reunion.
Well we're back all refreshed and ready to face our day to day duties. (A little more for JoAnne to face than me)

A photo moment with George and Anne
Too bad he's aged so much!

Oh Yeah, I almost forgot about Carl! As we were waiting to board our plane to Florida, a salesmany looking guy approach me and said, "pardon me, but has anyone ever told you that you resemble a movie star?" "Well yes I replied" "I'm often mistaken for George Clooney, Ben Affleck or that Reeves kid". "Oh no not any of them but you look a lot like Carl, you know the old guy in UP?" He even went to the bother to bring up Carl's picture on his iphone to substantiate his claim. Well I hope he enjoyed the next hour or so after I reported to a security guard that I over heard him on his iphone saying something about a special device on his ibook. That's what I call ivengence!

Okay! I'm the one on the right.

We're goin' to . . .

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Old picture. But, it works.
Just replace remove the beard, add glasses (and a few years) and it's up-to-date.

Huh???

For the past month I've driven by this billboard a number of times. It sits on the edge of a small community of about twenty homes and one bar. The speed limit along this stretch of highway is 55mph which means most people who pass this sign are going at least 60. I've been trying to read the message without success. Now, years ago, I designed window displays for Sears and an old rule of thumb was that signage should be readable to someone riding by on horseback at 7mph. That may explain the purpose of this sign as this particular area is heavily populated by Amish families that travel, either by horseback or horse drawn buggies. At first I thought that I would pull up next to one of their buggies and ask them what the sign said but because the photo depicted a note placed under an automobile windshield wiper blade, and very few Amish buggies are equipped with wipers they probably didn't think it pertained to them. Finally, I pulled onto the shoulder of the road to take a closer look. This was no easy task as cars and trucks were whizzing by at 55mph (HA!!!). What a nice message. Too bad it's wasted on a billboard that's nearly impossible to read. Maybe instead of some Art Director's "I hope I win an ADDY award" solution, a simple bold faced typeset
"DON'T DRIVE BUZZED!" would have been more effective. As an old Art Director and a tax payer I think I have a right to bitch about this use of Federal funds. And, just because I'm old, I can say, "Don't put that on my lawn!"

It's even hard to read close up.

IT'S HERE!!!

Spring has arrived. Not in the form of a red breasted bird, or green buds on the trees or tractors busting up dirt clods in the fields but in the form of juicy balls of ground beef on the grill at Pete's Burgers in Prairie du Chien. Every year for the past one hundred and (I think) two, Spring is heralded in by the aroma of burgers and onions grilling in a little shack on the main street of this riverfront town. For the real lowdown on the history of Pete's, check my archives, April 25, 2009, "Make Mine Plain". Jo and I were at a loss for dinner ideas last evening. Fridays around here means that the few restaurants that are in the area are filled with greasy fingered friendly munchers getting more than their fill of crispy chunks of dead fish. These people are serious about Friday Night Fish Fry so don't dare ruin the harmony in the kitchen by ordering any thing that isn't deep fried and doesn't exist under water. I actually heard about a guy that was run out of town by a greasy fingered mob because he ordered sushi at a local cafe. And, just try to get a piece of fried chicken that doesn't have a distinctive fishy taste. Ha!!! At any rate somehow the thought of "A Good Burger" entered into the conversation. Hey! Is Pete's open for the season? (Pete's is closed during the winter leaving the New Year's Eve Carp drop as the main Prairie du Chein event) We checked Pete's web page (Yes they have a web page - http://peteshamburgers.com/ They may cook a little old fashioned but they know the difference between bytes and bites.) A quick twenty-five mile trip to Prairie and we were first in line to grab a sack of juicy burgers and head down to the (flooded) riverfront for a romantic spring dinner. Today the temperature is supposed to go above freezing, the grass is getting green and Pete's is open (only on weekends). How good is life?

Pete's grill loaded with the next bunch of juicy burgers
(about seventy-five patties).
The pile in the middle is onions and "The Secret Ingredient" (Water)
No one gets served until the full grill is done cooling.

The only choice you have to make, with or without onions and which,
if any, of these many condiments.

This is it... the Ruth's Chris of Prairie du Chein!

April Fool

As usual, I've had all sorts of ideas for a "Great" new blog. But, as usual, I either forget these "Great" ideas or realize that they're not that "Great". Now, as I look out my window at the lovely winter scenery, I realize that there have been many "Great" ideas recently that, if nothing else, have made life rather interesting. For instance, right now the "Great" Global Warming idea doesn't look so hot! And the "Great" idea to store my snow blower away for the season, doesn't seem to "Great" either. So, maybe, for now, I'll just stick to a few ordinary thoughts and ideas. For starters, although I've had my suspicions, my Granddaughter Catherine finally came out this week. Yep she's admitted that she's a "Billiken" (or will be as of the Fall Semester at St. Louis U.) The accompanying pics pretty much support those suspicions. (that's Catherine on the right) Enough said.
Late last week JoAnne's Grandmaing genes really kicked in. This resulted in a quick trip "Up Nord" ta see the Grandkid Eddie, don't ya know. I normally enjoy the drive but after following a semi at around thirty miles an hour for, about, thirty miles, it wasn't shaping up to be a real joy ride. The reason for the delay was because of the two or more inches of "Slow" covering the road (that's a mixture of slush and snow). Just as I started to consider turning back, the semi pulled over to let me pass and the road conditions improved. On to "The Cities" where Grandma was rewarded with a welcome by a smiley little Eddie and Grandpa got paid for his driving chores with freshly baked, homemade scones. After a quick visit which involved Reid and Summer shopping, Grandma Jo spoiling Eddie and Grandpa eating scones, it was back on the road to the Sunny Southland. The River is pretty high right now, lapping up fairly close the the road's edge in places. Lakes appear where no lakes belong and the Eagles are busy raising their newly hatched kids. Actually, this time of year the Vultures move in as the Eagles proceed farther North. So, Eagle sightings are fewer and farther between. From a distance it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the Vultures and the Eagles. They're both large, black and have enormous wing spans. The sure fire way to pick out the Eagles is the giveaway white head and tail. Although, due to the cold weather, a lot of the Eagles were wearing little knit ski masks therefore making identification a lot more difficult. We did encounter one rather exciting incident, two Eagles engaged in a mating ritual. They completely ignored any sense of decency and went at it right there in broad daylight. My first reaction was to stop and take pictures but the fear of being caught by the DNR with "Birdporn" in my possession made me think twice. Besides I was anxious to get home in time to enjoy some good old fashioned Wisconsin Spring weather.
Meanwhile back to "Great" things. Last Friday I was privileged to take part in a project to "Feed My Starving Children" at the Fennimore Firehouse. This involved volunteers preparing and packing meal kits which are shipped around the world to feed kids that don't get fed very often. I'm proud to say that I was part of a group who in an hour and a half packed enough nutritious food packets to feed thirty three kids for a year. (For more information see www.fmsc.org )
A few other "Great" ideas include - not mentioning the Cubs, and writing down my "Great" ideas in the future. Another idea maybe "Great" maybe not - post a few pics from "Up Nord".

Could this be a future Billiken?

"Roomies"

Everyone but the dog got the joke.

" You're getting sleepy. When I snap my fingers, you say, 'Grandma' ".

"these two ardvarks walk into a bar................"

Here We Go Again

The invitation was tempting, the weather was fair, (not below freezing) the wind was blowing out and it was April Fools Day so why not accept the offer and head South to the Land of Lincoln and Wisconsin Democrats.
Early Friday morning I ventured out of the comfort and security of my little "Clock" place and was immediately greeted with the first of many April Fool jokes, SNOW! The weather guy on WGN Radio promised no snow in Chicago so off to meet the guy with the tickets, Derek. After a quick check of equipment, peanuts, KitKats, Jolly Ranchers, Hersey Miniatures, gloves and warm hats we hit the road for a wonderful day at the old ballyard. An uneventful car ride, a short hop on the El and squeezing in as the last two to make it onto the overloaded bus made for a fairly pleasant trip down. The car ride always provides an opportunity for the kid and I to solve most of the world problems while the El ride gives us a reason to pray a prayer of thanksgiving as we witness the Expressway traffic we left behind when we moved North. We arrived early which gave us a chance to take a lap around the outside of the stadium and check out the new statues and shops (bars) in the area. And once inside we seek out the "old timer" vendors who never seem to change, the familar groundskeepers who just slow down a little more each year while the new, younger ones eagerly scrap, rake, sweep and run around meaninglessly.

Ah but there was no joy in Wrigleyville that day, the mighty Cubbies struck out, grounded out, flew out popped out and just simply, lost out. At any rate it was still a great day and the return of Vienna Hot Dogs to Wrigley almost made it worth while. Young Sebastian is just learning the meaning of being a Cub fan. Here's his first reaction...

Just think of all "The Next Years" he has to look forward to!