I delivered over a million papers in my 20 years with the Journal and Journal Sentinel. My favorite issue was always the one I was currently delivering because I liked my route. I liked the challenge, the fresh air and running into old friends and making new ones.
I met my future wife on the route and took our boys along since they were babies. My oldest was just starting to drive and I was contemplating a second generation on the route when I learned it was over for me in May of this year. So, I'm not celebrating Newspaper Carrier Day today, but instead, am celebrating the dedication of the Fox Riverwalk. I loved working for the Journal Sentinel, but I'm not sad, because today I experienced some of the best of what I was missing while working, though with bittersweetness.
I rode down to the river, said "hi" to Mayor Nelson, then found a seat for the
Waukesha Symphony concert. The front row of chairs were situated so close to the Orchestra that I had to turn my knees to avoid the bow of the principal cellist. Being so close to the symphony was to be a part of it and they could've charged anything they wanted. Instead, it was all free, thanks to the Bryant's.
Wandering around after the dedication was a joy because the weather was great, there was plenty of live music in the air and lots to see. The Fall Art Crawl soon started and, since I hadn't been to one in a while...
For me, the galleries and beautiful works of art are just one part of the crawl experience. Today I enjoyed meeting many people, several of which were the artists themselves. One artist at the Goff House Gallery I met, a cancer survivor named Yvone, told me the whole story behind her "God gifted" work and left me amazed. Another, a young man with his first showing at River's End Gallery,
Peter Westermann, was showing the most creative and distinctive digital art. A student at Carroll College, he's got a bright future ahead of him.
While Peter is just starting out, one of the persons I ran into today, a favorite teacher from my Butler Middle School days, is getting ready to retire. It was a privilege to be among his students when he first began to teach in the mid 1970's. My old teacher told this old student that he's got leukemia. His old student prays for him and thanks him for all he's done for him and for the City of Waukesha.
Tim, the young athlete with leukemia I blogged about Aug. 13th, has been attending his high school classes, but it hasn't been easy.
Preps Editor Art K. wrote a nice piece about him in Thursday's Sports section.
