Takin' the Blog for a Walk

I was curious enough yesterday to ride my bike to Retzer Nature Center for the last showing of "Hubble Vision II" at the Charles Z. Horwitz Planetarium, part of the Earth Day Extravaganza activities. The sky show was educational and the Hubble pictures superb, but even more curious was seeing Mrs. Horwitz there also. It kind of felt like buying a telescope and running into Mr. Hubble. I learned from her as much as I could about her husband and discovered we both had lived in the same neighborhood for over 20 years. What's more curious; learning they lived in the same neighborhood, or living there 20 years and not knowing?

Had an interesting conversation with a craft demonstrator when at Machine Shed for brunch today. I'd never seen a demonstrator there - and he said he's been there Sundays for six years in the off-winter. He asked if I'd seen the Waukesha section of the Sunday Journal Sentinel. Curiously, that happened to be the one section of the paper that I had right in my back pocket. Laurel Walker had done a column on the Intergenerational Folk Art Fair offered by Waukesha County's Retired Senior Volunteer Program today. The artist I met, Tom Hill, was mentioned in the column along with his wife Betty. Tom and Betty create beautiful baskets out of pine needles and sweetgrass in the Seminole Indian tradition. Tom taught himself the skill about 10 years ago and knew the answers to all the questions, as one would have to when teaching children as they do.

My kids have been to these Intergenerational Folk Fairs at school in the past and have loved them. I can see their point. Tom is warm and knowledgeable and has an interesting skill with a pretty good story. He makes beautiful and inexpensive baskets that would make great Mother's Day gifts.

If you'd like to know more about Tom and Betty's baskets, send me an email and I'll put you in touch or stop by the Machine Shed any Sunday.

The free Friday Night Live concerts in Downtown Waukesha don't start for another month, June 1st, but it was hard to tell on a recent Friday that it hasn't already begun. A week ago Friday evening, when the weather was nice and doors were open, I found myself downtown with about an hour to spare so I explored. I was pleasantly surprised by the many musical offerings at bars, a coffee shop and bookstore. I stopped by Martha Merrell's Books and Norm told me there's going to be a new stage near Rochester Deli this summer with the added possibility of live radio remote broadcasts by The Fish. Norm is a big promoter of the Friday concerts and doesn't quit when summer's over. Martha Merrell's continues to host groups on Friday nights and has already scheduled Mike and Kathy of G-Man Music, Bill and Lin O'Connor, Tom and Barb Webber, and Spring City Grass for Fridays in May.

Downtown Waukesha isn't the only place to find good music on a Friday at no cost. I thought about going to UWW's Spring Concert this last Friday because I live a couple blocks away, because it was free, and because the Handbell Choir was performing. I love handbells. I forgot about the concert, though, when I read on WaukeshaNOW.com about the "Gathering of Cultures," another event at UWW. It sounded pretty good - free ethnic food, a band, a jazz and blues singer, Latin dancers, a pinata and more. I expected a couple small samples of food but got a plateload, probably my only chance to taste food from Speen Queen BBQ and Mardi Gras. Not bad.

It looked like the blues singer was going to be a no-show so, after the pinata but before leaving, I wandered the hallways and came across the ad for the Spring Concert, which had already started. I walked fast to the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in time to hear and see the Handbell Choir perform, a stroke of luck. At concert intermission I wandered back to the Commons to see how the setting up of the band was coming, then back to the Theatre for the Symphonic Band. The Symphonic Band is unique because it consists of students from UWW and other schools plus members of the community. I had a few minutes before the symphony took the stage so viewed some fantastic student art in the gallery outside the theatre.

After the final bow, it was probably around 9:00, the Reggae band, Mountain Lions International, had started. The crowd had thinned because of the no-show jazz singer, which is too bad because this band rocked. The remaining 25 or 30 of us, some dancing, had the time of our lives. The band truly enjoyed singing and dancing, drumming and strumming till past midnight. I was amazed by the songs, none of which were offensive, and I loved the upbeat tempo, too.

Mountain Lions International have an interesting story to tell, and not just through their music. The Lions got their start in 1997 when two students from Sierra Leone, West Africa, met at UW Whitewater and discovered they had similar tastes in music and a flair for song writing. They later formed the makings of a band with bass guitarist Jon, lead guitarist Chris, both from Wisconsin, and drummer Juan, from Mexico.

I'm fortunate to be able to partake in many local events and try to keep expenses to a minimum. These two free UWW events were among the best I've been to and it shows how well WaukeshaNOW.com works. I saw it there first.

Just seven hours ago my newest nephew was born. Joshua is 18 inches long and is his mom's first baby. I hope I can be half the uncle to him that my uncle was to me.

My Uncle Lee spent a lot of time with the eight of us kids in our youth. He didn't have a wife or kids so he had freedom to take us skiing, mostly to the U.P., but occasionally out to Aspen or Jackson Hole. We spent hours sailing in his small boat and loved that he took us to movies and used book stores. My brother and I made a couple of dollars and lots of memories helping out in his art studio one summer. He was in his blacksmithing phase of art that year. We helped cast pieces at a foundry and saw him work with smashed railroad axles that were hammered flat and placed in front of a library as sculpture. His work was big and heavy, hot and loud, and he had the muscles to prove it.

I've always admired my uncle. He was and is a free spirit who loves the outdoors and the open road. He loves to read and travel and speaks many languages. He founded SCOLA, a worldwide, educational, satellite network at Creighton University in 1981. He's met Arthur C. Clarke. It's hard to imagine he's a priest.

My Uncle Lee doesn't see as well, doesn't ski anymore and isn't built like he used to be. We still see him occasionally when he's not off travelling the world. I'll next see him May 20th at Marquette's Commencement Exercises where he will receive the Honorary Doctor of Science.

My uncle taught me a lot by example. His love of art, sports and learning. The unpretentious way he conducts himself. The attention he gives the person he's with. I feel he's the reason I'm comfortable around other clergy, because he never used his position in any other than a good way.

My wish for Joshua? A long and happy life, of course, but also many good influences. My uncle would approve.

The St. William spring rummage begins in two hours, 8:00 to 6:00 today and Friday, and 8:00 to 3:00 Saturday. I'm stopping after work today because I saw something I must have, but the usual day I prefer is Saturday when everything is discounted.

Fiday, May 4th, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., will be St. William's 50th Anniversary Sock Hop. With music provided by the Doo-Wop Daddies, the $15.00 tickets include free beer, soda, and pizza. The Waukesha Old Car Club will make an appearance, there will be a silent auction and a raffle. Children's tickets are only $5.00.

Also, I know they asked people to register, but the free Birds of Prey show at Retzer Nature Center is tonight, Thursday, starting at 7:00. Many more things are happening this Earth Week at Retzer, especially Saturday, so if you want to get outside and have a good time, at no cost, give them a call at 262-896-8007 or stop by.

Hope to see you there.

You can't squeeze environmental awareness into one day so, around here, Earth Day stretches between two weekends and probably more. There's the canoeing today with the county park people and lots of stuff during the week and next weekend at Retzer Nature Center. Also, I can't fail to mention what Waukesha County citizens do for the earth every day, or at least should. Recycle.

The weather was beautiful Saturday and there were at least three things I wanted to do; Les Paul look-alike judging at the Waukesha County Museum at 9:00; open house at the Waukesha County Recycling Facility at 10:00; and the Pewaukee Area Arts Council's Showcase of Art at Steinhafels at 11:00, so I rode my bicycle.

I would encourage everyone to tour the recycling facility on Prairie Ave. if they have the chance. Our tour group was eager to learn all we could. We were told everything about recycling, from tipping the truckload of commingled bottles, cans and paper to seeing finished products made of recycled material. One interesting fact I learned is that iron ore is such a limited resource that all the steel products we see today contains at least a bit of recycled.

Paper or plastic? I'm not picky when asked that question at Pick 'N Save so I have a little fun and say "whatever makes you happy," or "whichever is more environmentally friendly," I reuse both type bags at my home. When the bagger chooses it's almost always plastic. Plastic is cheaper to produce and transport and a lot easier to carry groceries in, especially when it's wet out, but it doesn't break down easily in nature and it's made from petroleum. Paper is made using petroleum but it doesn't cause a problem with the machines at the recycling plant and it breaks down in the weather. Paper or plastic? As long as both are offered, there's still a place for both, but don't add plastic bags with your other recyclables, it just causes problems.

Waukesha County's Materials Recycling Facility is profitable. I just read in yesterday's Freeman that this year the participating communities will get back $725,000 for the waste that would have gone to a landfill if we didn't have the facility. I got 75 cents a pound for my aluminum cans the last time I turned them in myself. The recycling facility sometimes gets up to 90 cents a pound for aluminum. And it really doesn't take many cans to make a pound, maybe fifteen or so.

As mentioned earlier, I'm thinking of ways to see Les when he's in town May 10th, and was tempted to enter the look-alike contest. The winner gets to meet Les on the stage. Well, I came this close to winning the contest. You might say I was the runner up. (Maybe the first two finishers could meet him.) I almost won because there was only one contestant, and for a while we wondered if even he would show up. While we were waiting I asked if there was an age limit and there wasn't, so... I was beat out by a kid named Shane Furrer, 9, who happens to be the son of Waukesha alderman Paul Furrer. I'm happy for him, he looked pretty good. When his only other competition was me, then it really was an easy win. And I actually helped him win - I tied his tie for him.

It's a great time of the year: more daylight and less cold, grass greening and spring flowers trying to bloom. Yesterday we saw or heard finches, robins, crows, sparrows, bluejays, cranes, ducks, geese, swallows, red-winged blackbirds, turkeys and, because Nick and I canoed North Lake, a loon, heron and gulls. And those are just the few that we can identify - there were many others.

When I'm freezing in winter I think about this time of year. Next Sunday is Earth Day or, to be politically correct, "Environmental Awareness Day," and we'll be joining many other canoeists and kayakers for a Waukesha County Park System-sponsored paddle down the Fox River if the weather cooperates. A week from next Saturday, the 28th, Earth Week is celebrated in an extravaganza at Retzer Nature Center. A major ingredient to the festivities at Retzer in the coming weeks is most everything is free. The hikes, concert, planetarium, smores around the campfire. All free.

Even more than Earth Day, I look forward to the weekend before or, more specifically, yesterday. For the last seven or so years I've taken part in the Annual Midwest Crane Count, which was yesterday, the 14th. Hundreds of counters in several midwest states are at specific sites from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. on the same day. There's seventeen sites in Waukesha County and I've had the same one every year, which is OK with me because I think mine is best. I also think everyone probably thinks their site is the best one too.

I first got involved with cranes in 1999. I spent a week trying to identify some unusual sounding birds I'd seen flying over the house. I called the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, stopped at the library and talked to several people. As soon as I determined the birds I'd witnessed were cranes there was a Sunday Journal article on hunting them. Now, I know there's a lot of meat on a crane, but I thought it ridiculous to hunt a bird so rare that I didn't even know what they were and many people I talked with didn't know for sure either. In the article, the justification for hunting these magnificent animals is that they eat seed corn. Of course the article was side-by-side with another article picturing a huge pile of corn on the ground because the farmers were producing more than they could store in grain silos or buildings.

We've been lucky with the weather for the count. It's always chilly but every time it's rained it's always stopped by sunrise. This was the first year snow was still on the ground.

One doesn't have to be good at math to be a crane counter. The most we ever counted at my site was three or four. Sometimes I'd only hear them and one year not even that. (This year we saw one and heard another.) Being out in nature is never a total loss, even if we don't see or hear cranes there are lots of other critters to entertain us. Yesterday we saw seven deer as we left our car and saw many additional. Turkeys are also fun to watch and listen to.

One memorable year? Up to last year I was getting up at 1:30 a.m. to deliver Saturday Journal Sentinels, head immediately to my site to count, then to deliver the Early Edition Sunday Journal Sentinels. (Getting up to count was always easy for me because I was already up. Staying up was harder.) Several years ago on the route I stopped to break up a fight between a man and woman at 3:00 a.m. in front of a huge apartment complex and ended up getting a chain to the head. I escaped before he could do more damage but returned when I heard sirens. I gave a statement, had my head photographed and learned what I should have done instead. All I could think about was "I hope I'm not late for the crane count". So it wasn't a good day. Get hit in the head, irritate guys with guns - I had scared away turkeys while walking my site which, unbeknownst to me at the time, open season was on - and deliver early Sunday papers with blood caked in my hair because there was no time to shower before.

Because of the route, this was the first year we could join the others for conversation and breakfast at the Machine Shed after the count. Of course, this was the first year they didn't get together because our coorditators were taking the ACT tests. We went anyway.

One or both boys started going with me three years ago and they seem to enjoy it at least as much as I do. They are proud to usually be the first ones to spot any birds and I'm proud that I can take them out in nature and not have them hate it. It's definitely one of the better things we do as father and sons.

for more information on Earthweek events visit www.waukeshac

I just read an ad in the Freeman for a Carroll College concert and have to mention it because I know how great the students are, because it's coming up this Friday, and because it's only two dollars.

The 7th Annual Benefit Concert will be held in the Shattuck Music Center, 218 N. East Ave, with proceeds supporting VH1's Save the Music Foundation. From 4:00 - 7:00 Carroll's Chamber Ensembles will be performing. At 7:30 featured performer Carroll College Jazz Ensemble with special guest soloist Steve Wiest on Trombone followed by four area bands: Hillcrestroad, Sheersight, Totschlager and Solset.

With tickets only $2.00 at the door you can't go wrong but don't hesitate because Friday is tomorrow.
Contact Carroll College at 524-7182 for more info.

There's no way we could have made it to the Indians / Angels baseball game tonight with the weather the way it was. Forty-five slushy miles between leaving work at 5:00, picking up the kids, parking and buying tickets before a 6:00 game. It just wasn't happening. As fate would have it, my company and surrounding neighborhood in Milw. lost power so I was able to leave an hour early. Just the right amount of time to get home, shovel the walk, eat something and leave for the game.

Eight dollars to park and ten to get in, we were three of 16,375 that had a great time. Confining all of us to the lower boxes and loge box seats not only kept the mess to a minimum but was a more friendly atmosphere. I couldn't believe the "wave" could be so much fun. The last time I checked, the wave was one speed, one direction. Tonight we waved fast, we waved slow, we changed direction. It looked to me like 99% of the people in the stadium were doing it and we were LauGHing Out loUD. The game may have been low scoring but all were having a great time.

As luck would have it, our section was awarded the door prize and a bunch of people showered us with pins, rings, balloons, streamers and tee shirts. I didn't understand how we won it, maybe we were the best behaved, but it was fun.

Other things we saw: The Italian won the sausage race. Three bats shattered. Bernie Brewer launched hot dogs into the stands - two of them disintegrating in midflight.

The view was great from the cheap seats.

We all make sacrifices, especially the military, so it's not surprising that groups of three Roman soldiers spent 39 straight hours this weekend guarding Jesus' tomb at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in freezing temperatures. It was in the 20s when we visited during the day Saturday and I'm afraid to think what the nights were like, even with the small fire they had.

This was the second year males of the congregation have come down the hill to Madison Street for two to three hour shifts during the reinactment. The person in charge of the arrangements? None other than Officer Bill Beglinger. Officer Beglinger has strong community ties and our paths cross often, fortunately not from the back seat of his squad! When Bill isn't running for mayor or teaching my son about D.A.R.E., he can be found at Waukesha North as the resource officer or, as in this case, doing other nice things for the community and his church.

Finding a church service on Friday was easy because many Christian churches commemorate the Lord's Passion around 1:00 p.m. I left work around noon and drove a short distance south on Sixth St. in Milwaukee to the Basilica of St. Josephat where the service was well under way. I ended up staying later than most because I planned on the service lasting until 3:00. It was still early when I left so when I approached Lapham Blvd. heading back north I turned left to see if anyone was still at the Congregation of the Great Spirit four blocks up, and they were. The service was still going strong because they incorporate many Native traditions which takes longer, and they don't usually start mass until everyone has arrived.

There's obvious differences between the two churches. The highlight of the Basilica was the solemnity of the procedings and music and the beauty of the art and architecture. The Congregation of the Great Spirit is more relaxed and unassuming. We didn't share a sign of peace or join hands for the Lord's Prayer at the Basilica, but at the Congregation of the Great Spirit it's possible to shake hands with everyone during the several minute sign of peace. Also, at the Congregation it's important to form a complete and unbroken chain during the Lord's Prayer.

Easter mass at my home parish was nothing special. We arrived plenty early because we knew we'd have to stand if we didn't. We found as many cars exiting from the previous mass as entering for the next, a real traffic jam, and we were lucky to get in and parked. Just as we left our car we saw an ambulance trying to work it's way into the one lane driveway clogged with cars. As soon as it got in we saw one, then another, fire engine trying the same thing, and one actually made it. Right about now I'm hoping the cars are leaving because mass was over and not because something's burning! It turns out an elderly woman had passed out in the long, crowded mass. I'm praying she's going to be OK.

The hinted-at May concert by Les Paul is now finalized and I'm so sad. I would love to attend the May 10th concert at Milwaukee Marriott West but I won't be able to spare $300.00 for a ticket. I'm trying to come up with ideas to get in the door but so far all I've got is begging, volunteering, or dressing up like a young Les and winning the look-alike contest to meet him. I'm open to suggestions, donations or invitations.

The concert is a major fundraiser for the Les Paul exhibit at the Waukesha County Museum, "The Les Paul Experience". Ticket information is available at www.wchsm.org.

Channel Four, WTMJ-TV, reported yesterday that Mayfair Mall will be using face recognition software to screen the mall for criminals. One problem, Channel Four broadcast the April 1st fabrication by WauwatosaNOW's Peter Hart without first checking with Mayfair. I wouldn't have known about it if the Journal Sentinel hadn't pointed it out today. His blog looked legitimate. I would've fallen for it too.

Another April Fools joke is Sunday's Journal Sentinel endorsement of Linda Clifford for Supreme Court. A day later the Journal Sentinel is issuing a cease and desist order to her for her automated phone calls. Turns out the calls sounded too much like they were being made by the Journal Sentinel. They endorsed her but probably didn't want to endorse her.

Last year's fishing license expired yesterday so it must be time to think about spring fishing.

It stormed pretty good last night. The rain brought out the nightcrawlers so when Sir Fido took me for a walk this morning we had to either smoosh them, walk around them or collect them. As it pains me to spend good money on crawlers at the bait shop, the last couple years I've gathered my own then tried to keep them alive long enough to drown them. Tried, because even though I had "official" worm bedding last year, I still managed to kill them. Worms are very picky. They have to have the right moisture, food and cool temperatures.

It may be April Fool's Day but I'm not kidding when I say we probably gathered one hundred worms. All the zig-zagging Sir Fido does anyway helped us cover a lot of territory. We started by just grabbing the big ones off the sidewalk or in the street but got greedy and headed over to the school where we found the mother lode.

Other years, when I've stumbled upon crawlers by chance away from home, I've had to improvise. It's hard to pass up a huge crawler that's going to save you money at the bait shop just for lack of a container. I don't normally keep worms in my camera bag, but they seem pretty well fed at Waukesha County's parks so... This year, even though we were close to home, we used the same container for gathering as we use to collect waste on our walks - the plastic sleeve from the morning newspaper.

Newspapers are more than just another place to show off a picture of your trophy fish. Worms collected in a plastic bag from the newspaper are kept in a container full of wet bedding made of shredded newspaper. Guts from fish caught by worms are wrapped in newspaper and burried in the garden which feed next year's crop, of worms.