So, pretty impressive, isn’t it? My name, right above Oprah’s face. Yeah, let’s just say I’ve got friends in high places…or not.

 

In case you can’t see it, it says: “Karen Waldkirch, if Oprah gave you a bunch of money, but you had to give it all away, what would you do?” Oh and there are probably at least several hundred other Tosa residents that got the exact same message in their issue of People Magazine. Oh snap.

 

The idea is to promote Oprah's new show called "The Big Give" which premieres Sunday, March 2nd on ABC. The premise is obvious and the idea intriguing. No doubt it'll be another tear-jerking blockbuster, a la "Extreme Home Makeover."

 

But it made me think…locally, rather than globally. If that Ms. W. gave this Mrs. W. a bunch of money, what would I do? After the obligatory mani and pedi, of course. (Hey, a girl’s gotta look good on the local news, right?)

 

But seriously, if I could only spend the money right here in Tosa, what would I do? Listen in while I daydream….

 

First, I’d bring back Drew’s…only better. How could I make Drew’s better except to have it come back in all its quirky glory? Well, I’d add a big old-fashioned Soda Fountain! Wouldn’t that just be the best?! I can see it now. Walking in on a hot summer day (remember what hot used to feel like?!), sliding up to a padded spinning stool and ordering a basket of fries and a chocolate malt. Pure bliss.

 

Secondly, I’d extend the bike path on the parkways from one end of Tosa to the other. No more jumping up on the curb to save your life once you hit Swan Boulevard.

 

Thirdly, how about a big, fat paving budget to eliminate the craters and sinkholes on our roadways? While we’re at it, more salt than the dead sea and more plows than Fairbanks, Alaska?! And along with the plows, there’d be a virtual SWAT team of “snow technicians” to jump out and dig out the sidewalks, driveways and front walks that get buried by the plows.

 

I’m sure I could go on, but why not let you, the readers, in on the fun? That’s why we have the snazzy comment feature. If my BFF (best friend forever, for the alphabetically-challenged), Oprah, gave you a bunch of money, how would YOU spend it in Tosa? And while we’re at it, maybe that’s a good question for our mayoral candidates!

 

Speak to me people!

I love fireworks. I love them because when they explode above you, they’re huge. They’re loud and so much larger than life, or seemingly so. I love the concussion of sound that echoes off buildings and shakes you to your very core. I love that there is absolutely no way to duplicate them or replay them. Watching them on TV is so disappointing that it should be against the law. No sirree. It’s the real thing or nothing at all. And to me, the best fireworks are smaller shows were you can be up close and smell the smoke and see the sparks, much like it’s always been in Wauwatosa.

Last night, being the 4th of July, we Tosans were treated to our annual Independence Day fireworks display. After a day that included a crowd-pleasing parade, picnics and various celebratory activities, lots of us headed to Wauwatosa West High School for fireworks. Or, at least, that’s where we thought we were headed. When my husband and I arrived, (after our teenage daughter successfully separated herself from us), we were about to follow the crowd headed behind Tosa West. Then we heard a man ask a police officer where the fireworks were being launched. “Oh, they’re shooting them off at Whitman, straight up in the air,” said the officer. Since we were just barely past the footbridge over Hwy 45, we decided to head over toward Whitman to get a little closer vantage point.

So we parked our lawn chairs and our blankets facing east on a hill overlooking the tennis courts and sports fields surrounding Whitman Middle School. It was an outstanding view, probably the best available. (I have to say, still not as spectacular as Hart Park, but a good substitute, nonetheless.) Still, it made me wonder. The people that were over at Tosa West were quite a bit back from the launch point of the fireworks. If they had been given the choice, would they have preferred to be with us over at Whitman, instead of gazing across Hwy 45? There was plenty of room over at Whitman even though there were several hundred of us that discovered this secret spot. Why was it that all information online and in print said that the fireworks were at Wauwatosa West? Did they think that we would be confused knowing that the events during the day were at the high school but the fireworks were at the middle school?

If there’s one thing I know about Wauwatosans, it’s that they’re quite good at navigating. Anyone that has given directions to a destination in the Village can attest to that. I haven’t yet heard any complaints about the fireworks venue shift, but I can’t help but think that a few fireworks devotees were a little miffed to be set further back from the launch site than expected. So my only recommendation to our city officials is that next year, wherever the fireworks are really being launched, let us know. We can handle it and we promise not to park our lawn chairs past the yellow police tape. Wherever that is.

I don’t know if I’m unique, but I always thought of Swan Boulevard, south of Menomonee River Parkway, as a well-kept secret. Once I had figured out that it was the quickest way to Highways 45 and 94 and a way to avoid Mayfair Mall traffic when trying to get to Bluemound Road, I was hooked. I even started suggesting it as a route to our house when friends and family from Illinois came to visit. (Hey, we have to let them in the state once in a while. Think of the tourism revenue!) And, I hate to admit it, but I sometimes go a little faster than the posted speed limit, due somewhat to the light traffic there most of the day, except at around 5 pm weekdays. All in all, Swan Boulevard was a nifty solution for my daily travels.

Well, that’s about to end...and soon. Signs posted along Menomonee River Parkway announce that there will be construction on Swan Boulevard beginning in July. According to the MMSD (Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District) website , Swan will be reduced to one lane each way for at least one year. And, the posted speed limit will be 25 mph. Gulp. This is going to be a very busy area...and not a shortcut at all. Suffice it to say, we should all consider an alternate route.

If you’ve driven through this area in the past couple of weeks, you’ve noticed that it has been transformed. Once the MMSD put up their bright orange fencing, the landscape went from wild, open fields to a giant, barren space that looks even larger than it did before. The change is startling, much like the transformation of Hart Park, which seems to have increased in size, since the beginning of that project.

For the last few years, in the fields far back of the county grounds near Swan Boulevard, crews have been busy digging and blasting, late into the night. In fact, a couple of years ago, the blasting was such that every day at around 8:00 am, the sirens would blare and our house would shake a bit. My husband jokes that perhaps they were building an underground missile silo under cover of Wauwatosa. Talk about a well-kept secret! Now that the county grounds have been cleared of brush and trees, his clandestine theory doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Although I, for one, am not big on conspiracy theories.

In any case, this mammoth project will not only take millions of dollars, it will take a lot of our patience. Relax, people. This is going to take a while. All we can hope is that in the end, our secret will be restored.