There’s a brief but interesting discussion on the Tosa Town Square about watching fireworks on TV. This is something that fascinates me, for no good reason except that I have a strong opinion on the topic.

 

Here’s the thing: I love fireworks. I love TV. (Sad, but true.) So, you would think that combining two of my favorite things would make a new thing that I would like even better. Not so much.

 

I believe that fireworks should never be shown on TV. Never. They just don’t work. To me, fireworks on TV seem like a great idea. You don’t have to battle crowds, look for a spot to sit, or soak yourself in bug spray.* You can sit in your comfy, perhaps air-conditioned, house and enjoy the show.

 

The thing is, there’s nothing less-fulfilling than watching fireworks on TV. Except perhaps watching taped Olympics coverage when you know the results. (Don’t worry. I’ll get on that soapbox later in the summer.) I have no interest in what Mike and Carol think about the fireworks. Zero. In fact, they annoy me to no end.

 

To truly enjoy a fireworks show, you have to earn it. You have to search for parking. You have to lug and carry stuff until you’re sweating. You have to try to get comfortable. And then, hardest of all, you have to wait. And if you have young children, you have to listen to the endless questions and whiny cries: “What time is it?” “When will they start?” “I’m bored!” “I have to go to the bathroom.”

 

But when the fireworks start…when you feel that first gigantic percussion resonate in your chest…it’s so worthwhile.

 

And I agree with the citizens on the Town Square. Skip the music, unless by music you mean the chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” that you can’t avoid joining in on.

 

While I have your ear, let’s talk a little fireworks etiquette:

 

(1) Leave Fido at home. I’ve seen far too many cowering, trembling pooches at the Tosa fireworks every year. The dogs do not look happy and their owners are clearly not enjoying themselves.

(2) Leave the sparklers at home. Sparklers in your backyard – good idea. Sparklers in a giant crowd of people – very bad idea.

(3) Unless you’re joining in the Oohs and Ahhs Chorus, please don’t talk over my fireworks. It’s only about 30 minutes. Feel free to chat before or after. Definitely not during.

(4) Wait to leave or be nice. The crowds are going to be HUGE. You may as well take your time leaving or accept that it will take you a while. Honking or getting irritated adds nothing to the equation.

 

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy and SAFE 4^th of July! See you at the fireworks!

 

*In my last post, I talked about the shortage of bug spray at local stores. A visit yesterday to the Walgreens at Hwy 100 and North Ave. proved me totally wrong. They had lots of bug spray. Just in time for the fireworks!

Teens these days. They’re so, so, so…willing to sacrifice their time and comfort and….gasp...even their cell phones to do something for other people.

 

Wait…what?! Right now you’re wondering if I’m serious, right? Believe it or not, I am.

 

Saturday morning, at the crack of dawn, more than 50 teens and 15 adult leaders from three Wauwatosa churches gathered in the drizzle at St. Pius XI parish. They loaded gear into a fleet of full-size vans and prepared to drive to Kentucky where they will build and repair homes for some of the poorest people living in the Appalachian Mountains. (Later this summer, other groups will venture to South Dakota and Milwaukee’s inner city to do similar work.)

 

I have heard about The Appalachian Service Project (ASP) for many years. It seems that every teen or adult that has ever gone on this trip has had nothing but great things to say about the experience. This year, my daughter joined the group, as did WauwatosaNOW’s own blogger, Maddie McLennon.

 

I find it pretty impressive that so many teens would give up an entire week of their hard-earned summer to work really hard for someone they don’t know and then sleep on an air mattress in an un-air-conditioned facility. Talk about going outside your comfort zone!

 

Thinking back on my own teen summers, I’m embarrassed to admit that they were largely self-serving, unless my mom finally guilted me into doing something worthwhile. Suffice it to say that I never did anything remotely resembling service to others. I’m pretty proud that my daughter didn’t follow in my footsteps.

 

As a parent, it seems very strange to be out of touch with my daughter for an entire week. (Cell phones are not allowed on the trip, nor would they likely get reception in such a remote area.) Today, we usually have instant access to our kids wherever they go. The idea that I can’t check in on my daughter is a little unnerving…but also somewhat liberating.

 

Maybe this experience changes parents as well as teens. Maybe it was time for us to let go a little and see just exactly what our children are capable of doing on their own.

 

I can’t wait to hear my daughter’s stories and hope that Maddie will also share some with all of us in her next blogpost. If you think of it, say a prayer for safe travels and a meaningful experience for all involved.

Maggie Bersch was the youngest daughter of Dennis and Clare when she succumbed to childhood cancer at the tender age of eight. Her smile is remembered by the many lives she touched, especially those at Christ King School, where she was a student. Her classmates and those of her older sisters rallied around Maggie and the family during her long illness. And although she was loved and supported by so many people in the Christ King community, and cared for by the medical team at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, it wasn’t enough to keep her here with us. Maggie lost her fight with cancer in November of 2004.

However, Maggie’s smile lives on in so many ways. It lives on in the memories of her family and friends and on August 30th, it will live on through the participants of MAGGIE’smile, a 1 Mile Fun Run (and Walk) to benefit the Maggie Bersch Memorial Fund at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The fund was actually started over thirty years ago by Maggie’s grandparents, Dennis and Mary Bersch, and enhances the stays of children who need to be in the hospital. It was renamed in her honor after her death.

It would make Maggie smile to know that so many people will be gathered in her name to help put smiles on the faces of the kids at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

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Counting Our Blessings

I know we’re all sick of the rain, but I was reminded this weekend that we were truly blessed that Tosa wasn’t hit harder these past couple of weeks.

Yesterday, my husband, daughter and I went down to Glenview, IL where my family lives to lend a helping hand. Glenview is very similar to Wauwatosa, only a little bigger. Last Thursday, they had an unexpectedly strong storm packing 70 mph winds. Most residents in the area were without power since the storm.

My parents were in pretty good shape with their primary loss being a refrigerator full of food that had to be tossed. They spent their power-less days doing old-fashioned things like listening to the radio and reading books.

Unfortunately, my sister and her husband ended up with more than three inches of water in the basement. To make matters worse, their bedroom is down there. Needless to say, it was a mess! And yet, even they were lucky compared to residents of other areas of the Midwest. I have a friend near LaCrosse whose home is a total loss.

Sometimes you realize that you're really, really fortunate. Yesterday was one of those days for me.

So, have you put that new bumper sticker on your car? The one that says: “I’m Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.” No? Well, neither have I. Although I am proud of this honor, it seems to lose its impact when I know that we’re ALL Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. But I did read through the issue, or perhaps browsed through it would be more correct. The one thing I did learn was that YouTube had a huge effect on our world this year. Of course, it had a huge effect on the bank accounts of the three unassuming fellows that founded this website that features videos by regular people like you and me. Or should I say, other People of the Year.

And so this got me thinking: I wonder what YouTube offers the people of Wauwatosa? Well, you might be surprised to know that there are 19 videos produced for and by Tosa residents. Some are videotaped performances from Tosa East and West. One enterprising individual made a 6-minute video of a home for sale. (No word on whether it was successful.) There are two videos that give you a behind the scenes look at, well, the life of a teenager. Compelling? Not really, but probably fun for them to watch. Then there’s the video titled: “We got fired from DQ” in which two recently terminated Tosa DQ employees drive past the restaurant and rant about their lack of money and their former employer. (Parental advisory on this one. These kids are upset and don’t hold back on their language.)

One of the truly interesting things you’ll find in a search of Tosa YouTube videos is a 3-part video which shows the Menomonee River Flood of 1997. I think most of us remember this unbelievable event and yet I have always had a hard time adequately describing it to others. This video does a good job showing several areas of Tosa under flood waters. It’s definitely worth a look, unlike a lot of other things on YouTube.

The recent flap in the Journal Sentinel about Wikipedia and the Lake Express made us all realize that if you say anything loud enough and in a public place, somebody will believe it. Although it calls itself a “free encyclopedia built collaboratively,” Wikipedia is merely a place for know-it-alls or know-a-little-bits to spout off, with little or no repercussion.

So, I was thinking, hmm....what exactly would Wikipedia say about Wauwatosa? Well, we have our own, nice little page. Well, maybe nice isn’t really the operative word, mostly because the main photo on the Wauwatosa Wikipedia Page (say that five times fast) is of “Municipal Tank No. 5.” Yes, if there’s a tourist out there who actually consults Wikipedia for travel information, they’ll see a photo of one of our lovely blue water towers. What surprised me is that there are 5 of these behemoths in our fair city. Who knew? Well, besides the Water Department, that is.

You also find out from Wikipedia that we are what is known as an Edge City, which does not mean we favor a certain brand of shaving cream, but rather that we are a relatively new concentration of business, shopping and entertainment outside a traditional urban area.

According to the Wikipedia Wauwatosa page, there are two main points of interest: The Anunciation Greek Church and the Library/City Hall Building. Apparently, everything else is what makes us so “edgy.”

There is some brief historical information, which may or may not be accurate and there is also this bit of trivia: One of the world's first airliners constructed by Alfred Lawson and Vincent Brunelli took its maiden flight in 1919 from what is now Currie Park. Hope those beautiful blue water towers didn’t get in the way!

So, if you fancy yourself a Wauwatosa historian, I guess you can feel free to head over to the Wikepedia Wauwatosa Page and edit to your heart’s content. And while you’re at it, why not put a picture of something, anything more attractive than Municipal Tank No. 5.