Takin' the Blog for a Walk

Monday was rainy, so Tuesday morning I followed a cloud to the Milwaukee Road steam engine which was here for a visit. I was quite surprised because I thought I'd missed it after I saw it in last week's paper. I was able to sneak my bike past a parking attendant and right up to the train as it very slowly started pulling away. Huge clouds of the blackest coal smoke and a steam whistle that used to be a lot more common in the Menomonee Valley were two reasons so many picture takers gathered. The shiny black engine hauling matching black coal and water tenders pulled away from the Amtrak station to switch tracks then reversed to join with a modern diesel and ten or so passenger cars. The steam engine was going to pull the cars and the Amtrak engine all the way back to Minnesota. The diesel engine going along for the ride was going to provide electricity for the cars and help on hills if needed.

I couldn't wait until the end of the day Tuesday so I could try out my fancy new Weber grill, a gas / charcoal hybrid. Of course got out of work late, got home late but finally lit the coals and it's never been as easy. All I had to do was pour charcoal out, turn on the gas valve and push the igniter button. Am looking forward to a summer of much grilling.

I heard Ben K. play his guitar last year on a Friday and again this last Friday during Friday Night Live downtown. I love his playing, especially the entire songs he plays up the neck by hammering-on and pulling-off, but his stage in front of Steaming Cup was way too small.

Even though I loved Ben's playing, my favorite group of the evening was Spring City Grass, a bluegrass group. I loved hearing the two sisters play their fiddles and loved the energy of the stand-up bass player but the amplified jazz band across the street made it difficult for the large Spring City Grass crowd in front of Martha Merrell's to hear the music.

One of the largest applauses of the evening was for a guy riding by on his motorcycle with three small, cute dogs in the sidecar sticking their heads out, and I have to applaud Friday Night Live for bringing people downtown and shopkeepers for staying open late.

The Waukesha Police bike auction was yesterday so I rode one of my bikes over to the Delafield St. station and left with a $5.00 model. The 200 bikes sold for between $1.00 and $150.00. A lot of good deals were had saving large families a lot of cash. I noticed that often the first bidder was also the winning bidder, especially since many bikes sold for a dollar and never got another bid.

Other things noticed while takin the blog for a Wauk.: Les and Bev, my old landlords on Northview, celebrated their anniversary at Texas Roadhouse Saturday. Tam and I celebrated our anniversary at the same place last month. My parish, St. William, celebrates their 49th anniversary today and kicks off the year-long 50th celebration. The parish first met at the Park Theater on this day in 1957.

It was a good weekend with good weather and the only bugs out were fireflies. There was lots to do for everyone but sometimes the best is the unpredictable: The couple in their 20s playing hopscotch on Corrina Blvd., the three girls blowing soap bubbles in the Frame Park Garden, an oriole in the yard, a super deal on a nice bike...

Why is it illegal to keep a "Picasso" in the City of Waukesha?

I usually ride my bike the rest of the way to work from 5th and Wisconsin in Milwaukee after being let off there by Wisconsin Coach. The weather was nice Tuesday so I detoured west on Canal Street in the Menomonee Valley to see "Nature Bell" up close at the suggestion of Mary Louise Schumacher, a Journal Sentinel arts writer.

Nature Bell is an original, temporary, organic piece, see video by Roy Staab that I've whizzed past on the 25th Street rotary but never stopped at.

Two minutes after turning right on Canal I noticed Picasso and stopped. As soon as we started talking a woman pulled over and got out of her car. She was wearing a halter top. Picasso was wearing a halter. She's a Marquette student. Picasso is a miniature horse. In a city that used to move on four hooves there are now just two stables in the entire city licensed to have horses. Picasso pays $55.00 to the City of Milwaukee annually to live in his stable on Canal Street.

Continuing on the Hank Aaron Trail near the Menomonee River, past 3 or 4 other sculptures on view through September, I arrived at "Nature Bell" and felt the furry softness of the tall reed sculpture as it swayed in the breeze. Staab's quiet piece offers a wierd contrast to the construction and traffic all around it.

With the outlawing of horses in Waukesha will "Historic Downtown" fall victim to the car the same way "Historic Moor Downs" did?

Will the Glacial Drumlin Trail in Waukesha ever have more sculpture than just the 1950's train wreck remnants west of the city?

6/25 addendum
I stand corrected. Picasso is a service animal - a doctor prescribed him - so the city would have to allow him or face stiff fines. To learn more about Picasso click.

Saturday evening was as beautiful as the day was warm - some trees still in bloom and not too many bugs yet. Grandview Blvd. is still under construction so, besides more things to see and investigate, it's also a lot quieter as it's closed to through traffic.

The expansion of the Eagles Club on Grandview coincided with the road construction and, even though the Boulevard will take several more months, the grand re-opening of the club was this Saturday. Passersby can now look right into the bar area through the many large windows to watch players at two pool tables and bar patrons as they watch the large screen T.V.. The new building has a clean, well-lit appearance - an airy aerie.

Two long time Eagle Aerie 453 members, Don and Cindy Jansta, have run the parish rummage sale at my church forever and Cindy's outstanding volunteerism and citizenship has earned her a spot in Wisconsin's 2006 Eagles Hall of Fame, one of only three in the state. I've been told that it takes years of applications for most inductees but Cindy's many years of helping others have spoken for themselves and she was awarded the distinction on her first effort. Way to go Cindy!

Today is the first day of my new regularly-scheduled vacation; two days off a week every week. Instead of 20 days off per year I'll now have 124, more than a third of a year. Instead of being envious of students for their summers off they can now envy me. You see, for the past 20 years of weekends, well over a thousand total, I worked in all kinds of weather to see that stores in Waukesha received their Saturday, Early Edition Sunday (the Bulldogs), and late Sunday Journals then Journal Sentinels.

I always knew I had a good weekend job: fresh air, friendly people, peacefullness of the night, adrenaline rush of delivery on a deadline, but the reason it lasted so long is also the reason it ended. I survived 20 years in the business because I only had to get up at 2:00 a.m. and deliver two days each week. Changes in distribution of the paper in Waukesha now require a 7 day commitment and with my other job I wasn't able to do that.

So, what would you do if you had your first Saturday off in many, many years? The first thing I did was sleep late, about 6:30. This morning, instead of delivering the Bulldogs, I Wauk'd the blog. Sir Fido isn't a bulldog but a poodle - terrier mix, a Perrier, and when he asks for fancy water he gets an icecube. While S.F. checked his pee mail on our walk up Oaklawn and down Norton (and left some spam of his own), I observed birdsong and quiet and yards planted and landscaped nicer than ours, most of them, so I'd better get busy, there's lots to do!

I hope to concentrate my writing on my knowledge of Waukesha and its people, but am looking forward to trying new things also. Things I've wanted to do but never had the time until now.

Saturday's killer sunrise competed with a rainbow and the bow won. The treasure it left behind after it dissipated was a cloud-shrouded mountain range in the sky so achingly beautiful that there was no place I'd rather be. The omen was savored as a hint of the day to come.

When a columnist, media personality or show I like signs off for the last time, I'll try to read or hear every word and savor them. There's uncertainty, emotion and feeling and I often learn more about the person or show than I ever knew before.

My 75-year-old dad passed away just before Fathers' Day exactly one year ago. I savored our last hours together. I concentrated on his look, his smell and feel. I didn't want him to leave and it upset me that he had to.

Thanks to a cousin's invite, I attended Waukesha West's 2006 graduation Saturday, June 10. There was literally one graduating senior for every day of the year. A teacher of English for over 30 years, Chris Beck, gave a humorous and thoughtful "Message to Seniors" speech. She told the story of another woman who, when asked the most important thing she learned in her 80 plus years, said "Wherever you are, be there." And again, "Wherever you are, be there.

Chris said that since some fellow students are no longer with us we should be even more aware of our own existence. She also told us to savor the moment, wherever we are.

I'm 45 years old and I've never been to a high school graduation...until now. I savored every moment.

Happy Fathers' Day!