Catching Up

I have had a great summer, but it was much busier than anticipated. As a result, this is not a typical blog entry, but more of an update on what Kathleen and I have been up to for the past few months. Think of it in terms of those annoying essays we had to write every fall upon returning to school. Much like those teachers completely lacking in imagination, I call this “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”

I have been busy at the golf course, working several days a week and playing at least one round each week. Unfortunately, the more frequent golfing has not translated into better scores. Still, it is an enjoyable pastime, and walking the course just after dawn is one of life’s great pleasures. I have also been occupied with something I did not anticipate. Through no fault or desire of my own, I find myself serving as the president of our homeowner’s association. Our long-time president and property manager moved away recently due to health issues. Larry did an excellent job for many years, so he left big shoes to fill. I was already a board member, and we decided to change from a self-managed organization to one that was professionally managed. Finding and hiring a good company took a lot of effort, and half-a-dozen of my neighbors contributed considerable time to this endeavor. I agreed to take on the job of president, but I did so with such a lack of enthusiasm that they have begun referring to me as “The Reluctant President.” We are almost done with the transition process, so I am hoping that the heavy lifting is behind us at this point.

Meanwhile, our adopted home town of River Falls continues to delight and surprise us. After a year of being shut-down by Covid, many of the annual festivals and activities have started up again, albeit in somewhat reduced forms. River Falls Days was a four-day celebration with races, games, entertainment, food, beer tents, and excellent music being performed at various venues scattered around town. Recently, there was an art fair along the river downtown, and the Bacon Bash was revived after a year’s absence. Two years ago, the day after we arrived in town, we enjoyed our first Bacon Bash, and I wrote one of my first blogs to commemorate this odd celebration of sizzling pork. These were scheduled events, but I was also pleasantly surprised on a recent visit to the library by one I did not expect. From September 1 through October 26, our little town library is hosting a wonderful exhibit on the photography and journalism of Jacob Riis. Riis was active in the 1890s and 1900s writing stories and documenting the plight of recent immigrants in the tenements of New York City with photographs. His books, especially one called How the Other Half Lives, photos, and newspaper stories were instrumental in leading to reforms of slum areas in many US cities. This powerful exhibit is on loan curtesy of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Library of Congress, and I was astounded to find it here in River Falls, if only for a short time.

A few weeks ago, Kathleen’s brother and his family visited us for a few days. Another friend drove over from Appleton, Wisconsin to join us on the last day. As he was leaving he asked if I had ever heard of Charlie Berens, also known as the Wisconsin comedian. I had not, but tucked his name away in my brain for future reference. An hour later, while out for a walk, I wandered past the ballpark on my way to some paths through the woods. I saw that they were setting up for a show that evening and asked what was going on. The man looked at me as if I had several extra heads and said, “Charlie Berens is performing tonight—I thought everyone knew that. But don’t try getting tickets; he sold out on the first day.” Berens is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin school of journalism who had trouble getting his footing in broadcasting in California. The problem was his Wisconsin accent, and he was encouraged to take vocal lessons that would help him lose that defect. He made those efforts, but at night, he would frequent the comedy clubs where he developed an act in which his accent was the centerpiece. He eventually decided that telling stories about life in the upper Midwest using the local vernacular was his ticket to success. He started doing a video show called the “Manitowoc Minute” and now has numerous short videos on youtube. Some consist of stand-up routines, some are sketches, and one is his commencement address at the Wisconsin journalism school. If you’re not from around here, and want to learn what people sound like or what the cultural values are in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, you can do worse than listen to Charlie Berens.

The highlight of our summer was a much-delayed cruise from Seattle to Alaska. In a general sense, we have decided that, while the trips we take are always wonderful, getting there and getting home is becoming more onerous as we age. The trips to and from Seattle took ten-to-twelve hours, with most of that time spent in crowded and uncomfortable airports. The cruise itself, however, was wonderful: great scenery, fun times spent with good friends, and excellent service. Traveling still makes us a bit nervous because so many idiots refuse to get their shots. Everyone on the ship, however, was required to have been vaccinated, with a recent negative test to boot. As a result, we felt safer on board the ship than anywhere else in the US. We took the Inside Passage along the Canadian border south of the main part of Alaska, but the towns of Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway were small and charming, with direct ties to the Gold Rush of 1897-1899. I re-read Call of the Wild during the cruise to remind me of those days. The weather was surprisingly good, with sunshine and warm temperatures (high sixties) for most of our time on land. The highlight for me was actually at the end of the cruise. With time to kill before our flight, we visited the Seattle Space Needle and, right next door, the Dale Chihuly Gardens. For those who are not familiar with the colorful and imaginative glass works of Chihuly (see picture above), this in itself is worth a trip to Seattle. We have seen his pieces in other places, particularly on a huge ceiling in the Bellagio Casino in Vegas, but to see so many wonderful pieces in one place was really impressive.

As October arrives, many people start thinking of the holiday season. In all-too-quick succession comes Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. To celebrate this part of the year, I leave you with Charlie Berens’ take on a Midwest Christmas Party. Enjoy.