Point Made

Some stark realizations and landmarks from this week Report on my physical health. I don't know what to do. I never get colds, but I've got sleeve full of snot, and my nose is like a lot of politicians I know, it won't stop running. I'm eating Vitamin C doses like they were gummies because my vitamin C's are gummies. And so are my One a Day's and vitamin D. Why don't they make CBD gummies? The weather outside is frightful. I didn't leave my building for three days last week. It wasn't the cold, I have jackets for that issue. No, it's the ice. I was walking up the eastside of Astor. The sidewalk from just south of the County Claire was a solid sheet of ice. I tried to look for bare spots that I could travel over. It's often like finding the dry rocks in the stream bed to get to the other side of the river with dry feet. Only in this case, I found myself on ice. I couldn't turn around for fear of falling. Taking the trip through the...

Things I Value, And Some I Don't By Jeff Jordan Some friends and I were discussing the operation of a food kitchen; their church runs for the needy. The question came up about older men not wanting to participate. The discussion quickly came down to two points of view. I tended to agree with the opinion that older men looked at a meal in places such as a church, as embarrassing admission of their state in life. The other thought was that possibly older men were taking advantage of the program and those that didn't were not living in the area where the meals were distributed.   It really doesn't make any difference how that discussion finished because we really don't know the answer to the question. But it did get me thinking about how so much has changed in my lifetime. No, I won't try and shock the younger generation about the cost of gas, bread, and cigarette cost "when I was a boy." It's been done already and doesn't make a lot of sense. ...

Pondering My Life Experiences and Suddenly Discovered Limitations by Jeff Jordan  The Beginning of the Long Weekend. Each year my wife travels to New Orleans for the Memorial Day Holiday. She visits her friends Linda and Melinda. I call them the Louisiana Coven. This is not meant as an insult. Rather its a bump in the ribs with a smile and a “You know I love you all” expression.  These ladies speak on a conference call at least once a week. They each represent the leg of a stool, which will not stand if one of them is not involved. My wife needs these trips to keep her sanity. I’m a load, so are our kids and then there’s the “job”.  Just before she left, my wife resigned from her job as the Executive Director of a Museum here in Milwaukee. She had been at this job for five and one-half years. Maria took it from a pile of problems to a well-managed institution. It’s not that her board looked at it that way. I could tell you why she quit but then I might be violati...

Stick It Where The Sun Don't Shine I'm thinking of consulting with friends, who may have flown out of Milwaukee, to reassure me that the sun is still shining. They could assure me that the warming rays of light from the sun are just not penetrating the cloud layer that has taken permanent residency over us. I'm running out of vitamin D supplements. (We got one day of fantastic relief on Sunday, fifty-seven degrees and sunshine.) The Long and Short of It The Academy nominated short films were screened at the Oriental Theater this Sunday. I have to say, given that it’s Super Bowl Sunday, I was surprised that upwards of sixty people attended. Full disclosure: I dislike the Academy Awards. In general, I think award shows are symptomatic of everything that is wrong with America. We actually have lawnmower races for god's sake! Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if You’re a Girl ) - Carol Dysinger, UK, 39 min. Afghan girls go to school, which is a dangerous thing...

One thing I wanted to do this year is to use my skills as a writer to help perform public service. What is it they say? Be careful what you wish for. As previous posts have pointed out, I'm writing a column for UrbanMilwaukee.com. I'm also writing a three-part series on How To Become A Bus Driver For MCTS, to be published on their online newsletter, Rider Insider. I recently (literally moments ago) completed a long-promised obituary for a close friend. I promised to do it before she died. No rush as long as she didn't involve herself in an accident. The lady is as fit as pair skinny jeans. Then there is always a manuscript of my fiction work at hand. I love writing fiction for a lot of reasons. The one I cite most often is the ability to kill someone and not have suffered the consequence of the act. But honestly, most writers would admit they write for themselves, and while all of us would love to be successfully read and enriched by the effort, we'll write regard...

When I wrote a few lines about the effect my Mother-in-laws passing had on me, Pamela, a friend in excellent standing, wrote to me that she wished I would write her eulogy. One catch, I was asked to write it while she was alive. (Full disclosure: Pam offered to write mine in payment.) Missing the Email Queen I can quickly get into the proper state of mind for this task because I had lost my more frequent contact with Pam when Maria and I moved to Louisiana. Pam is a couple of things to me that are probably obvious but compelling to mention in a piece like this. Her intelligence, charm, and energy are right out in front of her like a family coat-of-arms. Older people are frequently leaning on their age and purported wisdom to form opinions. Pam prefers to stay informed with new information. As a community activist, she often resisted taking on more than a behind the throne activism as for her role. However, her work ethic and stubborn determinism betrayed her to the whi...

If there is one thing I know for sure is the words my friend, Anne Wilde, gave me several years ago. She said, "You can just feel it when you're in the place where you belong." Those words echoed in my head when I decided to move back to Milwaukee. But more than just feeling as if I was in a comfortable place, I knew I had to become part of this place. I couldn't just sit back and watch the game. I realized from my experience in Appleton that I have some facility for writing, that is beyond my fantasy that I write compelling fiction. I have to give a shout out to Jon Croce, publisher of Appleton Monthly Magazine, for that opportunity. Since coming back to Milwaukee, I have been given a chance to write for Urban Milwaukee, which is a digital news source that is widely read and respected. My editor at Urban Milwaukee is Bruce Murphey, who is not only publishing my work but helping to make me a far better writer. My first article for Urban Milwaukee. Also, I'm...