I managed to get down to Rockford, Illinois for their On the Waterfront event. It takes place annually over the Labor Day Weekend. I believe the event has been around since 1983. Word is it emerged out of the ashes of that era's devastating recession years.
I have always liked Rockford's gritty and sprawling old industrial town. The Rock River is damn wide as it rolls through Rockford. The water comes from my neck of the woods up here in Wisconsin - Jefferson where the paperwork of my existence are kept at the County Seat; Fort Atkinson where I was born; Janesville where I live now; Beloit where I once worked.
The old tall buildings in Rockford are a departure from our own Madison up here were they have a height ordinance. Rusty old fire escapes stairs still zig-zag down the sides of the old brick structures.
The Rock River is part of the event as the carnival is on the East Side and the east side and the music stages and the lion's share of the food are on the West side of the river. Of course there was a floating raft set up about 100 yards out to chip golf balls at.
The eateries are primarily set up by civic groups and area venders. I got a dandy hot dog from the Sweet Adelines music club; a pork chop sandwich from the Winnebago County Pork Producers; and, some seductive homemade French fries from Cronies Grill.
The four-day event catacombs the downtown area. It must be quite a logistics undertaking to pull it off. There are businesses and loft apartments that have to keep functioning during the event. I was there on Saturday afternoon. Everyone seemed to be quite at ease with the arrangement.
I heard a couple of good bands on two different stages. One was a young group with a gritty but friendly edge called "Hope Despite." The other band was "Los Bandits De Michigan" who have a diverse presentation incorporating the accordion sound into several genres of music. Apparently "Weird Al Yankovic" kicked off the event on Thursday night - would have liked to seen him finally.
On a political and logistical note, cities that are unable to pull off dynamic, complex, multi-day, inner-city events like this need to get down to Rockford and take a page out of their book. I can't be a bad thing on any level to get people in to your downtown for several days in this beleaguered economy.
The On the Waterfront event in Rockford, Illinois is cool with Cool Dadio.
Look for them over Labor Day Weekend every year. Visit the Web site at: http://onthewaterfront.com for more information.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Marine Sergeant Luke James Zimmerman, 24, of Luxemburg, Wisconsin, died Friday, October 27, 2006. He was killed in combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Sergeant Zimmerman was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Zimmerman had a long desire to become a Marine. He was class mates with Jesse Thiry, another Luxemburg man who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq in April of 2004. Luke was a 2000 Luxemburg-Casco High School graduate. He ran cross country and track and wrestled while in high school. He wrestled varsity for two years, finishing his career at 145 pounds. Zimmerman had shipped out in the summer of 2006 for Iraq after signing up for another enlistment in the Marines. Before that his unit had spent some time in Japan. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Luke had worked at Julie's Café in Green Bay for four years starting out as a a dishwasher, but because of his people-person skills, moved out front as a cashier. He was said to have never missed a day of work. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 11 notes Sergeant Zimmerman was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. At the time of his death Luke Zimmerman was survived by his parents Claire and Richard Dombrowski, of Luxemburg; brother, Leonardo Zimmerman; stepsisters, Brooke and Toni Dombrowski; grandfather, Alfred Dennisen, of Green Bay; and, stepgrandmother, Rosemary Gagnon, of Green Bay. Mairne Sergeant Luke Zimmerman was the 62nd Wisconsin military service person be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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I was thinking of my mom the other day as I was writing about her tenacity for sending cookies to me and my platoon members while overseas in the Amy. Years later, after Dad died and she lived in the modest house they had chosen together to retire in, she made an observation I have never forgotten. But, let me set up her vantage point in life.
Both Dad and Mom had grown up in the country during the Great Depression. Dad only left the farm where he was born to spend time in the Army during World War II. Mom moved to town as a teenager to follow her dad as he sought work. Years later, both my parents then lived the lion's share of their lives together on my Dad's farm.
In the country, one relies a great deal on community. You help your neighbors without being asked. Doors were rarely locked. You endeavored to get along with people. You might need them one day. Back in the days when my mom lived in the town where her dad found work, they too reached out to be good neighbors. Housed were built with huge front porches and patios...people sat out front and knew their neighbors.
After they both moved off the farm, and because my dad had died soon after, I made an effort to peek in on my mom more often than I used to. She lived in a ranch style house built in the early 1970s behind the mall in her town. It was the consummate suburban construct - no sidewalks, no porches; they boasted attached garages with automatic doors. It is easy to forget which house is which considering they all look the same.
Once I asked her who lived in the house across the street just catty-corner to her house.
She looked across the street with a rather sad look and said, "Who knows? The car comes home, the car windows are tinted, the garage door opens, the car is sucked into the garage, the house window shades are pulled, some kid stops in now and then to cut the grass in the summer and shovel the snow in the winter."
And it was so, all up and down the street and neighborhood at large - and the theory still stands.
"Garage Door Theory!"
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Marine Sergeant Luke James Zimmerman, 24, of Luxemburg, Wisconsin, died Friday, October 27, 2006. He was killed in combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Zimmerman was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Zimmerman had a long desire to become a Marine. He was class mates with Jesse Thiry, anther Luxemburg man who was killed in Fallujah in April of 2004. Luke was a 2000 Luxemburg-Casco High School graduate. He ran cross country and track and wrestled in high school. He wrestled varsity for two years, finishing his career at 145 pounds. Zimmerman had shipped out in the summer of 2006 for Iraq after signing up for another enlistment in the Marines. Before that his unit had spent some time in Japan. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Luke had worked at Julie's Café in Green Bay for four years starting out as a a dishwasher, but because of his people-person skills, moved out front as a cashier. He was said to have never missed a day of work. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 11 notes Sergeant James was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. At the time of his death Luke Zimmerman was survived by his parents Claire and Richard Dombrowski, of Luxemburg; brother, Leonardo Zimmerman; stepsisters, Brooke and Toni Dombrowski; grandfather, Alfred Dennisen, of Green Bay; and, stepgrandmother, Rosemary Gagnon, of Green Bay. Mairne Sergeant Luke Zimmerman was the 62nd Wisconsin military service person be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Marine Sergeant Luke James Zimmerman, 24, of Luxemburg, Wisconsin, died Friday, October 27, 2006. He was killed in combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. Sergeant Zimmerman was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Zimmerman had a long desire to become a Marine. He was class mates with Jesse Thiry, another Luxemburg man who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq in April of 2004. Luke was a 2000 Luxemburg-Casco High School graduate. He ran cross country and track and wrestled while in high school. He wrestled varsity for two years, finishing his career at 145 pounds. Zimmerman had shipped out in the summer of 2006 for Iraq after signing up for another enlistment in the Marines. Before that his unit had spent some time in Japan. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Luke had worked at Julie's Café in Green Bay for four years starting out as a a dishwasher, but because of his people-person skills, moved out front as a cashier. He was said to have never missed a day of work. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 11 notes Sergeant Zimmerman was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. At the time of his death Luke Zimmerman was survived by his parents Claire and Richard Dombrowski, of Luxemburg; brother, Leonardo Zimmerman; stepsisters, Brooke and Toni Dombrowski; grandfather, Alfred Dennisen, of Green Bay; and, stepgrandmother, Rosemary Gagnon, of Green Bay. Mairne Sergeant Luke Zimmerman was the 62nd Wisconsin military service person be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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While staying over in Appleton a couple weeks ago, I was of course on the lookout for a Friday fish fry. We noticed that the American Legion down from our hotel had a full parking lot...so they got the nod.
American Legion Post 38 in Appleton takes a page out of a different era that I remember when American Legions were far more vibrant than the background that culture has slipped into in recent years. There was a time when the World War II and Korean War generation facilitated the American Legion culture. The buildings were places of multi-uses. There were wedding receptions, a bar, perhaps even an eatery, and of course...Friday fish frys. In recent years some of the American Legion buildings sit idle other than monthly meetings.
Post 38 runs a 7-day-per-week bar. The kitchen is open on Tuesdays and Fridays. When we walked in we were face to face with the bar entertainment...an accordion player.
There is a large hall to serve up family style fish fry. Large tables accommodate several people each. The two of us did make our way to a smaller four-person table.
I have to remember to go easy on Haddock. It is usually served up in big pieces. Post 38 is no exception. They offer fried or baked. I tried the fried. The generous hunks were almost too big for me to negotiate. It came with a cup of melted butter. Heide went for the Sun Fish, an entree not often served for Friday fish frys. I tried a bit and it was a nice departure from the consummate Cod or Perch.
Of course I chose the potato salad. Heide went for a baked potato. The tatar was creamy and smooth. Our dinners came with light rye bread.
You've got to love love "Up-North." On our way out one of the bartenders headed us off and asked if I was an old classmate of his. Heide and I ended up having a nice conversation with bartender dude even though I had never seen him before in my life.
Find American Legion Post 38 at 3220 West College Avenue, Appleton, Wisconsin. Call (920) 733 - 9840 for more information; or, visit their Website at www.appletonpost38.org .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed during combat operations when his Stryker Vehicle was attacked by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Corporal Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was one of two soldiers killed in the attack during the combat operation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Cross wanted to follow a family tradition of military service citing his desire to drive a tank like his World War II veteran grandfather. Cross' father was a Vietnam Veteran. His mom's dad had been a Marine stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Kenneth married in April of 2006 in Washington state. He met his wife, Heidi, on the Internet while stationed at Fort Lewis. He was shipped out to Iraq two months after the marriage. Cross planned to buy a home and start a family after he returned home from Iraq. He left Superior High School during his senior year so he could join the Army, earning his GED at a local vocational school. He enjoyed deer hunting, and driving snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The Journal Sentinel went on to say, Kenneth is remembered for his affection for mischief. The Website komonews.com notes Cross and his wife lived in Steilacoom, Washington. He had served one year in the U.S. Army before his death. A Stars and Strips article posted on strykernews.com mentions Cross' Army roommate was also killed in the attack. Private First Class Daniel Dolan was 19 years old. They were members of 3rd Platoon, Company C of the unit mentioned above. Both soldiers were posthumously promoted - Cross to corporal, Dolan to specialist. They were the first casualties for the battalion since it arrived in Iraq in early August of 2006 to participate in Operation Together Forward, a mission to reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad. Cross was known for knowing everything about a Stryker vehicle there was to know, and would spend his free time reading notoriously boring Army technical manuals. But Army friends noted Kenneth also had a lively side as well. At the time of his death Cross was survived by his mother Betty Cross; five older brothers and a younger sister; and, articles did not mention if Kenneth's father was still alive. Corporal Kenneth Cross was the 61st Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
20 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Somebody at work the other day took a look at my Pringles container and said, "Damn Bob, you got a bunch of treats stuffed in this thing."
My God, I thought. I had not even given it a thought over the many years when I occasionally use a Pringles cylinder to put eats in. You see, while I was in the Army, my mom had sent me cookies in...Pringles containers.
In those days, it took some time for stuff to arrive overseas. Nowadays, I think some of the stuff sent to military people gets there in a couple days.
Mom. Always the child of the Great Depression and World War II economic era. Always using every trick in the book to get by even in better times. It was however, in my military time, the Great Rust-Belt Recession of the '70s. And, 'Nam was still smoldering in the background. You never know when that darn Depression might rear its ugly head again, you know, don't you know.
The cookies were usually homemade oatmeal chocolate chip. And, each was individually wrapped. And than each was carefully put in a Pringles tube. Then the tubes were wrapped in paper and put in a box. And then, the box was wrapped and taped to survive a nuclear war.
In my Army days, many of my colleagues had been given a choice by the Ol' Judge. "Go to prison...or join the Army, son." Some of these guys I served with were tough barrio mooks, gang bangers, and often just plain hard asses. And then too, most of them had been to 'Nam - some of them there twice.
Good Ol'' Mom; I saw former convicts now crass Army Engineers, beg for a chocolate chip cookie as if they were sitting on Santa's lap in the department store.
"I only stole two cars, Santa. And shit man, I learn't my lesson. So's...how 'bout one of them cookies? Don't make me shank your ass, Santa."
In segue, there was a musical group back in those days called Hot Chocolate. They had a song called, "I Believe in Miracles." The word "Miracles" is always garbled - not unusual in pop music - ever. In the Army, music was always playing, all the time, from some where. The war movies at least have gotten that right.
One day the duty sergeant was calling out names to come to his big Santa bag and, "Pick up your God-damned mail." In the background played that Hot Chocolate song.
But, it sounded like, "I believe in mail call. What's your name. You sexy thing."
Then Serg' called my name, and out of his big bag came the nuclear war wrapped cookie presentation.
Every time I hear that song still to this day, I smile and think of Mom and all those big tough barrio bohunks and mooks she tamed with those coveted cookies.
I had long forgotten about the Pringles tubes though.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed during combat operations when his Stryker Vehicle was attacked by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Corporal Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was one of two soldiers killed in the attack during the combat operation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Cross wanted to follow a family tradition of military service citing his desire to drive a tank like his World War II veteran grandfather. Cross' father was a Vietnam Veteran. His mom's dad had been a Marine stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Kenneth married in April of 2006 in Washington state. He met his wife, Heidi, on the Internet while stationed at Fort Lewis. He was shipped out to Iraq two months after the marriage. Cross planned to buy a home and start a family after he returned home from Iraq. He left Superior High School during his senior year so he could join the Army, earning his GED at a local vocational school. He enjoyed deer hunting, and driving snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The Journal Sentinel went on to say, Kenneth is remembered for his affection for mischief. The Website komonews.com notes Cross and his wife lived in Steilacoom, Washington. He had served one year in the U.S. Army before his death. A Stars and Strips article posted on strykernews.com mentions Cross' Army roommate was also killed in the attack. Private First Class Daniel Dolan was 19 years old. They were members of 3rd Platoon, Company C of the unit mentioned above. Both soldiers were posthumously promoted - Cross to corporal, Dolan to specialist. They were the first casualties for the battalion since it arrived in Iraq in early August of 2006 to participate in Operation Together Forward, a mission to reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad. Cross was known for knowing everything about a Stryker vehicle there was to know, and would spend his free time reading notoriously boring Army technical manuals. But Army friends noted Kenneth also had a lively side as well. At the time of his death Cross was survived by his mother Betty Cross; five older brothers and a younger sister; and, articles did not mention if Kenneth's father was still alive. Corporal Kenneth Cross was the 61st Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
20 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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I told this story in Seventeenth Job of Bob Part V ...but, it deserves a stand-alone nod. And, I can't believe I never put it in the Fate Fairies Category before.
I had always had a motorcycle going way back to the 1960s. The pre-crotch-rocket 1977, 750cc Kawasaki I had before I got married and then brought down to Texas was in disrepair. It sat in the barn at our little farm presentation out in New Glarus, Wisconsin. Once I started working in the auto shop at the farm store I had a bit of extra cash to get it rebuilt. Also, working in a mechanic shop inspired me to tinker again. A fellow south of Madison specialized in old Japanese motorcycles. He doted over it and made it rideable again. I had brought it in to him over the winter so it would be ready in the spring. On a sunny early February day, I nursed it home about 35 miles an hour in the 35 degree air. I had about an hour of time to work with until the temps droped exponentially. Wisconsin people will understand the concept.
I remember itching to get on that Kawi' again. I dawned a snowmobile suit and rode it out of the village in late February. The snow still lined the roads. I made it the seven miles to Dayton. That one-horse village still had one bar at that time. I remember stopping there to warm up.
It was about the second time I rode my refurbished machine and with the new found relationship with my old mechanical love, I dawned the snowmobile suit again and took it to work in the yet still cold spring. It was a two-cylinder and a racing machine in its day in 1977 - but now it was 1995. Anyway, at 10:00 p.m. in the cool evening I was heading home from the auto shop back to our little farm house in New Glarus. At the last stop-and-go-light south of Madison before my stretch of country ride to the farm house, I heard a loud screech. That stretch of road had been under construction for a year - the infamous Verona Bypass.
"Damn," I thought, "Sounds like someone is going to get hit."
About that time, I felt a jolt and began to be pushed into the intersection. In front of me was a dump truck. I came closer and closer to its tailgate. The truck finally began to move forward at the green light. About an inch from the truck the pushing stopped. I hopped off my cycle and threw down my helmet.
"Damn," I said, "I just got this damn bike fixed."
As it turned out a young girl about 16 years old, had plowed her car into the car behind me. She hopped out and giggled to the guys in the car she hit, "You guys ok, hee, hee, hee?"
Cell phones were still in their infancy then, but, none-the-less, it soon became evident her young mom somehow got word of the crash and came to the scene. The mom looked at the crushed car teeny-bopper chick was driving, then she looked at the crushed rear end of the car she had hit, then she looked at my motorcycle which was stuck to the bumper of said second car. You could pick up from her expression that her heart was sinking. Then the kid driving the second crushed car hopped out. I realized right away he had a prosthetic arm that apparently had fallen off in the impact. But the mom did not pick up on that nuance and abruptly fainted when she mistakenly assumed her daughter had cut this guy's arm off.
As it turned out only my tail light was cracked. The one-armed kid's bumper had only impacted my rear tire and it had absorbed all the force without damage. Me and the cop on scene rocked the bike tire out from under one-arm dude's bumper. Remarkably, nothing on my wheel got bent. It speaks to the flexability of spoke rims. But, the light remains cracked to this day. The old bike is now 33 years old.
Teeny-bopper chick's insurance company must have called me 20 times. I never asked for money for the tail light. They finally gave up. You see, in those days, being so poor, I had no insurance on the motorcycle. I did not want to open up that can of worms regarding a crash incident.
The then young mom...is most likely totally gray by now.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed during combat operations when his Stryker Vehicle was attacked by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Corporal Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was one of two soldiers killed in the attack during the combat operation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Cross wanted to follow a family tradition of military service citing his desire to drive a tank like his World War II veteran grandfather. Cross' father was a Vietnam Veteran. His mom's dad had been a Marine stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Kenneth married in April of 2006 in Washington state. He met his wife, Heidi, on the Internet while stationed at Fort Lewis. He was shipped out to Iraq two months after the marriage. Cross planned to buy a home and start a family after he returned home from Iraq. He left Superior High School during his senior year so he could join the Army, earning his GED at a local vocational school. He enjoyed deer hunting, and driving snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The Journal Sentinel went on to say, Kenneth is remembered for his affection for mischief. The Website komonews.com notes Cross and his wife lived in Steilacoom, Washington. He had served one year in the U.S. Army before his death. A Stars and Strips article posted on strykernews.com mentions Cross' Army roommate was also killed in the attack. Private First Class Daniel Dolan was 19 years old. They were members of 3rd Platoon, Company C of the unit mentioned above. Both soldiers were posthumously promoted - Cross to corporal, Dolan to specialist. They were the first casualties for the battalion since it arrived in Iraq in early August of 2006 to participate in Operation Together Forward, a mission to reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad. Cross was known for knowing everything about a Stryker vehicle there was to know, and would spend his free time reading notoriously boring Army technical manuals. But Army friends noted Kenneth also had a lively side as well. At the time of his death Cross was survived by his mother Betty Cross; five older brothers and a younger sister; and, articles did not mention if Kenneth's father was still alive. Corporal Kenneth Cross was the 61st Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
20 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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A recent hospital visit resurrected some old memories - some past encounters with the medical world. The current economy descends into hell and I am reminded of that other great recession of the 1970s and early '80s. You know that Rust-belt master piece economy which was a precursor to this current crappy-job economy? For two decades after it happened, people only talked about it in hushed whispers - they would usually look over their shoulders as well.
In 1978 I had to buy a small and used Japanese motorcycle (Yamaha 350) to beat the high gas prices of the time. Ironically, I make the same weekly pay amount now that I did back then. Welcome to the "New Norm" America - but, I digress.
I rode it everywhere. I drove the shit out of it. In the winter of '78 - early '79, I drove it to work....all winter in a snowmobile suit from Whitewater to Beloit. I guess in retrospect, I should be glad they threw me any job bone at all.
In the fall of 1979 I was driving into Whitewater and a bee blew in my Army jacket collar. It made its way down my sleeve to the back of my bicep. Of course, it bit me.
In case you have not gleaned from my past writing, I do get allergic reactions rather easy. My genetic blood condition probably does not help that. Suffice it to say that within a few minutes, my arm was as big as my leg. Mister brain surgery that I was back then, I went home. I had trouble getting my coat off. I did not tell anyone I was in trouble - my mom would have had a fit, and my dad might have said, "Walk it off, Bub."
Anyway, my Army training left me with enough sense to finally get to a hospital. There is a hospital in Fort Atkinson (I will not mention which one) that my family had used for decades. In fact I was born there. I made my way via the back farm roads from my dad's farm to the hospital...yes, on that motorcycle. I imagine my route was not so much different than when my dad took my mom up there when my birth was pending. None-the-less, I made the journey...rather ill by then...to what was then considered their emergency room.
I remember some joker in a lab coat met me at a window of sorts. In my memory, it remends me now of a burger shack drive-through window. Memory is cruel.
"What's your problem?" Joker asked and glowered at me and snikered at my Army jacket. Joker could not have been more than 30 years old. I doubt if he was even a nurse; he surely could not have been a doctor; and, I would bet you a drink at the Long Branch saloon of your choice, he sure the fuck was not a veteran.
"Bee sting," I said, holding my arm by now.
"Got insurance?" Joker asked.
"No," I said.
At this point I can't quite remember the fee for an ER visit that day. But, it seemed like 90 Bucks is stuck in my head. That would have been a small fortune for a mook making 135 Bucks a week. Hell, 90 Bucks would still bust my balls.
As fate would have it, being pre-ATM days, I had run out of the house with no cash or no check book.
"Can't help you with out payment," Joker said and looked so ritualistically banal. Talk about a dick-head with gatekeeper syndrome...Christ!
So, off I rode, back to the house, to get my check book. By the time I got there, I had to do every thing with the unaffected arm. By the time I got back to the hospital and the Joker, I had to fill out the check with my non-writing hand. I don't even remember doing it as I was getting quite light headed by then.
Back then, had I died in the hospital parking lot, I feel quite certain the mantra from almost every circle in society would have been something like, "Damn dumb fool. Should have had his check book with him! " And, the cops would have put a ticket on my motorcycle.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed during combat operations when his Stryker Vehicle was attacked by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Corporal Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was one of two soldiers killed in the attack during the combat operation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Cross wanted to follow a family tradition of military service citing his desire to drive a tank like his World War II veteran grandfather. Cross' father was a Vietnam Veteran. His mom's dad had been a Marine stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Kenneth married in April of 2006 in Washington state. He met his wife, Heidi, on the Internet while stationed at Fort Lewis. He was shipped out to Iraq two months after the marriage. Cross planned to buy a home and start a family after he returned home from Iraq. He left Superior High School during his senior year so he could join the Army, earning his GED at a local vocational school. He enjoyed deer hunting, and driving snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The Journal Sentinel went on to say, Kenneth is remembered for his affection for mischief. The Website komonews.com notes Cross and his wife lived in Steilacoom, Washington. He had served one year in the U.S. Army before his death. A Stars and Strips article posted on strykernews.com mentions Cross' Army roommate was also killed in the attack. Private First Class Daniel Dolan was 19 years old. They were members of 3rd Platoon, Company C of the unit mentioned above. Both soldiers were posthumously promoted - Cross to corporal, Dolan to specialist. They were the first casualties for the battalion since it arrived in Iraq in early August of 2006 to participate in Operation Together Forward, a mission to reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad. Cross was known for knowing everything about a Stryker vehicle there was to know, and would spend his free time reading notoriously boring Army technical manuals. But Army friends noted Kenneth also had a lively side as well. At the time of his death Cross was survived by his mother Betty Cross; five older brothers and a younger sister; and, articles did not mention if Kenneth's father was still alive. Corporal Kenneth Cross was the 61st Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
20 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Corporal Kenneth Cross, 21, of Superior, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed during combat operations when his Stryker Vehicle was attacked by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. Corporal Cross was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was one of two soldiers killed in the attack during the combat operation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Cross wanted to follow a family tradition of military service citing his desire to drive a tank like his World War II veteran grandfather. Cross' father was a Vietnam Veteran. His mom's dad had been a Marine stationed in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. Kenneth married in April of 2006 in Washington state. He met his wife, Heidi, on the Internet while stationed at Fort Lewis. He was shipped out to Iraq two months after the marriage. Cross planned to buy a home and start a family after he returned home from Iraq. He left Superior High School during his senior year so he could join the Army, earning his GED at a local vocational school. He enjoyed deer hunting, and driving snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The Journal Sentinel went on to say, Kenneth is remembered for his affection for mischief. The Website komonews.com notes Cross and his wife lived in Steilacoom, Washington. He had served one year in the U.S. Army before his death. A Stars and Strips article posted on strykernews.com mentions Cross' Army roommate was also killed in the attack. Private First Class Daniel Dolan was 19 years old. They were members of 3rd Platoon, Company C of the unit mentioned above. Both soldiers were posthumously promoted - Cross to corporal, Dolan to specialist. They were the first casualties for the battalion since it arrived in Iraq in early August of 2006 to participate in Operation Together Forward, a mission to reduce sectarian violence in Baghdad. Cross was known for knowing everything about a Stryker vehicle there was to know, and would spend his free time reading notoriously boring Army technical manuals. But Army friends noted Kenneth also had a lively side as well. At the time of his death Cross was survived by his mother Betty Cross; five older brothers and a younger sister; and, articles did not mention if Kenneth's father was still alive. Corporal Kenneth Cross was the 61st Wisconsin military service person killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,568 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,421 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1269 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
788 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,929 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,820 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
20 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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This write-up regarding a business establishment is a bit unique on several fronts. For one thing, the place is multi-faceted and segueing off that aspect, I had to make several visits to get the whole skinny on the joint.
The Caddy Shack Golf Center on the north side of Milton, Wisconsin has been there in one way or another for almost 30 years. It is a tiny building. There is a driving range out the back. You can get a basket of golf balls from the machine outside the small building. You buy the token for the machine inside the shop. For my poor old bones, there is a couple trees on one end of the driving ranch tee stations so I can practice in the shade.
Back when I lived in Texas for a decade, I got to be a rather good golfer due to the long playing season and cheap green's fees there at the time. I let golfing go when I moved back to the short summer seasons of Wisconsin.
I was nice to knock a few ball around the other day. My golf clubs and pull cart had waited patiently for 18 years. The wheels of my old cart still have good Texas clay stuck in the treads. Of course the humble driving range has an old car you can aim at down range about 200 yards.
The recent owners of the Caddy Shack decided to add a bar and eatery next door. Now this is interesting to me because the old building they refurbished to accomplish this, was once an A&W Root Beer stand back in the 1960s and 1970s. I remember riding my bicycle the seven miles there in the summers before I had a car. They had great beer-battered French fries I can still taste to this day. Recently, I am told the old building was a salon or some such thing.
Be that as it may, they have fixed it up into a neo-Wisconsin-esque bar. Not every tavern and bar in our ever changing culture can be a hundred year old Milwaukee beer joint. Things change, new places emerge. The Caddy Shack people call the bar / eatery Gopher's Bar and Grill. If you have not figured out by now, there is a deference to the movie going on here. I am told one of the owners designed the unique bar-top himself. It has inlaid golf balls under a class top. The many golf ball brand names are carefully facing up.
If you are reading this from way out of town, there are two golf courses just across the street so you can warm up on this range, get a burger and beer in the eatery, and then head over to the links.
They can whip you up a dandy homemade thin crust pizza with a couple toppings, with drink and tip for about 12 Bucks. It was so good I ate the whole 12-inch pizza in one sitting the afternoon I tried it.
On a subsequent visit, I opted for a good old bar cheeseburger. They have a steak fry wedge type French fry they fix up for you. I believe they put a dash of garlic powder on their French fry presentation.
From 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m every night you can get bottles of domestic beer for a Buck - a "power hour" so to speak. I popped in on a Sunday night during the Buck-a-beer time and had the whole place to myself.
Finally, Heide and I ducked in Gopher's not long ago to try their Friday fish fry presentation. It was worth swinging (no pun intended) by. They offer fried or baked Alasken Cod. Heide did the fish honors choosing the fried version. You can get either a two or three piece dinner. It will come with those good steak fries and some tasty tarter sauce. I tried a bit of the Cod and it was prepared in that good crispy chunck format I often talk about. The dinner came with a fresh roll and cinnamin honey butter. Wtih her root beer, dinner, and tip, Heide got out of there for around 12 Bucks.
As we speak, the owners are trying to include hard liquor in the presentation. Currently they are licensed to served beer and wine. Their whole endeavor is truly a work in progress. I wish them luck; any one taking on a business in this challenging economy deserves the benefit of the doubt. Caddy Shack Golf Center, and Gopher's Bar and Grill is cool with Cool Dadio.
Find the whole bar / eatery / golf shop / driving range presentation at 233 North Janesville Street (Highway 26) just on the north edge of Milton, Wisconsin. Call (608) 868 - 3210 for more information; or, visit the golf shop Website www.caddyshackmilton.com . Find information about Gopher's Bar and Grill at www.caddyshackmilton.com/menu.html .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Shaun Allen Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006 in Taji, Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Bradley Vehicle he was in during combat operations. Novak was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Shaun loved car racing. He graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2003. Novak was remembered as a quiet, well-liked student. He was the son of Randy Novak, a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy. Shaun had a 15-year-old brother, Danny. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Novak had taken three years of accounting at Two Rivers High School and was remembered as a good student who enjoyed tinkering with cars. He enjoyed playing baseball, riding all-terrain vehicles, and fished on Lake Michigan. Novak enlisted in the Army in 2004, a year after graduation; his infantry unit went to Iraq December 2005. Novak had taken some classes at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center after high school. The Website iraq.pigstye.net notes Shaun had plans to pursue accounting or marketing after he would return home. He was known as a strong business student. Novak worked at Port Sandy Bay, a restaurant in Two Rivers, for just over two years. He was known as dependable with a strong work ethic. Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood. The Website shaun-novak.memory-of.com set up in memory of Novak, notes Shaun was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on February 12, 1985. The site also notes Shaun enjoyed playing basketball in a local recreation league. He had a Dodge Neon he was fond of. He also liked video games and all other types of electronic gadgets. They mention Shaun was inspired to join the Army to follow in the footsteps of grandfather Stanley Mott, a Korean War Veteran. Shaun attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was able to come home for a two-week break from Iraq in April of 2006. Service awards Specialist Novak received include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Expert Qualification Badge. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 10 noted that at the time of his death Specialist Novak was survived by his parents, Randy and Brenda Novak, of Two Rivers; brother, Danny Novak, of Two Rivers; girlfriend, Jenissa Karbowski; grandparents, Stan and Shirley Mott, of Two Rivers; and grandparents, Richard and Bea Novak, of Manitowoc; and, great−grandmothers, Grace Novak and Molly Opichka, of Manitowoc. Specialist Shaun Novak was the 60th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,453 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,420 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1243 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
783 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,926 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,644 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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It was the summer of 1996 and I had actually secured a lifeguard job at 40 years old. I took a lot of opening shifts at 5:00 a.m. in the morning. All I had to do was sit while the lap swimmers swam back and forth ad nauseam. I had plenty of time to sit and think about my fate and what I had gotten myself into by going back to school.
I remember my lifeguard teacher saying, "Days of boredom, followed by seconds of terror." Then she would smile a quirky little smile. It was true. In health care and public safety jobs you could go for weeks and never see a thing go wrong. And then one day...all hell would unleash.
In the meantime during the boredom, I would think. I often thought of the lifeguard training I had just completed...and the remedial training I would do all the time. It was intense for a guy my age. My young classmates took it in as if it was just another day, like a walk in the mall. Most of my lifeguard colleagues were young women of college freshman age. As well, 99 percent of the nursing assistant students had been women. And, 65 percent of the emergency medical technician class had been women. It was an estrogen extravaganza. It was the 1990s and the face of the culture of the future.
In regards to the lifeguard arm the the new American feminine culture, to my naive surprise, much of the lifeguard training had been lifesaving techniques. Of course it would be, wouldn't it? We practiced and tested the techniques relentlessly using each other as mock drowning victims. To my stunned amazement, most of the saving techniques involved wrapping your arm around the victim's chest - very utilitarian, very old-school rescue stereotype. That would place your hand firmly locked on the victim's....breast. Reluctantly, I finally had to admit that by the end of the first week of lifeguard training, I had clutched more 18 year old breasts than I had ever touched in the whole of my previous life.
"How'd that stressful training and swimming go? Every one thinks you are nuts for doing it at 40," my wife would sometimes ask.
"It's really hard on someone my age," I would always lie.
"Hmmm," she would always return.
I don't think she ever bought into my insistence I was languishing away at the lifeguard gulag.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Shaun Allen Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006 in Taji, Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Bradley Vehicle he was in during combat operations. Novak was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Shaun loved car racing. He graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2003. Novak was remembered as a quiet, well-liked student. He was the son of Randy Novak, a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy. Shaun had a 15-year-old brother, Danny. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Novak had taken three years of accounting at Two Rivers High School and was remembered as a good student who enjoyed tinkering with cars. He enjoyed playing baseball, riding all-terrain vehicles, and fished on Lake Michigan. Novak enlisted in the Army in 2004, a year after graduation; his infantry unit went to Iraq December 2005. Novak had taken some classes at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center after high school. The Website iraq.pigstye.net notes Shaun had plans to pursue accounting or marketing after he would return home. He was known as a strong business student. Novak worked at Port Sandy Bay, a restaurant in Two Rivers, for just over two years. He was known as dependable with a strong work ethic. Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood. The Website shaun-novak.memory-of.com set up in memory of Novak, notes Shaun was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on February 12, 1985. The site also notes Shaun enjoyed playing basketball in a local recreation league. He had a Dodge Neon he was fond of. He also liked video games and all other types of electronic gadgets. They mention Shaun was inspired to join the Army to follow in the footsteps of grandfather Stanley Mott, a Korean War Veteran. Shaun attened basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was able to come home for a two-week break from Iraq in April of 2006. Service awards Specialist Novak received include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Expert Qualification Badge. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 10 noted that at the time of his death Specialist Novak was survived by his parents, Randy and Brenda Novak, of Two Rivers; brother, Danny Novak, of Two Rivers; girlfriend, Jenissa Karbowski; grandparents, Stan and Shirley Mott, of Two Rivers; and grandparents, Richard and Bea Novak, of Manitowoc; and, great−grandmothers, Grace Novak and Molly Opichka, of Manitowoc. Specialist Shaun Novak was the 60th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,453 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,420 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1243 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
783 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,926 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,644 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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I think I finally have the Rock County Beef Producers Annual Cookout figured out. They do not have the drive through option; the Pork Producers event earlier in the summer at the same location does have a drive-through option.
That makes the Beef Cookout less hectic. This year they moved their giant grills just a bit, over to a shady area. I bet the dudes doing the cooking appreciated that. I gets pretty hot in August.
I found a parking spot right near the south-side gate to the Rock County Fair Grounds where the event is always held. The event was listed in the paper as starting a 5:00 p.m. I arrived at 4:30 or so to beat the inevitable crowd. By 4:40 p.m. they were already serving up the eats.
They have a new pavilion to serve the food up from as opposed to tents in previous years. I chose the bigger steak option dinner for 12 Bucks. With that meal came a dandy Ribeye steak cooked the way I like it - lightly well done with the fat still attached - yah baby. The meal came with a good baked potato, an ear of corn, roll, butter, and soda or milk.
Getting there early, I secured a seat by one of the big fans in the building they use to eat in. Of course, local youth groups such as various 4-H clubs were selling dessert treats, usually for a Buck.
The one thing I did not take advantage of this year was the option to buy some frozen steaks to go. This year they offered up a couple options of four small or six large frozen steaks to go for 25 Bucks. I am a little short of cash this season so I will catch them next time.
My on-site meal was exceptional. There is just something about a good Ribeye cooked outside on a giant grill with 300 other steaks.
Pencil in the Beef Producers Cookout for next year. It is always in mid August at the Rock County Fair Grounds in Janesville, Wisconsin. There is a contact number listed as (608) 755 - 1470
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Shaun Allen Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006 in Taji, Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Bradley Vehicle he was in during combat operations. Novak was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Shaun loved car racing. He graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2003. Novak was remembered as a quiet, well-liked student. He was the son of Randy Novak, a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy. Shaun had a 15-year-old brother, Danny. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Novak had taken three years of accounting at Two Rivers High School and was remembered as a good student who enjoyed tinkering with cars. He enjoyed playing baseball, riding all-terrain vehicles, and fished on Lake Michigan. Novak enlisted in the Army in 2004, a year after graduation; his infantry unit went to Iraq December 2005. Novak had taken some classes at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center after high school. The Website iraq.pigstye.net notes Shaun had plans to pursue accounting or marketing after he would return home. He was known as a strong business student. Novak worked at Port Sandy Bay, a restaurant in Two Rivers, for just over two years. He was known as dependable with a strong work ethic. Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood. The Website shaun-novak.memory-of.com set up in memory of Novak, notes Shaun was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on February 12, 1985. The site also notes Shaun enjoyed playing basketball in a local recreation league. He had a Dodge Neon he was fond of. He also liked video games and all other types of electronic gadgets. They mention Shaun was inspired to join the Army to follow in the footsteps of grandfather Stanley Mott, a Korean War Veteran. Shaun attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was able to come home for a two-week break from Iraq in April of 2006. Service awards Specialist Novak received include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Expert Qualification Badge. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 10 noted that at the time of his death Specialist Novak was survived by his parents, Randy and Brenda Novak, of Two Rivers; brother, Danny Novak, of Two Rivers; girlfriend, Jenissa Karbowski; grandparents, Stan and Shirley Mott, of Two Rivers; and grandparents, Richard and Bea Novak, of Manitowoc; and, great−grandmothers, Grace Novak and Molly Opichka, of Manitowoc. Specialist Shaun Novak was the 60th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,453 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,420 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1243 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
783 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,926 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,644 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Well, I never knew Bigfoot Lounge & Gentlemen's Cub was down in Rockford, Illinois, but just because I ain't heard of something does not mean a whole lot. The bartender proclaimed the joint has been there for over a decade. Before it was a strip club, it was a restaurant, and then some type of bar. The building is another strip club in an old 1970-esque building. It looks like an old restaurant; this one has old wood shingles - classic '70s.
When you pull up to the joint, you will realize you are in an enclave of blue-collar auto repair shops on the precipice of an old residential neighborhood. Two tire shops flank the club parking lot.
You will enter from the back parking lot. There will be a double foyer to go through; in the second larger entrance room you will be greeted by a cheesy mural of consummate naked dancers. There will be two phone-less pay phone cabinet shelves - hokey 1970's veneer - to your right (you will probably only notice them on your way out). They are a monument to forgone technology.
The couple of times I popped in to the place there was no cover charge. I did get there about opening time which seems to be 4:00 p.m.-ish. The dance floors, bar, and half-walls will be headlined by tube pipe-lighting. There will be two dance floors in the main area, it looks like they mostly use the big floor. It has a multilevel construct. There are five poles total between the two floors.
The bar is long and will have you facing away from the dance areas. On a half upper level, there is a room with a mini-bar with some tables - probably a good place for a bachelor party, divorce party, et cetera. There will be the consummate plastic tree plants guarding one of the lap dance areas. I was told by a thoughtfully tattooed dancer that lap dances will run you 20 Bucks.
I noticed on my couple of visits to the club that the dancers are skinny, young, and pretty. You can get a large glass of Miller Lite for five Bucks...about normal for a strip club if they even have tap beer these days. There is no DJ and the girls have to pop some money into the jukebox for their music - this is becoming the norm for strip clubs. DJs are becoming the latest buggy whip symbol in our society - DJs are no longer sought; neither are buggy whips. Another primarily dude-job thrown under the bus. But I digress.
On both my visits, the staff and dancers were friendly.
Anyway, find Bigfoot Lounge & Gentlemen's Cub at 1609 South Alpine, in Rockford, Illinois. They are just south of State Street (Highway 20). You can also visit their Website at www.bigfootgentlemansclub.com .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Shaun Allen Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006 in Taji, Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Bradley Vehicle he was in during combat operations. Novak was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Shaun loved car racing. He graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2003. Novak was remembered as a quiet, well-liked student. He was the son of Randy Novak, a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy. Shaun had a 15-year-old brother, Danny. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Novak had taken three years of accounting at Two Rivers High School and was remembered as a good student who enjoyed tinkering with cars. He enjoyed playing baseball, riding all-terrain vehicles, and fished on Lake Michigan. Novak enlisted in the Army in 2004, a year after graduation; his infantry unit went to Iraq December 2005. Novak had taken some classes at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center after high school. The Website iraq.pigstye.net notes Shaun had plans to pursue accounting or marketing after he would return home. He was known as a strong business student. Novak worked at Port Sandy Bay, a restaurant in Two Rivers, for just over two years. He was known as dependable with a strong work ethic. Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood. The Website shaun-novak.memory-of.com set up in memory of Novak, notes Shaun was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on February 12, 1985. The site also notes Shaun enjoyed playing basketball in a local recreation league. He had a Dodge Neon he was fond of. He also liked video games and all other types of electronic gadgets. They mention Shaun was inspired to join the Army to follow in the footsteps of grandfather Stanley Mott, a Korean War Veteran. Shaun attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was able to come home for a two-week break from Iraq in April of 2006. Service awards Specialist Novak received include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Expert Qualification Badge. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 10 noted that at the time of his death Specialist Novak was survived by his parents, Randy and Brenda Novak, of Two Rivers; brother, Danny Novak, of Two Rivers; girlfriend, Jenissa Karbowski; grandparents, Stan and Shirley Mott, of Two Rivers; and grandparents, Richard and Bea Novak, of Manitowoc; and, great−grandmothers, Grace Novak and Molly Opichka, of Manitowoc. Specialist Shaun Novak was the 60th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,453 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,420 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1243 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
783 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,926 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,644 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Specialist Shaun Allen Novak, 21, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, died Sunday, August 27, 2006 in Taji, Iraq. An improvised explosive device detonated near the Bradley Vehicle he was in during combat operations. Novak was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Hood, Texas. He was one of four soldiers killed in the incident. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Shaun loved car racing. He graduated from Two Rivers High School in 2003. Novak was remembered as a quiet, well-liked student. He was the son of Randy Novak, a Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy. Shaun had a 15-year-old brother, Danny. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Novak had taken three years of accounting at Two Rivers High School and was remembered as a good student who enjoyed tinkering with cars. He enjoyed playing baseball, riding all-terrain vehicles, and fished on Lake Michigan. Novak enlisted in the Army in 2004, a year after graduation; his infantry unit went to Iraq December 2005. Novak had taken some classes at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center after high school. The Website iraq.pigstye.net notes Shaun had plans to pursue accounting or marketing after he would return home. He was known as a strong business student. Novak worked at Port Sandy Bay, a restaurant in Two Rivers, for just over two years. He was known as dependable with a strong work ethic. Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood. The Website shaun-novak.memory-of.com set up in memory of Novak, notes Shaun was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin on February 12, 1985. The site also notes Shaun enjoyed playing basketball in a local recreation league. He had a Dodge Neon he was fond of. He also liked video games and all other types of electronic gadgets. They mention Shaun was inspired to join the Army to follow in the footsteps of grandfather Stanley Mott, a Korean War Veteran. Shaun attended basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was able to come home for a two-week break from Iraq in April of 2006. Service awards Specialist Novak received include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Ribbon, the Combat Infantry Badge, and the Expert Qualification Badge. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 10 noted that at the time of his death Specialist Novak was survived by his parents, Randy and Brenda Novak, of Two Rivers; brother, Danny Novak, of Two Rivers; girlfriend, Jenissa Karbowski; grandparents, Stan and Shirley Mott, of Two Rivers; and grandparents, Richard and Bea Novak, of Manitowoc; and, great−grandmothers, Grace Novak and Molly Opichka, of Manitowoc. Specialist Shaun Novak was the 60th Wisconsin military service member to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,453 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,654 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,420 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1243 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
783 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,926 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,644 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Back when I was in high school, then the Army, and the first few years of marriage, I used to stop in to various eateries and adutl beverage establishments on the fly. No planning, no itinerary...just shooting from the hip. A week ago we got to revisit that travel style on a trip to Green Bay. Our only concern was to just stop somewhere between Janesville and Green Bay and have Friday fish fry.
Mother-in-law Chris noticed a sign for Walker's in Beaver Dam. Ok, they got the nod. Turns out it was an excellent random choice.
For readers who might remember a different restaurant era, the building Walker's is in could have been a Bob's Big Boy at one time. Same architecture - same genre - its a bit of a an architectural step back into the 1970s. They are connected to a Best Western and adjacent to a Shell station just off Highway 151.
You will find a glass bakery display cabinet when you get to the hostess area. After our meal, we eventually got a giant cream puff to go. Our waitress explained the place has been around in one form or another for around 40 years.
There is a general table and booth seating area. Of course there are large picture windows to look out. There is still a small horseshoe counter with 10 chairs.
We all got the hand-battered Cod. They offer 2-piece, 3-piece, 4-piece, and all-you-can-eat meal options. We all chose the 2-piece dinner. Heide and Chris each got a bowl of cheesy seafood chowder. I went for the hamburger vegetable soup Both offerings were outstanding. The cole slaw had a bit of a unique taste - perhaps a bit of horse radish added in. The rye rolls were steaming when they came to our table. I errored on the "hot" German potato salad. It too was above average. We all also got the hot-bake-beans side. They were not your usual beans on a paper plate style. Is there such a thing as gourmet baked beans?
The Cod was crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. This fits into the category I often talk about as being like a church fish fry genre. The Cod always has a homemade battery timbre. Also, I am thinking this style of fish comes mostly from old well-used friers.
Be all that fish lore as it may, Walker's Restaurant Bakery and Coffee Shop is cool with Cool Dadio. Find them at 813 Park Avenue, off Highway 151 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Call (920) 885 - 9041. Also, visit their thoughtfully crafted Website at www.walkersatbeaverdam.com .
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, 20, of Merrill, Wisconsin, died Wednesday, August 2, 2006 in Tikrit, Iraq of injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. In Iraq, Sergeant Jopek was assigned to the Army National Guard's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment 32nd Infantry Brigade based out of Waupun and Appleton, Wisconsin. Jopek's unit was activated in 2005, and began training in June of that year at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Their mission was to serve as an armed escorts for civilian and military convoys traveling from Kuwait north through all of Iraq, protecting supplies that allow security operations. According to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ryan had planned to return to college after returning home. Jopek was remembered for his dedication to his high school basketball team. He was called "Kansas" by his teammates on the Merrill High School Blue Jays basketball team because that's where he lived before his family came to Merrill in 2002; his former coach is quoted as noting, "One of the neat things about [Ryan] was even though he wasn't a starter, he came to practice every night and worked hard." The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Jopek's father had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq in January 2005; and, Ryan was his oldest son. In a subsequent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article it was noted that while campaigning for President, Barak Obama mentioned he was wearing a bracelet honoring Sergeant Jopek that was given to then candidate Obama by Ryan's mother. The Website iraq.pigstye.net mentioned Jopek was only weeks from finishing his tour of duty when he was killed. Ryan was also planning to continue his education at UW-Marathon County in the fall of his return. He had indicated interest in being a park ranger. Wisconsin 2007 Assembly Joint Resolution 46 noted Ryan was was born on June 1, 1986, in Alliance, Nebraska. Sergeant Jopek was serving as a gunner in convoy security when he was killed. In his home unit in Merrill, Sergeant Jopek was a member of Troop E, 105th Cavalry. The Resolution noted Ryan was a 2004 graduate of Merrill High School. He enjoyed playing basketball, soccer, golf; he also enjoyed music, monster trucks, airplanes, and his 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck. Ryan was an avid Chicago Bears fan and modeled his life after his childhood hero, Walter Payton. Resolution 46 noted Sergeant Jopek's many awards and decorations as the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization Device, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge. At the time of his death Ryan Jopek was survived by his mother, Tracy Jopek of Merrill; his father, Staff Sergeant Brian Jopek, Wisconsin Army National Guard, of Antigo; his sister and his brother, Jessica and Steven Jopek of Merrill; his maternal grandparents, Carrie and Donald Smith of Bayard, Nebraska; his paternal grandparents, Peg and Joseph Jopek of Antigo. Sergeant Ryan Jopek was the 59th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,196 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,643 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,419 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1229 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
775 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,911 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,529 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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Seems like I told this story on this Web platform at some point; but, a search comes up blank. Maybe it has haunted my mind for so long I just believe I have told it before. I have told it to myself a thousand times. When I worked for the City of Dallas as a Park and Recreation supervisor one of my colleagues was a guy named, (let's call him Arlee) Arlee. Arlee worked downtown as a low level supervisor managing the schizophrenic nuances of the City Hall grounds and the many park properties that loomed in the general vicinity of downtown Dallas - Dealy Plaza for one - home of the infamous assassination of John F. Kennedy. Arlee was about my age, maybe a year or two older. At some point I learned he had been in the Navy during 'Nam and the Cold War, as a cook on a ship in the South China Sea. I had been a backhoe driver for the Army on the border of Czechoslovakia. Welcome to our world - everyone can't be a Green Beret.
For years we worked in parallel universes, Arlee in downtown, me in the Fair Park area by the infamous Cotton Bowl complex. I knew Arlee was a drinker. He did not hide it. He was a train wreck. But, somewhere at 29 years old I mustered up the ability to be non-judgemental. You readers try to deal with the kooks and perps that occupy a major metropolitan area and see if you can refrain from demons for too long.
After several years of working in similar formats but never really getting know each other, Arlee all of a sudden started to self destruct (as alcoholics might just do). He missed a bunch of work time. Everyone thought he quit, or disappeared or...what ever. One day he reappeared. Our mutual boss must have dragged Arlee out of the abyss.
In out-of-character fashion, our mutual boss came in to my humble (and cluttered) office one morning. He never came into any of our offices. We front-line supervisors were the keepers of the rabble. We were the "Head, Driv'n Niggers" ( a black supervisor friend of mine tipped me off to the slave era verbage) that drove the Mexican, White Cracker, and African American workers. We were the lower class bosses that drove the lower class employees
"Talk to Arlee," Boss-man said as he stuck his head in my door. His crispy white shirt and perfect tie and cuff links painted a stark contrast to my faded, hole filled jeans, and worn out flannel shirt. He startled me as I prepared my work schedule for the morning. In those days, I only had Army first aid training. I had little concept of humans that were about to self destruct.
Arlee came in my office and sat on the one extra chair I had. He just sat and looked at the wall with his yellow hepatic eyes. He lit up a cigarette under the "No Smoking" sign.
"Arlee, my guys got to repair a swing-set some drunk fool ran over with a '72 Buick...you know that cluster fuck of a Buckner Park...the Mexicans, Brothers, and drunk white boys beat that park to death...we spend half of our time putting that war zone back together," I remember saying, trying to talk supervisor shop talk. Arlee just smiled and took a long drag on his cigarette. After about 15 minutes of silence between us, he just got up and left.
Hell, I did not know shit about a self destructing person. In retrospect, supervisor shop talk about work and the inner-city hell we worked in, was one reason he was probably drinking himself to death. I had said, "Hi dude," mentioned the wrecked swing-set and just kept working on my worker assignments for the day.
"Did you chat with Arlee?" Boss-man said a little while later.
"More than we have chatted in five years," I said. That was not a stretch considering we had never talked at all in the years we worked together.
Arlee did not come to work the next day and disappeared again. Apparently any significant other was long gone for Arlee. He lived alone. A co-worker found Arlee in his small one-room apartment...dead. Word had it, he was sitting in his easy chair in front of the television with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his lap and a burned down cigarette butt between his fingers.
Fuck!
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, 20, of Merrill, Wisconsin, died Wednesday, August 2, 2006 in Tikrit, Iraq of injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy. In Iraq, Sergeant Jopek was assigned to the Army National Guard's Company A, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment 32nd Infantry Brigade based out of Waupun and Appleton, Wisconsin. Jopek's unit was activated in 2005, and began training in June of that year at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Their mission was to serve as armed escorts for civilian and military convoys traveling from Kuwait north through all of Iraq, protecting personnel and supplies. According to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ryan had planned to return to college after returning home. Jopek was remembered for his dedication to his high school basketball team. He was called "Kansas" by his teammates on the Merrill High School Blue Jays basketball team because that's where he lived before his family came to Merrill in 2002; his former coach is quoted as noting, "One of the neat things about [Ryan] was even though he wasn't a starter, he came to practice every night and worked hard." The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Jopek's father had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq in January 2005; and, Ryan was his oldest son. In a subsequent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article it was noted that while campaigning for President, Barak Obama mentioned he was wearing a bracelet honoring Sergeant Jopek that was given to then candidate Obama by Ryan's mother. The Website iraq.pigstye.net mentioned Jopek was only weeks from finishing his tour of duty when he was killed. Ryan was also planning to continue his education at UW-Marathon County the fall semester of his return home. He had indicated interest in being a park ranger. Wisconsin 2007 Assembly Joint Resolution 46 noted Ryan was was born on June 1, 1986, in Alliance, Nebraska. Sergeant Jopek was serving as a gunner in convoy security when he was killed. In his home unit in Merrill, Sergeant Jopek was a member of Troop E, 105th Cavalry. The Resolution noted Ryan was a 2004 graduate of Merrill High School. He enjoyed playing basketball, soccer, and golf; he also enjoyed music, monster trucks, airplanes, and his 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck. Ryan was an avid Chicago Bears fan and modeled his life after his childhood hero, Walter Payton. Resolution 46 goes on to mention Sergeant Jopek's many awards and decorations as the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Mobilization Device, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge. At the time of his death Ryan Jopek was survived by his mother, Tracy Jopek of Merrill; his father, Staff Sergeant Brian Jopek, Wisconsin Army National Guard, of Antigo; his sister and his brother, Jessica and Steven Jopek of Merrill; his maternal grandparents, Carrie and Donald Smith of Bayard, Nebraska; his paternal grandparents, Peg and Joseph Jopek of Antigo. Sergeant Ryan Jopek was the 59th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
97,196 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,643 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,419 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1229 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
775 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,911 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
7,529 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
19 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
142 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
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| Posted by Bob Keith at | | | |
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