Mike Pilewski names five reasons to visit Montreal, even in the middle of winter.
I guess it makes it easier to remember or recognize the longevity of something when the most recent number forces the next column of the odometer to go up a tick. So began an episode of what I used to fondly call roulette online journal, “Walking the Mom” back when I was in high school. You wouldn’t know by the button down sweaters she used to wear on these walks, but my Mom was a walking speed demon. Once she headed out the door she was off like a shot and for the next 30 minutes or so I was hard pressed to keep up. I am reminded of a quote I like from the movie Cousins where a man in his 70s is talking to his adult son, and says “…son, you’ve only got one life to live… you can either make it chickensh*t or chicken salad”. So getting straight answers from my two teenage boys requires different tactics. As my teenage sons and I get older, my cross-examination skills and their evasion skills have evolved. I have learned from experience that specific questions with verifiable answers are the way to go, whereas they have become masters of partial answers, deflections and generalizations. My problem – or my kids’ salvation depending on how you look at it – is that I remember what it was like to be their age. In this case the apple may not have fallen very far from the tree, so it is hard for me to feign indignant anger for very long. While these are great examples of helping others, I think many of us are like the little drummer boy before he decides to play his drums. We don’t know what we have to offer that is valuable to anyone. What we don’t realize is that pretty much everything we have to offer has value: the song in our heart; our time and attention; even the smile on our face can be the most valuable gift we ever give. At the Middleton Chamber Singers tour the seniors in the critical care area gave as much as they received, and that is the real beauty of the song The Little Drummer Boy. I ignored this response for now (a tactic of mine) and investigated further. I initially thought one of the cross planks simply might have fallen off the frame slot games sweepstakes, so I removed his bedding, and pulled his bed away from the wall only to discover that the entire wood bed rail had split away from the bed frame. I greatly enjoy stumbling across little things that make a big impression or simply brighten my day, and in the coming weeks I look forward to sharing a few of these stumblings with you. Server: “…Look at this plant! How do you expect to keep a dog alive if you can’t even keep a plant alive?” My son’s room is mostly like other kids’ rooms with one notable exception. There is a permanent ladder attached to the wall across from his bed that goes up to a small loft/crawl space. Now ever since we have been in this home, I have been warning my kids not to jump from the ladder to the bed below, and as far as I know (which I realize is not much of a guarantee) for the past eight years they have not done so. Westley: “Give us the gate key.” Given that my kids are still at an age where they will likely consider me and by extension my advice to be slightly more useful than something that is not very useful, I realize I have to pick my moments carefully. By the way my Dad was pretty close to dead on in his prediction but he neglected to tell me what I would think of him when I became the age he was then. He is pretty o.k. which is high praise in my family, but I now realize we both are pretty much winging it and lost the instruction book a long time ago. I walked out to the garage to say goodbye to my wife’s parents who were visiting us for Easter. I found my wife and her mother holding hands and crying through her folk’s car window. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the tears were not of sorrow but of joy and had something to do with the Joni Mitchell song “Circle Game” that was playing on the stereo. For example on the topic of homework we have learned that simply asking “Did you finish your homework?” is a mostly meaningless query. Responses we have heard include, “Today’s homework? Why yes.” Sounds good and I start to walk out the door, but then think a little more and ask: “What about the project that was assigned last week?” To which I hear, “Well no spielautomaten manipulieren mit magnet, I am not quite done with that.” Will Rogers had a way of getting to the heart of the matter (whatever matter he happened to be writing/talking about) with heart with fewer words than anyone I have run across. After this weekend’s rallies, I thought it might be fun to take a break and see what Mr. Rogers had to say 70 or 80 years ago that in all likelihood is still relevant today. The first quote seems to fit Mr. Walker to a T (I believe he is most definitely the third type of man referenced by Mr. Rogers): Another example demonstrates avoidance and misdirection, favorite tactics of teenagers everywhere. After complaining for several days that he wasn’t sleeping very well at night, I happened to walk into my youngest son’s room to talk with him about a different topic (e.g. the status of his homework). I looked around and noticed that the head of his bed was about nine inches lower than the foot of his bed (could this be why he was having trouble sleeping?!) These walks are a small example of something I have been thinking about for awhile that I call “social movement”. In a former career life I studied what people can do to improve their overall health status and quality of life and being physically active and socializing are among the most important. Combining these two you get “social movement”. If you look around the Middleton community you will see dozens of opportunities for social movement (nature conservancy echtgeld casino extreme, dog parks, exercise groups video poker help, bike rides spela casino careers, fun runs, etc.) and I look forward to exploring these in more depth in the not too distant future. But for now you will have to excuse me as it is once again time to “Walk the Mom”. I am not sure why we often tie our celebrations and recognitions to the base ten system… 10 year reunions, 50 year anniversaries, bi-centennial, millennium, etc… And last but certainly not least are the talented individuals who work hard to create beautiful music. They reminded me of just how important music can be and how it can make you feel. The great thing about live music is that you don’t simply passively listen to it, but rather you become part of it through a give and take. The performers join together and offer up their music. They in turn are inspired by the response they receive from their audience and the music takes flight. The audience breathes in the music and makes it their own and lets it move them and take them to a better place. At the end of the evening both are better for the experience. In addition to being fun, family gatherings are also frequently “interesting”. After all these are the people who have known you since you arrived on the scene or at least all of their lives. They have seen you at your best, worst and everything in between. And if they are like my sister they catalogue each of these moments away in the recesses of their memory for retrieval at the optimal time (optimal meaning most embarrassing). There is a scene from the movie “Princess Bride” that I’m often reminded of when trying to get a straight answer from my kids. In it, the heroes are trying to find a way into a castle that is blocked by a gate, which leads to the following exchange with the gatekeeper: For those of you who know my Dad well, you probably have heard a Birkie story or two or hundred. Why he missed the first 15 races I can’t imagine, but when he was 50 years old a friend of his who had done the race a few times convinced him that he should give it a try. My Mom was worried about him completing such a long and grueling event, and asked me if I would go along to make sure he was o.k. She shouldn’t have been worried, at least not about him, because he finished that first race before I did casino download korean, and with rare exception most every other race we have skied together (I have finished 15 Birkies to date). Good Day Everyone roulette online 5 card, Jake was one of only a handful of freshmen performers in the band and he did a great job, but the highlights of the evening were the featured upper classman musicians who were simply amazing. If they were playing along with a late-night band you would never notice they didn’t belong. The evening included one of the best trumpet performances I have ever heard, and a saxophonist’s who delighted the audience and brought them to their feet with an inspired performance. Actually my Dad skied 20 Birkies in 21 years. His reason for missing a year was that all the snow had melted and the race was cancelled. That almost didn’t deter him, and he had to go up to the start of the race to hear the official news of the cancellation in person… whereas a more reasonable but less enthusiastic skier (think his son) was more likely to conclude from the weather reports and mud on the ground that the race was a near impossibility and stay home. But not too many would accuse my Dad of being unenthusiastic where cross-country skiing is concerned. If it is snows a ¼ of an inch in November or December, he is out there pushing through this miniscule precipitation and the much larger quantity of leaves to get in a precious early season workout. In Southern Wisconsin you never know how long the snow will be around, so my Dad would say you have to make the most of it. If there is a heat wave and the snow melts, he will try the mostly frozen lake, and ski through slush or standing water to get one more workout in. “Nothing you can’t spell will ever work.” The reason for this review of the connection between base 10 system and celebrations is that my Dad recently hit a significant base ten milestone. Was it his 70th birthday? Nope…he already did that. His 50th year class reunion? Despite repeating a grade due to moving between countries he already celebrated that one too. His 50th wedding anniversary? Good guess, but that milestone is still a few years away. Given that they are now “responsible” teenagers, I figured I didn’t have to continually remind them not to do this anymore. But the splintered wood indicated otherwise, so I asked, “Hey Tucker, any idea of what or more specifically who could have hit your bed with enough force to splinter the bed frame?” Which was met with a blank stare (the animalistic instinct inherited from possums). Beginnings and endings are a part of each of our lives, and we often use the milestones created by them to define who we are. “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Middleton is full of places where little big things occur. The world class Performing Arts Center at the high school is figuratively and occasionally literally hopping with local talent. Our schools are terrific as are the extra-curricular activities available through them. If you enjoy following sports then you are in luck too as Middleton is the home to many fine community and school based sports programs. In addition there are plenty of great recreational resources to get you in the game as well. Henry Ward Beecher “The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don’t let it get the best of you.” Also deserving of credit is a district wide music program that is the envy of many throughout the state. Middleton is fortunate to have some truly dedicated teachers that take great pride in the programs they offer their kids. Unfortunately the support for music seems to be waning a bit in the current environment (send a message to your school board member and school principals to let them know you support music in your district), but hopefully the core of what is special about the district will persist. I will leave you with the same chorus from Joni Mitchell’s song the Circle Game where I left Pam and her Mom, “And the seasons go round and round; and the painted ponies go up and down; we’re captive on the carousel of time; we can’t return we can only look behind, from where we came; And go round and round and round; in the circle game.” Just this last week I got to see my son Jake, a junior at Middleton High School deutsche 2008 bailout, perform with his band Autumn Underground to a full house at the MHS commons. How many more times will I get to see him sing a song he wrote with a group of kids that rehearse in our basement? Also last week I got to see my son Tucker play his first Lacrosse game ever. That was likely the last time I will see him try a new sport for the first time. I am not particularly sad about either moment. They are growing and their lives are changing, and it is only natural that they will do some things for the first time as they do other things for the last time. “A fool and his money are soon elected.” I had no idea there was this much local talent in our midst, and I would wager that this doesn’t just happen by chance. The Middleton Jazz bands were led by their director, Mr. Brad Schneider, who certainly deserves much of the credit for providing this magical evening. Mr. Schneider is in turn supported by a small army of parent volunteers that helped make the event a reality. When you see the finish line you realize your journey is soon reaching its end, and the post race rituals are about to begin. Beer and brats rarely tastes better than they do at the Angler Bar in downtown Hayward after a long day of skiing. It is time to undo all of the good you have just done by exercising all day, and after a beer/brat and a shower we usually find our way to a restaurant for some guilt free eating and imbibing and repeating of stories that are 20+ years in the making and sometimes telling. So I said to myself android casino employment, “Think casino online the best, think, what can you do to make this right?” and I headed out the door in search of redemption, which I thought I found at Baskin Robbins (which was then located near the MacDonalds off of Allen Blvd). I used a big portion of my meager teen-age funds to purchase a Banana Split Ice Cream Pie and took it home and gave it to my Mom with an apology. She looked surprised and said, “What’s this for?” and I confessed to having eaten the banana cream pie. She then said, “That’s no big deal. Why do you think I would be mad about that?” My sister then came in the room and flashed me a Chesire Cat sized grin… to which I silently mouthed the word, “Criminy”. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone I hope you all make a memory or two and enjoy your equivalent of banana cream pie! I am proud of my Dad for achieving this base-10 milestone. The Birkebeiner has undoubtedly added to the quality and likely the quantity of his life. His example of what is possible merely if you choose to make it so will impact those around him for decades to come. With each of these approaching lasts for parents there is a realization that we are almost out of time to get in the lessons/advice/instructions we thought we had all the time in the world to convey. Some of these lessons are basic survival skills such as laundry, cooking, and changing a light bulb, while others are deeply profound such as being kind, patient, and giving with one other. Breast Cancer Awareness Sign up to your left and I will be in contact with you. I will be sending you a Welcome package and our goal for this quarter is to walk 2000 minutes by June 30th. The only request to be part of the Club is to walk at least 15 minutes every day and encourage at least one other person to do the same. Board of Director Member
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