Mr. Carter Man
There are few events in your life where you remember EVERYTHING. One of those rare times for me was when my nephew Carter was born. It was five years ago on Monday, St. Patrick's Day. I remember what I was wearing. I remember the 24-hours leading up to it. I remember what the air smelled like.
I was about to become an auntie for the first time and I was beside myself with lots of different emotions. Happy because … well … I was going to be an auntie … and terrified because Carter was diagnosed inutero with a Congenital Heart Defect called Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulminary Valve. We would also learn of other complications and issues that would finally lead to his 99 day hospital stay complete with seven surgeries – one while he was the ripe ol' age of six days. This little boy captured my entire heart immediately and my life was never the same. When I was at the anatomy scan for my own son three years later, I asked the doctor to explain to me what my sister was looking at during Carter's anatomy scan and that's when my heart sunk and the tears fell. My little guy had to fight so hard because his tiny little heart just wasn't put together the correct way.
So here we are five years later. Every year I'm reminded of his bravery and hope someday he'll truly know how much he has changed every person in our family for the good. In his first birthday card, I wrote him an auntie Netty poem. I hadn't looked at it in forever, but all of these words still hold every ounce of power that they did when I first wrote them.
~~To Be You
On the day I was told you were on your way
I smiled and thought what a beautiful day
On the day I was told you were a boy
I couldn’t help but express my joy
On the day I was told you might have a rough go
I believed you’d be fine and give ‘em a show
On the day I realized you’d have to fight
I cried myself into the night
On the day I first saw your beautiful face
I wanted to stay forever in that very place
On the day I got to touch your cheek
I fell in love and my knees were weak
On the day I first held you in my arms
I got a glimpse of all your charm
On the day I first heard your voice
I gave you my heart, I had no choice
On the day you came home to stay
I praised the Lord in every way
Now every single day is new
And you’re the focus through and through
I love you for your huge, brown eyes
I love you for your smile, so wise
I love you for always grabbing my nose
I love you for always grabbing your toes
May rainbows and unicorns dance in your dreams
May your beautiful soul learn to fly
May you always feel the love around you
May you see everything and try …
To be brave
To be strong
To be wise
To be you
Seasons in the Sun
In 1961, the Belgian composer Jacques Brel wrote “Le Moribond,” a dark song about a man about to be executed, and sang it in an unsentimental, almost jazzy style. Sample lyric, translated to English:
Goodbye, Tony, I didn’t like you too much you know
It’s killing me to be dying today
While you are so vigorous and full of life
And stronger even than boredom itself
In 1964, the poet Rod McKuen rewrote it (and gave it a new title), but a recording of the new version, by Bob Shane, didn’t become a hit. The Beach Boys cut it in 1973, but decided not to release it. The producer on the Beach Boys sessions, Terry Jacks, recorded it himself after rewriting some of the lyrics yet again, turning the protagonist from a condemned prisoner into a guy dying of something generic. Brel is a macho guy facing death casually, smoking a cigarette and waving away the blindfold as the firing squad takes aim. Jacks, however, is a man of the 1970, earnest and sensitive, trying to leave nothing unsaid before he joins the Choir Invisible. And 40 years ago this month, "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks hit #1 in America and stayed there for three weeks.
People are not usually neutral about "Seasons in the Sun." Fans of 70s music often consider it one of the songs that's essential in describing what it was like to listen to AM radio back then, a great big slice of tasty gourmet cheese. Other people just HATE it. Which team are you on: Team Terry, or Team Kill It With Fire?
Driving Etiquette
I will never take for granted my little seven-minute drive to work I used to have. We moved a year and a half ago to the east side of Madison, so now I'm a beltline commuter. These are the things that I've all too many times seen, watched and witnessed that just baffle me … and sometimes anger me. So here they go:
- If your car sat outside all night and we got inches of snow … clean the dang snow off your back window. You can't see, genius!
- If someone obviously slows down to let you into their lane during rush hour traffic, make the lane change and then give 'em a quick wave out your back window to thank them. They didn't have to do it.
- Do NOT take an exit off the beltline only to cross over the road and take the entry ramp back on to the beltine. You, my friend, are one of the reasons why it's taking so long to get to work. And do you honestly think you're saving yourself any time?
- When the light turns yellow and you go through the intersection, please make sure you're not going to get stuck in the middle of the intersection when your light turns red. Because now, everyone who has a green light can't go. There are expletives being screamed in cars at you … and you don't want expletives being screamed at you, do you?
- And here's just a thought: If there's an accident on the beltline during rush hour traffic because someone wasn't paying attention, their name should be published online so that they can be publicly shamed. Pay attention!
Okay so now this is coming off of an almost two-hour commute yesterday and an awful winter for driving anywhere nevertheless the beltline. So this is a little more negative and mean than I usually like to be. Once we get a day above 45 degrees, I may have a change of heart and come back and delete this post. ? Be careful and be kind, commuters!!
On the Hunt
Yep, we're on the hunt for a new vehicle. My sweet, wonderful 2001 Jetta, Brigetta, has seen her better days. She's got hail damage, a banged up passenger-side headlight from a fender bender and the 'check engine' light that used to turn on for me every once in a while just stays lit now. It's time to look for a new car.
We've never had a vehicle we could fit Everett and the two dogs at the same time, so we've decided on something with third-row seating. My husband, Marc, is pretty dead-set against mini vans, so that leaves us with an SUV. I like the Chevy Traverse and the Acura MDX. Marc wants to look at the Dodge Journey – and I think a Toyota something or other. We'll see what we can do here.
Here's what I've learned about myself: I couldn't care less about vehicles. I mean, I want one that works and has enough space for us. Other than that, I'm pretty good to go. Thank God Marc used to sell cars and is generally an enthusiast of the four-wheeled type, so I'll let him do all the hard work. I'll take the keys when all is said and done, please and thank you.
If you have a third-row SUV that you love, please let me know at: lanette@magic98.com.
Coming Out of the Dark
There's an author who once said something that has stuck with me for years. "Please be responsible for the energy you bring into this space." I love that and think of it often. So, I'm well aware that I'm about to bring negative energy into this space, but this winter can kiss my butt! Oh my LORD … between the freezing cold and the constant snow, we haven't had any good time outside in the fresh air since December. And to top it all off, my family had the stomach flu four weeks ago and H1N1 last week. I have disinfected every inch of my house … every lightswitch, every doorknob, every surface that couldn't run from me – a million times. I hope and pray we can stay healthy for the remainder of the winter.
I will never underestimate a beautiful spring evening when we can eat dinner and then head outside to shoot some hoops or go for a walk around the neighborhood ever again. Please Mother Nature … I'm sorry for ever cursing you out in the 100 degree temps just a few months ago. I didn't mean it and I've learned my lesson. You win. Just give us a morning without a negative sign in from of the temperature. The furnace needs a break. There's not enough water in the world to put any moisture back into the air. Last night I got out of bed and my fuzzy pajama pants actually created sparks when I moved in the sheets. And our skin? I should've bought stock in chapstick and hand lotion…after this winter, I would've been a millionaire!!
It's time to do the right thing Ms. Nature, ma'am. Give us our spring, please. Nevermind that pesky rodent and his shadow … you can totally trump him. For the love of all things sunshiney and warm … spring needs to be here. NOW!
The Beatles in Wisconsin
Fifty years ago this week, the Beatles landed in America, played on "The Ed Sullivan Show," and changed millions of lives, along with the very course of history. While a certain degree of Beatlemania was happening everywhere in the spring and summer of 1964, it got an extra jolt of intensity in Wisconsin in September, when the Beatles played a concert at the Milwaukee Arena during their second American tour.
About 12,000 tickets were sold for the September 4 show, priced from $3.50 to $5.50, which was a lot of money 50 years ago–equivalent to between about $25 and $40 today. The show began at 8:00 that Friday night with several opening acts: Jackie De Shannon, the Exciters, Bill Black's Combo, and Clarence "Frogman" Henry, a soul singer who replaced the originally scheduled Righteous Brothers. Milwaukee DJ Eddie Doucette (later famous as a sportscaster) introduced the opening acts; another DJ, Bob Berry, introduced the Beatles themselves, after turning down the job at first because the concert promoter wasn't going to pay him to do it. The headliners hit the stage at about 9:10 and played for maybe 30 minutes before heading to their hotel, the Coach House Motor Inn on Wisconsin Avenue (which is now a Marquette University dorm).
The Beatles stayed in Milwaukee until the next afternoon. Before they left town, Paul McCartney made a brief phone call to a hospitalized 14-year-old fan who'd had a ticket to the show but couldn't go. She would have talked to him forever, of course, but he had to cut the call short because the band had a show in Chicago that night. And after a little more than 24 hours in Wisconsin, the Beatles left.
Super Chili Tradition
Super Bowl Sunday is not far off, and at our house, we'll revisit our annual tradition: Super Bowl Chili. I've made a pot of some kind of chili for every Super Bowl game since 1984, so this is the 31st annual.
The recipe changes from year to year. When the tradition began, it was a simple recipe from the cookbook that came with our first microwave oven, the one we got as a wedding present from Ann's parents. It's gotten both more and less elaborate as time's gone by. I usually make it from scratch, but I have also been known to buy one of those canned Chili Magic things from the grocery store in a pinch. One of my favorite recipes uses fried bologna. (It's not very healthy, but it's insanely good.) I tried making an Emeril recipe with andouille sausage one year (which wasn't all that great), and I've used my brother's recipe several years even though he's the only one who can ever get it right. My most reliable recipe is one from Cherokee Bison Farm. It has so much stuff in it that I had to get a special giant pot to make it in. The recipe is meant to be made with ground bison, of course, but I've used ground turkey and even ground emu over the years.
The sides and desserts vary from year to year, too. The only constant is that there's always too much of everything. And there's beer. Oh yes, plenty of beer.
Enjoy the game, everybody.
Mikayla's Grace
Loss and grief are two powerful, powerful forces. They can grip your gut and take you down in a moment's notice. And it doesn't matter if your loss was 10 days ago or 10 years ago. Grief has a way of sticking around to haunt you in your lonliest times, but it can also empower you to do things you never thought you could. Melissa is the founder of Mikayla's Grace. From the grief of losing two babies, she was able to rise above it and start an organization to support families who have gone through or are going through child or pregnancy loss.
My family stumbed upon Mikayla's Grace after having to say good-bye to our angel baby, my brother's son, Samuel Paul. It was a sense of comaraderie and with that comes strength. Being with other people who have experienced what you're going through is really indescribable. It's like you can let your hair down and say what you want because they've been there and won't judge. Mikayla's Grace is also focused on being proactive. They help in the NICUs and the ERs doing what they can for families right in the thick of things. They're also working on getting nurses bereavement training so they can feel better equipped to help as well.
I'm very proud to be a part of their very first fundraiser tomorrow, Saturday, 1/18. If you head to Point Cinema for the 10am showing of Despicable Me, you'll be able to see a great family movie as well as fundraise for an amazing organization. Marcus Theatres is donating every single dollar to Mikayla's Grace…and that's SO cool. Click here to buy your tickets. See you there!
Beer and Wine Tourist
As I have written here before, I am a beer and wine tourist. Ann and I will take off on a weekend afternoon just to visit some winery or brewery in the area, and when we travel farther afield, we always bring a list of likely spots to hit along the way. (Some smart economist has probably already figured out the financial value of such tourism; I can tell you that we dropped a tidy pile of cash into the winery/brewery economy of Michigan on a recent weekend visit.)
Beer and wine tourism isn't always about visiting specific places – it can also involve attending specific events. Madison's Great Taste of the Midwest, one of the country's oldest and largest beer festivals, brings literally millions of dollars into the Dane County economy every August as visitors come from all over the country to stay in hotels, buy restaurant meals–and take home carloads of beer they can't get anywhere else. The Isthmus Beer and Cheese Festival on Saturday January 18 is getting a reputation as an event worth traveling for, too. And there's a new event coming this summer that's likely to create quite a buzz: the Bacon, Brew and BBQ Fest at Angell Park in Sun Prairie set for July 12. The event is still in the planning stages and the lineup of participating brewers and restaurants is still being set. But with the three magic words – bacon, brew, and BBQ – it can't help but be great, right?
Tickets will go on sale March 1.. Will Ann and I be there? Was Lincoln a car?