COUSIN MARK'S EXCELLENT VACATION

MAN RIDES MOTORCYCLE TO WAUKESHA WISCONSIN FROM BROOKLYN IOWA TO SEE SEWER RACCOONS

SEES THEM, DEPARTS HAPPILY

This morning at 7 AM, Mr. Mark Dix, cousin of the managing editor of the Waukesha Sewer Raccoon News, left town headed back to the Mississippi River and into the Iowa heartland after realizing his dream, to actually see a Sewer Raccoon.

Having heard so much about them as a regular reader of the SRN but being the sort of fellow who needed to see for himself, Mr. Dix traversed the many miles on a throbbing, hammering motorcycle over the Labor Day weekend. He was not disappointed. Two raccoons popped up from their customary storm grate doorway to the sewer, almost on cue.

The Iowa Dix was hosteled at the sewer raccoon headquarters across the street from the storm grate. His purpose for his long motorcycle ride was to see the coons, not to indulge in the celebrated Harley-Davidson 105th anniversary motorcycle Labor Day Weekend. That did not interest him.

While here, he saw the raccoon district memorial that was constructed from an historic Maytag washing machine reposing in the back yard. His father, the late Maynard Dix, was a long-time engineer at the Maytag factory in Newton, Iowa. Year by year, he engineered and assured the famously trouble-free Maytag washers.

In WW II, he was a nearly shot-down heroic bombardier-navigator of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Nearing the end of his assigned 25 missions over Germany, Uncle Maynard took control from the wounded pilot and co-pilot and flew the flak-hit bomber back across the English Channel to the air base, barely but successfully bringing back the surviving crew members in the badly damaged airplane, with one faltering but working engine.

Maynard lived to produce, with wife Virginia, sons Mark and Douglas. That is a story in itself, the Iowa history of the Dix clan.

Arriving on Saturday, Mark spent three nights in a bedroom just across the street from the famous sewer grate where he kept periodic watch for additional raccoonage. They are most active raiders during the nocturnal hours. None appeared, so he was glad to get a quick glimpse of them on Labor Day, a day of rest for the usually busy burglars. The sewer grate is visible in this farewell photo (far right) as he rode out of town.

Mark Dix, never married, did realize a second dream while visiting Waukesha, when he joined his cousin for the customary Sunday morning sidewalk discussion group outside of a Brookfield Deli.

During the iced tea hour, a beautiful single woman sat at a table near us. Mark spent much time with her, talking - while his cousin eventually slept in the car - and made enough headway to obtain her Email address. She disclosed that she was from Iowa too, thus establishing an immediate bond.

Two profound pavement meetings In Wisconsin for Mark Dix!

The gentleman of Brooklyn Iowa left Wisconsin with warm visions of Therese and the sewer raccoons dancing in his head.

^.^

OUR PARTING ADVISORY

It's not the high hurdle that hurts the horse's hooves,

it's the hammer, hammer , hammer on the hard highway!