AT THE ODD FELLOWS HALL
LIFE PRESENTS A RAT
YOU'LL MAKE A.......
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
KD Cat and the Xmas parade; Flowers; Military Secrets, A. Gopnik
The Waukesha Xmas parade is supposed to be coming!!!!
said KD, our new Odd Fellows Cat.
No parade quite yet. Excited people have been waiting for an hour down on the street.
But an early peddlar's cart is at least Something to watch!
Can I have me one of those lit-up FORCE wands? Some peanuts? Dashing trinkets?
Can I, huh, CAN I?
P-l-e-e-e-e-a-s-e!
O-K!
NOW it starts.......
Individuals have their own windows.
LOOK!
The 1st Congregational UCC parade float! A blur.
Float riders wave up at us.
We wave back!
LOOK NOW!
The RE/MAX balloon basket blasts it's fiery air.
In background, the long-vacant former Black Trumpet restaurant's
windows are ~ 'blackened' ~
It was a fine parade, and Officer Bruce's business association's promises were kept.
Even the stilt-walkers were evident, just like they said.
It was a long to-do overall
but just like all good things
it came to an end,
leading our 8 month old cat
to exclaim:
"Is...is....is that all there is?
Is that all there is to a Xmas parade?
Is that all there is?"
If that's all there is my friend,
Then, let's............:
......................
Peggy Lee might have been a pessimist at times
but we tend to look on the brighter side.
This extravagant show of flower-openings
convinces this diarist that there is
a Divine Creator,
Supreme Architect of the Universe,
Illustrator of incredible un-random beauty........
'La vida des los flores'
from Bob Heeschen
Special Agent, 113th CIC Corps, Ret'd.
St. Paul MN
.....................
St. Paul MN
.....................
ee cummings from Norb Blei, Ellison Bay WI
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any–lifted from the no
of all nothing–human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
–e.e. cummings
...........................
Ledge-walker
Bird-watcher
Ledge-walker
Bird-watcher
KD Cat performs final exercise before the launching
of today's 11/24/12 Raccoon:
Bell thumb-tacked to table is swung to get KD's attention. She prowls
in the back shadows of the pass-through, forbidden territory by Dee
but Dee is not around;
Alerted by soft ring of the bell, KD moves in;
and strikes, seriously!
.......................
PETRAEUS, Read
^.^
A fine video from Doug James of Bearsville, NY
http://www.wimp.com/quartetperforms/
Fini (30)
Friday, November 16, 2012
Jose, did you see?; Katy D.; William drawing; To Don Gehrmann
JOSE, DID YOU SEE?
The other day
by the dawn’s yet invisible light
a fleet shadow beat in place on the street
at the foot of your early morning Dave's Café
caused by old glory rippling furiously
in a westerly wind as it flew tethered
to the lamp post outside my window
and yours from the other side
of the downtown Five Points.
Due to the nearness of the bright street light shining
scant inches from the Veterans' Day banner
the shadow on Broadway was wide
and darkened a large patch of pavement
outside the diner where you worked
with Pam the waitress to open your place
for the first customers at 5 AM sharp.
Your own sign lights were not on yet.
It was a purposeful marching in place
that broad gray shadow
and the wind made the fabric snap
- I heard it from above -
so resolute was the otherwise invisible force.
It made me think of your routine, Jose,
of the hard force that earns your success
day in, day out, at the short-order grill
you so expertly play, feeding the hordes
trooping in and out of your café door.
It’s music to watch you work
playing that long grill like a J P Sousa marching xylophone.
Just you, turning eggs, bacon, sausages, American fries
pancakes, omelets, chorizzos, rib steaks and everything
on its proper grill space tended with multiple forks
And spatulas which you rap on the hot metal
With the rhythm of the Lionel Hampton player you are.
(DZD 11.16.12)
A Waukesha institution at the Five Points
Has anyone thought of asking Jose to serve on the BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID) BOARD?
....................
Call her KD
Katy D.
is a new cat in town
She moved into the Odd Fellows
on Nov. 15th
in her official OF costume
as a murderous spider
It is difficult to spot her
but for her eyes that reflect green
when a camera flash is triggered.
Here she was pictured
before we knew her and she was a hopeful candidate
for adoption at the humane society.
This was a PR shot taken by the clever people out there
on Northview
who are great in composing their ads.
In this picture the direction to the cat might have been
'LOOK HOPEFUL!'
Katy now provides a black silhouette at her post in the window.
From our Facebook:
Night number one: After an evening of continued getting acquainted with each other and this labyrinthian Odd Fellows hall with its many passageways and secret places, upstairs and down, Katy retired with us and after much continual purring settled to sleep on Dee's pillow between her head and the headboard. I slipped out of bed to come up here to get my camera to see if I could get that. Katy and Dee sound asleep on a common pillow. After tip-toeing up the stairs slowly, as quietly as I could, I switched on the office light to get the camera, and there Katy was, at my feet. Black, she is not easily discernible. Well, so much for the picture. Now she reposes in the rocking chair behind me at the keyboard. ^.^ This looks like solid friendship.
Katy has on Day 2 pretty much finished
checking the perimeters of her new home and has established
a favorite resting place on the middle window sill, encouraged
by the clearing of space and placement of a small blanket for her to lie upon.
The bird feed tray is in a different window.
Now, expansively, she demonstrates a keen interest in mischief.
Modest Xmas lights give some cover, but not much.
We bought a fleece-lined cat bed for the late Mona
but try as we did, she did not like it.
On Night One, Katy goes right to it on her own
giving yet another indication that this is a
very different breed of cat.
The adoption procedure at the new and attractive HAWS shelter is professional
and caring. Animal specialists abound.
This marker stands at the door
as users of the facility come and go
in joy, and............ sometimes, sorrow.
Right now, we've got one very happy cat!
All are happy!
....................
A drawing of one of his cats was done for me in the back pew of the peanut gallery
by William Redding, now age 12. I asked him to sign it and date it as it would
one day be valuable. He perhaps half- (or totally) believingly obliged.
Don Gehrmann, Olympian Miler
was our high school hero
READ:
We correspond with Don today.
He is 84 yrs old. We're 76.
of the downtown Five Points.
scant inches from the Veterans' Day banner
- I heard it from above -
so resolute was the otherwise invisible force.
(DZD 11.16.12)
A Waukesha institution at the Five Points
Has anyone thought of asking Jose to serve on the BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID) BOARD?
....................
Call her KD
Katy D.
is a new cat in town
She moved into the Odd Fellows
on Nov. 15th
in her official OF costume
as a murderous spider
It is difficult to spot her
but for her eyes that reflect green
when a camera flash is triggered.
Here she was pictured
before we knew her and she was a hopeful candidate
for adoption at the humane society.
This was a PR shot taken by the clever people out there
on Northview
on Northview
who are great in composing their ads.
In this picture the direction to the cat might have been
'LOOK HOPEFUL!'
Katy now provides a black silhouette at her post in the window.
From our Facebook:
Night number one: After an evening of continued getting acquainted with each other and this labyrinthian Odd Fellows hall with its many passageways and secret places, upstairs and down, Katy retired with us and after much continual purring settled to sleep on Dee's pillow between her head and the headboard. I slipped out of bed to come up here to get my camera to see if I could get that. Katy and Dee sound asleep on a common pillow. After tip-toeing up the stairs slowly, as quietly as I could, I switched on the office light to get the camera, and there Katy was, at my feet. Black, she is not easily discernible. Well, so much for the picture. Now she reposes in the rocking chair behind me at the keyboard. ^.^ This looks like solid friendship.
Katy has on Day 2 pretty much finished
checking the perimeters of her new home and has established
a favorite resting place on the middle window sill, encouraged
by the clearing of space and placement of a small blanket for her to lie upon.
The bird feed tray is in a different window.
Now, expansively, she demonstrates a keen interest in mischief.
Modest Xmas lights give some cover, but not much.
We bought a fleece-lined cat bed for the late Mona
but try as we did, she did not like it.
On Night One, Katy goes right to it on her own
giving yet another indication that this is a
very different breed of cat.
The adoption procedure at the new and attractive HAWS shelter is professional
and caring. Animal specialists abound.
A drawing of one of his cats was done for me in the back pew of the peanut gallery
by William Redding, now age 12. I asked him to sign it and date it as it would
one day be valuable. He perhaps half- (or totally) believingly obliged.
.............................
Don Gehrmann, Olympian Miler
was our high school hero
READ:
We correspond with Don today.
He is 84 yrs old. We're 76.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Rac-you-pine; House guest; Lee Holland; Celebrations
On pins and needles
with many in this Republican bastion
of Waukesha County
sticking pins in our Democratic effigies
and hoping for 'their' best and 'our' worst,
At the Odd Fellows hall
we had confidence that the nation
- the multi-contextual voters of this vast land -
would thread the needle
and they did!
We had three lights, our only effect,
in our windows
having just studied Parker Palmer's
Healing the Heart of Democracy
thus pulling in our horns;
Our Paul Revere signal:
Blue if by Democrat
Red if by Republican
and White, completing an American
void-of-color or presence-of-all-colors
statement.
Our preference,
was, from the street level,
not clearly known.
But the old Indian bank, years ago
converted to a lamp
shone all of its 25 watts,
yielding a blue cast to that window.
Our guest at the Odd Fellows.
Bob Heeschen
my old 1958-1962 US Army compatriate
came down from St. Paul MN
to be with us on election night,
and took this picture of Dee and me
the morning after.
................................
Former Special Agent Robert Heeschen
brought an old discovered box of black and white
Minox spy camera images he'd long ago taken
and shared them with us during his visit on election eve.
He had a picture of yours-truly taken near the guard shack
of the Army Reserve base we had our mutual 113th CIC Group office
nestled within, at
Bryn Mawr and Kedzie Aves, Chicago, IL.
I spent 4.5 years there with the US Army,
in plain clothes as an investigator and agent
pursuing clandestine operations, very heady work
for a 25 year old.
First, there was passing a stringent background check,
something I would never get the green light on today.
Bob had the guts to photograph his
(federal agent) badge and credentials
with his Minox.
I don't think we were supposed to duplicate
those, but h-e-r-r-r-e-'-s BOB'S!
Mine was identical.
Before
we got to Army Counter-Intelligence training at Fort Holabird MD, we,
as incoming soldiers, had to undergo
traditional basic training.
At Fort Leonard Wood MO in 1958
I learned to march and run with full pack
and rifle and do obstacle courses
and charge at sandbag dummies
shrieking KILL-KILL-KILL
as we plunged our bayonets
and twisted them
to the eventual satisfaction
of the drill sergeant,
a cursing, foul-mouthed devil-man.
All the while, our company commander
a gung-ho 2nd Lieutenant
assured the two of us who were supposed
to be going for our further education
at 'college-campus' Holabird
where we were to shed our
uniforms for good, what we had enlisted for,
that we should LISTEN-UP
because there was no way
~in hell ~
we were going to be going there!
We were preparing for WAR somewhere
(Korea flaring up? Etc.)
which would pre-empt any idyllic plans
we might have had.
But at the end of the eight week ordeal
-US Army Basic Training -
that would color my attitudes forever
we did get to go to Holabird.
No kill, kill, kill.
The rest was classified.
PS: Our superior in the Chicago office
was Capt. Leland Holland
who many years later was to be
one of the Iranian Hostages.
...........................
PLAY THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwZsFKIXa8
(Beatles, Money Can't Buy You Love)
and/or read this:
................................
The view across the Five Points from us at the Odd Fellows
in July;
Soon thereafter, the unknown occupant(s) took down the snake blanket
but added another Romney sign.
Today, the Romney signs are both down
but the Don't Tread On Me blanket still hangs in
the right window.
Message rec'd.
Moments before I clicked the camera shutter, a city truck had paused and
stuck one American flag in the socket just above the bead shop awning.
It is a double socket and two flags could have been inserted.
Maybe the presence of the flag in the window behind it negated
a triple effort.
Veterans Day, the purpose of the flags, 11/11 is coming up. We NEVER forget that date
here, for it also marks our wedding anniversary,
a knot tied by Eagle Scout Rev. Dr. John Helt with whom I had breakfast
this very morning (11/9) next door and down from the snake window, at Dave's Cafe.
John married us on 11/11/83, Veterans Day, so we've been married
29 years. John brought gifts in commemoration.
And as if having election day and an anniversary in one week
were not enough festivity at the Odd Fellows, add in that Dee also had her birthday
in this busy week.
She got many birthday cards, several from church friends,
each one with a personal message in tenderly-placed script of how much she means to
the senders. We are indeed all very lucky to have her!
..............................
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012
to take up where Mona left off.
A birthday/anniversary event.
.................................
And
look at this:
The local newspaper finally ran the article by John Schoenknecht
about the truly great archaeological dig next door to us in the former
National Bank building, one of the Five Points in the downtown.
A mosaic one guesses will be beautiful to eventually see was
painstakingly revealed under inches of overlying concrete, thanks
to building owners, the Huelsman family.
A thus-far unidentified store outlet will be going in, that will be allegedly
purveying health products and services to the thirsty downtown looking
for refreshment, and antidotes to vacancies wherever they can be aptly found.
Berg, the raccoon landlords at present, are again to be congratulated
for their pursuits on behalf of their interests which are blessedly Waukesha's!
Yards distant from the soon to be revealed Huelsman bank bldg mosaic
now behind an under-construction new door entrance, hangs this stained glass
panel of the same Waukesha City Seal. It is in our center window overlooking
The Five Points.
Marked with a green arrow, the name of the artist friend, the late Bob Uchner,
is unobtrusively etched. We bought it from Bob at the time after he'd made
a series of these seals for the infamous gazebo, currently reposing
out of the way, near the Waukesha State Bank.
Writer/historian John Schoenknecht, who did the piece on the National Bank
exposition in the Freeman, knew I would be very delighted to learn
of such a revelation.
We are friends, and he once, as editor of the LANDMARK
quarterly of the Waukesha Historical Society published
this poem we wrote, which seems germane to the subject overall:
In Waukesha
We don’t think about it very much anymore
but the ghosts of native Americans might;
we walk, or alas, drive their ancient trading trails
paved many times over;
even our later inter-urban streetcar tracks
are now out of sight,
buried like their lightly-beaten paths
by time and poured concrete
and newcomers can’t get the gist of traveling downtown,
can’t figure these streets out because so many diagonals
cut through strangely, they say.
But it was all so simple then
for the woodland people
to follow their converging spoke-like paths
to the now downtown five points trading posts
No doubt
going through thick woods
from their outlying settlements,
intending to live forever in their homeland
upon which they trod so gently
Pioneers built great improvements
on their sacred burial grounds
and cannons stand in the library park
passing time’s additions, tentatively,
muddying the purer water of days
dim to us, unknown;
But not to the ghosts
who watched flowing streams
clear away many other silty stirrings
only for a moment hiding customary clarity
We are being watched by these patient spirits
these spector ‘savages’ who knew so much.
Their way to our downtown
is abiding.
We don’t think about it very much anymore
but the ghosts of native Americans might;
we walk, or alas, drive their ancient trading trails
paved many times over;
even our later inter-urban streetcar tracks
are now out of sight,
buried like their lightly-beaten paths
by time and poured concrete
and newcomers can’t get the gist of traveling downtown,
can’t figure these streets out because so many diagonals
cut through strangely, they say.
But it was all so simple then
for the woodland people
to follow their converging spoke-like paths
to the now downtown five points trading posts
No doubt
going through thick woods
from their outlying settlements,
intending to live forever in their homeland
upon which they trod so gently
Pioneers built great improvements
on their sacred burial grounds
and cannons stand in the library park
passing time’s additions, tentatively,
muddying the purer water of days
dim to us, unknown;
But not to the ghosts
who watched flowing streams
clear away many other silty stirrings
only for a moment hiding customary clarity
We are being watched by these patient spirits
these spector ‘savages’ who knew so much.
Their way to our downtown
is abiding.
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