Racine | Mixed Metaphors

Aug 07 2016

Posts

Ode to Blue-Collar Working Class Heroes

“There’s room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill” —John Lennon, Working Class Hero

In July both the Republican and Democratic Presidential Conventions concluded. Each party, their supporters, speakers, and candidates have driven stakes, describing in detail— some more than others — their position on the issues, their plans for the future, and identified who their party represents, or not. The Republicans embraced fear, law and order, and promised to “Make America Great Again.” The Democrats expressed optimism for the future and reaffirmed that America is already great, in fact, in the words of Michelle Obama, “This right now is the greatest country on earth.” And as a people, we are “Stronger Together.” Continue reading →

Tagged 2016 Presidential Election, Activism, Blue-Collar, Donald Trump, Elections, Family, Fathers, Hillary Clinton, Marriage, Memoir, Mothers, Personal Narratives, Politics, Racine, Sixties, Wisconsin, Working Class

May 08 2016

Posts

Without Her: A Mother’s Day Lament

“The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her.” — Author unknown

On this Mother’s Day I want to express my gratitude. I’m lucky. My eyes first met my mother’s over 66 years ago on the day I was born. She was the first person I ever experienced in life, whose flesh touched mine, her smell familiar, whose breasts nourished me, and whose arms held me close to her heart. I’m sure I was comforted by the sound of her soft voice and steady heartbeat that I heard while still in her womb. Every year on my birthday I felt intimately close to her. We often shared tears, tears of gratitude and joy. This year was the last one we’ll ever share together. Mom died 10 days after my birthday. This is my first Mother’s Day without her. Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Death, Family, Fathers, Grief, Holidays, Home, Legacy, Loss, Love, Memoir, Mother's Day, Mothers, Movies, Racine, Relationships, Sisters, Stories

Apr 03 2016

3 Comments

Posts

Pajama Day: Or How I Failed at Hobnobbing

Pajama Day: “A day, usually on a weekend or during a day off, when you have nothing to do and sit around lazily in your pajamas, not leaving the house. Often involves eating cereal for every meal and excessive television/video games.”

Hobnobbing: “Mix socially, especially with those of higher social status. To hobnob means to chat and share a laugh and a drink in the presence of other people at a function or party.”

First, a little background: Things that make you say “Hmmm!” It’s April in Wisconsin and on the eve of the Presidential Primary election statewide servers were down for several hours Friday — April Fool’s Day — disrupting the last day of in-person absentee voting. Next, it’s officially spring, yet yesterday’s weather was bipolar, alternating between blizzardy snow with blustery winds and blue skies with powder puff clouds. Continue reading →

Tagged H.A.L.T., HobNob Restaurant, Hobnobbing, Pajama Day, Racine, Supper Club Club, Supper Clubs, Wisconsin

Mar 05 2016

2 Comments

Posts

On the Move Again!

“The first step in getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — Unknown

It’s that time of year in Madison, Wisconsin when U-Hauls and Two Men and a Truck will soon clog the streets. Popup curbside flea markets appear overnight as university students dump their second-hand furniture and poorly-assembled IKEA desks and bookcases rather than move them. It’s so commonplace that when student leases expire on August 15^th, we’ve dubbed it “Hippie Christmas.” Continue reading →

Tagged Aging in Place, Cohousing, Home, Letting Go, Madison, Moving, New Beginnings, Packing, Racine, Third Act, Third Place, Unpacking, UW Madison, UW Parkside, Wisconsin

Jan 31 2016

4 Comments

Posts

The Loud Family Loses a Loved One

We Say Goodbye to Our Matriarch

First, a little background: In 1973 American TV audiences were introduced to a groundbreaking 12-part documentary series on PBS entitled An American Family featuring the Louds, an upper middle class family in Santa Barbara, California. This was considered the first reality TV series. Keeping with its irreverent tradition of satirizing American culture, Saturday Night Live in season four, episode six, created its own Loud family, starring Jane Curtin as Mrs. Loud, Bill Murray as Mr. Loud and their daughters, Gilda Radner and guest host, Carrie Fisher with supporting characters played by John Belushi, Dan Ayckroyd and Garrett Morris. Continue reading →

Tagged Brother, Death, Ethel Mae Lenzke, Family, Father, Friends, Funeral, Grandmother, Grieving, Home, Loss, Love, Matriarch, Mother, Racine, Sisters, Stories, The Loud Family, Wife

Dec 22 2015

1 Comment

Posts

Full Moon on Christmas Day: Part I

Pre-Holiday Musings & Memories of Christmas Past

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The bright moon glows amongst pines.” — Wang Wei

Christmas approaches and for those who celebrate this Christian holiday — or families like mine of Northern European heritage who practice a more Americanized consumer tradition —we are being treated to a Full Cold Moon on Christmas Day. The Full Cold Moon is also called the Long Night Moon by some Native American tribes because it’s near the Winter Solstice. Continue reading →

Tagged Childhood Memories, Christmas, Christmas Tree, Family, Family Traditions, Fifties, Full Cold Moon, Full Moon, Gifts, Holidays, Home, Ornaments, Racine, Santa, Sixties, Tinsel, Winter Solstice

Nov 29 2015

Posts

Waxing Sentimental

Nostalgia: (n.) a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

Tomorrow, Monday, November 30^th is Cyber Monday. It’s the online equivalent of Black Friday, the Monday following Thanksgiving when people return to work and shop online and take advantage of deep discounts and promotions. In late November 2005, The New York Times reported: “The name Cyber Monday grew out of the observation that millions of otherwise productive working Americans, fresh off a Thanksgiving weekend of window shopping, were returning to high-speed Internet connections at work Monday and buying what they liked.” Continue reading →

Tagged Baby Boomers, Bookstores, Brick & Mortar, Cyber Monday, E-Commerce, Films, Madison, Movies, Music, Nostalgia, Online Retailers, Racine, Record Stores, Seventies, Sixties, Third Place, Tower Records, Video Stores

Oct 05 2015

2 Comments

Posts

Random Topics

Historical Smoking, Coffee Naps, and Blog Writing & Babysitting

As a blogger, I mine my daily life for topics to write about. I set out to find something timely and meaningful, something that my readers can relate to, a universal message or lesson to discover in my lived experience. Another option is to choose a subject from the news of the day to comment on, however sometimes current events are tragically overwhelming, as in the gun violence and murders this week at a community college in Oregon, or the suicide of loved LGBTQ activist-youth who lost his battle with depression right here in Madison. In these cases I need time to sit with my feelings and formulate my thoughts before putting fingers to keyboard. Continue reading →

Tagged Blog Writing, Cigarettes, Cinephile, Coffee Naps, E-Cigarettes, Historical Smoking, Madison, Movie Ratings, Movies, Racine, Random

Sep 20 2015

1 Comment

Posts

Pick a Metaphor: Life-Planning

The Three Boxes of Life
Whack-a-Mole
Juggling: When All the Balls Are in the Air

As readers of my blog already know, I like to mix metaphors. Today I introduce the first installment of another Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! series entitled, Pick a Metaphor. In this series I will choose a topic and look at it based on a number of metaphors. What I have found in my own life is that sometimes the metaphor I select to describe an issue I’m facing sets the tone of how I will think and feel about it. Continue reading →

Tagged Death, Family, Friends, Home, LGBTQ, Life-Planning, Madison, Metaphors, Racine, Relationships, Retirement, Third Act, Work, Working Class

Sep 06 2015

Posts

The Pleasures (and Lessons) of a Staycation

“A vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer.”— Urban Dictionary

“You don’t have to go far to travel.” — Me

It’s that time of year again when September arrives and I extend the Labor Day holiday by taking my annual Staycation. While students return to school after their families unpack from vacation and pack those back-to-school backpacks full of brand new school supplies, I take a break from my day-to-day work routines and make my “to-do only if I want to lists.” Continue reading →

Tagged Autumn, Family, Films, Friends, Holidays, Home, Journaling, Journals, Madison, Movies, Racine, September, Staycation, The Changing Seasons, Wisconsin, Work, Writing

Mixed Metaphors

Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! – A place where words, this writer, and readers play together.

Tag Archives: Racine

Ode to Blue-Collar Working Class Heroes

Without Her: A Mother’s Day Lament

Pajama Day: Or How I Failed at Hobnobbing

On the Move Again!

The Loud Family Loses a Loved One

Full Moon on Christmas Day: Part I

Waxing Sentimental

Random Topics

Pick a Metaphor: Life-Planning

The Pleasures (and Lessons) of a Staycation