document.write('\x3cmeta http-equiv=\x22x-dns-prefetch-control\x22 content=\x22off\x22/\x3e\x3col class=\x22tumblr_posts\x22\x3e\x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eChurch hills of Wisconsin\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22482\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxb27lGz7v1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22363\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cem\x3eJan. 4. 2012\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe first steps I took in 2012 were up a steep hill off of Bay Shore Drive in Door County.\x3cbr/\x3eThat\u2019s better than starting the year by going downhill.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe Northern Wisconsin wind slapped my face around\u00a0 like a pimp as I took a gentle\u00a0 curve to the Church Hill Inn in Sister Bay. I was heading to\u00a0 Ephraim. I felt old. I had booked myself into the frilly bed and breakfast because it was walking distance from the Sister Bay Bowl and supper club.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI love the concept of a supper club and bowling alley in one space. I love going to a summer destination in the dead of winter.\x3cbr/\x3eAnd the fact that Whiskey Ditch was playing for free sealed the deal.\x3cbr/\x3eWhat a great name for a band.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22356\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxb2fv0kr31qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22269\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe Green Bay band played almost all their songs in John Mellencamp rock style, with the drummer constantly riffing the backbeat of \u201cThe Authority Song.\u201d It didn\u2019t matter if it was John Fogerty\u2019s \u201cFortunate Son\u201d or Ian Hunter\u2019s \u201cOnce Bitten, Twice Shy\u201d all the tunes had gnarly four wheel drive. I never thought I\u2019d hear John Denver\u2019s \u201cLeavin\u2019 on a Jet Plane\u201d sound like \u201cThe Authority Song,\u201d but Whiskey Ditch pulled it off.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI did not want to motor around Door County on New Year\u2019s Eve with Illinois plates, so the Church Hill Inn was the closest bet to stay away from local authorities. \x3cbr/\x3eThe Stella Maris Parish church is across the street from the Church Hill Inn, so I definitely was on higher ground.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe pleasantly rotund innkeeper is English. The warm English pub area and parlor is decorated with Winston Churchill portraits, and bric-a-brac such as Churchill tea cup. It was all kind of stuffy, and to make things worse I was booked into a room called \u201cVictorian Times.\u201d\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22268\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxb2vojY3g1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22357\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI noticed a framed autographed picture of John Cleese from the hit British hotel sitcom\u00a0 \u201cFawlty Towers\u201d in the hallway. The innkeeper told me that he had been accused of being \u201cgrumpy\u201d so someone gave him the portrait as a gift.\x3cbr/\x3eI\u2019m sure I was the only single person at the Church Hill Inn on New Year\u2019s Eve. \x3cbr/\x3eToo bad. Wikipedia told me that for every 100 Sister Bay females ae 18 and over there were 69 males.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe grumpy innkeeper rolled out a very nice spread with complimentary snacks and drinks between 4 and 6 p.m. I was writing in my room but snuck out for a ham sandwich and celery sticks.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eAbout a dozen people had gathered in the sitting area outside of \u201cVictorian Times.\u201d The men had white beards and the women wore nice dresses and fancy pearls. They were drinking red wine and eating cheese and crackers near a fireplace. The men would have been smoking pipes had it been permitted. I returned to my room and turned up the latest CD by Bahamas.\x3cbr/\x3eAnd that is how my year went down\x26#8230;\x26#8230;\x26#8230;.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22401\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxb367txs01qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22303\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8230;\x26#8230;\x26#8230;..Winston Churchill. Victorian Times. Whiskey Ditch.\x3cbr/\x3eIt sounds like a trifecta at Arlington Park\x26#8212;or Churchill Downs.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eIt wasn\u2019t the worst of years, and it never is as long as you have your health. But December was a particularly ornery month with disconnects, layoffs of friends and the noise at my Mom\u2019s 90th birthday party at Hugo\u2019s Frog Bar\u00a0 in Naperville (just kidding sort of Mom.). So it was okay that I would find myself alone around 1 a.m. Jan. 1 trudging up a hill to a church in a town of 880 people. I had wanted to get away, be alone and give myself time to think.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxb2zwiB2v1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI looked up Churchill stuff\u00a0 at the bed and breakfast. There are many good\u00a0 quotes about booze and war, but my favorite is:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\u201c\x3cem\x3eWe make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give\x3c/em\x3e.\u201d\x3cbr/\x3eThat only happens by moving forward.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eMissing Christmas cards\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwhdjynTeN1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cem\x3e\x3cspan\x3eDecember 19, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eThe writing was on the wall.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eI would no longer be sending Christmas cards after 2011.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eFor the past several years I\u2019ve purchased a couple of boxes of \u201choliday\u201d cards from Chicago Lights at Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago. It is a non-profit organization that opens doors to individuals and families who face challenges of aging, poverty and access to education and health care.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eThe cards were cute, witty and always warm.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eThey were designed and illustrated by children from Chicago.\u00a0\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eChicago Lights provides one on one tutoring sessions with adult volunteers and scholarship opportunities for more than 400 children living in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwhdnfw3SF1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eLast week I went to the church offices to pick up my cards. I was told this would be the final year of the program. Although the Ford Motor Company had underwritten a portion of production costs, the project lost thousands of dollars in the last couple of years. I promised I would not say how much money that was.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eI was also told some people complained about the political incorrectness of the kid\u2019s innocent sentiments; wide eyes without eyeliner.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eA few years ago there was a great card with black and white angels together in front of a Christmas tree. The card was illustrated by 5th grader Yaihaida Westbooks and said \u201cMerry Christmas.\u201d This year Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel changed the name of the downtown \u201cChristmas Tree\u201d to \u201cHoliday Tree.\u201d\u00a0\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eWho can forget that great Brenda Lee song, \u201cRockin\u2019 Around The Holiday Tree\u201d?\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eAlso, people just don\u2019t send cards anymore.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eE-mail, Facebook and tumblr do the trick.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eThe kids were heartbroken that the program has ended, according to my salesperson.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eI loved these cards and I have saved some of my favorites. I will still send out the current box and some remainders from years past. My friend Angelo joked how I could act like an old guy and enclose a dollar bill in each card.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwhdvwd3oS1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eJust the day before I trekked over to the church I gave my ex-girl friend a Chicago Lights card about giving. We were heading out for breakfast and coffee at the Sunrise Cafe, my neighborhood diner that has the name of an assisted living cafeteria.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3e She smiled and fumbled around her purse and I thought maybe she had a card too, or maybe a Red Hershey kiss for me!\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eShe showed me her make up she just purchased.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eThe writing was on the wall.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3eIf there is one thing that overshadows the expectations of the holidays, it is the wonderful giving of the season. And maybe you don\u2019t need a card to do that.\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3e\u00a0\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3e\u00a0\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp class=\x22MsoNormal\x22\x3e\x3cspan\x3e\u00a0\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eSex with a view\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22285\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw1wczlWyF1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22446\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDec. 11, 2011\x26#8212;-\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe most memorable place I\u2019ve had sex is atop Mount Tamalpais, overlooking the East Bay in Marin County, Calif.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eLike all magical moments, it wasn\u2019t supposed to happen.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe weathered coastal mountain peaks at 2,500 feet. We drove about three-quarters of the way up Mount Tam and parked at a scenic turnaround. We hiked the rest of the way.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe sat down to rest on\u00a0 a grassy slope. She\u00a0 rolled out a blue and white blanket for a picnic. The blanket matched the azure skies, a contrast to the fog we saw over San Francisco. We talked about poetry, free birds and the songs of Greg Brown. We tried to scare each other with rumors about the late 1970s \u201cTrailside Killer\u201d who murdered hikers at the mountain. We were alone.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eIt is difficult to climb a mountain alone.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe next thing we knew I was on top of her with beads of sweat rolling down the back of my neck. Strands of her brown hair swept across her face like waves on a shore. Her blue eyes were everywhere.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eSometimes they still are.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eWe were in a state park and someone could have been watching. Maybe we could have been arrested and learned more about the \x26#8220;Trailside Killer.\x26#8221; Who cared? Outside views are perceptions. This was our great reality.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDuring my life, I\u2019ve motioned for hanky panking\u00a0 in an airplane, against the refrigerator door and on kitchen tables. I like my friend Mark\u2019s stories about having sex during a rain delay in the upper deck of Old Comiskey Park, no doubt during the era when the White Sox wore red uniforms and Wilbur Wood was tossing knuckleballs.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22398\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw1wh5jhGC1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22308\x22/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eBut our San Francisco moments were sparked by metaphors: Alcatraz, where confinement seemed so small from the top of a mountain; the freedom of coast oaks, with treetops swaying back and forth like a pendulum in the gentle summer breeze.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI remember how warm it was on the mountain top and how cool it was down below. (We did afterglow record shopping at Mill Valley Music).\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw1watu8Nk1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMy book editor recently told me about a study where readers looked at a series of contrasting pictures. They enjoyed distant and romantic landscape photographs, but the drama of someone falling down a cliff or jumping out of a building is what resonated with the readers.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWell, that\x26#8217;s a no-brainer, I first thought.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eBut those are fleeting moments in time.. And every deep moment has a resolution.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI\u2019m a flatlander from Illinois. Never left my home town. Never took the chance.\x3cbr/\x3eOn that day I did and maybe that\u2019s why I remember it the most.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eShedding light on an old neighborhood\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22327\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgcb2tCk41qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22436\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNov. 29, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNovember in Chicago brings me down, down, down.\x3cbr/\x3eLower than Herman Cain\u2019s pants.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eIts been that way since I was a teenager. I remember getting up at seven on a mid-November Saturday morning and walking in a dark drizzle to take SAT tests at Naperville Central High School to gain entrance in a college I would never attend. I was too sleepy and confused to take a test. I felt like I was going fishing.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI\u2019ve since tried to travel to sunnier climates in November. Several years ago I salvaged a tricked out tiki bar and had it restored with ambiant red lights and bright bamboo to cheer me up on dark November days.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22342\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgcgwByDS1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22457\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMy turntable always comes into play with the tiki bar by spinning companion calypso albums, Hawaiian stuff and early Jimmy Buffett. The other day I reached for the pop, surf and twist of \u201c\x3ca href=\x22http://www.theworld.org/2011/08/chicas-spanish-female-singers-1962-1974/\x22\x3eChicas!\x3c/a\x3e (Spanish Female Singers 1962-74).\u201d The 30-year-old BSR turntable did not turn. I figured the belt was worn out.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI packed up the turntable and took it to my merry friends Ursula and Mitch Lewczuk who own The 20th Century TV \x26amp; Stereo Center in the north side Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. I\x26#8217;ve been a customer since way back in the 20th Century and I love the fact they never bothered to change the name of their store.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22253\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgcntZANp1qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22339\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eUrsula and Mitch are feisty\u00a0 Polish immigrants who opened 20th Century in 1970. They don\u2019t smile much. The store is an American Pickers delight of turntables, beta tapes, reel-to-reel machines and between 10,000 and 15,000 needles. Try to ask them about their 15,000 television and audio tubes in the basement. Ursula is in charge of the needle and cartridge department. She has a master\x26#8217;s degree in electronics from the Technical University of Warsaw in Poland, and her degree from the Triton College Consumer Electronics Program hangs by the front door.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eUrsula wasn\u2019t on the scene yet last Saturday morning when I walked in with my broken turntable. This may have accounted for Mitch\u2019s grumpy attitude\x26#8212;-but then again, maybe it was the dark skies and steady rain of a mid-November day in Chicago. Mitch took a look at my turntable and decided it would take him at least five hours to fix it. He said there was a sensitive system of parts that needed to be removed, cleaned and made to feel new again.\x3cbr/\x3eIt wasn\u2019t worth the time.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg height=\x22415\x22 src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgcvr33891qbpb94.jpg\x22 width=\x22314\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMitch also complained about the city\u2019s signage laws, parking meters and a relative of Channel 11\u2019s Joel Weisman who lugged in a couple of huge beige speakers. Mitch didn\u2019t like the fact he had to take care of two customers at one time. In 20th Century DJ talk that would be a \u201cTwin Spin.\u201d Nevertheless I walked out with a new modestly priced audio-technical turntable.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI put the turntable in my car and walked around upscale Ravenswood. This is where our\u00a0 feisty Mayor Rahmbo resides and where the security happy mayor has a city camera fixated on his house, according to a weekend report in the New York Times.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eIronically, the 20th Century Stereo Center is only a couple doors down from a typewriter store that recently went out of business. A block west of the vacant store things turn new again. There is a fine elemenatry public school (our Mayor sends his kids to private schools) where neighborhood kids play basketball, read stories with happy endings and write poetry. People work long hours at this school.\x3cbr/\x3eIt is worth the time.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eAcross the street from the school there is a\u00a0 corner bakery where I picked up a three-tiered chocolate birthday cake for my 9-year-old nephew, my 90-year-old Mom and my 91-year old father. Now that\u2019s a mouthful. But somehow, for a moment in the brightly lit bakery things seemed new again.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI had not been to Ravenswood in a while. I thought of old friends. The walleye pike at Glenn\u2019s Diner.\u00a0 I remembered when cartoonist Heather McAdams and her husband Chris Ligon ran a thrift store-used record place a few blocks west of Glenn\u2019s down Montrose Avene. Chris always dismissed framed memories and retro movements.\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;When we find stuff, it\x26#8217;s absolutely contemporary to us because it\x26#8217;s new and we\x26#8217;re excited about it,\u201d he once told me. \u201cTo me, retro means trying to revive something from the past. I don\x26#8217;t think in those terms. When I go out junk shopping and find records, for that brief second it\x26#8217;s a brand new thing in front of me.\x26#8221;\u00a0\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI thought of all this as I waited for the birthday cake. A midde aged black man smiled at me. Maybe he recognized me from that Channel 11 television show on old Baby Boomers that ran over Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe he smiles at birthday cakes. Maybe not.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI strolled back to my car juggling the cake and a large cup of coffee. I drove to Naperville where my parents still live in the house where I couldn\u2019t get out of bed to take my SAT tests. My Dad told his grandson about how refrigeration had the greatest impact on his life and recalled the ice man making home deliveries. My nephew listened with wide eyes and careful attention. Good things are always worth the time.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eAnd new light emerges from those passages.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3e Saturday on the Mobile River\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsxj2xqcVh1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22306\x22 width=\x22408\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eOctober 11, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe heart hangs like a thick branch of a cypress tree\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eover a wake in the narrow Mobile River.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eLooking at the water and the sky\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3elike the space between now and then.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e*\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDid you see the turkey vulture?\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eFlying over the side of the freedom highway. Look!\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMaybe you were sleeping to a Mavis Staples lullaby\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eas I drove off into another day.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e*\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMy father always said to stay cool.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eHe has the warmest of souls\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eHe now sleeps and rests a trembling arm\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eAnd unforgiving legs that showed me the way.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e*\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDecency is the tributary into a sea of understanding.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eHe taught me that when I was young.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe Gulf breeze hits and I remember that kindness\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eAs golden leaves fall\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3einto\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ethe\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eriver.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsxjbycRlT1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22353\x22 width=\x22470\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eThe King of St. Cloud\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsine9FCuj1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22451\x22 width=\x22339\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eOct. 3, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eTravel is a stream of consciousness thing.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThat\x26#8217;s what I was doing late Friday night when I was sitting alone at the Terrace Bar at Pioneer Place in downtown St. Cloud, Minn.\x3cbr/\x3eNightdreaming.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe bartender asked me if I had seen \x26#8220;The King.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWell, of course I have been to Memphis.\x3cbr/\x3eBut he was referring to the monster porcelain floor urinal on the second floor of the former Elks Club, 22\x26#160;5th Ave. South not far from the Mississippi River.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI normally don\x26#8217;t hang out at urinals. The only memorable urinal I have seen\u00a0 is the rock waterfall urinal accented by clamshell sinks at the technicolor \x3ca href=\x22http://www.madonnainn.com/\x22\x3eMadonna Inn\x3c/a\x3e in San Luis Obispo, Calif. That one was created by a Hollywood set designer. I once stayed in the Caveman Room at the Madonna and the Flinstone anti-Feng shui vibe pissed off my pal Kathy.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eBut I checked out \x26#8220;The King\x26#8221; and it was basically amazing. And\u00a0 functional. I returned to the first floor Terrace Bar and told the bartender it sure made me feel small.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eOne waitress laughed.\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;When new couples come here, the guy goes to the bathroom and comes back downstairs and whispers into his girl friend\x26#8217;s ear,\x26#8221; bar manager Mike Soule told me. \x26#8220;Then they both disappear.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe old Elks Club is now the home of the \x3ca href=\x22http://www.ppfive.com/index.php?option=com_contact\x26amp;view=contact\x26amp;id=1\x26amp;Itemid=78\x22\x3ePioneer Place on Fifth\x3c/a\x3e theater. The Terrace Bar is an adjacent wine bar with a beautiful veranda overlooking 5th Avenue. The 180-seat theater also presents live music including singer Shawn Phillips (Nov. 18) , Jimmy Buffett sideman Peter Mayer (Dec. 11) and the wonderfully named Bob Seger tribute act Charlie Dominick \x26amp; The Silver Mullet Band (Oct. 13, 14).\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eYou know their shrinking prostate hit \x26#8220;Night Moves.\x26#8221;\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsinvdBzQE1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22528\x22 width=\x22396\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8220;The King\x26#8221; isn\x26#8217;t as fancy as the Madonna Inn urinal, but it is the biggest urinal I have seen. It is about the size of the refrigerator in my Chicago apartment. And about as empty. A sign posted above the McUrinal says that \x26#8220;Due to the potential of children drowning\x26#8221; other big urinals were prohibited in the United States.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eNow that\x26#8217;s taking a stand.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8216;The King was installed in 1913. He was part of the building that housed bunk rooms for Elk members. \x26#8220;The King\x26#8221; has never been removed for more economic wall urinals or Wrigley Field troughs.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsiogdsjRQ1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22349\x22 width=\x22466\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eBesides the urinal, the maple flooring, fireplace and mantels are all original parts of the theater. \x26#8220;The King\x26#8221; is listed as one of the top 100 urinals in the world, according to \x26#8220;Explore Minnesota Magazine.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eGirls, you don\x26#8217;t know what you\x26#8217;re missing.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eA Place in Time\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrssz5HJYX1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22413\x22 width=\x22313\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eSept. 19, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe guy down at the middle of the bar told his friend how he didn\x26#8217;t do anything this summer. I overheard it because the bar is as small as a penny in a fountain.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI asked Jackie for a bar napkin. It was interesting that in a season as compacted as summer in Chicago you can\x26#8217;t do anything.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eBar napkins are good for three things: wiping up junk, drying tears and aborbing thoughts. With a borrowed blue pen I jotted down some of the things I hadn\x26#8217;t done this summer:\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eMissed seeing the Cubs win much.\x3cbr/\x3eDid not go to the historic Centennial Beach in Naperville, nor did I see Russell Crowe swim at \x26#8216;The Beach\x26#8217; when he was living in the neighborhood while filming a movie.\x3cbr/\x3eDid not have a picnic along Lake Michigan.\x3cbr/\x3eI didn\x26#8217;t do any part of a planned 20th Anniversary of my first Route 66 trip\x26#8212;-which would have included seeing the great \x3ca href=\x22http://soursnow.blogspot.com/\x22\x3eSkeletons\x3c/a\x3e in Springfield, Mo. Lou Whitney, the band\x26#8217;s ageless bassist knows a lot about Beach Music.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI did learn that the Mill Race Inn closed.\x3cbr/\x3eI used to go to the Mill Race Inn a lot when I was younger and summers seemed longer.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe restaurant was in Geneva, about a 60-mile drive away from my home in Chicago. The Mill Race Inn opened in 1933 in a refitted low-level blacksmith shop along the Fox River. I was told it closed for good in January. It was Beach Boy Brian Wilson\x26#8217;s favorite restaurant between 1997 and 1999 when he lived in a 23-room home up the river in St. Charles, Of course. It was by water.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrstiyMXXq1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22512\x22 width=\x22385\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI had lots of memories at this place. I went there before my first homecoming dance and was very nervous about pinning a corsage on my date\x26#8217;s dress with a plunging neckline. I learned to rebel against\u00a0 bizarre dress codes at the Mill Race Inn, which during the mid-1970s strongly encouraged jackets and ties for men and even teenagers. A rack near the entrance was lined with horrible evergreen suit coats whose sleeves only extended above my wrist.\x3cbr/\x3eHumiliating, by every lofty suburban American standard.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eSteve, my best friend from high school had his wedding rehearsal dinner at the Mill Race Inn. I covered the first press conference for the minor league Kane County Cougars at the Mill Race Inn. That later parlayed itself into hundreds of books that now sit in my publisher\x26#8217;s storage locker not far from the dead restaurant.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrsu92TkW31qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22345\x22 width=\x22460\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe summer trifecta of the Kane County Flea Market, a Midwest League Cougars game and a post-game stop at the Mill Race\x26#8217;s outdoor Gazebo along the river became one of my summer traditions. Many years ago after a ballgame I sat on the Gazebo bench looking at the ducks in the river and told my friend Chris that if I wasn\x26#8217;t a journalist I would have wanted to be a veterinarian. I can still hear her laughing.\x3cbr/\x3eThat bench is gone now.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrsui2qMwy1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22353\x22 width=\x22470\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eIt turned out my last visit to the Mill Race Inn was a surprise birthday dinner a couple of years ago. My birthday\u00a0 falls in the bright promise of summer\x26#8217;s beginning. I was blindfolded. She drove.\u00a0 I thought we were going south but we traveled west into a June sunset. It was an early June weeknight and I was surprised the\u00a0 restaurant was pretty empty. I felt change in the air.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe last owners have blamed the economy and flooding from the river. I can tell they just didn\x26#8217;t care as much as previous owners. Things sustain with attention and care.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThe Mill Race Inn will remain a place in time. I keep knocking around this quote NW Indiana regional photographer Gary Ciadella (he\x26#8217;s in my archives) uses from Robert Gard.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cem\x3eNo place is a place until things are remembered\x3c/em\x3e.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI can\x26#8217;t get it out of my head.\u00a0 I mentioned it to Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez last week when they were on a bus promoting their upcoming road movie \x26#8220;\x3ca href=\x22http://www.theway-themovie.com/\x22\x3eThe Way\x3c/a\x3e\x26#8221; in Chicago. Their movie is all about change. They paused, liked it, and asked where the quote came from. All I knew was that Gard was a mid-20th Century Wisconsin folklorist. But his line helps me reflect.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI didn\x26#8217;t do much of anything either this summer.\x3cbr/\x3eBut I visited beautiful places.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrsuz4aldI1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22345\x22 width=\x22460\x22/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_link_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3ca href=\x22http://www.talkzone.com/episodes/157/Fan091411.html#.TneEH8Nf4p8.tumblr\x22 class=\x22tumblr_link\x22 \x3eTalkzone: Blues \x26amp; Baseball With George Thorogood\x3c/a\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_description\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eBad to the bone.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eMy day with butter cows\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3eAugust 17, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDES MOINES, Ia.\x26#8212;-If it had been up to me I would have carved Southern Belle-isious chef Paula Deen out of a block of butter at the Iowa State Fair.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3wjwJcLO1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22230\x22 width=\x22310\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eBut like an ambitious diet, or big workout program it wasn\x26#8217;t meant to be.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI was invited to be a ringer in Monday\x26#8217;s\u00a0 \x26#8220;Battle of the Butter,\x26#8221; held daily on the fairgrounds in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the fair\x26#8217;s fabled butter cow.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI absolutely love the \x3ca href=\x22http://www.iowastatefair.org/\x22\x3eIowa State Fair\x3c/a\x3e, which runs through Aug. 21. I love pork chops on a stick, red velvet funnel cake and the smell of livestock.\u00a0 I attended the \x26#8220;Nostalgic Comfort Food\x26#8221; competition sponsored by the Brass Armadillo Antique Malls. The Iowa State Fair is the only Iowa destination in the New York Times best selling travel book \x26#8220;1000 Places to See Before You Die.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eAnd too much butter can do that trick.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eI was placed on a three-person team of graphic design teachers from the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) who came\u00a0 up with a \x26#8220;Butterly on Butter Toast\x26#8221; concept. I could see we were in trouble with the bag full of props such as paper butterfly wings and beady eyes.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eButter is best unprocessed.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3t7sBZyw1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe had a half hour to carve our sculpture. I patted down some of the buttery base, steadied the butterfly block and installed some wire antenna.\x3cbr/\x3eMost of alI I tried to stay out of the way.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI was amazed the pavilion at the Riley Stage was full to watch us compete with two other teams. Based on the audience response of about 350 butter fans, we finished third.\x3cbr/\x3eThat would be last.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3vtsKSEY1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22573\x22 width=\x22431\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cem\x3eAt least kids were amazed. (Photo by D. Hoekstra)\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe did take home nice yellow third place butter cow ribbons and it seemed we were the people\x26#8217;s choice for those under eight who had no reference point to the winning Grant Wood \x26#8220;American Gothic\x26#8221; influenced sculpture. There was more bling to our butter.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3tnyYRkS1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22325\x22 width=\x22434\x22/\x3e.\x3cbr/\x3eThe daily winning entry gets to be displayed alongside the butter cow in the Agriculture Building\x26#8217;s showcase cooler.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThat\x26#8217;s where earlier in the day I went backstage with Sarah Pratt, the state fair\x26#8217;s fourth butter sculptor in 100 years. The butter cow is the biggest attraction at this year\x26#8217;s state fair. Lines to view Pratt\x26#8217;s work are longer than usual for three reasons:\x3cbr/\x3e\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The anniversary celebration.\x3cbr/\x3e\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The new turning mechanism to display the sculpture from all sides.\x3cbr/\x3e\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And the late-June passing of Norma \x26#8220;Duffy\x26#8221; Lyon. The \x26#8220;Queen of the Butter Sculptors\x26#8221; died of complications from a stroke. She was 81. Duffy was the first woman sculptor in the history of the state fair.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3u0bsTvx1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22548\x22 width=\x22375\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cem\x3eNorma\u00a0 Lyon with her first butter cow, 1960 (Courtesy of Iowa State Fair)\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ePratt, 26, apprenticed with Duffy for 15 years until 2006 when she officially assumed the queen\x26#8217;s throne.\x3cbr/\x3eDuffy retired in 2006 after 46 years of sculpting. Her nickname is derived from her maiden name of Duffield. Duffy\x26#8217;s uncle Phil Stong wrote the 1932 novel \x26#8220;State Fair\x26#8221; of which the smash Rodgers \x26amp; Hammerstein musical was based. The setting is the Iowa State Fair. Stong once described his muse for writing: \x26#8220;Fell while trying to clamber out of a low bathtub at the age of two. Became a writer. No other possible career.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eShort sentences stand tall in Iowa.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3ud5Jwoe1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22353\x22 width=\x22471\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cem\x3eSarah Pratt, butter cow sculptor (Photo by D. Hoekstra)\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eIn the past Pratt has depicted Superman of \x26#8220;Superman Returns\x26#8221; fame (in honor of actor Brandon Routh of Norwalk, Ia.) and Bill \x26#8220;Mr. State Fair\x26#8221; Riley in tribute to attending his 60th state fair.\x3cbr/\x3eNow I\x26#8217;ve been to two Iowa State Fairs. And three Illinois State Fairs, where they have a 400-pound butter cow.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eThis year Pratt sculpted a cow , boy and calf, which replicates the 1911 sculpture by J.E. Wallace of Florida. Pratt added a young girl as a tribute to Duffy.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3ujnpuyR1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22350\x22 width=\x22467\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ePratt works off of sketches and photographs. \x26#8220;I had one post card of the 1911 cow,\x26#8221; she said on Monday while touching up her work with a wood spreader. \x26#8220;I had only one perspective which was a challenge to get a three dimensional work.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt carved the 1911 farm scene from 850 pounds of butter. It sits across the showcase from the traditional butter cow made with 500 pounds of butter.\x3cbr/\x3eTo put all that in perspective, a 600 pound butter cow would butter 19,200 slices of toast. The Midwest Dairy Association has provided all the butter for the state fair since 1960.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt and Duffy attended St. Patrick\x26#8217;s Catholic Church in Toledo, Ia. (pop. 1,500) at the same time. \x26#8220;I knew her since I was four,\x26#8221; Pratt said. \x26#8220;My parents went to school with some of her kids.\x26#8221; Duffy raised nine children and countless Jersey cows with her husband Joe. \x26#8220;I was in 4-H and when I was 14 my friend Kari Lyon (Duffy\x26#8217;s great niece) invited me to spend a night in the cattle barn at the Iowa State Fair,\x26#8221; Pratt recalled.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDid I tell you I love the Iowa State Fair?\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;She was showing dairy,\x26#8221; Pratt continued. \x26#8220;And while she was showing her dad and uncles sent me here to work in the butter cooler. That was the first year I worked with Norma in any butter sculpting sense. In 2005 she told me she was retiring. She already told the fair I was taking over. So I had to do it.\x26#8221;\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt\u00a0 had\u00a0 reservations about assuming the position. There was little margarine for error.\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;When you\x26#8217;re sculpting in the cooler as an apprentice there weren\x26#8217;t many parts of the sculpture you had done without anyone else affecting it,:\x26#8221; she explained. \x26#8220;To do it by yourself was something to be tested. I wasn\x26#8217;t sure. How much did she come back behind me and switch things?\x26#8217;\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt said Duffy chose many of her own butter cow themes: Elvis Presley, Jesus at the Last Supper, and Tiger Woods, which turned out to be her final butter cow,.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt is a quintessential Iowa woman. She lived on a farm until the age of three. Pratt paints and teaches elementary school in West Des Moines.\u00a0 \x26#8220;Last year I did \x26#8216;Green Eggs and Ham,\x26#8217; so I read the (Dr. Seuss) book the first day of school and showed the kids the sculpture,\x26#8221; Pratt said.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eShe has twin 7-year-old daughters with her husband Andy who works for an insurance company.\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;I wasn\x26#8217;t sure I could continue with two little ones at home,\x26#8221; she said. \x26#8220;But I got talked into it. That was 2004. I sculpted Norma, She didn\x26#8217;t want to sculpt herself, That was the first thing I did without anyone else affecting the work. Then in 2006 I did my first cow without her.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8221; I was lucky to have her around the first couple of years to give me pointers to make my work better. I\x26#8217;d go to the farm and she\x26#8217;d show me the cows. Her family still did that for me this summer. Her grandson Todd Lyon in a junior at Iowa State and he\x26#8217;s been helping me since his grandmother retired.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8220;I love that connection.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eIn something that is completely wrong, on the day before my visit animal rights activists snuck in the cooler and posted a \x26#8220;Go Vegan\x26#8221; sign around the butter cow\x26#8217;s neck.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3eAccording to the Des Moines Register the activist\x26#8217;s accompanying statement said in part, \x26#8220;The butter cow represents humankind\x26#8217;s tyranny over defenseless animals.\x26#8221;\x3cbr/\x3eCome on. \x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;I didn\x26#8217;t lock the (cooler) door,\x26#8221; Pratt said. \x26#8220;Before this I could just come and go. To give it a positive spin they came here (instead of hassling real animals!) to get the most publicity. The sign was here before the buiilding was open and they caught it early in the day. I was at church and got the phone call and it was already taken care of.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq3v9jkwuq1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22337\x22 width=\x22450\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eIn the early years of cow sculpting, artists used lard. It keeps better at room temperature. Butter was introduced to the art form as early as the 1850s. Tibetan monks used yak butter to create figurines of animals and deities for worship.\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt said carving butter cows outside, as I did, is a completely different animal than working in a cooler.\x3cbr/\x3e\x26#8220;It\x26#8217;s pretty hard,\x26#8221; she said. \x26#8220;I work in a 42 degree cooler and I have a room outside that is 60 degrees and tempers all my butter. The sun works against you. The people on the stage have a 55 pound block of new butter which is frozen solid. I do additive sculpture so I have armatures (wood and steel underneath). In the competition, you\x26#8217;re carving from a solid block as if you were carving stone. The key is to have a tool that cuts a lot of butter.\x26#8221;\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3ePratt shares the home cooking duties with her husband. \x26#8220;We use a lot of butter,\x26#8221; she said. \x26#8220;We did have a bit of a disagreement because my daughters thought margarine was butter. We had to set them straight on that. I use more butter when I bake. When I cook I usually use olive oil.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ePratt looked about the cooler that has provided so many warm memories. She said, \x26#8220;The butter cow\u00a0 is a symbol of agriculture that is so recognizable.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8220;You can always count on it.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\u00a0 \x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\u00a0 \x3cbr/\x3e\x3cbr/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_text_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_title\x22\x3eThe Way With Words\x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_body\x22\x3e\x0a                    \x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpfim624VK1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22756\x22 width=\x22567\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eAugust 4, 2011\x26#8212;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI\x26#8217;m sure you have a ritual, too.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eMaybe it is a weekly yoga class or a spot near the foggy window of a neighborhood bar. Maybe you carry your laptop to a favorite coffee shop where you add a daring dash of cinnamon to your java.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3ePerhaps you check blog posts every night at 11.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eOne of my rituals was to stop by the Borders book store every Sunday in suburban Oak Brook outside of Chicago, The visit became part of my drive from the city to visit my elderly parents. I would collect my thoughts, comb through the music\x26#8212;this Borders had a great buyer who stocked the hard-to-find Skeletons from Springfield, Mo.\x26#8212;and I\x26#8217;d get lost in the travel section.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI remember such a fuss when chain book stores came on the scene, but like indys there were good ones and bad ones. Borders Oak Brook was a good one. It had a less snotty aura than some of the independent\u00a0 I go to in Chicago (but not the great \x3ca href=\x22http://www.powells.com/\x22\x3ePowell\x26#8217;s\x3c/a\x3e in Portland, Ore.!)\u00a0 Even in chains, there are links of individual spirits.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI ran into my former high school English Literature teacher who retired and became a clerk at Borders Oak Brook. I made friends with the guys in the music department who like me, would hit the road in search of a good Bob Dylan concert.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe independents will get a bounce out of Borders closing, just like the fine maverick record stores that have sprung up in my Chicago neighborhood.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eBut I will miss Borders in Oak Brook.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eLast Sunday I saw a poster made by the Oak Brook store manager. I must be getting old and soft cover because reading it brought a tear to my eye. Especially the part where, \x26#8220;\x3cem\x3eWe believe that super heroes are real and not just drawings in comic book and that books in the children\x26#8217;s section can and should be read by adults\x26#8230;.We believe you don\x26#8217;t have to have just 1 favorite author, song, movie or treat from the pastry case\x26#8230;\x26#8221;\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpfkqbLADw1qbpb94.jpg\x22 height=\x22571\x22 width=\x22428\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cem\x3eI believe in bars built with books; Cali, Colombia, Feb. 2011 (D.H photo)\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe entire poster is here because I saw David Thomas Ewoldt take a photo of it with his i Phone.\u00a0 Hope you can read it. I tried to upsize it.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eI don\x26#8217;t take many pictures with my I Phone, and when I do it is an accidental portrait of my back pocket or the sidewalk.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eHe was a stranger but I walked up to him and requested that he send me a copy of his photo. A good book store will do that to you. I asked the early-to-middle-aged Glendale Heights resident to attach a note describing his muse.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x26#8220;I first visited the Oak Brook store a couple of weekends after it opened twenty years ago,\x26#8221; he wrote on Aug. 2. \x26#8220;Before that I had only been to typical shopping mall bookstores. In comparison, the Borders store was a wonder. It was huge.\u00a0 The selection was vast. I saw things I didn\x26#8217;t think you could buy in bookstores. For years afterward, I\x26#8217;d go there to look for and find all the things I couldn\x26#8217;t get anywhere else. When I came back home during and after college, Borders was the only place in the suburbs I\x26#8217;d find more advanced and obscure items.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe store clearly meant a lot to Ewoldt. He wanted to capture the poster.\u00a0 His camera was a net over an endangered species.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThe poster was\u00a0 tactile and deep, like real books, magazines, newspapers and vinyl records.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWords are something you hold on to.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eEspecially in times of transition.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cimg src=\x22http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpfl0bLw6k1qbpb94.jpg\x22/\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                \x3c/div\x3e\x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a\x3c/ol\x3e');