12 October 2007
White Oak - Janesville - Friday Night Fish Fry
This entry was posted on 10/12/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Taverns Wisconsin, Friday Night Fish Fry.
Right near the corner of Parker Drive and Centerway Street in down town Janesville, Wisconsin is the White Oak. The restaurant is strategically located just around the corner from the main drag in town which is usually thought to be Milwaukee Street. Around another corner is the Farmer's Market on Main on Saturday mornings. For my purposes it is convenient because I work just around the corner so, it was easy to stop in. As fate would have it I have only been there one other time. I always find myself driving by it to or from work. This day I change that rut.
The front side of the building you will notice some military crests. It is inside that you get the timbre of the theme. The bar and seating area are decked in a menagerie of Korean War memorabilia.
This is an old time fish fry presentation. You get a good baked potato. It reminds me of the ones we cooked on the farm. It almost had a twice-baked flavor. You can also get fries. The cole slaw is diced into small pieces. It also reminds me of the home made cole slaw we ate on the farm. This Friday they offered either fried Cod, Perch, or Catfish. I chose the Perch. It was crisp on the outside and tender inside. It looked and tasted like fried Perch should. There was also some rye bread and a good scoop of whipped butter. The tarter sauce tasted smooth and also home made. If you desire, one extra piece of fish is included if you are still hungry. With a Diet Pepsi and a 15-percent tip I got out of there for $11.00.
White Oak is cool with Cool Dadio. White Oak is a well known local spot so give yourself extra time in case you have to wait a bit. Call (608) 756-4070 for more details. White Oak can be found at 429 North Parker Drive in down town Janesville.
Note: You can find a chronological list at the Cool Dadio Media Fish Fry Page of these fish frys as we have visited them. The list presents the most recently visited fish fry at the top, in lieu of alphabetical order.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is 24-year-old U.S. Marine Corporal Brian R. Prening. Corporal Prening who is from Plymouth, died while engaging the enemy in Babil Province, Iraq, on November 12, 2004. Prening was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. The unit is from Chicago. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Brian is a graduate of Plymouth High School. He had gotten married on August 13, 2004, and he and wife Amy were expecting their first child. CNN.com lists the Prenings as from Sheboygan. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Brian went to Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin where he got a degree completing the tool-and-die program. Brian worked at Kohler Company. His Marine Reserve unit was activated. Corporal Prening was the 27th soldier from Wisconsin killed in the fighting in Iraq. Brian is survived by a twin brother, Bill, a younger sister, Ann, 21, wife Amy, a step son, and mother and father Brian and Deborah Prening.
3,822 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
28,171 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
81 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
115 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Date with fate - post 8 - Duck and cover
3 October 2007
Date with fate - post 8 - Duck and cover
This entry was posted on 10/3/2007 10:38 PM and is filed under That Darn Orwell, Are we really inept, Fate Fairies.
Periodically in grade school, we were herded into the basement of my three-room Wisconsin country school for "Duck and Cover" drills. Some drill. Sit under a table for what seemed like hours and tell jokes and giggle. My wife's little school did not have a basement. She was ushered into the hall way. They were to huddle near their respective rooms as so if the "big one" dropped, the recovery crews could link the bodies to names and ages. Like there would be a recovery crew and if there was one, like they would have time to check on one of hundreds of schools.
When the Cuban Missile Crisis happened 45 years ago this month, it was hard to tell if it was "drill," or a real alert. We were sent home early one day during the Crisis. The buses waited as we exited the school in regimented columns. "Run Bobby," my teacher yelled to me. "You are not taking this serious."
"Why? We would be incinerated soon enough. No need to rush." I was six years old.
It was collective child abuse on a macro scale. In high school we had to take a class called "Medical Self Help." It taught us how to treat wounds and burns from a nuclear blast. I am told we were the last class to take it in my school. It was determined that it so depressed the students, the cost benefit analysis dictated it be canned. Besides, we all hounded the math teacher with comments like, "So why study for the algebra exam, we are all going to be incinerated anyway soon enough."
We weren't incinerated. The paradigm that insists we are too smart to incinerate ourselves stands tall. We are smug in our clever survival.
Society smugly proclaims, "We must be smart, see, we are not shadows on the sidewalks. We ain't blowed ourselves up!"
I see it as a date-with-fate on a colossal scale. Millions of people were not incinerated. At least so far. The fate fairies were otherwise preoccupied for the last 60 years. But again, regardless of fate - we as a society, are too smart to blow ourselves up, right? ...right?
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Staff Sergeant Todd Cornell, age 38, who died Tuesday, November 9, 2004. The Iraqi unit he was serving with came under attack in Fallujah, Iraq. Sergeant Cornell was the 26th soldier from Wisconsin killed in action in Iraq. Cornell died while he was serving in an advisory role with the Iraqi unit. Cornell was assigned to the Detachment 9, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, Army Reserve, based in Michigan. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Todd is survived by his mom and dad Renee and Robert Cornell, a daughter, Catlin, 10, and a son, Jake, 8, and a brother and a sister. Staff Sergeant Cornell had been in the military 16 years. He arrived in Iraq in February of 2004. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Todd Cornell joined the military after graduating from high school in Menomonee Falls. He lived in West Bend when home from duty.
3,809 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
28,093 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
79 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Date with fate - post 8 - Duck and cover
This entry was posted on 10/3/2007 10:38 PM and is filed under That Darn Orwell, Are we really inept, Fate Fairies.
Periodically in grade school, we were herded into the basement of my three-room Wisconsin country school for "Duck and Cover" drills. Some drill. Sit under a table for what seemed like hours and tell jokes and giggle. My wife's little school did not have a basement. She was ushered into the hall way. They were to huddle near their respective rooms as so if the "big one" dropped, the recovery crews could link the bodies to names and ages. Like there would be a recovery crew and if there was one, like they would have time to check on one of hundreds of schools.
When the Cuban Missile Crisis happened 45 years ago this month, it was hard to tell if it was "drill," or a real alert. We were sent home early one day during the Crisis. The buses waited as we exited the school in regimented columns. "Run Bobby," my teacher yelled to me. "You are not taking this serious."
"Why? We would be incinerated soon enough. No need to rush." I was six years old.
It was collective child abuse on a macro scale. In high school we had to take a class called "Medical Self Help." It taught us how to treat wounds and burns from a nuclear blast. I am told we were the last class to take it in my school. It was determined that it so depressed the students, the cost benefit analysis dictated it be canned. Besides, we all hounded the math teacher with comments like, "So why study for the algebra exam, we are all going to be incinerated anyway soon enough."
We weren't incinerated. The paradigm that insists we are too smart to incinerate ourselves stands tall. We are smug in our clever survival.
Society smugly proclaims, "We must be smart, see, we are not shadows on the sidewalks. We ain't blowed ourselves up!"
I see it as a date-with-fate on a colossal scale. Millions of people were not incinerated. At least so far. The fate fairies were otherwise preoccupied for the last 60 years. But again, regardless of fate - we as a society, are too smart to blow ourselves up, right? ...right?
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Staff Sergeant Todd Cornell, age 38, who died Tuesday, November 9, 2004. The Iraqi unit he was serving with came under attack in Fallujah, Iraq. Sergeant Cornell was the 26th soldier from Wisconsin killed in action in Iraq. Cornell died while he was serving in an advisory role with the Iraqi unit. Cornell was assigned to the Detachment 9, 1st Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, Army Reserve, based in Michigan. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Todd is survived by his mom and dad Renee and Robert Cornell, a daughter, Catlin, 10, and a son, Jake, 8, and a brother and a sister. Staff Sergeant Cornell had been in the military 16 years. He arrived in Iraq in February of 2004. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention Todd Cornell joined the military after graduating from high school in Menomonee Falls. He lived in West Bend when home from duty.
3,809 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
28,093 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
79 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Date with fate post 3 - Pipe in the Stomach - Walk it off Punk!
25 July 2007
Date with fate post 3 - Pipe in the stomach - Walk it off punk!
This entry was posted on 7/25/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
I must have been in Second Grade. John F. Kennedy was still President. A heavy set kid named Jacky who was in the Fourth Grade was a bully of sorts. He and his neighbor Dave would chuck rotten apples at us little kids as we rode our bikes home. The three-room school was in the village of Lima (population 90?). There were about 60 kids in the six grades. We did not have kindergarten in those days.
One day Jacky manifested his chicanery on the play ground. It was basically an old farm field. The baseball backstop was some chain-link fence stretched between a couple of old telephone poles. There was a couple of rusty swings, a creaking merry-go-round, and a couple of monkey-bar climbers. The skeletal framework of one of the climbers looked like the capsule of the Mercury space vehicles. We were after all in the "space race" then. The monkey-bars always mysteriously had some parts missing. During recess on the day in question, I looked up from a game of tag with pals to see a monkey-bar pipe rotating through the air right at me. In the background of the ever approaching projectile was the laughing face of..., Jacky. The pipe hit me crossways in the stomach - thank God - if it had hit me like a javelin it would have impaled me. I remember Jacky running up to me and saying with a snarl, "don't cry kid, and keep your mouth shut." My stomach hurt for a month. I didn't cry, I walked it off; and, I have kept my mouth shut for almost 50 years, of course until I needed fodder for this vignette.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Specialist Michelle Witmer, 20, who died Friday, April 9, 2004. Her tour in Iraq was a few days from ending when she died. Her vehicle came under attack from enemy using a roadside bomb and small-arms fire in Baghdad. Witmer had been stationed in Baghdad since March 2003 with the 32nd Military Police Company of the Wisconsin National Guard. Michelle joined the National Guard in November 2002, going into the same military police unit her older sister Rachel, 24 was in and also in Iraq. Charity Witmer, Michelle's twin sister, was a medic with Company B of the Wisconsin Guard's 118th Medical Battalion, and was likewise stationed in Iraq. Michelle was the 16th Wisconsin soldier to be killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003. According the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Michelle and Rachel helped train Iraqi police. Michelle's job was during the night shift at the local police station. The Witmer children were home-schooled but Michelle went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before being sent to Iraq. At the time of her death, Michelle Witmer was survived by her two brothers Timothy, 22, Mark, 18, her sisters Rachel, 24, and Charity, 20, and her parents John and Lori Witmer.
3,644 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,953 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
78 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Date with fate post 3 - Pipe in the stomach - Walk it off punk!
This entry was posted on 7/25/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
I must have been in Second Grade. John F. Kennedy was still President. A heavy set kid named Jacky who was in the Fourth Grade was a bully of sorts. He and his neighbor Dave would chuck rotten apples at us little kids as we rode our bikes home. The three-room school was in the village of Lima (population 90?). There were about 60 kids in the six grades. We did not have kindergarten in those days.
One day Jacky manifested his chicanery on the play ground. It was basically an old farm field. The baseball backstop was some chain-link fence stretched between a couple of old telephone poles. There was a couple of rusty swings, a creaking merry-go-round, and a couple of monkey-bar climbers. The skeletal framework of one of the climbers looked like the capsule of the Mercury space vehicles. We were after all in the "space race" then. The monkey-bars always mysteriously had some parts missing. During recess on the day in question, I looked up from a game of tag with pals to see a monkey-bar pipe rotating through the air right at me. In the background of the ever approaching projectile was the laughing face of..., Jacky. The pipe hit me crossways in the stomach - thank God - if it had hit me like a javelin it would have impaled me. I remember Jacky running up to me and saying with a snarl, "don't cry kid, and keep your mouth shut." My stomach hurt for a month. I didn't cry, I walked it off; and, I have kept my mouth shut for almost 50 years, of course until I needed fodder for this vignette.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Specialist Michelle Witmer, 20, who died Friday, April 9, 2004. Her tour in Iraq was a few days from ending when she died. Her vehicle came under attack from enemy using a roadside bomb and small-arms fire in Baghdad. Witmer had been stationed in Baghdad since March 2003 with the 32nd Military Police Company of the Wisconsin National Guard. Michelle joined the National Guard in November 2002, going into the same military police unit her older sister Rachel, 24 was in and also in Iraq. Charity Witmer, Michelle's twin sister, was a medic with Company B of the Wisconsin Guard's 118th Medical Battalion, and was likewise stationed in Iraq. Michelle was the 16th Wisconsin soldier to be killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003. According the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Michelle and Rachel helped train Iraqi police. Michelle's job was during the night shift at the local police station. The Witmer children were home-schooled but Michelle went on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before being sent to Iraq. At the time of her death, Michelle Witmer was survived by her two brothers Timothy, 22, Mark, 18, her sisters Rachel, 24, and Charity, 20, and her parents John and Lori Witmer.
3,644 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,953 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
78 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Date with fate - post 2 - Crying 16-year-old Buick-girl vs old four-door Ford
18 July 2007
Date with fate - post 2 - Crying 16-year-old Buick-girl vs old four-door Ford
This entry was posted on 7/18/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
The prevailing wisdom in Janesville for as long as I can remember is that our stop and go lights are in sync. The mantra has been for decades, "Catch one green light and you can get through them all down on Milwaukee Street." Nothing is farther from the truth. They are actually set out of sync to slow the flow of cars - "traffic calming." People have bought into the juxtaposed logic ("Wisconsin Logic") for so long they actually think the lights are in sync. And, like a well-kept family secret - people get cynical when they finally realize one of the kids came from the milk man so to speak.
I must have been in Fourth grade or so. Mom and Dad were carting Grandma around in our old four-door Ford car one afternoon. She could not drive. This was a periodic ritual. Even forty-five years ago the stop and go lights in Janesville annoyed me. Grandma and I were in the back seat as usual. She was going on about some doings in Janesville. She loved Janesville. Grandpa had moved the family there in the 1920s so he could work at General Motors. He died shortly after that and my uncles had to finish building the house. It seems like I am just about the only one left from the whole crowd in this story. Mom and Dad were in the front seat having one of their usual chats. Suddenly a car careened over one of the ubiquitous Janesville hills on a street to our side and slammed on its brakes at the stop sign. The car came inches from lambasting our car in a T-bone wreck. I could see the bumper of the car out my window. It was so close to our car I could see my own reflection in its shinny chrome. Grandma was looking out the other window as she prattled on about something. Mom and Dad were oblivious as the action was over their right shoulders by now. I could see the face of the sixteenish year old girl at the wheel of the screeching car. She was crying about something - no doubt what ever it is sixteen year old girls cry about.
I remember being so nonchalant about it. Growing up on a dairy farm gives one such a "some you win, some you lose," outlook in life. I did not scream or warn the others in our car. I just thought for a couple seconds and remember saying as if it were yesterday, "God, I hate Janesville." Grandma looked truly hurt and began a monologue on how wonderful Janesville had been to her considering they used to live in a shack in Harvard. The rest of the way to Grandma's house and then all the way back to Lima, I was likewise lectured by my mother on the nuances of thinking before I spoke.
I never did tell them we all almost kicked the bucket that afternoon - killed in a gory mess of tangled metal and glass - smashed to bits by a crying sixteen year old in her daddy's Buick.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Private First Class Ryan M. Jerabek, 18, of Hobart who was killed in Ramadi, Iraq on April 6, 2004. Jerabek was in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was killed in what has been described and a long firefight against insurgents. Ryan was the Fifteen Wisconsin service member to die in Iraq. He had been in Iraq less than a month. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pfc. Jerabek enlisted in the delayed entry program for the Marine Corps in his junior year in high school. He did his boot camp in San Diego in July, 2003. Ryan is survived by his mother and father Rita and Ken Jerabek. Dad Ken Jerabek served in the Army during Vietnam.
3,618 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,695 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Date with fate - post 2 - Crying 16-year-old Buick-girl vs old four-door Ford
This entry was posted on 7/18/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
The prevailing wisdom in Janesville for as long as I can remember is that our stop and go lights are in sync. The mantra has been for decades, "Catch one green light and you can get through them all down on Milwaukee Street." Nothing is farther from the truth. They are actually set out of sync to slow the flow of cars - "traffic calming." People have bought into the juxtaposed logic ("Wisconsin Logic") for so long they actually think the lights are in sync. And, like a well-kept family secret - people get cynical when they finally realize one of the kids came from the milk man so to speak.
I must have been in Fourth grade or so. Mom and Dad were carting Grandma around in our old four-door Ford car one afternoon. She could not drive. This was a periodic ritual. Even forty-five years ago the stop and go lights in Janesville annoyed me. Grandma and I were in the back seat as usual. She was going on about some doings in Janesville. She loved Janesville. Grandpa had moved the family there in the 1920s so he could work at General Motors. He died shortly after that and my uncles had to finish building the house. It seems like I am just about the only one left from the whole crowd in this story. Mom and Dad were in the front seat having one of their usual chats. Suddenly a car careened over one of the ubiquitous Janesville hills on a street to our side and slammed on its brakes at the stop sign. The car came inches from lambasting our car in a T-bone wreck. I could see the bumper of the car out my window. It was so close to our car I could see my own reflection in its shinny chrome. Grandma was looking out the other window as she prattled on about something. Mom and Dad were oblivious as the action was over their right shoulders by now. I could see the face of the sixteenish year old girl at the wheel of the screeching car. She was crying about something - no doubt what ever it is sixteen year old girls cry about.
I remember being so nonchalant about it. Growing up on a dairy farm gives one such a "some you win, some you lose," outlook in life. I did not scream or warn the others in our car. I just thought for a couple seconds and remember saying as if it were yesterday, "God, I hate Janesville." Grandma looked truly hurt and began a monologue on how wonderful Janesville had been to her considering they used to live in a shack in Harvard. The rest of the way to Grandma's house and then all the way back to Lima, I was likewise lectured by my mother on the nuances of thinking before I spoke.
I never did tell them we all almost kicked the bucket that afternoon - killed in a gory mess of tangled metal and glass - smashed to bits by a crying sixteen year old in her daddy's Buick.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Private First Class Ryan M. Jerabek, 18, of Hobart who was killed in Ramadi, Iraq on April 6, 2004. Jerabek was in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He was killed in what has been described and a long firefight against insurgents. Ryan was the Fifteen Wisconsin service member to die in Iraq. He had been in Iraq less than a month. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pfc. Jerabek enlisted in the delayed entry program for the Marine Corps in his junior year in high school. He did his boot camp in San Diego in July, 2003. Ryan is survived by his mother and father Rita and Ken Jerabek. Dad Ken Jerabek served in the Army during Vietnam.
3,618 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,695 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
112 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Date with Fate - post 1 - Semi vs Old Four-door Ford
11 July 2007
Date with Fate - post 1 - Semi vs old four-door Ford
This entry was posted on 7/11/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
It must speak to passing 50 years old. I never pondered it much 20 years ago. That slide into mortality consciousness one realizes with age. It happens one day without fanfare. You suddenly have an epiphany one day as you step back out of an intersection to avoid a car and say to yourself, "Woe, I could of just died here." There have been so many of these instances in my life, I feel it begs visiting them.
Hence begins, "Fate Fairies." You know the fate fairies. Those spiritual trouble makers that answer to what ever god you carry with you. If you are lucky they are preoccupied with minutia like hiding your car keys and wallet and other such nonsense. Mine, however seem to act as if they smoke pot and party all night - then only to show up for work and spend a great deal of intellectual resources figuring out ways to almost kill me but not succeeding. My fate fairies seem to bask in orchestrating perennial near misses for me with the after life - or what ever you would like to call the place one goes after your services are no longer needed here on earth - make up your own name for it.
One of my first vivid memories is of mom and dad heading home as we drove out of Janesville back to the farm. Highway 26 north of Janesville has always been notorious. It must have been around 1960-61 or so. Dad had to get back home to do the never ending farm chores. We had probably been to Janesville to see my Mom's mother. Grandma lived alone in the house my grandfather built on the near north side of Janesville. He had died in the mid-1930s. My Dad headed out of town on the then narrow, two-lane, hilly, State Highway 26. All I remember is Mom hollering at him to look out. An eighteen wheeler roared over the hill in our lane as it passed a car. In those days the trucks and cars were built like tanks - iron welded to iron. Wrecks often looked like film footage from war movies - heaps of iron and steel with a tire or two sticking out. Also, in those days the road shoulders did not always exist like today. Dad flung the old Ford four-door (we never owned a new car) into the ditch. Some of those old ditches were deep. The old Ford held, the semi passed within inches, and Dad slung the car back out into the lane. I do not remember the conversation on the rest of the 14 mile ride home to the farm. I never remember the instance ever, I mean ever, being brought up again as long as either one of my parents were alive.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Corporal Jesse L. Thiry, age 23, of Casco, Wisconsin. Jesse was in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Corporal Thiry was killed by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq, on April 5, 2004. Casco is a small town just north east of Green Bay. Thiry died in Fallujah, where a mob attacked, killed, and mutilated four U.S. contractors just the week prior. Jesse was the fourteenth Wisconsin military member to die in Iraq. At the time of Thiry's death, 631 U.S. service members had been killed in the Iraq war. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Thiry had been in Iraq less than a month when killed and was part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's mission of occupying Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities about 30 miles west of Baghdad. At the time it was one of the areas of Iraq with the most intense fighting during the U.S. military's 11-month deployment in Iraq. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned that Cpl. Thiry was a Marine weapons instructor in Quantico, Virgina. He transfered to an assignment that would take him to Iraq just eight months before he was scheduled to leave the military. Jesse Thiry is survived by his mom and dad Susan and Randy Thiry and seven siblings. He is the fourth of eight children and a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School where he wrestled and ran track. He entered the Marine Corps shortly after graduation.
3,607 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,558 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
108 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Date with Fate - post 1 - Semi vs old four-door Ford
This entry was posted on 7/11/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies.
It must speak to passing 50 years old. I never pondered it much 20 years ago. That slide into mortality consciousness one realizes with age. It happens one day without fanfare. You suddenly have an epiphany one day as you step back out of an intersection to avoid a car and say to yourself, "Woe, I could of just died here." There have been so many of these instances in my life, I feel it begs visiting them.
Hence begins, "Fate Fairies." You know the fate fairies. Those spiritual trouble makers that answer to what ever god you carry with you. If you are lucky they are preoccupied with minutia like hiding your car keys and wallet and other such nonsense. Mine, however seem to act as if they smoke pot and party all night - then only to show up for work and spend a great deal of intellectual resources figuring out ways to almost kill me but not succeeding. My fate fairies seem to bask in orchestrating perennial near misses for me with the after life - or what ever you would like to call the place one goes after your services are no longer needed here on earth - make up your own name for it.
One of my first vivid memories is of mom and dad heading home as we drove out of Janesville back to the farm. Highway 26 north of Janesville has always been notorious. It must have been around 1960-61 or so. Dad had to get back home to do the never ending farm chores. We had probably been to Janesville to see my Mom's mother. Grandma lived alone in the house my grandfather built on the near north side of Janesville. He had died in the mid-1930s. My Dad headed out of town on the then narrow, two-lane, hilly, State Highway 26. All I remember is Mom hollering at him to look out. An eighteen wheeler roared over the hill in our lane as it passed a car. In those days the trucks and cars were built like tanks - iron welded to iron. Wrecks often looked like film footage from war movies - heaps of iron and steel with a tire or two sticking out. Also, in those days the road shoulders did not always exist like today. Dad flung the old Ford four-door (we never owned a new car) into the ditch. Some of those old ditches were deep. The old Ford held, the semi passed within inches, and Dad slung the car back out into the lane. I do not remember the conversation on the rest of the 14 mile ride home to the farm. I never remember the instance ever, I mean ever, being brought up again as long as either one of my parents were alive.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Corporal Jesse L. Thiry, age 23, of Casco, Wisconsin. Jesse was in the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Corporal Thiry was killed by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq, on April 5, 2004. Casco is a small town just north east of Green Bay. Thiry died in Fallujah, where a mob attacked, killed, and mutilated four U.S. contractors just the week prior. Jesse was the fourteenth Wisconsin military member to die in Iraq. At the time of Thiry's death, 631 U.S. service members had been killed in the Iraq war. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Thiry had been in Iraq less than a month when killed and was part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's mission of occupying Fallujah, Ramadi and other cities about 30 miles west of Baghdad. At the time it was one of the areas of Iraq with the most intense fighting during the U.S. military's 11-month deployment in Iraq. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned that Cpl. Thiry was a Marine weapons instructor in Quantico, Virgina. He transfered to an assignment that would take him to Iraq just eight months before he was scheduled to leave the military. Jesse Thiry is survived by his mom and dad Susan and Randy Thiry and seven siblings. He is the fourth of eight children and a graduate of Luxemburg-Casco High School where he wrestled and ran track. He entered the Marine Corps shortly after graduation.
3,607 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
26,558 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
76 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
108 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Tubby's Too - Richmond, Wisconsin - Friday Night Fish Fry
25 May 2007
Tubby's Too - Richmond, Wisconsin - Friday Night Fish Fry
This entry was posted on 5/25/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Taverns Wisconsin, Friday Night Fish Fry.
Years ago, when I got out of the Army, I told a friend I just wanted to sit in an old Wisconisn tavern for a bit to reconnect with my Wisconsin. He took me to a tiny old bar out on Higway A between Richmond and Elkhorn. That was 30 years ago, I believe it was called Tubby's back then too.
After we sat for a bit and had an adult beverage or two, my friend said, "Happy now?"
Last Friday Cool Dadio and Heide headed out on the teal and cream Harley to Tubby's Too Bar & Grill. Tubby's is the consummate Wisconsin Tavern. It is out in the lake country of Southern Wisconsin in Walworth County. It is a small place but the peoples' presence gives it a big heart. Try to get there earlier because it is usually busy and you may have to wait a bit.
They start dishing up the fish on Fridays about 5:00 p.m. and serve 'till about 9:00 p.m. They offer deep fried Walleye or Cod. The two-piece is $6.50 and the three-piece is $7.50. This price I think is very fair considering the cost of transportation of sea food these days. Also, some places charge extra for Walleye just because they can. At Tubby's you get a fair shake for your buck. You will get a choice of potato pancakes or fries. You get a cup of cole slaw and some tender dark bread with butter. The tarter sauce is my style - just tart enough to know it is there, yet creamy. The potato pancakes do not look like the traditional homemade cake, but they taste like homemade. Every time Heide and I go out there to Tubby's Too we clean every crumb off our plates. That's probably the final seal of approval in the world of tavern fish fry. On Friday they also offer a 16 ounce T-Bone for $14.95 and Butterfly Shrimp for $8.95.
Tubby's is owned by Tubby Brewer. He used to bartend there and has been the owner for about seven years or so. The origin of the need-a-second-look name according to Mark the Bartender and a couple patrons is that it was chosen because there is a bar "up nort" with a similar name. So Tubby had to improvise a bit. Tubby's dad was also called Tubby so the current owner is a Tubby too.
Their other special night is on Tuesdays. They offer Steak and Shrimp; Steak and Lobster; Steak, Lobster & Shrimp; 16 oz. T-Bone; Butterfly Shrimp; and Prime Rib. The prices vary from $10.95 to $15.95.
Tubby's Too is cool with Cool Dadio
To get there from Janesville, take County Highway A out past Highway 89 in Richmond. Cross over 89 and stay on A and Tubby's is a mile or so down on the right. W8497 County Road A, Delavan, WI 53115. Folks may also refer to it as being in Richmond, Wisconsin. Phone (608) 883 - 2909.
Note: You can find a chronological list at the Cool Dadio Media Fish Fry Page of these fish frys as we have visited them. The list presents the most recently visited fish fry at the top, in lieu of alphabetical order.
Wisconsin Military Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person or military connected person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Specialist Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, of Amherst. Uhl was with Battery C, the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Eugine was Wisconsin's seventh soldier to die in Iraq. Uhl was his family's only son, the youngest of four children, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted his mother as saying he would have been the last male family member likely to pass on the Uhl name. He was scheduled to be married in June of 2004. According to the Journal Sentinel his mother also said he would have turned 22 on Thanksgiving. Uhl had been stationed in Iraq since February. He entered the regular Army in June 2002 after first joining the Army National Guard in 1999 and he expected to make the military a career. Eugene was killed when two 101st Airborne Division UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided in mid-air over Mosul, Iraq, on November 15, 2003. This was the same crash that killed Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36 who was last week's Daily Dadio honored Wisconsin soldier.
3,435 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
25,378 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
75 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
102 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Tubby's Too - Richmond, Wisconsin - Friday Night Fish Fry
This entry was posted on 5/25/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Taverns Wisconsin, Friday Night Fish Fry.
Years ago, when I got out of the Army, I told a friend I just wanted to sit in an old Wisconisn tavern for a bit to reconnect with my Wisconsin. He took me to a tiny old bar out on Higway A between Richmond and Elkhorn. That was 30 years ago, I believe it was called Tubby's back then too.
After we sat for a bit and had an adult beverage or two, my friend said, "Happy now?"
Last Friday Cool Dadio and Heide headed out on the teal and cream Harley to Tubby's Too Bar & Grill. Tubby's is the consummate Wisconsin Tavern. It is out in the lake country of Southern Wisconsin in Walworth County. It is a small place but the peoples' presence gives it a big heart. Try to get there earlier because it is usually busy and you may have to wait a bit.
They start dishing up the fish on Fridays about 5:00 p.m. and serve 'till about 9:00 p.m. They offer deep fried Walleye or Cod. The two-piece is $6.50 and the three-piece is $7.50. This price I think is very fair considering the cost of transportation of sea food these days. Also, some places charge extra for Walleye just because they can. At Tubby's you get a fair shake for your buck. You will get a choice of potato pancakes or fries. You get a cup of cole slaw and some tender dark bread with butter. The tarter sauce is my style - just tart enough to know it is there, yet creamy. The potato pancakes do not look like the traditional homemade cake, but they taste like homemade. Every time Heide and I go out there to Tubby's Too we clean every crumb off our plates. That's probably the final seal of approval in the world of tavern fish fry. On Friday they also offer a 16 ounce T-Bone for $14.95 and Butterfly Shrimp for $8.95.
Tubby's is owned by Tubby Brewer. He used to bartend there and has been the owner for about seven years or so. The origin of the need-a-second-look name according to Mark the Bartender and a couple patrons is that it was chosen because there is a bar "up nort" with a similar name. So Tubby had to improvise a bit. Tubby's dad was also called Tubby so the current owner is a Tubby too.
Their other special night is on Tuesdays. They offer Steak and Shrimp; Steak and Lobster; Steak, Lobster & Shrimp; 16 oz. T-Bone; Butterfly Shrimp; and Prime Rib. The prices vary from $10.95 to $15.95.
Tubby's Too is cool with Cool Dadio
To get there from Janesville, take County Highway A out past Highway 89 in Richmond. Cross over 89 and stay on A and Tubby's is a mile or so down on the right. W8497 County Road A, Delavan, WI 53115. Folks may also refer to it as being in Richmond, Wisconsin. Phone (608) 883 - 2909.
Note: You can find a chronological list at the Cool Dadio Media Fish Fry Page of these fish frys as we have visited them. The list presents the most recently visited fish fry at the top, in lieu of alphabetical order.
Wisconsin Military Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person or military connected person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Army Specialist Eugene A. Uhl III, 21, of Amherst. Uhl was with Battery C, the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Eugine was Wisconsin's seventh soldier to die in Iraq. Uhl was his family's only son, the youngest of four children, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted his mother as saying he would have been the last male family member likely to pass on the Uhl name. He was scheduled to be married in June of 2004. According to the Journal Sentinel his mother also said he would have turned 22 on Thanksgiving. Uhl had been stationed in Iraq since February. He entered the regular Army in June 2002 after first joining the Army National Guard in 1999 and he expected to make the military a career. Eugene was killed when two 101st Airborne Division UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided in mid-air over Mosul, Iraq, on November 15, 2003. This was the same crash that killed Army Sgt. Warren S. Hansen, 36 who was last week's Daily Dadio honored Wisconsin soldier.
3,435 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
25,378 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
75 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
102 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Boorish Billboard
9 May 2007
Boorish Billboard
This entry was posted on 5/9/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Marriage, Assignment of Meaning.
The Chicago billboard advertising divorce legal service is a treasure trove of social commentary. See: Divorce Billboard. Coincidently the law firm that put it up is an all female firm - not sure if that is relevant. The billboard simply says: "Life's short. Get a Divorce." The words are flanked only by a picture of a man's bare chest and a woman's cleavage. The talk radio stations are salivating with analysis, other attorneys groan that this is just the latest bad-taste advertising for their profession, and the religious right is sure to note, "see, we told you they are all cretins of debauchery."
Other than the usual suspects' ruffled feathers mentioned above, the analysis of this simple message is a gold mine in the assignment of meaning. Everyone seems to put a deep meaning in the two sentences with five words total. Clearly the offending law firm has struck a sour nerve. Advertising that gets a little too close to the truth is sometimes dangerous for the advertisers. Radio talk show hosts have been asking, "What does it say about our society?" Well, for one it cuts to the chase that marriage in today's America is a ruse. People and society have been holding marriage up as a sacred cow while in reality beating marriage to death for decades.
Sociologists should agree that modern marriage has nothing to do with raising children, perpetuating society, or love. It instead has everything to do with entertainment. Couples get married either by subconscious or design to simply be amused by the latest pop culture, entertainment value of marriage. Any children can be cared for by nannies, relatives, neighbors, or grand parents. An economy relentless in its deconstruction of the middle class leaves the unassuming couple unable to attain the entertainment pop culture life that was implied was at their finger tips when they got married. Once a couple is locked legally in the contract of marriage, society adds insult to injury and seems to work diligently in a collective hive to make sure they are economically beat to death - day care, school fees, insurance, taxes, mortgages, car payments, and on and on. The billboard simply suggests if you want out of that marriage construct, be sure and go for it.
That idea of getting out of the modern entertainment marriage so easily makes all parties uncomfortable. Perhaps it is not that the offending attorneys are all female that is relevant at all, but rather perhaps, they are showing their youth and naivety about advertising. We all play patty cake in the big American play house - but you have to be more nuanced when you advertise about tragic realities. The morrow of the story is, beat around the reality bush and people are cool with the ad - wink, wink, nod.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Private First Class Rachel K. Bosveld, a member of the 527th Military Police, V Corps. Pfc. Bosveld was killed Sunday October 26, 2003, in a mortar attack on the Abu Ghraib Police Station in Baghdad. Rachel would have turned 20 on November 7, 2003. She was a 2002 graduate of Waupun High School. Rachel Bosveld was the fifth Wisconsin resident to die in the Iraq War. She was the state's first female soldier to die since Sgt. Cheryl LaBeau-O'Brien, of Caledonia, who died in a helicopter accident during the first Gulf War in 1991.
3,377 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
25,245 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
72 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week and military casualty information sources: cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Boorish Billboard
This entry was posted on 5/9/2007 1:30 AM and is filed under Marriage, Assignment of Meaning.
The Chicago billboard advertising divorce legal service is a treasure trove of social commentary. See: Divorce Billboard. Coincidently the law firm that put it up is an all female firm - not sure if that is relevant. The billboard simply says: "Life's short. Get a Divorce." The words are flanked only by a picture of a man's bare chest and a woman's cleavage. The talk radio stations are salivating with analysis, other attorneys groan that this is just the latest bad-taste advertising for their profession, and the religious right is sure to note, "see, we told you they are all cretins of debauchery."
Other than the usual suspects' ruffled feathers mentioned above, the analysis of this simple message is a gold mine in the assignment of meaning. Everyone seems to put a deep meaning in the two sentences with five words total. Clearly the offending law firm has struck a sour nerve. Advertising that gets a little too close to the truth is sometimes dangerous for the advertisers. Radio talk show hosts have been asking, "What does it say about our society?" Well, for one it cuts to the chase that marriage in today's America is a ruse. People and society have been holding marriage up as a sacred cow while in reality beating marriage to death for decades.
Sociologists should agree that modern marriage has nothing to do with raising children, perpetuating society, or love. It instead has everything to do with entertainment. Couples get married either by subconscious or design to simply be amused by the latest pop culture, entertainment value of marriage. Any children can be cared for by nannies, relatives, neighbors, or grand parents. An economy relentless in its deconstruction of the middle class leaves the unassuming couple unable to attain the entertainment pop culture life that was implied was at their finger tips when they got married. Once a couple is locked legally in the contract of marriage, society adds insult to injury and seems to work diligently in a collective hive to make sure they are economically beat to death - day care, school fees, insurance, taxes, mortgages, car payments, and on and on. The billboard simply suggests if you want out of that marriage construct, be sure and go for it.
That idea of getting out of the modern entertainment marriage so easily makes all parties uncomfortable. Perhaps it is not that the offending attorneys are all female that is relevant at all, but rather perhaps, they are showing their youth and naivety about advertising. We all play patty cake in the big American play house - but you have to be more nuanced when you advertise about tragic realities. The morrow of the story is, beat around the reality bush and people are cool with the ad - wink, wink, nod.
This week's Wisconsin soldier to remember is Private First Class Rachel K. Bosveld, a member of the 527th Military Police, V Corps. Pfc. Bosveld was killed Sunday October 26, 2003, in a mortar attack on the Abu Ghraib Police Station in Baghdad. Rachel would have turned 20 on November 7, 2003. She was a 2002 graduate of Waupun High School. Rachel Bosveld was the fifth Wisconsin resident to die in the Iraq War. She was the state's first female soldier to die since Sgt. Cheryl LaBeau-O'Brien, of Caledonia, who died in a helicopter accident during the first Gulf War in 1991.
3,377 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
25,245 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring 2003.
72 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring 2003.
Soldier of the week and military casualty information sources: cnn.com; and, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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