Long time no write

This post is dedicated to Lynne, Stan, Pam and anyone else who still bothers 

to check this site after such a lengthy silence. 

The positive changes that had occurred at my now former job all went to hell in a handbasket after the departure May 31 of our fine editor, Richard Pufall. The situation deteriorated to the point where it became unsustainable and I felt it prudent to resign before I suffered a nervous breakdown. 

Rather than attempt to detail the collapse of Ashland's once great newspaper in this single post, I direct your attention to my now infamous radio interview in which I and two other former employees of The Daily Press discuss some of the many ways in which American Consolidated Media managed to run northern Wisconsin's only daily newspaper into the ground. Follow this link and all will be revealed: http://kuws.fm/ You will have to click on "Final Edition" (on the left) and then select the July 12th program from the list. You'll see my name under that date. Apparently there is no direct link to that particular broadcast. Enjoy!

Besides the loss of my job, it's been a rough year in many other ways: a serious case of bacterial pneumonia nearly took me out in January, a good friend died under what can only be described as suspicious circumstances in April, a close friend and former co-worker moved back to Michigan in July, my brother Tommy passed away in August, and now the house I am living in is for sale, leaving my continued residency in this apartment up for grabs. Sigh. As Tony Soprano would say, "Whaddaya gonna do?" 

So far I am surviving on a wing and a prayer and with a lot of help from my awesome friends, especially Robin and Carolyn. I am doing a little freelance writing and editing, including working on the 2014 visitors guide for Paducah, Ky., and hoping like hell I find a job soon. I really want to stay in Ashland, but that may not be possible. The prospect of moving is something I have tried to avoid contemplating, but we shall see.

I am not making any promises, mind you, but I will try to write again soon. Catch ya on the flip side, folks.

View from the 45th floor

    Much has happened since my last entry. Things are very different at work and it's totally for the better. But before I get to all that there was my weekend trip to Chicago in mid-November. I finally got to see my friend Robin's downtown apartment at the Park Millennium and I didn't even have to drive there. I was so lucky to be able to ride with a good friend from Washburn who was visiting her daughter in Chicago. It all worked out great and I am so glad I went despite having fallen down my backstairs a couple days before we were due to leave. :-(

Samhain safari

 

It won't be long now until that most wonderful time of 

the year!! No, not Christmas, fool! ;-)

"I got a Nikon camera..."

  

Been out with my Nikon for a few fall color drives around the area. Here are a couple of photos I took yesterday at Prentice Park here in Ashland.

"Winter is coming"

   I know I am a bit late to the party, but I have recently become a die-hard fan of the HBO series "Game of Thrones." I had heard good things about it but had never caught any of the episodes. When season 2 started, I briefly thought about trying to watch it, but I hate trying to play catch up on something like that and much prefer seeing it from the very beginning.

   Well, thanks to the wonders of OnDemand I was able to watch the entire first two seasons (20 episodes) in like three days. LOL I was hooked immediately and couldn't stop watching until I had seen the whole thing. It is so awesome and so well done that I can hardly wait until the third season, which doesn't start airing until March 31, 2013, so I guess I better cool my jets. In the meantime, I should try to read the books by George R.R. Martin because I have heard they are terrific, even better than the series, etc.

Charles in charge

One of the main reasons for my recent trip down to Flatland was the chance to finally meet my one and only great-nephew, Charlie, in person. Up to this point I had only seen photos of the feisty little shit (pretty cute photos, I must admit LOL), so it was awesome to get to talk to him and hang out for a bit. He lives in Colorado and since moving farther north, I don't get down to Illinois as much as I used to. So the planets just hadn't aligned for us to occupy space in the same general vicinity

Anyway, above are two photos of Charlie, 3, taken at my sister's house. In the first he is studiously reading his Numbers book and in the other he is chillaxin' with his beloved pawpaw, John. They had spent most of the day together out in the fields, checking out kewl farm implements and visiting the crop duster airstrip for Walter Seed and Fertilizer. Charlie loves trucks and machinery and stuff, so he totally dug it.