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Category Archives: General
Off To The Races!
Growing up Vail meant fending for ourselves when it came to recreation. As Marty has shared, often the fending for fun could edge toward activities parents today would find horrifying. Hell, for all I know, our parents were horrified too. … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Boyer River, Doogan Forty, Dr. James Leo Flood, Tracy's Pond, Vail
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Missing In Action
Upon being drafted by the U.S. Army in 1970, I figured that after two years, if was still alive, I would be discharged from military service and be done with the government’s intrusion into my life. But no, I hadn’t … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Army MOS, Camp McCoy, Chinook helicopter, Crosby, Fort McCoy, Jesse Colin Young, Milwaukee County Stadium, Nash & Young, Stills, The Beach Boys, WI
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Legislative Liver
I spent ten years as a sausage maker at Farmland Foods in Denison, Iowa. I spent twenty-seven years as a lobbyist at the Iowa Capitol. “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made,” quipped Otto … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Braunschweiger, Farmland Foods, Iowa Capitol, Ott von Bismarck, PET
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A Brief Tale
Have you ever gone skinny dipping? If you were a boy living in Vail, Iowa, during the 1950s and 1960s there was just about no way to avoid the practice of diving into a farm pond sans clothing or swim … Continue reading
Chicago – The Sequel
My first time in Chicago was chronicled in a previous blog, Look Before You Leap. I’ve been to Chicago, and the metropolitan area several times since. And who hasn’t had a frustrating trip through O’Hare Airport at least once in … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Billy Goat Tavern, Carson's Ribs, Chicago, Mike Royko, Slats Grobnik, Wilson Foods
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Look Before You Leap
I was told often that I wasn’t college material. That’s probably because I didn’t apply myself during my four years of high school. I had a friend, Jim, who died of leukemia within two years of graduating, who would do … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Chicago, Cletus Windschitl, Douglas Hotel, Kuemper Catholic High School, Matt Windschitl
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