Meet Me at the Corner

Love, Oprah

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:29:05 GMT

In the caption for this blog there’s a comma between Love and Oprah – like the signature of a letter. Whether you’re one of her fans or not, you have to admit Oprah is a woman who has made her mark: her own TV show, her own multi-layered website, her own magazine – just a stand-alone “O” is enough to establish her identity.

Yesterday she looked out at millions of viewers who tune in to her 4 p.m. show, to confess that the reason she had gained so much weight in the past year is that she did not love herself enough. Now the first reaction of some people, myself included, is to laugh. Oprah! How could she love herself any more?

But then again, who are we to judge? Just because Oprah conveys the impression she loves herself a whole lot, none of us can really know what goes on in another person’s mind. Oprah talks about “falling off the wagon” in her efforts to maintain the slim image she had captured a few years ago, and she talks about her embarrassment to face up to the “brown elephant in the room,” her chagrin at standing next to Cher (another one-name celebrity) on stage. In fact, all this week Oprah is featuring a "live your best life" series, focusing on a different topic each day. “Love yourself” was a good start.

What I find funny about my brief report of Oprah’s TV show yesterday is where I was while watching it – since I very seldom watch day-time TV. I was on one of the new treadmills at Innovative Health and Fitness, located on Loomis Road in Franklin. Each machine is equipped with an individual TV screen so exercisers can choose their favorite channel and focus on something other than their own movement. It makes the time go faster. So there I was (huff-puff) thinking some of these same Oprah thoughts: Why did I let that weight creep up on me again? (huff-puff) and Why can’t I fit in those favorite jeans any more? (huff-puff) Then I saw the connection: berating myself wasn’t really a helpful attitude for this new year. Oprah’s idea to start with a “Love Thyself” philosophy suited me just fine. Why beat a person when she’s down?

During a commercial break, there was an ad for the “50 Million Pound Challenge.” Now that particular weight-loss effort has been around since April 2007, but I’m not always up on the latest popular culture news. Staring me in the face, though (huff-puff) it got my attention. 50 million pounds? I wondered. What’s that all about? I saw a “dot-com” website address and made a mental note to check it out.

That’s what I did this morning, before writing my overdue blog. (I’ve been sick and before that, I was out of state celebrating Christmas.) I learned that the 50 Million Pound Challenge has a lot of supporters, and it’s an effort anyone can participate in without spending a dime – though if you want the free CD, you have to consult a State Farm insurance agent. Anyway, I registered. It helps me put things in perspective – the weight I want to lose in 2009 is a drop in the bucket compared to those millions.

Locally, Franklin residents can join the “Get Healthy Challenge” at Innovative Health and Fitness if they register by January 10th. The program, which lasts through June 30, 2009, is free, though participants must purchase a personal record keeper. For more information, stop at the fitness center or call Phyllis Hanson, personal trainer, 414-529-9900, ext. 717. Twelve Franklin residents who registered early for the “Get Healthy Challenge” were selected in a drawing on Jan. 2 to receive a free 6-month membership. We’ll cheer them on – and you too, if you take up the “challenge” – in coming months.

Making a List and Checking It Twice

Marjorie Pagel — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:17:18 GMT

According to the Christmas song, Santa Claus is busy checking his list – to find out which children have been naughty and which have been nice. The list, presumably, is made by the Brownies and Elves who act as spies in the houses of children all over the world – that is, when they aren’t busy putting together all those toys in Santa’s workshop.

Meanwhile, you and I are checking our lists to see if we’ve remembered to buy a present for everyone named there and hoping that the items we put on our own wish lists will appear at the gift exchange. And then, too soon, it will be time to turn our attention to that other list – the New Year’s Resolution List that some of us continue to make year after year.

I like the way Judy Bridges, founder and director of Redbird Studio, dismissed that list last year. She checked her list from 2007and found that her goals and resolutions were exactly the same. There was some satisfaction, she said, to know that she was still focused in the right direction.

I’m a great list maker – always have been. And, like Judy, many of my good intentions for the new year are the same ones, with minor variation, that appeared last year and the year before that. My biggest hang-up is the daily To Do list. Every morning I construct the list with renewed enthusiasm, and then by noon have to face the reality that there’s not enough time in the day to do everything on the list. Admittedly, that’s often because things that aren’t on the To Do list, like the daily Sudoku puzzle, have eaten into my productive hours.

At the end of the day, the leftovers from the day’s To Do list are relinquished for another day, but the pile-up of things undone keeps growing. Every New Year, and many times throughout the year, I restate my resolution to “get organized” and I attack the paper pile-ups that have become the nemesis of my life. The lists are helpful to me, though – they make me feel organized; they make me feel like I’m “on track.”

So here I am again, approaching 2009, and my optimistic nature always looks at the possibilities – of all those things I can do, if I really set my mind to it. Like our President-Elect Barack Obama, I believe that change is possible – for me, for you, for this entire country. I still believe in the Christmas proclamation of “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” and I embrace the philosophy of that song, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

So there you have it. I just crossed off one item on today’s “To Do” list – write a new blog for Hales Corners and Franklin NOW.

Wishing all of you who read to the end of this blog (and all those who didn’t) a blessed, peaceful new year.

With a [Christmas] Song in My Heart

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:47:46 GMT

Every morning I wake up with a song in my heart – a Christmas song, that is. Sometimes it’s “Goin’ To Bethlehem” or “Tell the Good News;” other days it’s “Getting’ In the Mood for Christmas” or “Winter Wonderland.” The words and the beat keep me company throughout the day, even when I’m trying to get them out of my mind. That’s the way it is with music, though, especially after rehearsing notes and lyrics measure by measure, week after week, in preparation for a concert.

It’s the Christmas music season for choruses all over the world, and this year I’m fortunate to be part of a very talented group, Community Chorus, led by a very talented director, Jerry Jenkins. There are 76 members in the chorus – sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. We rehearse right here in Hales Corners at the Emanuel United Church of Christ. Since the middle of September we’ve rehearsed two hours every Tuesday night, preparing for our 2008 concert, “Angels, From the Realms of Glory.”

The Community Chorus was formed in 1980 and, since that time, has given concert performances every Christmas season and again in Spring. Each season two public performances are held at Emanuel Church, 10627 W. Forest Home Ave. In addition, the chorus performs half a dozen concerts at various locations throughout the area.

Before he retired, Jerry Jenkins was a music teacher and chorus director in the Whitnall Schools District. His love of music wouldn’t let him retire completely, though. These days, in addition to directing the Community Chorus, he drives twice each week to Lake Mills where he directs the Moravian Church choir. He is not the type of director to settle for “pretty good” or “not too bad.” If the rhythm, the dynamics, the precision are not what the composer intended or Director Jenkins expects, the chorus is asked to go over those trouble spots again and again, until it’s right.

That, for me, is what brings the satisfaction when we give a public performance. All eyes are on Jerry, and he is absolutely focused. If something isn’t exactly right, we might detect a slight raising of the eyebrow or a slight twitch of the lips, and if a song has been performed well, we can read the hint of satisfaction on his face.

One of the benefits of singing with this group is getting to hear a number of very talented voices featured in solo and ensemble parts. Chris Romine and Rachael Olson draw wistful gazes from the audience whenever they sing their duet, “Believe.” Cindy Ovokaitys sings a compelling gospel-style solo in “Jesus, What a Wonderful Child.” Other solo voices include Beverly Larson, Carrie Davidson and Jeanne Hagopian.

There’s a variety of musical accompaniment, including a piano duet by Mary Jo Wolf and Pam Kothrade. A special feature in the two public performances will be the Oriana Harp Quartet, who will perform two songs directed by their teacher and harp-builder, Steve Gyuro. (To read more about Steve and the Oriana Harp Quartet, check out: http://www.orianaharp.com/harp%20quartet.html and http://www.harpkit.com/Merchant2/pdf/MMOM_Summer08.pdf)

The two public concerts will be held on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for both concerts are on sale for $7 each at the door or in advance from Annette Kordus: 414-427-9686, or any of the chorus members.

To learn more about the Community Chorus and to see some photos from the 2007 Christmas concert, see http://communitychorus.spaces.live.com

Happy 75th Anniversary to the CCC

Marjorie Pagel — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:06:00 GMT

The 75th Anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps was celebrated locally last week at Boerner Botanical Gardens. It was a well-attended event, and though only a handful of people could share firsthand experiences of this chapter in American history, almost everyone could remember someone -- a father, an uncle, or a grandfather -- who had been part of the CCC.

Young men between 17 and 25 earned $30 a month -- $25 of which was sent directly home to “ma and pa” to make sure they had enough to eat. They worked hard for the $5 they got to keep: planting trees, building roads and bridges, and helping to develop park land. These young men working in the 1930s left a legacy which all of us continue to enjoy today.

During the celebration, members of the Milwaukee Community Service Corps quietly read the names of all 7,000 Wisconsin men who were part of the CCC. Undoubtedly, there are more names, and Chris Litzau, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Community Service Corps, hopes to hear who these other workers were and publish them on a CCC website. For more information, you may contact Litzau at 414-372-9040.

There were several special treats in store for the guests, including a taped rendition of the bugle call, “Reveille” – played four times all the way through. (County Executive Scott Walker joked that he’d like a copy of that tape for his teenage son, because it would take that many bugle calls to rouse him.) The taped bugles played again at the end – “Taps” -- just before the soup lunch was served.

The sing-a-long of the “National CCC Song” featured all six verses followed each time by this chorus:
“It’s up in the morning and work all day under a boiling sun,
Then back to camp with darn good pals when an honest day is done.
Now some are good and some are bad as fellows will always be,
But we all stick together and now I’m glad that I’m in the CCC.”

My favorite verse was the last:
“We’ve worked in many places – over forest, gully and hill.
And when Franklin D. says, “Do it, boys,” you can bet your life, we will.
And if it weren’t for men like him, I don’t know where I’d be.
Now I’ve got a home no more to roam, and thanks to Franklin D.”

Litzau used the opportunity to draw some correlations between those lean economic times of the Depression and this country’s current economic crisis. In a recent article from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he was quoted as saying, "From the worst of times, you have the greatest human spirit arise.” He sees the Milwaukee Community Service Corps as “a grandchild of the CCC.” (www.jsonline.com/business/34563724.html)

Cailinn is home!

Marjorie Pagel — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:21:00 GMT

Those of you who read my blog last week know about Cailinn Lynch, the six-month old daughter of Brian and Kelly Lynch, of Hales Corners. Kelly writes all the latest news in an online journal sponsored by Caring Bridge. The alert I received today told me the news and I want to pass it on to you:

Welcome Home Baby Cailinn!

Our little girl came home yesterday. We can't even begin to describe how happy we are. It's amazing how much you take things for granted, such as sitting in your living room with your spouse, your baby and your dog, eating dinner together.

Brian, Cailinn, and I would like to say thank you to all of our doctors and nurses at CHW that helped us get home.

We look forward to seeing everyone that will be able to make it on Saturday. - Kelly Lynch

Reminder: The Saturday event that Kelly refers to is a fundraiser November 15, 7 to 11 p.m., to help pay some of the medical costs for Cailinn. Michael Stickney, a family friend, is organizing a fun-filled event for people of all ages -- families invited -- at Waynz World in New Berlin. The cost is $25 per person. RSVP to Michael 630-802-1380; donations to the Cailinn Lynch fund may be sent to him at 1569 S. Carriage LN, New Berlin WI 53151. Details about Waynz World, along with directions, can be found at waynzworld.com.

Raising Money, Raising Hope for Cailinn Lynch

Marjorie Pagel — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:21:39 GMT

Brian and Kelly Lynch, of Hales Corners, were ecstatic to become first-time parents on May 8, 2008. Their daughter, Cailinn Maureen, was born at 9:07 p.m., weighing 5 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 18 inches long. She had a full head of beautiful brown hair with red highlights.

Soon after her birth, a blood test determined that this darling little girl had a rare and serious chromosomal disorder. She was to spend four long weeks in intensive care before coming home. On August 6 she was readmitted to Children's Hospital because of breathing problems. Later that month, doctors surgically inserted a tracheotomy tube to help her breathe, and on August 19, Kelly wrote in an online journal, which she shares with family and friends:

"Cailinn had her trach placed yesterday. It was a rough day for all of us, but Cailinn is so strong. She slept most of the day, but is already starting to perk up today. I've never know a stronger person. We can clearly see the improvement in our beautiful daughter. It's a little hard, seeing her with all of her 'accessories', but knowing that she is breathing so much better and is more comfortable is a precious peace of mind. We know now that we made the right decision."

Then on September 25 Cailinn had heart surgery to correct congenital heart defects. The little girl came through that surgery triumphantly as well. One month later, on October 25, Kelly posted this note: "Well, we are getting closer to going home! . . . Cailinn came down with pneumonia last week and some other respiratory challenges, as well as a slight tummy bug. She had a really high fever and was very sad, but fought through it like the little trooper that she is. . . . She never fails to amaze me. She is doing very well, and smiles & talks to us all the time. She is probably the happiest baby I've ever met."

The latest posting tells about a special benefit for Cailinn that's being organized by a family friend, Michael Stickney. The benefit, to be held on Nov. 15 at Waynz World of Recreation in Waukesha, will be a family event with food and beverages served and games of volleyball, bean bag toss, and ping pong. There will also be a silent auction and raffle.

Michael writes: The cost will be $25 per person. If you can't make it please feel free to send a donation on your behalf. Please RSVP to Michael Stickney 630-802-1380 or send a donation to 1569 S. Carriage LN, New Berlin WI 53151. Also, if you can donate anything for the auction, it would be much appreciated. For directions to the event visit waynzworld.com.

Trivia Quiz

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:55:13 GMT

Here's a little diversion from the pre-election frenzy. I've listed 10 questions that most people initially think are too easy for a fifth grader. . .but then we find ourselves thinking, "Hey! What IS the answer?" (The correct answers follow.)

1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?

2. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty 's torch?

3. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?

4. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?

5. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?

6. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?

7. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?

8. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?

9. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark? (Joker doesn't count.)

10. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?

ANSWERS
(1) BOTTOM; (2) RIGHT HAND; (3) 1 AND 0; (4) RED; (5) 87.5; (6) LEFT; (7) 6; (8) BASHFUL; (9) ACE OF SPADES; (10) 3

A Good Excuse for a Party

Marjorie Pagel — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:10:00 GMT

The Friends of the Franklin Public Library are going all out on Saturday, October 25, to entertain guests at a wine tasting party. The doors of the library will open at 6 p.m., and for the next three hours guests will have a chance to sample wines, appetizers and desserts; place their bids on a number of silent auction items; and watch Staci Joers (“Cooking with Class”) demonstrate some of her culinary specialties – including flaming desserts. Background music will be provided by pianist Laurie Mentzer.

Tickets for the event are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. All proceeds from the event, including the silent auction and a quilt raffle, will go toward the purchase of new computers in the children’s area. Advance tickets are available at the library or from Consumer Beverage, Hales Corners.

Wine will be served at eight stations, explained Diane Oleson, Friends member and chairperson of this event. One station will feature wines from New Zealand and Australia, another from South America, another from Europe. Domestic wines from the Northwest, Napa Valley and Sonoma will be featured at other stations. A tempting array of appetizers and desserts will also be available at these stations.

Judy Roberts, President of the Friends, said that every dollar raised from this event will be used to buy new computers for the children’s area of the library. The computers currently being used are outdated – they can’t accommodate new DVD software.

The City of Franklin budget is tight this year, and the City Council wasn’t able to provide for updating the computers. Here’s a chance, though, for people of the Franklin community to help out.

Roberts outlined several ways people of the community can support this fundraising endeavor:

1) Buy tickets for the Oct. 25th party. If you don’t want to use them yourself, give them to a friend, relative or neighbor who would appreciate them.

2) Buy quilt raffle tickets. Ten beautiful quilts made by one of the library quilting groups are being donated for this fundraising event. Patrons may choose their favorite quilt and drop the raffle ticket into the jar with the corresponding number. Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and can be purchased at the library desk.

3) Make an outright donation to the Friends, with the notation that it be earmarked for the Children’s Computer Fund.

To purchase 12 new computers would cost roughly $15,000, Library Director Barbara Roark said. These computers are well used by the children in this community, she pointed out, checking her records. In July there were 1,187 children using the library computers.

“These computers are filtered,” Roberts added. Parents need to know that there are safeguards in place.

“ The Franklin Library is an excellent venue for this kind of party,” said Oleson. This is her second year chairing the wine-tasting event. It was a big success last year and this year promises to be even better.

For more information, call Diane Oleson at 414-427-7284.

Stephen Boehrer - Hales Corners Novelist

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Today in my blog I’d like to introduce you to a Hales Corners man, Stephen Boehrer. He’s an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and I keep running into him and his wife Rita at various functions in Hales Corners and Franklin. Last month, for instance, we were all at the Franklin Library to hear from local author Larry Watson discuss his published novels. Rita, a retired history professor, regularly gives free public lectures at the Hales Corners Library, and I often run into the two of them there as well.

Originally, though, I got to know Steve when he and I were both part of a Writers Round Table at Redbird Studio, Bay View. Recently retired, Steve was working on his first novel – and when I say work, I mean just that. Steve wasn’t the type of writer who would dash off a draft and assume it was finished. His first novel, Unless a Grain of Wheat, went through many drafts before it was published in 1997. Steve didn’t get discouraged as many first-time novelists would, and he freely credits Judy Bridges, director of Redbird, the Round Table writers, and Rita, a perceptive reader and excellent editor, with helping him through the long process.

A former priest who loves his church, Steve drew inspiration for his first novel is from the Bible verse, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (quoted from New American Standard Bible, 1995.) This was written before the widespread publishing of sexual abuses by the clergy, along with all the lawsuits and public disgrace of many respected priests.

When Steve set out to write his first novel, he knew that it was the first of a trilogy. The other two were subsequently published: Dead Men’s Bones (2000) and Called to Freedom (2003) and were the subject of several book discussion groups at the Hales Corners and Franklin Libraries. All three books are available at the Hales Corners Library and from the publisher, Windborne Publications, P.O. box 7333, Hales Corners, WI 53130.

His next book, The Purple Culture, will be published by Oceanview Publishing and available at bookstores in May 2009. While the trilogy focuses on the same major characters, including Father Charles Mueller and Sister Maggie McDonough, The Purple Culture is a mystery that is ultimately solved in a courtroom where three bishops accused of pedophilia are on trial.

Quoting from Steve’s website: “The mystery surrounding the clerical abuse scandal is not that a priest could be a pedophile. The mystery lies with the bishops. What motivated politically adept, often outgoing and personable men who claim moral leadership to knowingly place predatory, pedophile priests among innocent children? What moved them to present deaf ears to victims and parents of victims, and then engage in stone-walling and cover-up activities?”

To learn more about Steve and his books, be sure to visit his new website, http://www.stephenboehrer.com Although I’m not a Roman Catholic, I responded to Steve’s invitation to join the dialogue on his web log, so be sure to check that out too. (Just go to the website referenced above and click on “Blog”.)

Steve has issued an open invitation for people concerned about the church to enter into this discussion. Here’s what he has to say that might encourage you to enter that dialogue:

The harm that self-absorbed and self-serving religious leaders can bring to their own people, and to others, has perhaps never been more evident.

History records how violence and terror tactics have been used, not just by small cults, but by all mainstream religions.

This blog is intended to display, discuss, and hopefully provide solutions to the threat of harm coming from Christian leadership.

I speak from my own affiliation and tradition, that of Roman Catholicism, but I believe the topic has universal application.

The attempts to cover-up the sexual abuse scandal with its protection of pedophiles, and the increasing numbers of thefts by ecclesiastics are warning signals to the laity that their judgments must enter the fray - or the scandals will continue.

In the priest/bishop pedophile scandal the conclusion is obvious that the leadership's moral compass is off-point.

Church embezzlements on today's scale bring the leadership's management abilities into question.

"The Purple Culture," speaks to components of a culture that are causal in episcopal behavior. It presents a foundation for and gives focus to action by the laity. I hope you will read it. Whether you agree with it or not, if you are interested in joining the discussion, let's begin.

Franklin Cultural Arts Center: Want to Get Involved?

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:24:00 GMT

I recently received a newsletter from Don Dorsan, President of the Franklin Cultural Arts Center. Although the building has yet to begin, Don and other supporters of the FCAC have been working hard to get this building “off the ground.”

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, Don wants to hear from you:

Would you like to become involved in any way, such as helping with events or working on the capital campaign?

Would you like to receive further information?

Would you like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the capital campaign?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, please contact Don at 414-525-0009 or send him an email at ddorsan@yahoo.com. And by all means, check out the Franklin Cultural Arts Center website: http://www.franklinculturalcenter.org/

In the meantime, let me tell you about two events in the works that Don wants you to know about:

1) October 17, at 7:30 p.m. ComedySportz will be at thePolish Community Center, 6941 South 68th Street. This event is co-sponsored by WaterStone Bank and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Tickets, at $20 each, are on sale at Sentry store on 76th and Rawson or by calling 414-525-0009, or online at the website address above.

Quoted from the website: “ComedySportz, Milwaukee's longest running show, is a team competitive interactive comedy experience. Unlike most other forms of performance comedy, Comedysportz is great for all ages. The audience of a typical Comedysportz match contains everyone from kids to college students to parents to grandparents.”

2) November 15, “Divas and Divine Desserts” will be held at the Franklin Public Library. This event, which brings together good music, good food and good friends, is made possible by funding grant from the Harley-Davidson Foundation, with additional support from WaterStone Bank. It will be co-hosted by Friends of the Franklin Library.

There’s another event, “Jingle Bell Jazz,” in December. More details will be coming.

Questions you might have about the proposed Cultural Center in Franklin are answered on the website. The full answer to one of those questions is included here:

What community needs will the center fill?A group of parents banded together to form the FCAC to address the lack of an auditorium in the Franklin schools. Currently performances take place in a converted cafeteria. One referendum which included an auditorium has already failed. We offer a low cost alternative to this problem.The city needs a senior center and the FCAC will be well suited to fill that void. The Center will provide educational outreach programs for young and old (we envision services such as art therapy), and will be home to community theater groups as well as a wide range of service organizations.We believe that it would be wasteful for the city and the school district to construct separate community and senior centers and an auditorium. Why not unite them all under one roof?

Other questions are:
Where will the Franklin Cultural Arts Center be located?
How much will it cost?
How much have you raised so far?
How will the Franklin Cultural Arts Center be funded?
What about after it's built? Will it become a burden on the taxpayers?
Who will use the facility? Does the Franklin Cultural Arts Center only serve Franklin?
Is "Franklin Cultural Arts Center" the official name?
When do you plan on opening the facility?

If you have any personal opinions about this proposed Center in Franklin, please share your comments below. I've asked Don Dorsan to review this blog and post some of his own additional comments.

In the meantime, I'll "Meet You at the Corner."

Boerner Botanical Gardens and the Environment: a Perfect Match

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:58:16 GMT

There’s much interest in the environment these days. Of course, people in the Hales Corners and Franklin area are so accustomed to living in a beautiful area that we may tend to take some things for granted.

In this blog, I want to encourage you to visit Boerner Botanical Gardens and the Wehr Nature Center, especially if you haven’t been there for awhile. And I want to tell you about some September events of interest to you and your neighbors.

On Saturday, September 27, the Friends of Boerner Botanical Gardens will host the "No Child Left Inside" Walk-a-Thon. This event, co-sponsored by WE Energies, Deloitte and Milwaukee County Parks, begins with registration at 8 a.m. followed by the walk-a-thon. So. . .what’s this catchy title “No Child Left Inside” about? (Yes, I’m sure you picked up on the similarity to President Bush’s educational initiative, “No Child Left Behind.”)

It’s actually a national movement aimed to encourage children and their parents to move away from the TV and computer games, where their minds and bodies grow sluggish, and spend more time in the great outdoors. Let me capitalize that: THE GREAT OUTDOORS.

As you probably know, there is a growing number of children who are spending most of their time indoors and not getting enough fresh air and exercise. This is the leading cause of childhood obesity, a growing national problem. (And you probably already knew that too!) Of course, this is a problem for adults as well but, for today, let’s focus on the children.

Studies have show that children need to get outside and connect with nature. The “No Child Left Inside” slogan is inspired by Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in the Woods” (2005), that draws attention to what he terms “Nature Deficit Disorder,” a condition that results in depression, anxiety, and obesity in youth. “Enjoying nature reduces kids’ stress, improves self-esteem, enhances brain development and enhances curiosity,” the NCLI literature explains.

Is this a Walk-a-Thon just for children? No, but children are welcome to participate with their families. As in other walk-a-thons, pledge money will be raised, and these funds will be used to support programs for children at the Gardens.

To learn more about the Walk-a-Thon and other events at Boerner Botanical Gardens, visit their website at http://www.boernerbotanicalgardens.org; and click on “Events”. Or call 414-525-5650. Better yet – stop by and pick up a brochure and, while you’re there, tour the beautiful gardens!

To learn more about the “No Child Left Inside Movement,” visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website, http://www.cbf.org.

Calling All Gardeners: Another event to benefit our environment is sponsored by the Friends of BBG on the same weekend.

“Save your pots!” the flyers proclaim. “Clean up for fall and do a good thing for the environment by bringing your pots to Boerner Botanical Gardens for recycling.”

Here’s what you need to know: September 25 – 27 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day you may bring #2, #5 and #6 pots, polystyrene cell packs and trays and black plastic edging to the southeast corner of Boerner Botanical Gardens parking lot, 9400 Boerner Drive, Hales Corners.

The pots will be ground, pelletized and made into plastic landscape materials by U.S. manufacturers. You can help the recycling efforts by first knocking out all dirt and debris from materials. Wire hangers, staples and other foreign materials should be removed. If possible, sort and stack by pot size and number. If this pilot program is successful, it will be repeated next year.

For more information, call Shirley Dommer Walczak, Gardens Director, at 414-525-5603 or Patti Peltier, UW-Extension Horticulture Center at Boerner Botanical Gardens, 414-525-5638.

Celebrity Status. . .I Knew Her When. . .

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:23:38 GMT

Last week I was invited to a book launching party hosted by author Kimberly Stezala whose book Scholarships 101 is hot off the press and available at local bookstores for students and parents wondering how they’ll ever be able to afford college. The publisher is AMACOM (American Management Association.)

Kim has been so busy this past year she’s scarcely had time to respond to my e-mails.She’s had to fly to New York t work with her publisher and to other destinations for interviews. She’s launched her own website and started a newsletter for college-bound young people, and she’s been frequently interviewed about her book and her experetise on tapping into the scholarship market.

I met Kim 10 years ago when we both worked at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care in Bay View – and I’ll write more about that in another blog. Her radiant energy and her ability to connect with people on a sincere and down-to-earth level is what attracted me to her. I was there at her wedding when she married Darren (who gets well-deserved credit in her acknowledgments) and I’ve met their two children, Sophie and Jack. Even though she’s kind of a local celebrity now and destined for an even rosier future (or so I predict), Kim Stezala will always be the same Kim Stezala at heart – and I’m proud to call her my friend.

These days Kim refers to herself as “The Scholarship Lady.” On the back cover of her book, next to her photograph, we learn that she founded Wisconsin’s first online scholarship database, that she is an advisory board member at Parents Plus Wisconsin, and that she writes a newspaper column about scholarships.

In her introduction to Scholarships 101, Kim says: “I know that the cost of college continues to rise faster than inflation, costs more than a loaded luxury car, and petrifies college-bound students of modest means.” But there’s hope – and Kim’s encouraging voice emerges with practical advice in every page of her book, subtitled “The Real-World Guide to Getting Cash for College.”

“I have devoted my career to helping families achieve their education dreams,” Kim tells her readers. Dreams may indeed be the starting point for the students she counsels, but if you’ve ever met Kim you’ll know she’s not the type to walk around with her head in the clouds. “I tell it like is,” she told her well-wishers at the book-launching party.

In a radio podcast at the beginning of the summer, Kim offered five tips for students thinking about college. In summary, those tips are: 1) Volunteer; 2) Work at places that offer scholarships to their employees; 3) Demonstrate a positive work ethic; 4) Join or attend a pre-college program (see Chapter 4, “College Prep” for details on this;) and 5) Start looking for those scholarships now. (See: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The-Scholarship-Lady)

A second podcast, “Surfing for Scholarships,” features Kim interviewing guest Christopher Penn, who has authored an e-book on using Google to search for scholarships. Kim also offers a free newsletter at her website, http://scholarshipstreet.com. And, on top of all that, she has just produced a new video, “Scholarships for Beginners” that offers much of the same advice and practical tips found in her book.

“What folks should know is that there is about three billion dollars in private scholarships,” you’ll hear Kim say if you check out that site. Tapping into those billions is her mission. (I especially like her upbeat voice and enthusiastic “you-can-do-it!” attitude.)

Although I have no children in college right now, I know it took Ericka and Matt many years after graduation to pay off their college loans. I also see many college students through my teaching at Concordia University, and I have friends and relatives who have kids with college aspirations. Although my oldest grandchild is just entering first grade next week, if the next 12 years fly by as quickly as these first 6, it won’t be long before he and his parents will be looking for scholarships too. Of course, by that time Kim will be launching an updated version of Scholarships 101.

In the meantime, her book is available at Harry W. Schwartz bookstores, at Barnes and Noble, and through Amazon.com. Many of our local libraries should be carrying it soon – if enough of us request it. I plan to donate autographed copies to both Franklin and Hales Corners libraries so that high school students and their parents can start thinking and planning for college scholarships NOW.

Decisions, decisions. . .

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:47:04 GMT

At my age I’ve known many people who decided to retire. Some have embraced their new life, finding pleasure in the new opportunities all this free time gives them – some to spend more time with family and friends, others to volunteer for organizations and causes they believe in, still others to follow individual pursuits that their working life didn’t allow for – reading, taking classes, gardening, travelling, improving their golf game. The list goes on. A year or two after their retirement, you ask, “How’s retirement?” and these people give you the stock answer of how they don’t know how they ever had enough time to work.

Others, though, are at loose ends. They visit old friends at the office and go out for lunch, only to come home dejected with the realization they are no longer part of the working force which have the office (or another kind of job) to return to. Eventually, most of these people find worthwhile activities (as in the list above) or they find another job – full-time or part-time, something to fill the empty hours and augment the bank account. The lucky ones would be hired as consultants, drawing both a pension and a paycheck; the others would be offered a part-time job at minimum wage or told to look elsewhere.

And then there's Brett Favre – choosing to retire at the end of one season, choosing to make a comeback at the beginning of the next.

The word decide comes from the Latin decidere, meaning “to cut off.” In other words, once we decide to take one course of action, we're cutting off other options, since most of us can't do two things at once. (My apologies to you multi-taskers who claim you can.)

I'm reminded of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken." Looking back at his life, the poet recalls a time when "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood/ and sorry I could not travel both/ And be one traveller. . . ." (It was that both/and. . . either/or dilemma.) The poet chose the road "less travelled by" and later wonders how his life would have turned out had he chosen the other. Of course, he’ll never know.

It must be hard to be Brett Favre – wanting, on the one hand, to retire and wanting, on the other hand, to do what he loves best – play football. Seeing his wife, Deanna, follow him out of the airplane on the newscast last night, reminded me of all those wives who have followed their husbands into the midst of waiting photographers. They’re smiling on the outside but what are they really thinking? With Deanna, for example, is she thinking, “That’s my man, Brett, whatever he wants is fine with me” . . .or perhaps, “I wish this husband of mine could make up his mind!”

I’m not a great sports fan but I do wish both Brett Favre and the Packers well this season. If Brett helps bring the Packers to victory, all those fans clamoring for his return will say, “I told you so,” but if things don’t work out so well, the others will say, “I told you so.”

One thing is certain though: the next time Favre retires, there won’t be nearly so much hoopla as we saw this past year.

Blogging about Bloggers

Marjorie Pagel — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:12:48 GMT

Last week I was delighted to receive an e-mail from a former student who also happens to be a blogger for Brookfield Now. Kyle Prast ("Practically Speaking") was Kyle Knapp when I taught at Shorewood High School. She wrote how she was looking forward to getting together with some of her friends, and her blog of July 8 shares some of the highlights with her readers.

I particularly liked the last four paragraphs of her blog where Kyle concluded:

"I have not giggled that much in a long time; however, life's road is never all laughs. There have been tragedies too: the death of a husband, siblings, and parents, and serious illnesses for some of us or our children. It makes you realize how precious life is.

"Good friends are precious too. The old saying, a friend in need is a friend indeed and the Girl Scout song, Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. certainly hold true for me. Last summer, when I needed to sell my dad's Shorewood home, my 2 Shorewood friends pitched right in to help me hold the estate sale. They were there for me.

"Although we may be of differing religions, political parties, and economic status, the same good, solid core beliefs that brought us together in grade school and high school are still there.

To read Kyle's full blog, and some of her others, check out http://blogs.brookfieldnow.com/practically_speaking

Another one of my favorite bloggers is Philip Chard, who writes a syndicated weekly column, "Out of My Mind." (It appears every Tuesday in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. While browsing his website at http://www.philipchard.com, I found three inspirational quotes that bear repeating:

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There are two things that we can count on in life: You will die and everything is going to change between now and then. How we adapt to and accept those things is the measure of how we lead fulfilling lives."
-- Joseph Ketner

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
-- Helen Keller

Then, browing through Chard's blogs, I found some good advice he gave on February 5. (Wasn't that when gas was still below $4 a gallon?) His message: "Quit whining!" And he gave eight practical suggestions for all of us to deal with this problem -- which he, and others, call "an addiction."

1. Elect public officials who pledge to make America energy independent, and not with fossil fuels. Think innovative green energy.
2. Use public transportation, if you can. Or car pool, if you can. Or walk or ride a bike, if you can.
3. Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle — either a hybrid or a smaller auto with high gas mileage.
4. Go the speed limit. Speeding, rapid acceleration and late braking can decrease fuel economy by a whopping 33%.
5. Keep those tires properly inflated.
6. Avoid long idling and warm-ups.

7. Be efficient when you drive. Combine multiple errands into one foray, not several different ones.
8. Quit whining. It doesn't save fuel, but it helps clean up the collective emotional environment.

To read Chard's full blog, check him out at http://www.philipchard.com/page7/files/f369a8adfd5916173a5e931cc8db68a9-1.html

I'm off to Salt Lake City for a churchwomen's convention -- will do some blogging of my own when I get back.

The Guys in Our Basement

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:27:00 GMT

Today it’s sunny outside and life is good. For one thing, the basement is clean and dry. For another, I have telephone and internet service. It was nice to come back from vacation and get back to my computer. And, just in case you’re wondering, there really aren’t any guys in our basement – not any more. But I’m grateful to all of the ones who spent time down there after the downpour three weeks ago.

First, there was Justin Castleman, our plumber who lives down the block. In spite of all the calls he received that night, he was Justin-on-the-spot when he got the message that our basement was flooding and was there anything he could do.

In the 37 years we’ve lived in this house, we’ve never had any real problems with flooding. (Dottie King, of Hales Corners, remarked how, over the years, she has come to value sump pumps more than jewelry.)

Although there wasn’t anything Justin could do to help us out with our failing sump pump at the moment, he gave us the telephone number of two flood clean-up services and advised us to call right away, to be at the top of the list. The first number we called gave a constant busy signal, but the receptionist at the second one, Flood Busters, assured us that someone would be out that night to survey the damage. I waited until after 11 with several reassuring calls from “Don” telling me he was on his way, after completing stops at several more homes.

By that time, our telephone wasn’t working either, so I learned the value of my cell phone to keep in touch with Don and everyone else who would help solve our basement flooding problem.

Compared to hundreds of other people in Southeastern Wisconsin, our problems were minimal, and I’m grateful for that. I’m also grateful to all the “guys in our basement” over the ensuing days. In addition to Justin, who came back to clean out the sump pump and install a new back-up system, and the Flood Busters team who lugged giant machines into our basement to clean up the water and dry it out, there was our insurance adjuster and the guy from AT&T – the flooding had caused a short in one of the telephone connections. (The following week our telephone/internet service were again interrupted, but that turned out to be a problem with an outside line. We just returned from vacation, and I truly appreciate my resumed Internet service and a chance to get back to blogging!)

An incident like this makes me appreciate all those people who have the knowledge and skills to deal with minor catastrophes like ours – and the major ones as well – to clean things up and make things work. For me, it’s a lesson in humility and gratitude. Thanks guys!

"We're All in Our Places, with Sunshiny Faces"

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:24:34 GMT

When Barbara Pforr retired from teaching in the Franklin Public Schools, she knew what she wanted to do with her extra time. For one thing, she wanted to join an orchestra where she could play her violin, so she joined the Community Orchestra that rehearses at UWM. For another, she wanted to organize an educational program for elementary school children that would give the youngsters a taste of what it was like to live in Franklin 100 years ago.

Barbara and her husband Dale have been active in the Franklin Historical Society since moving to this community almost 40 years ago. She liked to bring her 3rd grade class to the old Whelan School at Legend Park so the children could sit in the old-fashioned desks and learn firsthand what school was like in their grandparents' or great-grandparents' day. Although the Franklin Historical Society offered tours for school groups at the time, Barbara had some ideas of how to make that experience more than a traditional field trip.

With the support of her brother-in-law Al Block, former Director of Instruction in Franklin Schools and a board member of the Franklin Historical Society, Barbara devised a program where individual classrooms are invited to spend four hours at Whelan School and the other three historical buildings on Legend Park grounds. She has found two other retired teachers who share her passion for local history and alternate with her as lead teacher of the day, whevenever tours are scheduled. In addition, there are half a dozen or so volunteers who serve as assistants. It's a very well-run program, enjoyed by children, their teachers, and volunteer parents who help out.

Last week I volunteered as one of the assistants. The two requirements are to join the Franklin HIstorical Society and to come dressed like a woman from the early 20th century. A trip to the Goodwill store helped me out there. What surprised me is that most of the children came in old-fashioned dresses and trousers as well, and they brought their lunches in cloth-covered baskets or tin pails. There were no zip-lock bags or canned beverages. In fact, one of the tasks before lunch was to make their own drinking cup by following the teacher's step-by-step folding directions.

The previous week I had dropped in during one of the classroom visits to observe a fourth grade class from Robinwood and had a short chat outside the school with a girl identified by the nametag Vivian. "That was my mother's name!" I told her, thinking How quaint that these old names are coming back in vogue! Then I learned that each child is given a different name when he or she enters the classroom, along with some true-life stories of actual children who lived a century ago. Some of the Franklin children were amused to find out they were attending school with a brother or sister, as was common in the days when grades 1 through 8 were all taught in the same school.

Some of the children were asked to carry in wood to place in the box beside the potbelly stove (not operative in 2008.) They also pledged allegiance to the flag and then they sang the "Good morning" song as one of the assistants played the pump organ: "Good morning to you! Good morning to you! We're all in our places, with sunshiny faces. Oh, this is the way, to start a new day!"

The children practiced reading from an old McGuffey Reader in their desks, and they practiced penmanship with pens dipped in real ink. They also had arithmetic problems to solve and lessons in spelling, history and geography. After lunch they played ring toss and other games outside. Then they went on an artifact hunt to the other three historic buildings on the property -- St. Peters Chapel, the Sheehan-Godsell Log Cabin and the Franklin Town Hall, where Dale Pforr, dressed like a turn-of-the century town clerk, demonstrated the victrola and stereoscope, and helped the children identify some of the artifacts listed in their booklets.

All too soon four hours had elapsed and the children boarded the 21st century bus which would take them back to their own 3rd grade classroom at Southwood Glen. There wasn't time to sing the "Goodbye" song printed in their booklet: "Let us put our books away, Study time is over. Happy tripping, homeward skipping, Soon we'll be at play."

To find out more about the Franklin Historical Society and how you can get involved, check out the website: http://www.franklinhistory.net. The book, "From Cabins to Condos," published by the Society two years ago, is available at the Franklin Public Library and through the website, as is the recently published book, "They Came to Bowl," by Doug Schmidt.

The Franklin Historical Society will be hosting a series of Open Houses at the four historic buildings in Lions Legend Park. The next one will be held Sunday, June 22. The buildings will open for tours from 1 to 3 p.m. There will also be a special Open House event on Friday, July 4th, which will run from 1 to 6 p.m. in conjunction with the City of Franklin's Civic Celebration.

Other Open Houses are tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 20, and Sunday, Aug. 17, between 1 and 3 p.m. There is no charge for admission.

May is the Month of. . .

Marjorie Pagel — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:01:38 GMT

What do Jenna Bush, tennis star Nicole Vaidisova and Disney Channel's Dylan and Cole Sprouse have in common?

Answer: they are all part of the 2008 initiative to get kids to read. May is "Get Caught Reading" month, promoted by Association of American Publishers. In addition to the named celebrities who are promoting reading, politicians are using the event as an opportunity to be photographed for the "Get Caught Reading" posters which are sent to libraries and schools in their home state.

Educators approve of this campaign as well, and in some areas the local media features students reading their favorite books. For more information about "Get Caught Reading", check out the website: www.getcaughtreading.org.

Rochelle Melander, a local writing coach who inspires teen girls to "Write Now!", acknowledges that adults need to turn on to reading too. In this computer age we're surrounded with more and more words, but people tend to get "news bites" rather than read in-depth stories behind the headlines.

We're too busy to read, many of us say. Melander has a number of tips to help all of us become more frequent readers. She shared this in her most recent newsletter.

First, make sure you have books! Support and use your public library. It offers all of us equal access to books. That said, it’s helpful to have a few books of your own. I encourage clients to develop a small library of must-read professional books and resources and a stack of fun or interesting books.
• Keep your books in sight—seeing them might remind you to read.
• Always keep a book in the bathroom.
• Keep a book in the car (or on your person) for the times you end up waiting. This turns the dentist’s waiting room or the time you spend waiting for kids at soccer or ballet into reading time.

Next, find the time to read.
• Get up 30 minutes earlier than your family and use the time for a quiet breakfast and reading.
• Read while you exercise. But be safe! Though I’ve seen others read on treadmills and elliptical gliders (and while walking outside! Yikes!), I only recommend reading on a stationary bicycle.
• Commute to work and read on the bus or train.
• Read during your lunch hour.
• Set aside work time each week to catch up on the reading you do for your profession.
• Replace one hour of email or computer time with reading.
• Tape or TiVo all television shows—and get back 20 minutes per hour show to read!
• Stop watching television a little earlier (or start watching a little later), and take back an hour or more for reading.
• Dedicate one afternoon (or day) per week (or month) as a reading retreat—and head out to a coffee shop, park, or library to read.

Consider the audio option. Audio books make it possible to “read” while running, driving, cleaning the house, crafting, cooking dinner and more.

Give it time. Reading is a habit that takes time to establish—like exercising and eating well. My final bit of advice will help you ease into it: start with a book that rocks your world. Don’t try to devour War and Peace if you haven’t read anything since college. You’ll just get frustrated. Instead, pick up a book that makes you forget the time. You’ll get hooked. I promise!

To find out more about Rochelle Melander's motivational enterprises, check out her website: www.rightnowcoach.com.

A Good Read by Good Drive Press: Meet Nancy!

Marjorie Pagel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:41:00 GMT

Nancy Goodman Driver is a teacher in Franklin schools. She is also a published writer. On Saturday, May 3, she will be reading from her newest book, Coast to Coast: Arrivals and Departures, at the Franklin Public Library.

The reading will begin at 2:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

I met Nancy last week when she was reading from her first book, Beverly Arlene: Saving the Stories. This memoir of her mother had the audience laughing one moment and dabbing at their eyes the next.

Coast to Coast was published this year by her own publishing company, Good Drive Press. The name, a derivative of her own, is also an appropriate catchword for the content. As a child, she and her family took many road trips together, and her subsequent travels have taken her all over the United States and abroad.

Nancy won my admiration in Beverly Arlene as she recounted the travels through England and Scotland the two of them took together. Nancy’s mother was in a wheelchair then, but Nancy was determined that her mother, a lifetime “Anglophile,” should have a chance to see the places she had only read about. There were many challenges along the way, some exasperation – and lots of laughs.

At the reading last week Diana Burns, of Greendale, read the part of Beverly Arlene. Diana and Nancy were colleagues at Franklin High School. Nancy teaches English as a Second Language at the high school and middle school. She does most of her writing in the summer.

Nancy divides her new book, Coast to Coast, into three sections: vignettes, short fiction and essays. The first section is part of a longer work on travel, written with the support of the Wisconsin Arts Board when Nancy lived in Door County. Most of the stories in the second section are set in Door County though some were written in the 80s, while she was living in Spain. The third section, about life in Barcelona, was written to accompany a friend’s photographs.

Nancy spent many hours this past summer editing her work, culled from 25 years of writing. "Writing is 99 percent revision and 1 percent inspiration," she told Molly Snyder Edler, of OnMilwaukee.com, in an interviewed published April 20. (See www.onmilwaukee.com/ent/articles/goodmandriverarticle.html)

Nancy’s brother Steve helped create the cover, using old slides from their father’s collection of a trip to California in the 60s. She calls it, “The Goodman kids on the road.” For every book she sells, Nancy is donating $3 to the Next Door Foundation. (See http://www.nextdoormil.org). She believes every child deserves to grow up in the presence of good books, both at home and school.

According to the Edler article, Nancy plans to write two more books. A possible title for one (her reflections on growing older) is Bits and Pieces; the other will be about teachers and students who have inspired her, Learning to Teach and Teaching to Learn.For more information about her writing, contact Nancy at gooddrive@sbcglobal.net. (Telephone: 414-372-0109) She is available for readings, workshops and book club presentations.