Milestones

This is my 1,000th post on this blog, more or less. It's not the 1,000th published -- there are a couple drafts I've been tinkering with for ages that may someday see the light of day -- but it is the 1,000th post in the list of posts I've written since February 2008. No doubt if every draft had been completed the number would be higher, but quite a few drafts withered and died before reaching a point that justified hitting the Publish button.

I haven't been blogging much lately for multiple reasons: the hard drive on my computer developed Alzheimer's and had to be replaced, it's summer and I'd rather be outdoors most of the time even if it does require bathing in DEET to fend off the deer flies, and a lot of the stuff I'd like to whine about I can't because too many people I know personally are suddenly realizing I have a blog. The sense of freedom I felt after retiring from Large Nameless Agency the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- no more self-censorship! -- is gone. I now worry about saying the wrong thing about the museum or other volunteer experiences and inadvertently alienating potential allies. I've been networking like crazy this summer, trying really hard to move the historical society's membership numbers up and the mean age of its members down, and know that in a small town it's important not to tick anyone off. I've had tadpoles before. I've seen too many organizations go down in flames and good projects die hideous deaths because someone shot off his or her mouth at the wrong time.

In fact, about 25 years ago the historical society itself experienced what I tend to refer to as The Great Schism. Philosophical differences arose over the mission of the organization, harsh words were spoken, and, from what I can tell from the records, about half the membership walked out and never came back. Things might finally be to the point where it's possible to pretend it all never happened: all the key players in that particular drama are now safely dead.

Seeing this felt good

Back a few years ago, in about 2000, I got asked to serve as a local historical society's representative to a county-wide committee to work on a project that the Tourist and Recreation Association had thought up. The plan was to publicize some of the county's cultural and historical attractions. It was an interesting experience. Our county has about a dozen small groups devoted to various preservation or cultural efforts, most of which focus on just one thing, e.g., preserving a one room schoolhouse, and a few with broader goals. The representatives to the committee were a mixed lot. People definitely are strange. There were some folks who seemed to think historical knowledge is a private good and weren't real keen on sharing -- an odd attitude, to say the least. If you believe the history is important enough to form a local historical society to preserve it, shouldn't you also want to make sure as many people as possible have a chance to learn it?

Overall, though, we managed to reach some consensus and came up with a list of possible sites to include on a map. With help from the Copper Country Council for the Arts, the group put together a grant application that succeeded in getting a decent amount of funding from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. It wasn't a huge amount, but, along with a few bucks kicked in by each of the participating local groups, it was enough to help pay for an individual sign to be posted at each site and for three large signs to be erected at each of the highway rest areas (Tioga Falls, Canyon Falls, and near the community of Keweenaw Bay) that tourists are likely to stop at. It's been about twelve years since this sign went up at Canyon Falls. There's some minor wear and tear, but overall it's still looking good. So are the signs at each of the heritage sites. It is remarkably satisfying to look at the end product of something designed by a committee and realize that it actually was worth doing.

The hardest part of this project, incidentally, wasn't getting a dozen people to agree on which sites should be prioritized and it wasn't finding the funding. It was getting the Michigan Department of Transportation to agree to the signage at the rest areas. If it's not their idea, they don't want it there.

If anyone feels like stalking us, the S.O. and I live fairly close to the number 7 on the map.

Life in general

I'm sitting here this morning wondering just how many close-to-blind drivers are cruising the highways in Michigan at the moment. I finally got around to getting a Michigan driver's license yesterday, and for the first time in about 20 years my license will not have the "must wear eyeglasses or contact lenses" restriction on it. Just how does a person pass the eye exam when she's been wearing glasses for two decades? I can't argue with the fact I did read the line on the eye chart as instructed, but how on earth did that happen? It shouldn't have. 

It does, however, provide a partial explanation for some of the weirdness I see on the road. Maybe a few of those people I notice at intersections who persist in pulling out in front of oncoming traffic aren't really clueless or stupid. They actually can't see that humongous log truck thundering down the highway -- it's all just a blur to them, so what the heck, drive by memory.

This afternoon the S.O. and I will be going down to the Eagles hall to pick up our Croatian chicken dinners. I have no idea what a Croatian chicken is -- I doubt the bird spoke Croatian before ending up on a platter -- but apparently it's now a popular dish for fund-raising dinners. The Croatian chicken dinner at the Eagles is a fund-raiser for the L'Anse High School Senior Class Lock-In (that annual fantasy that allows people to delude themselves that if the kids can celebrate graduation in a safe space they won't also go out and have one helluva kegger in an undisclosed location, e.g., the beach at the mouth of the Huron); a couple weeks from now there's going to be a Croatian chicken dinner over in Baraga to support something socially worthy happening on that side of the bay.   

Rolling rust heap of a Dodge tries to earn its keep by pulling stumps.

 Yesterday the S.O. finished pulling stumps out of a corner of the yard. There had been a couple apple trees there, but a few winters ago a heavy, wet snow did so much damage we cut them down. The S.O.'s been wanting to get rid of the stumps so they wouldn't get in the way when plowing snow. 

Yes, that white stuff is snow. On April 27.

The stumps make a pretty good base for a brush pile. Now we just need to get busy and build it up more. If the weather cooperates (things have been rather dry lately, so we need rain to green things up), we might be able to have a decent bonfire for Vappu.