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Singing it Our Way
The moment “Dean Martin” strolled on stage at the Legacy Theatre in Lake Delton—drink in hand, cigarette dangling, voice smooth as silk—I was back in my teens. I could see myself standing in our living room, wearing a colorfully patterned culotte dress while my mother knelt to pin the hem. Dean Martin’s record spun on […]
History is Haunting Enough
Some places don’t need ghosts to feel haunted. I recently visited Lake Delton’s Dawn Manor Speakeasy. Walking up to the entrance, diners are greeted by historic gargoyle-like stone statues. These weathered guardians once graced Dawn Manor when Helen Raab owned it. I picture the passionate arts patron and world traveler, who died in 1970, walking […]
I Wish Someone Had Told Me…
“I wish someone had told me…” Those five little words can open the floodgates to wisdom, reflection, and humor. When I asked fellow Wisconsinites to finish the phrase, their answers reminded me that life itself is a classroom—one where the best lessons often arrive long after the final bell has rung. One of the first […]
The 5:00 a.m. Club
I’ve always loved getting up early, when the world seems to hold endless possibilities and before responsibilities tug at me. One of my daughters does, too. And a dear friend of mine does as well. I enjoy writing; my daughter likes to sip her coffee on the deck and study the constellations; my friend prefers […]
Heartbeats Well Spent
The human heart has about 2 billion beats in a lifetime. That’s about 35 million beats a year, about 100,000 beats a day. How are you going to spend yours? I’m having a fish fry outside at the Keg in downtown Dells with a friend who comments that she’s busy all day long, but wonders […]
A Birthday Wish: Keep Wondering
While walking on one of my favorite hiking trails, a monarch flits past me. This fragile insect, no heavier than a paperclip, will soon begin its journey to Mexico—battling heat, storms, and cold, adjusting its flight with the sun or, on cloudy days, its internal compass. How is that possible? I often struggle to remember […]
The Spirit of the Crane
Garoo-oo-a-a-a. The call of the sandhill crane always makes me search the sky. My fascination began in my 30s, when my husband and I joined the annual Sandhill Crane Count. We rose at 4 a.m., brewed a thermos of coffee, and set out to meet park coordinator Ed O’Brien and others in a wetland near […]
Outfoxed by Eighteen Pounds
Every evening after supper, my husband and I scheme and whisper like spies as we plot ways to get our small dog to take her three pills… and nearly every night Josie outsmarts us. I start in the kitchen with liver sausage. She neatly extracts the pills and spits them on the floor. I move […]