Happy birthday to me!!

My mom made me a chocolate bundt cake with real cream cheese frosting. I can scarcely wait!!!!1!!1!!!

I love my birthday! I love everything about it. It is "my day." (Of course I know that statistically many many people share my birthday. Two of my Facebook friends alone share the exact same day-out of only 161 people. Lots of sex happens in September, leading to June babies. This is just a fact of life.) My love for my birthday has absolutely nothing to do with receiving gifts, having people buy me drinks, or anything like that. It is just the day that I feel special, that is just...mine. I don't care if I'm a year older. Age means nothing to me. I don't usually ask off work for it, or anything; I see more people there than most anywhere else, and so more people can say to me, "Happy birthday!" If they don't, I remind them. Because hey. It just is: All day, all twenty-four hours of it. You can see I am up at 0056 thinking about it, still just as excited as when I was a little kid, when I would try to wait up until 0403 to watch myself in the mirror as I turned one year older (a failure, every year).

It's similar to, yet somehow different than, the way I feel about New Year's Eve, my other favorite holiday. Most people use that night as an excuse to revel themselves into oblivion (starting a beautiful brand new year off with a whopping hangover- which baffles me); I have my own ritual of re-reading my diaries and just being retrospective. It really takes the first week of the new year, the peaceful long-awaited post-holiday rest, to do this (how much I loathe Christmas is a whole other topic, and one that really doesn't interest you, I'm sure.)

I do love the de-stressifying post-holiday time, either snug on a futon in a warm blanket, or sitting in a quiet coffee shop, warm beverage in hand, reflecting on past fond memories and could-have-beens.

But birthdays are different for me, in the sense that the day itself is just the magic. It has no purpose except to be mine, all mine. No past, no future, no sadness about getting old, (who cares, my body is already falling apart); no Norman Rockwell expectations like Christmas has, no hookup expectations like New Year's Eve, - just sweet, honest, pure pleasure. Happy birthday to me!

Nature's beauty

Here are two colorful nature shots sent to me that really brightened my dark days and I wanted to share them with you. I cropped them, but no other photoshop-type editing was done. Their beauty is pure and unadulterated.

My mom sent me this: "hens and chicks" flowering on her deck. They don't flower reliably, so this is kind of special.

She and her husband have green thumbs and a gorgeous outdoor space, with plenty of Western sun, but set up with so much lush vegetation that you really could believe it's a tropical paradise. I love it out there. I hope I can make it out there tomorrow for my and my brother's combined birthday celebration.

One of the women from my knitting group, Lori Kangas Ahrenhoerster, posted this photo of robin's eggs (above) on her Facebook page (giving me permission to repost). She took it with a cell phone camera- capturing that amazing glowing blue that only Salvador Dali was ever able to reproduce with paint, to my knowledge- the blue of the sky during a perfect clear dusk, the translucent blue that I could just get lost in. I hope your computer screen does it justice.

Water privatization

Cheryl Nenn is interim executive director of the Milwaukee Riverkeeper. She and I have had our differences, really just one disagreement- about the Estabrook Dam issue- but I deeply respect her, her education, opinions, and knowledge. Someone called her my "frenemy", but (even though I love neologisms) that is completely inaccurate: she and I are adults who are able to have rational conversations, usually via email, and can agree to disagree.

She wrote this article against the proposal of water privatization for the local daily paper, and I love the title: "Public asset belongs in public hands." Milwaukee has a long, proud Socialist history, and this will- I hope-continue to be yet another part of that history.

"Water is essential for life. Access to clean water is a human right. But in the hands of a for-profit company, water easily can be denied to those without the resources to pay for it.
In many communities that have privatized their water systems, jobs have been lost, salaries and benefits of workers have been cut, and monitoring and services have been reduced or delayed."

Please read the rest of her editorial for yourself. She concludes, "Finally, we... will lose control of it through privatization, and we forfeit our responsibility to hold a private corporation accountable (emphasis mine). Throughout the term of a 99-year lease, we will vote generations of elected officials in and out of office but will have no way to 'vote out' or hold a private water company accountable for its performance. [This does sound vaguely similar to how the DNR is run, though, doesn't it.] Other cities, such as Mequon and Felton, Calif., have incurred significant expense to take back water systems from private hands."

And, as Sura Faraj posted on Facebook, "200+ showed up (at Monday's hearing) to protest water privatization. We scared the security guards with our chanting. They threatened to put us in jail, because "This is a place of business." Alders temporarily held the matter. We want a resolution that says privatizing our water will be taken off the table permanently. Until then we will continue to organize. What can you do? Call your Alder 286.2221 and say so." Here's more on the subject.

What do you think? Post a comment-contact our elected officials- contact Cheryl and let her know what you thought of her editorial. Spread the word. Drink tap water. Keep the discussion going.

Clothing and Shoes

What's with these ubiquitous "Clothes and Shoes" boxes? I have been seeing them around for years.


Harper's ran a letter several years ago, the gist of which was:

Step 1: Collect clothes and shoes in a roadside box.

Step 2: ?????

Step 3: World domination.



I still think of this with amusement when I see the red boxes. Could any of the clothing (or shoes, for that matter) that I have thrifted once been inside one of them? It is entirely possible.

Actual lack of gunfire makes Milwaukee news

I would have gone to the Locust Street Festival yesterday, had I felt up to it. I usually try to go every year. It's free, it's great people-watching, great food, fun music, and just a nice place to wander around. I was glad I didn't go though, after I saw this from WISN news:
A 38-year-old man was shot Sunday (June 14th) in the middle of the Locust Street Festival in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood... Investigators said he was shot in the left hand and right thigh. Police said the victim and the suspect knew each other. Police are still looking for the shooter, but said they know who it is.
(He) was released from Froedtert Hospital Monday morning.

"We believe this altercation stemmed over an earlier issue between the two men and it resulted today in a shoving match here,” Milwaukee Police Department Asst. Chief James Harpole said.
Police could not say whether the shooting was gang related, but witnesses felt that was at the root of today's violence. "When I saw the victim being led away in the stretcher, he flashed a gang sign," said a witness.
Refreshingly, though, investigators said the witnesses and the crowd were very cooperative, talking to police and alerting them to evidence at the scene.

So when I saw this article, (also from WISN) stating,
Several law enforcement agencies were called to State Fair Park Sunday night (the same day) to break up a large crowd...who was there for a scheduled rodeo and concert...when the band didn't show up, people got upset and started throwing beers on the stage. (Too bad Jake and Elwood Blues didn't show up to play "Rawhide" for three hours.) People also started demanding they get their money back.
State Fair police called for assistance for crowd control.
The spokeswoman said there were no guns or fights, just a large crowd.

I somehow felt a little relieved and even surprised. No gunfire!!! Sad, hey? What does this say about our city? As you may recall, I recently wrote that Brain and I didn't go to Riversplash this year because of threats of violence. I'm not super-fond of big crowds anyway, but throw in chaos and that just is not something I would call "fun."

Queries

Photo by Brett Cole.

Today would have been the perfect day for getting out in the kayak, for going for a bicycle ride, for looking for otters to photograph, or even just a nice long walk. I am still not up for any of this yet, but I hope that you, gentle reader, were able to take advantage of the (finally) gorgeous weather and get the heck outside for some soul-soothing R&R. Maybe you even had an extra can of ice-cold PBR for me.

Meanwhile, I've been inside, resting my injured self, and basking in the computer screen's soft comforting glow instead of the bright light of the sun. You did apply sunscreen, right? With a sufficient SPF?

Now, one thing I have learned from this blogging experiment is that it is easy to get caught up in looking at one's own blog stats. Who's looking? How long did they stay? Where did they come from? And my favorite: what search engine queries led them here?

Here are some of my favorite search queries that led folks to The River Otter. Enjoy. Bonus points if any of them were yours.

*the benefit of an apple at morning

*river otter penis

*i love river otter (me too. Warms the cockles of my heart.)

*getting rid of river otters under house (Why would you want to do that?)

*pictures of otters peeing

*shoe (sic) me live river otters for my students (This was, apparently, from a teacher?)

*uwm (How random!)

*dam but (but what?)

*river otter cupcakes (Yum! I hope the reference was to the decoration, not an ingredient.)

*why is important to save the river otter

*otters eating toads

*Do Otters use binkys?

And my favorite new one- *my grandfather was frederick bischoff chocolate

I'll add more as they show up on my stats. I'm not making fun of people- I am expressing delighted amusement. Yes, there is a big difference.

A B A Semar

So, the other week I was trying to figure out to whom I could cry out for help: I have a pair of beloved shoes that desperately needed resoling. I thought the man that typically takes care of such things for me (A B A Semar, 5464 N Port Washington Rd Milwaukee, WI 53217; 414-332-0600) was out of business, since the building he worked out of got remodeled, redone, refurbished, and his sign was gone. The place looked empty. The staff at Stan's (whom I finally called out of desperation) said otherwise. "Go to the back of the building," said the voice on the phone, telling me the secret to the meaning of life (and shoe repair). "He is there." I felt furtive, like I was going to see Mr. Miyagi, or The Oracle.

Sure enough, Mr. Semar was sitting outside, by the back door, a spry little old elf.


When I got inside, I noted all manner of watch repair items- and since I had repaired my watchband myself with black electrical tape and mightily resisted The Brain's efforts to buy me a new one (his taste can be, well, dissimilar to mine)- I asked them to replace the band on my old one, which the did, whilst I waited. (I love my watch. I had bought it at a thrift store in Eagle River, WI. It is special to me.) Now that it has a new band, it is pretty much perfect again. I wear it all the time, except in the shower.


I do get attached to objects, and have a sentimental streak that borders on pathological, but it's not the worst thing, really. Having items repaired keeps the economy going, too- not just buying new things. I now have my shoes back too- they are refurbished like new- and since they are the kind that I can just slip into, they are just ideal with this back thing I have going on. What excellent timing. I am trying to stay optimistic. These little things make all the difference.

Don't judge me (or others, either)

Well, it's finally bike-to-work week in Milwaukee. I'm writing this flat on my back, wishing I could go to work, wishing I could ride my bike. Between my (severely arthritic) knee acting up, and tearing/pulling a muscle in my back so badly that I can't even put on a pair of shoes or take my Mel jacket off by myself, I just wanted to use this AFGO opportunity to remind people not to judge others. That's right. Have you seen me driving six blocks lately? On a nice, sunny, perfect-for-biking day? Why yes, I would rather be on my bike. So, please remind yourself not to judge others.
This public service announcement was brought to you by the letter V.**

**(Valium and Vicodin.)

Born under the sign of the otter

There is a separate Celtic astrology system, probably quite ancient and very different than the one we typically use in the US (which is, of note, totally random and only based in the vaguest possible way on anything to do with stars, moon, planets, and the earth's rotation around the sun. But I won't get into precession or any other actual astronomical phenomena here). My June birthday, according to the familiar US system, gives me the sign of Gemini- changing, effervescent, random: all true. But the Celtic system gives me the sign of the Otter. Even better!


I found out about this on MySpace way back in the days when people actually used MySpace. I had put some otter-related things on my page, and one day got a request from some guy in Indiana who called himself OtterBrett (he found me when searching for other otterlovers). He requested to be my MySpace friend and we exchanged otter-related info, and found out that we had some other things in common, including that he and I were both born under the Celtic sign of the Otter, loves camping and nature, and that he lives in the same Indiana town as my aunt and uncle- small, small world (yay, interwebs!). So when I abandoned my MySpace page and moved over to Facebook, I befriended OtterBrett there too--never having met him IRL-- on which we still keep in touch. Isn't this what so-called "social networking sites" are supposed to be about? Meeting new people and learning things you otherwise never would have had any idea about?

Here's a rundown of the deets on those born under the Sign of the Otter:

Date of Birth: June 10 - July 7

Celtic Birth Animal: OTTER

Gaelic Name: DOBHRAN (DAV-rhan)

Ruling Planet: Jupiter

Birthstone: Diamond

Key Words: Family, Joyful, Helpful, Intuitive, Playful, Creative.

Description: Otter people are enterprising, with a wide breadth of vision. Optimistic & Opti-mystic. Strong personal magnetism.

Gift, Quality or Ability: Protection, Shape-shifting, Journeying, Shamanic Powers.

Compatibility: Harmonious relations with Goose & Seal. Will also relate well to Salmon, Adder, Stag. Difficulties may be expected in relation to all other signs.

(Brain, who has just as much Celtic ancestry as I do, is a Swan under this system...obviously, it's just for fun! He is a Virgo...which actually does suit him fairly well, I think.)

For more information, including the other Celtic signs, click here.

Re-Threads on Humboldt

Re-Threads, a new store that opened up on Humboldt just north of Locust, is like having the coolest friend ever to trade clothes with. It is like thrift shopping without having to paw through stained, torn shirts and too much Faded Glory.
The store went up so fast and seemed so cool that I thought it had to be part of some regional or national chain. I asked the friendly, efficient clerk about that. Nope, it's locally owned and operated- something the clean and easy-to-navigate website corroborates.
Photo courtesy of the Re-Threads website.

The premise is simple: you bring in your clothing that is still worth rockin', but just doesn't fit your body/life/closet anymore, and trade it for cash or store credit. Brain and I walked in with items that I had previously loved and knew that someone else would someday love just as much, and walked out with some cash, a pair of pants that I want to say "fit me like a glove" (but no, they simply fit me like a wonderfully-fitting pair of pants) and a sweet Thneed. (I don't think this versatile garment has a real name, but it is very awesome and even has the original tag still attached.) Re-Threads is like being invited to one of those parties where people bring clothing that just ain't working out anymore and have a big trade, except the pool of people involved is just that much bigger. They could use more men's clothing though; I hope for Brain's sake that shakes out eventually, but I loved it. The concept is brilliant.