Monthly Archives: July 2009

I went to the Social Security office in Portage today to get a replacement social security card. I need one to show the County Clerk when Michael and I register for domestic partner status in a few weeks. I can’t … Continue reading →

John, his mother Marlene, and two of the kids — Katya and Elena — showed up this morning, stopping through on the way from the Twin Cities to Chicago. They showed up around eight, already having done the pool at … Continue reading →

I got a call from the railroad yesterday about four in the afternoon. A stretch of track needed attention, and I went over to the railroad with Peter to take a look. We’d had a tremendous, albeit short, rain earlier … Continue reading →

I was conducting yesterday during the annual state inspection of the railroad. I was surprised and delighted to see Shirley, who has done the inspections for years. Shirley turned over the reigns to a younger inspector last year, and I … Continue reading →

We had weather yesterday afternoon. Not in the Dells, of course, since weather skirts us to the north and south most of the time, but to the north and south. Heavy rains, high winds, a couple of small tornadoes, large … Continue reading →

This weekend was “tool weekend” at the railroad. We have a track maintenance crew — twelve of us altogether — coming in for four days in early August, and we plan two or three more track maintenance pushes in September … Continue reading →

“When you don’t have the law on your side, argue the facts, when you don’t have the facts, argue the law, and when you don’t have either the facts or the law, just argue.“ So goes a “rule” of lawyering. … Continue reading →

Michael and I were both in a grumpy mood this morning, so we decided to head off on a day trip, just to get away for a day. We decided to head to Prairie du Chien, the town where the … Continue reading →

John, who spent a month on Facebook this winter mocking the Shamwow Guy, was visiting this week, taking a break from law school in Austin. So, naturally, he spotted Shamwows on a grocery haul at Walmart last night, tossed a … Continue reading →

Walter Cronkite died yesterday at the age of 92. I am of the generation that grew up on Walter Cronkite and the CBS Evening News. Cronkite’s reporting helped me put Jack Kennedy’s assassination into perspective as a high school student. … Continue reading →