Tag Archives: Ann Arbor

Out with the old, in with the New Year

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Rotunda Ceiling at U of M's Natural History Museum

Rotunda Ceiling at U of M’s Natural History Museum

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Philosophy is wondering if that makes ketchup a smoothie. – A Sidewalk Epicurean Billboard

I had a very merry little Christmas this year. I didn’t get a whole lot of loot, but then I’m way too old to still believe in Santa Claus. At my age, it is much more appropriate for me to be Santa Claus than believe in him and I think that I did alright in that department. Yesterday, we flung the boys back out into the real world. Dave went back to Purdue and hopefully graduation in the spring. Dr. Dave, now that would be a nice present. Dan was launched in a roundabout way, first Detroit, Chicago and then back to the Lou, where we’ll see him again, before he returns to Brooklyn. Before we launched the boys on their next round of adventures, we all held the semi-annual meeting of the Antisocial Social Club at the Jolly Pumpkin. Jane and most of the Ann Arbor cousins were there. It was noticeably quieter at the table that night at dinner with Bubs and Harry. 

Today, just to get out, Anne and I went to the University of Michigan’s natural history museum. In other historical news the U of M will be celebrating its 200th anniversary next year! I’ve always liked this museum, but things there are changing. The first tell was the huge adjoining construction site. Labeled the new biology building it will also become the new home for the natural history museum. On the fourth floor, they even have a rather upbeat display about the process and its end result. Unfortunately, for their upbeat assessment the math just doesn’t add up. The existing collection will be shoehorned into a space that is only 60% the size of the current one. Plus, I can’t see how the above pictured; beautiful rotunda ceiling is going to make the move. The new building is all concrete, steel and glass. Such is progress, making way for the new, by throwing out the old. I guess that this is why antiquities become so valuable, few people care enough about the past to save it. Afterward, we walked over to the Red Hawk for lunch and drowned our sorrows.

Never eat ingredients you can’t pronounce, except quinoa. You should eat quinoa. – Sidewalk Epicurean

Holiday Monsters – Allosaurus and Archaic Whales

Holiday Monsters – Allosaurus and Archaic Whales

Weihnachtsgurke

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img_4471

Look, Deer! Oh, Dear.

On Friday, Anne and I arrived in Ann Arbor. Today, the boys arrived, but yesterday, I made the mistake of texting the boys about our safe arrival, because I thought that they might have been worried. Look below at the transcript of our texting conversation to see how wrong I was:

Dad: Should have texted earlier. We made it here fine.
Dave: We were worried sick.
Dan: I’ll call the highway patrol, to call off the search. David, can you cancel the Amber alert?
Dave: Silver alert, cause they’re… you know…
Dad: Our will is written in pencil!

There is a new tradition this year at Chez Harry’s, Weihnachtsgurke or the Christmas pickle. A Christmas pickle is a decoration in the shape of a pickle which is hidden on a decorated Christmas tree. In our case it was on the garland hanging from the ceiling. It says that the finder of the pickle receives a reward or good fortune for the following year. There are a number of different origin stories attributed to this tradition; most stating it originated in Germany. Harry found a New York Times article today addressing this subject and was pleased to point out both the article and the pickle to everyone. They had previously won a pickle ornament at bridge. It is only our first year now with this new to us tradition, so that it only seems fair to have the rules explained and the pickle pointed out to everyone. The deer was photographed this morning in the backyard. There were three of them, but this one was the most picturesque.

Buckwheat Waffles at Café Zola

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Buckwheat Waffles at Café Zola

Buckwheat Waffles at Café Zola

Guest post from Anne:

Ann Arbor is great! Breakfast at Café Zola. The buckwheat waffles should keep me going for a while. Across the street, “Keys Made” sign reminds me of when I first got my driver’s license. I drove from the license bureau with Dad to the hardware store on Washington. As I’m parallel parking, Dad is telling the driver of the parked car behind me, “She just got her license!” No pressure there. Walked down Main Street to William, but where is the Greyhound station? Turns out it’s a window in the parking structure. Easy to miss, and no waiting room. That’s okay, I know where the library is. The library doesn’t open until 10:00, so a diverse group of maybe 20 people have gathered there by then. One of the people is a woman who I’ve passed on Main, and on 4th. “Hello again!” While we’re all waiting, a young man walks by ranting loudly. To whom? Nobody, everybody, the voices in his head? The man talking with me says, “He needs a straitjacket!” “Just another day in Ann Arbor,” says another man. When the library doors open, an older woman reports the ranting man’s behavior to an employee. Among the people entering the library, are a woman with two boys. They head straight to the floor chess board and play a game. The older boy beats his 4-5 year old brother. I think he’d beat me just as quickly. On the bus now, heading to Toledo, then Indianapolis, then home to Saint Louis!

First Quarter Moon

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First Quarter Moon

Last Saturday, was the first day of Fall, which coincides with the autumnal equinox. It was also when the first quarter moon last occurred. Last Saturday, was part of a dark and stormy weekend in Ann Arbor, but it did clear for a while on Saturday night. This was fortunate, because our 40th high school reunion was held then, in an open air venue.

Next time, at our 50th reunion, our class will have mostly morphed from working adults to retired seniors, except for a few holdouts. These superannuated workers may want to continue to work, but most will do so, because they have to. The Great Recession will ensured that more than otherwise will continue to hold jobs ten years from now.

Most of our classmates had children, but I was surprised at how few of them spoke of grandchildren. I didn’t see a single baby picture. Maybe Anne has a different take?

The airs of pretentiousness have faded with each decade’s reunion. With the passage of time the need to impress former classmates continues to recede. Combining all of the city’s schools into one reunion ensured a good turnout. Future reunions will have no such expediencies to arrest the declining classmate population.