Favorite Fridays~Summer Frolic

No doubt about it, one of my FAVORITIST things about Mt. Horeb is the Summer Frolic.

The first weekend of June (well, not last year, but that's not important), something magical happens in Mount Horeb.  First you see the banner go up over Main Street to serve as a reminder that the time has come~then up goes the banner that hangs on the Military Ridge Trail Bridge that passes over Springdale.  You start to hear names of bands that will be performing, and maybe you’re even start saving up some cash so you can play a card of BINGO or two.

It’s Summer Frolic.  The most wonderful time of the year…

Frolic takes place at Grundahl Park, and really, all over town.  There are parties at houses, games of croquet, parades, sales up town, and softball games in the ball diamonds.  I would ALWAYS overindulge on brats …but never so badly as the summer I was pregnant.  I think I actually went to the fairgrounds one morning to get one of the first brats served that day. 

  

Jeff and I got in the habit of throwing a Pre-Frolic party…usually as a good reason to bring our Hockey Section friends to Mount Horeb during a “warmer” month than we usually see during hockey season.  Even on the rainy years, we could always find a way to have fun~catching up with good friends has a way of making any weather endurable.

I’m not a huge carnival ride fan, but the Super Slide always proved a favorite for Evie, and the gal who runs the slide remembers her from year to year; which is charming considering the number of kids that poor gal must meet every day.  

Believe it or not, Frolic has even shown me some of the most encouraging sights of my life!  Last year, for example, right when we arrived at the midway, one of Evie’s dear friends from school joined us on the Ferris wheel, and after that, I was just ancillary!  Evie’s friends took her on ride after ride after ride.  They helped her on, and helped her off.  

Every ounce of me wanted to help, but every ounce of me knew I shouldn’t…she needed her friends, and her independence.

There are always GREAT bands to play in the music tent; every year~cover bands who would sing all of our favorites from the Beatles, to Poison, to Journey. 

There’s just something about dancing under the stars with a cool June wind blowing off the cornfields from the west while singing Sweet Child of Mine.  Nice.

Then there’s the Frolic Parade; the arduously long parade; the parade with every fire truck from every the city in Wisconsin.  Well, maybe not that many, but it feels pretty close!  Our house is a prime location for seating as we are just one house off of Main Street; however many times we’d sit by Jeff’s parent’s house with them as they lived closer to the Frolic grounds; and as Evie got older, we started sitting by her buddy Jack’s house too.  In other words, we’ve seen the Frolic Parade from all angles and at all points in time.  

And then it's over...we may decide to straggle on down to the fairgrounds for one last game of BINGO, or a spin on the Carousel, but Sunday marks the end of Frolic.  The carnies pack up their portable rides, the striped tents come down, and the whir of the generators that power it all quiets and finally fades into the humming of hungry flies and curious crickets.  Soon the excitement will rebuild just down the highway in Verona at Hometown Days~but for the time being, Mt. Horeb rests in the post~Frolic peacefulness of knowing that summer is well on it's way. 

I'm not sure if we'll make it to Frolic this year or not; but if last year was our last year, then it was certainly the best year...

 

Favorite Fridays~"It's a Great Day for Hockey" (Badger Bob Johnson)

Tomorrow afternoon, at 4 o'clock, we'll see the puck drop at a Badger Hockey game for the last time...at least the last time holding our season tickets.  No doubt about it, one of the things I will miss the most about living in Wisconsin will be Badger Hockey.  

I had never been to a hockey game until I started dating Jeff.  We both lived in Milwaukee; I was a graduate student, and he was a producer for the weekday morning news.

Hockey was in Jeff's blood...for as long as he can remember, he and his brother would each get a night~if I recall correctly, I think Mike had Friday nights with Dad and Jeff got to go on Saturday nights.  Jeff and Mike grew up playing hockey, being driven to Madison in the wee small hours of the morning since there wasn't a team in Mt. Horeb.  The basement of the house in which Jeff grew up was nearly floor to ceiling Badger; and the majority was Badger Hockey.

I fell in love with the game the minute I stepped into the Kohl Center for the first time.  The roar of the crowd, the thunder of the Crease Creatures, the anthems from the UW Band...the atmosphere was one of magical excitement.  

So here are some of my favorite memories and Badger Hockey traditions that will never fade...

When I first started going to games, I didn't understand that we were to shout "SIEVE" at the opposing goalie...I thought we were shouting "Steve"...the name of a player...  That's a classic "Tammie-ism" that goes down in Section 203 history.

Another great memory is The Blue Line Club~before it became outrageously priced.  It was the only place to order an "adult" beverage, and we'd go down to the club in between periods and usually would stay well into the subsequent periods.

A Badger Hockey staple is The Count...Phil, in his white sweater, at all the games: 1, 2, we want more...Evie got to hold the "2" sign when she went to a game with us...Here's the video!

Five goals by the Badgers at a home game means free custard from local Culver's when you give them your ticket.  "We want ice cream".

We had our own "personal" game which made the season an awful lot of fun.  Choosing "My Guy" for the new year...Shane, Angie, Jeff and I would choose our freshman for the year and yell, "That's my guy!" when he would score. 

There was a special year that a young fella named Justin Schultz joined the team and we all wanted him for "My Guy" so we just decided to call ourselves "Schultzy's Section..."

I'll never forget being at the Frozen Four in Milwaukee when we won the National Championship game at the Bradley Center...FANTASTIC.  Magical.

We had our own "pre-game" traditional dinner at Jordan's Big 10 Pub...greatest pre-hockey food Evaaahhh...and the best staff.  Pub chips and Strongbow...I still can't believe they never added a sandwich to the menu called "The Shane."

Then there was the game where we met Blake Geoffrion; our first Hobey Baker award winner.  (That's the Heisman Trophy of hockey, for those who know even less about hockey than I do.)

To make the hockey games even more fun, we finally "met" the folks who sat behind us in Section 203.  We  REALLY met them for the first time when we all were going to the Frozen Four in Detroit...sharing that experience together, and all the games thereafter just made me love hockey games even more because our fun had become even "funner" (couldn't believe it was possible)!

My friend Vicki and I took a road trip to St. Louis for the Ice Breaker Tournament one fall.  That was a ton of fun, until a waitress asked if we were at the game because we were a parent of one of the players.  What?  Really?

Our Hockey Christmas parties and white elephant gift exchange were truly a blast.  Maybe we can talk our friends into planning the parties for a weekend we're able to come back for a game.  

We took many road trips over the years:  St. Cloud State, Detroit (Frozen Four), Milwaukee (Frozen Four), Minnesota, Boston...

A few seasons ago, one of us came up with the idea of officially dubbing ourselves the Real Housewives of Section 203.  However, we actually get along, unlike the "Real Housewives" on "The Real Housewives". 

A couple of years ago, the "My Guy" game turned into full Fantasy Teams; and Jeff's been kicking our butts since day one.

Last year, Evie went to her first Badger Men's Hockey game. (Click that link to the video; Jeff did a phenomenal job of capturing the event, and documenting the family history of Badger Hockey).  Evie had been to see the Badger women play before, but the crowds and noise of the Badger Mens' games were something we had to prepare her for.  She got hooked!  She will be with us tomorrow as we sit for the last time in Section 203, (officially).  

How will I explain my tears to her, other than that these games have been more than a sporting event to us~they have been a part of Jeff and I through good times and bad. 

Badger Hockey has a phenomenal history...a legacy...more than a game, more than a team...

Our Saturday nights in Reno will be difficult come October...but it will always be "A Great Day for Hockey."

Favorite Fridays - Glorious Church Bells

One of the "traditions" I'd like to start on my blog is celebrating Frdays by writing about a few of my favorite things.  Today is the day to start that tradition!  

To honor this wonderful village we live in, Mt. Horeb, I want to write today about one of my favorite things here: the church bells.

The ELC church is just a block away from us, and the bells ring evey hour between 7 am and 9 pm.  Not only do they chime the hours, but there is always a song that follows; usually a celebrated traditional hymn, but I've also heard songs like, "Always look at the Bright Side of Life."

There have been times when the bells have required a tune-up, and during those times you felt like a gameshow contestant who has just chosen the wrong door or curtain.... Waa-waa-waaaawh.   However, that was usually short lived, and actually added a little surrealism to the quiet suburban town.  

Last summer, thankfully, with the cool temps that we had, I was able to enjoy the church bells the most.  Our windows were open, the sound of air-conditioners running were few and far between...Evie and I would often count the bells every hour to countdown our day to daddy's return home from work. 

 

The church bells have always provided me comfort  They were a constant reminder of God's presence during the summer months of my maternity leave with Evie, a time when I needed God most.  

Also, the bells were always a crowd favorite when we would grill out at our Pre-Frolic Summer Party, because they created an aura of ethnicity, like being transported to another country for an instant.

The church bells, indeed, add quaintness and culture to our town.  They remind me of safety, of a simpler time, of cows grazing and green meadows swaying to and fro.

Maybe we will find church bells in Reno.  Maybe we will be fortunate to live close enough to hear them chime the arrival of another hour.  But, somehow I doubt that I will ever find quite the magical combination of green trees, brick crosswalks, Nordic designs and troll-lined streets as I've found right here.  

Church Bells...

Just one little piece of Mt. Horeb that will always make this "home".

Sometimes "Choice" is a Dangerous Chance to Take

This week is School Choice Week...

Sounds pretty, doesn't it?

For many people, school choice is a wonderful thing.  It's a good way to drive schools to be "better", to be more competitive, to reach for higher heights.  

But for this mommy of a daughter with special needs, and an Individual Education Plan (IEP); school choice sounds like a fancy way of saying, "We can take your kid, and the money that comes with her, but provide her with little that she actually needs."

In the state of Wisconsin, a battle has been going on FOR YEARS over the continued attempts to create a Special Needs Voucher bill (possibly with wording has changed and the "name" of it from time to time, but still contains many of the same ideas.)  I kid you not, this thing NEVER DIES...I've written letters to leaders, editorials in papers, and sat in on committee hearings...the bill will whither and fade away because of the persistence and passion of hundreds of parents and advocates, but it JUST.KEEPS.COMING.BACK...

 Can you say Freddie Krueger?

Don't believe me?  You can follow some of it's history at the official blog page for the grassroots group Stop Special Needs Voucher!  It's a great account of what's been going on over the past three years, at least. 

So, why, you may be asking, does this idea scare the living daylights out of me? (It has nothing to do with me imagining it as Freddie Krueger).  It frightens me because I know that the IEP we have for my daughter, the IEPs that many of my friends have for their kids, the IEPs that are protecting them, advocating for them, ensuring them the best education possible, are completely at risk once they leave the public schools.
 
Check out this informative site: Understanding Special Education
It says here that the district will still evaluate the child and make recommendations, but that doesn't mean the private school has to follow any of it. 

So, with a Special Needs Voucher; as they continue to propose here in Wisconsin, the money for a child with special needs would get sucked out of the public school and given to the private school, but that private school wouldn't even have to get the student the therapies or accommodations she or he needs.  

Do you know what that would look like in OUR life?  My daughter receives vision services, orientation and mobility services, additional help for math, reading, music, science, social studies...she has a speech therapist, and an occupational therapist on consult...are you going to tell me that a private school is going to hire all of those people for little old her if they aren't REQUIRED to?  

"Tammie, have a little faith..."

Oh, I have faith...don't worry, I have faith.  I also am realistic and wise enough to know how the world works, how our flesh works, how greed works, and how "a little shave here and a little shave there" becomes a whole shaved head eventually. 

"So, Tammie, no one says YOU have to enroll your daughter in a private school..."

No, you're right, I don't have to, and I don't want to. But I also know that there are a lot of parents out there who might not realize the full implications of what rights they would be abandoning at the door if their child with special needs got in on a Special Needs Voucher program to a private school.  

As I said, this sounds very attractive, but I believe it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. 

My daughter would be a cute bubbly nine year old with a white cane and a dollar sign on her head.  That "choice" sounds like a dangerous chance to take. 

The Legend of the Owl~This may be Long, but it's Extremely Entertaining....

Not everyone knows that I have tattoos; furthermore, not everyone knows that one of tattoos, on my ankle, is an owl.  Since I like to be "unique" and "original", it was a crushing blow to me that owls became trendy and mainstream to the public a couple of years ago.  I believe that the root of MY love for owls is probably one of the best stories ever.  (Shocker, right?  Otherwise, would I be blogging about it?)  Sit back, relax, enjoy a cup of Christmas Tea, and I'll tell you about my legendary visit from an owl.

As I was growing up, my sister, and two cousins spent many, many wonderful summers at my Grandma Ev and Grandpa Ed's house on Owl Lake in Wisconsin.  Our summers were filled with days in the lake; swimming, fishing, and boating.  We took long "tick-filled" walks around the area; when we were little, Grandma would be the caboose of our walking train, and as we got older we would terrorize the older community in the area by blasting our radio with AC/DC, Cinderella and Guns and Roses.