I was told I had to pick up a copy of Mary Higgins Clark’s My Gal Sunday, by people who insisted it was the best husband/wife team since Nick and Nora Charles.
Not even close. Continue reading
Hominids
…, a book by Robert J Sawyer, was the latest to leave its imprint on the wall.
You know how it is, the story is going along nicely, you’re getting in to the characters when suddently the author slips, and destroys the illusion that he’s been building up and that you’ve been enjoying. You want to scream, but settle instead for throwing the book across the room. Continue reading
May I Have a Real Candidate, Please?
The shrub is stopping by to promote his pet, Mark Green, for Governor. Which brought to mind the coming election, when I get to choose between a man who’s never seen a deficit he couldn’t support (Green) and a man who’s never seen a bribe, excuse me, campaign contribution, he wouldn’t take (James Doyle).
This is a choice? Continue reading
They Don’t Make Them Like That Anymore
Mayors, I mean. This weekend we lost Frank Zeidler, and the occasion caused me to review the other mayors we’ve had since: Henry Maier, John Norquist, and Tom Barrett.
Zeidler voluntarily walked away from office in 1960, after three four-year terms. It’s easy to lose track of what he accomplished looking through the mists, so let me touch on a few highlights: His record included convincing the UW to open a branch here (UW-M), raising the funds for the Museum, doubling the land size of the city (including purchasing land to be used to build the industrial parks that enriched the tax base and kept the citizens employed). He built nine (9!) new fire stations, imprpoved garbage collection, and doubled the size of the library. He pushed for the creation of Channel 10, the first educational TV station in the state. You may also remember County Stadium and the Braves? Yep, they’re his as well. As was the Milwaukee Arena. He also revamped the city park system. Almost every institution in the city was either begun or greatly enhanced by him.
He was also a champion of public housing: “If it is the philosophy of any that the forces of government should not be used to overcome these conditions, which private enterprise did not overcome, that philosophy borders on the immoral,” he said.
Before there was an Interstate system, there were freeways enabling travel around and through town. He personally would rather have expanded the public transportation system, but the people said they wanted freeways, so he built freeways. He was never a sore loser; his job was to serve the people.
In the forty years of politicians we’ve had sitting in City Hall since he left, we haven’t had as much done to improve conditions in Milwaukee as he did in just 12 years as mayor. And don’t try to excuse their inaction by saying the city is bigger now. It isn’t. In fact, city population has shrunk 20% since Zeidler’s day. The census of 1960 shows Milwaukee as 12th largest city in the nation, so by relative standards, the city Frank presided over was far larger than the one we have today.
Cities can work. Frank showed us that. He worked tirelessly (his reason for not running again was that the job was draining him; he felt always exhausted) for the public good. All the public, not just a small section. He made sure the city had land to support business development, because at an early age he saw what unemployment did to people. He made sure people could afford some sort of secure housing, because he knew what poverty could do.
He wanted to be remembered as a man who tried hard. I wish those who followed had tried even half as hard. He was, in truest sense of the phrase, a mayor for all the people. And they just don’t build ’em like that anymore.
The Doctor is out.
This one hurts. Just got word this morning that long-time fan rich brown died.
I never met him face to face, something I was hoping to rectify and now will never have the chance. Our opinions and beliefs diverged more than they converged, which you might think was a good reason not to meet. But if you do, then it’s clear you never knew rich.
You didn’t need to agree with him; in fact I often got the impression he preferred it if you didn’t. Not because he was scrappy old curmudgeon, lusting for the cut and thrust of a good fight (though if it happened, he was able to keep his end up nicely). But it seemed somehow, just by disagreeing with him, you uplifted him. The existence of contrary points of view was interesting in itself, and was a phenomenon to be respected and studied for what it was: confirmation of the diversity of the universe, and the strength that flows from it. There was something to be learned from every person he met.
Dr Gafia has now left the planet. And the planet is the bigger loser.
“We are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”