Winter in North Mississippi.
NESBIT, Ms.—The best rock n’ roll is dangerous so the tip off you are on the best rock museum tour ever is the dozens of knife marks on the inside bedroom door of the Jerry Lee Lewis Ranch in rural Nesbit, about 20 miles south of Memphis.
And then there are the brass bullet casings on the back porch of the two-story brick house. I’m part of a mid-January tour group with two other Lewis fans so there are enough casings to grab for souvenirs.
The 45-minute tour is led by Jerry Lee Lewis III. He doesn’t seem to mind us picking up the blasts from the past.
The small $45 private tours are by appointment [...]
Our family in Wrigley Field’s 242, summer of 2000. Mom and Dad with caps, sons Dave (L) and Doug behind them with caps. (Mark Ibach photo.)
After 33 years I have dropped my Chicago Cubs season tickets.
Success became too much to handle.
Our first year as season ticket holders was in 1985 when Wrigley Field was more middle class friendly. Compared to today, I recall more families and more wayward old guys. By chance, in 1985 we landed in the shade of the dark green grandstands behind home plate. Newspaper columnist Mike Royko sat in front of us and adult movie star Seka was down the row. She’s a baseball [...]
My Evergleam.
MILWAUKEE, WI.—Aluminium was a foil for Midcentury America.
A section of the fantastic “Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America” exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum is devoted to the possibilities of aluminium (or aluminum.)
The late Chicago architect Henry P. Glass designed a collapsable aluminum and plastic trailer, a.k.a. the “Accordium Camp Trailer.” The proposed 700-foot camper folded up like an accordion and could be hauled behind a car. The mid-1950s project was commissioned by Alcoa Aluminum’s free-wheeling “Forecast” program.
Alcola promised, “There’s a world of aluminum [...]
Kurt Grahnke on Washington Island (photo by Eliza Grahnke)
WASHINGTON ISLAND, Wi.–The best books contain discovery on every page. Over the summer we had a book signing for my Camper Book at Fair Isle Books on Washington Island. We drove my blue camper van off the Washington Ferry (built in 1989 in Sturgeon Bay) on to the island of 35 square miles.
There are no bridges on this island, but there are timeless connections.
The cozy book store was one of our first stops. I always like to make sure my books are in the store. Book store owner Deb Wayman had a note for me. It was from Gwen Gotsch, an Oak [...]
