PIGS & CLOVER * MORE CHICKEN JOKES* BACK IN THE DAY * Bill's Coffee shop Newsletter * Vol. 14 January 24, 2013
WHERE IS IT?
REAL WINTER
All right, what's going on here? Where is the real winter? Sunday in Iowa City was a slip-sliding mess. Freezing rain and sleet filled the day. It's like being trapped inside a giant snow cone machine. You might as well call us Icy City. And this is happening in January,which is supposed to be the coldest month of the year. So, enough with this. How about some real winter weather, you know, like, with snow.
HOW TO ENJOY THE WINTER:
SNOWY EVE AND SUSAN TOTH
Winter is supposed to be that time of year when our friends and relatives in warmer climates worry most about how we're doing "up there" in the Midwest. They hear about our cold and snow on some weather forecast and then call us to see if we're okay. One good snowstorm usually gets the phone ringing or a question on our Facebook page. The same thing happens when there's a report of sub-zero cold.
I imagine we all have stories to tell about this. My own favorite came awhile back when a friend called to check on me after hearing that it was
below zero here in Iowa City. I responded by saying that I was just going out for a long walk along the river. I got a great response, something similar to the sound one might hear at a theater during a particularly frightening moment of a scary film.
It seems beyond the imagination of many people in warmer climates that anyone could successfully navigate a Midwest winter. Even more impossible is the idea that there are aspects of winter we actually enjoy.
One thing I really enjoy is walking through downtown Iowa City on a snowy evening. The snowflakes and the lights seem to merge into one beautiful
display. I want to to pack it up a night like that and send to someone in a place where it doesn't snow so they could see the beauty.
Susan Toth celebrates our winter in her book "Leaning Into the Wind." There are great anecdotes in this book about living through Midwest winters. One is an account of trying to get downtown to see the symphony on a snowy night. Another is a delightfully familiar account of dressing a child for the outdoors. You get the little cruiser all bundled up and then -- there is a request to use the bathroom. A third anecdote recounts a walk on an icy
morning where every step must be taken with care.
Toth admits she's not always enthusiastic about the weather. "Sometimes, in fact, I hate it. Then I want to flee -- now! this moment!" she writes.
But in the end, she says there's nothing to compare with the magic of a Midwest winter. She wouldn't think of living anywhere else.
Toth is probably best-known for her book, "Blooming," an account of growing up in Ames, Iowa. Her book on the weather is quite different. It is a series of essays about the seasons. "This is really a book about growing up with the weather," she told an audience at Prairie Lights.
COMING UP AT
UPTOWN BILL'S
Tuesday, Jan. 29
Live TV broadcast of Tom's Guitar Show. 6-7 pm. Produced by PATV, community television in Iowa City. You're invited to be part of the studio audience.
Wednesday, Jan. 30
1-4 pm. Chess & Scrabble Group
3 pm. Recovery International Support Group.
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings. Open to all ages & abilities.
Thursday, Jan. 31
6 pm. Artvaark (art activities)
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute segments of music and other performances. Open to all ages & abilities.
Saturday, Feb. 2
4:30 pm. Irish Session.
7 pm. Saturday Night Music: Pigs and Clover
Monday, Feb. 4
6 pm. AA meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 6
1-4 pm. Chess & Scrabble Group.
3 pm. Recovery International Support Group
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings. Open to all ages & abilities
Thursday, Feb. 7
6 pm. Artvaark (art activities)
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute segments of music and other performances. Open to all ages and abilities.
Saturday, Feb. 9
7 pm. Saturday Night Music: Laura Ingalls Wilder Night with Marc and Brandi Janssen.
COMBINED EFFORTS
NOW RECRUITING
Combined Efforts, a local theater group open to all ages and abilities, is seeking people for its next production. Rehearsals start soon; the show will be in March. For more information, check the group's web page: www.combinedefforts.org. Contact the director at: combinedeffortstheatre@gmail.com
SECOND ROUND OF
CHICKEN JOKES
Again, why did the chicken cross the road?
Albert Einstein
All right, what's going on here? Where is the real winter? Sunday in Iowa City was a slip-sliding mess. Freezing rain and sleet filled the day. It's like being trapped inside a giant snow cone machine. You might as well call us Icy City. And this is happening in January,which is supposed to be the coldest month of the year. So, enough with this. How about some real winter weather, you know, like, with snow.
HOW TO ENJOY THE WINTER:
SNOWY EVE AND SUSAN TOTH
Winter is supposed to be that time of year when our friends and relatives in warmer climates worry most about how we're doing "up there" in the Midwest. They hear about our cold and snow on some weather forecast and then call us to see if we're okay. One good snowstorm usually gets the phone ringing or a question on our Facebook page. The same thing happens when there's a report of sub-zero cold.
I imagine we all have stories to tell about this. My own favorite came awhile back when a friend called to check on me after hearing that it was
below zero here in Iowa City. I responded by saying that I was just going out for a long walk along the river. I got a great response, something similar to the sound one might hear at a theater during a particularly frightening moment of a scary film.
It seems beyond the imagination of many people in warmer climates that anyone could successfully navigate a Midwest winter. Even more impossible is the idea that there are aspects of winter we actually enjoy.
One thing I really enjoy is walking through downtown Iowa City on a snowy evening. The snowflakes and the lights seem to merge into one beautiful
display. I want to to pack it up a night like that and send to someone in a place where it doesn't snow so they could see the beauty.
Susan Toth celebrates our winter in her book "Leaning Into the Wind." There are great anecdotes in this book about living through Midwest winters. One is an account of trying to get downtown to see the symphony on a snowy night. Another is a delightfully familiar account of dressing a child for the outdoors. You get the little cruiser all bundled up and then -- there is a request to use the bathroom. A third anecdote recounts a walk on an icy
morning where every step must be taken with care.
Toth admits she's not always enthusiastic about the weather. "Sometimes, in fact, I hate it. Then I want to flee -- now! this moment!" she writes.
But in the end, she says there's nothing to compare with the magic of a Midwest winter. She wouldn't think of living anywhere else.
Toth is probably best-known for her book, "Blooming," an account of growing up in Ames, Iowa. Her book on the weather is quite different. It is a series of essays about the seasons. "This is really a book about growing up with the weather," she told an audience at Prairie Lights.
COMING UP AT
UPTOWN BILL'S
Tuesday, Jan. 29
Live TV broadcast of Tom's Guitar Show. 6-7 pm. Produced by PATV, community television in Iowa City. You're invited to be part of the studio audience.
Wednesday, Jan. 30
1-4 pm. Chess & Scrabble Group
3 pm. Recovery International Support Group.
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings. Open to all ages & abilities.
Thursday, Jan. 31
6 pm. Artvaark (art activities)
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute segments of music and other performances. Open to all ages & abilities.
Saturday, Feb. 2
4:30 pm. Irish Session.
7 pm. Saturday Night Music: Pigs and Clover
Monday, Feb. 4
6 pm. AA meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 6
1-4 pm. Chess & Scrabble Group.
3 pm. Recovery International Support Group
7 pm. Spoken Word. Ten minute slices of poetry and other writings. Open to all ages & abilities
Thursday, Feb. 7
6 pm. Artvaark (art activities)
7 pm. Open Mic. Ten minute segments of music and other performances. Open to all ages and abilities.
Saturday, Feb. 9
7 pm. Saturday Night Music: Laura Ingalls Wilder Night with Marc and Brandi Janssen.
COMBINED EFFORTS
NOW RECRUITING
Combined Efforts, a local theater group open to all ages and abilities, is seeking people for its next production. Rehearsals start soon; the show will be in March. For more information, check the group's web page: www.combinedefforts.org. Contact the director at: combinedeffortstheatre@gmail.com
SECOND ROUND OF
CHICKEN JOKES
Again, why did the chicken cross the road?
Albert Einstein
Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.
Aristotle
Aristotle
To actualize its potential.
Buddha
Buddha
If you ask this question, you deny your own chicken-nature.
Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
It may very well have been one of the most astonishing events to grace the annals of history. An historic,
unprecedented avian biped with the temerity to attempt such an herculean achievement formerly relegated to
homo sapien pedestrians is truly a remarkable occurence.
Salvador Dali
unprecedented avian biped with the temerity to attempt such an herculean achievement formerly relegated to
homo sapien pedestrians is truly a remarkable occurence.
Salvador Dali
The Fish.
Darwin
Darwin
It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees.
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson
Because it could not stop for death.
Epicurus
Epicurus
For fun.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.
LOOKING BACK IN
THE NEWSLETTER
Twelve years ago (2001): Social Work film series is returning for another year.
Eleven years ago (2002): Bill's puts romance novels in a special place in the bookcase just outside the door. We call it our "shelf of sighs."
Ten years ago (2003): Gisela Konopka is our newest "Social work hero on a stick."
Nine years ago (2004). Wild Bill's now has wi-fi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 8 pm. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.
Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 12th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Saturday from 11 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0804. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible. You can also donate online at the Uptown Bill's website: www.uptownbills.org
LOOKING BACK IN
THE NEWSLETTER
Twelve years ago (2001): Social Work film series is returning for another year.
Eleven years ago (2002): Bill's puts romance novels in a special place in the bookcase just outside the door. We call it our "shelf of sighs."
Ten years ago (2003): Gisela Konopka is our newest "Social work hero on a stick."
Nine years ago (2004). Wild Bill's now has wi-fi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter is a virtual extension of Wild Bill's Coffeeshop and Uptown Bill's Coffee House. Published since 2000, the Newsletter is written by Tom Gilsenan, a former manager of Wild Bill's and now director of Uptown Bill's. You can write to him at tomgilsenan@gmail.com
Wild Bill's Coffeeshop is a project of the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa. It has been a part of campus life in Iowa City for more than 35 years. Located in North Hall, the coffeeshop is open Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 8 pm. For more information, check the Friends of Bill's Coffeeshop page on Facebook. You can call the coffeeshop at (319) 335-1281. Donations to support the work of the coffeeshop may be sent to: Bill's Coffeeshop Fund, University of Iowa Foundation, P.O. Box 4550, Iowa City, IA 52244. Contributions are tax deductible.
Uptown Bill's is the crosstown cousin of Wild Bill's. Now in its 12th year, it includes a bookstore, performance venue and other businesses in addition to a coffeeshop. Located at 730 S. Dubuque, Uptown Bill's is open Monday through Saturday from 11 am. For more information, check the Uptown Bill's website or Facebook page. You can call Uptown Bill's at (319) 339-0804. Donations to support the work of Uptown Bill's may be sent to: Extend the Dream Foundation, Uptown Bill's, 730 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City, IA 52240. Contributions are tax deductible. You can also donate online at the Uptown Bill's website: www.uptownbills.org
posted by Tom Gilsenan @ 8:16 PM
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