Jimio's Icecapades

Jeff - Joe - Jimio - Mike

Many Groovy Winters were had on Gilletts Lake. There were many things to do [not as many as summer time but almost]. I remember just free skating over the entire lake stopping at each fishing hole to see how many fish were caught. Those poor guys, it must have been a horrible death freezing and flopping on that ice and having dogs come up and sniff you. Some Ice Shantys had all the comforts of home - TV -Icebox full of beer and a table to play poker on. I saw a guy spear a pike once. That was cool and those fork tips are really sharp! It was fun chashing the dogs on skates, we would get going fast in a straight direction then turn sharp and watch those dogs trying to turn on the ice was hilarious. Some of the Moms would have their pooches pull their kids on the ice while sitting on sleds. [Wish I had gotten pics of that] One year a friend named Kevin, his dad brought out an old Renault car on the ice and pulled us. We used water ski tow ropes and got up to 60 mph. It was ok if we fell, we had hockey kneepads on and the smooth ice kept you from rolling over and over. But when the snow did cover the ice was the best time to make our hockey rinks. In the early years our goals were nothing except a pair of shoes or boots and the puck had to go between them to score but during my junior or senior year I built a goal with 3 sections of 2x6's and it worked out swell. Night skating was the best for me, chashing snowmobiles with my coleman latern. That latern could light up an entire rink so our hockey games could proceed into the late-night hours. I learned how to identify the constillation Orion while laying on the ice late at night and always think of night skating whenever I see it. Some days it snowed so heavy that by the time we shoveled off the rink, we had to start shoveling the other end again and even if it was -20F out, you could get pretty hot and sweaty under your coat and you would have to take your coat off for a few minutes. On the south side of the lake was a different school district than ours and these 8 guys challenged us to a game and even though there were only 4 of us, we won. It was also a blast going down by the deserted ends of the lake were the swamps were and making Bonfires. It got pretty hot near them flames and though I thought we would burn a huge hole in the ice, it never hardly hurt the ice. Thats because heat is not very hot hear the base of the flames. A few years we had "Black Ice" which is very smooth clear ice. It was really groovy skating along and looking down, you could see the bottom and the fish swimming around. You could actually chase the fish around by the Sandbar where it is very shallow. And watching a lot of thick weeds just under the ice seemed creepy. You can tell how thick the ice is by looking at the cracks to see how far down they go [providing the ice is fairly clear] I only fel in once and it was only 1 leg up to my knee in front of my house. I test the strength of the ice with my hockey stick. apparently it was safe near shore but farther out it hadn't frozen quite long enough. Our lake is pretty shallow and out front by my house its only like 4 feet deep so I was not too worried. Its best to stay in shallow areas on new ice. In town at Loomis Park they used to flood the ground for ice skating. One year the figure skaters were complaining about the hockey skaters so the park flooded 2 areas and all were happy. Also at the Cascades Park there is a nice pond to skate on which also have 3 or 4 connecting ponds attached to it. Cross-Country skiiers also are also near the pond due to a golf coarse in the park. I also had some cross-country skiis and loved using them on Gilletts Lake cause it was a nice flat terrain. If you ever get out to the lake or a pond try your hand at skating, play a little hockey or put on some cross-country skiis and above all - [Take a Camera]  -This is Jimio saying *Happy Wintering*

The True Meaning of Christmas

Nativity Scene on Church Steps

In this age of Super Sales at Walmart and Marathon Black Friday sessions, its nice to know one can still walk down the sidewalk in town and see a wonderful display of the Real Meaning of Christmas. Sure the Three Wisemen brought gifts but they were practical and didnt need a money-back guarantee. I like to give Hugs for Christmas. They are very inexpensive but you feel nice a long time after you give them. One thing I love about Christmas is looking at the Christmas Tree and seeing all the ornaments. On Daddio's and Momio's tree the ornaments went back to the 40s and every decade up to 2005. I especially like the ones with the years on them so you can tell exactly what year that Christmas was. Some of the neatest ones were the ones we made from kits as kids. The ornament was made of styrofoam and we just held the jewels and velvet on with pins and needles. I can remember many of the Christmas's with each ornament I looked at. And all the Holly and Evergreen branches draped on all the furniture and under one hallway arch we had this big Mistletoe where lots of huggin and kissin went on =B-] On the Mantel went Santas Sleigh and his Reindeer with elves hanging on the sides and back. This Sleigh was prob circa 1948 made of wood and craved really fancy. we had these 2 Christmas trees that stood about 2 feet high each and they had a bulb inside and it looked like all the different colored lights lit up on the outside. These were real looking evergreens and years later Momio's best friend Emmy Lou got her a porcelin tree with different lights on it. Momio also loved candels. Big or small, with bright colors and ornate carvings in them and a wreath around each base. Some were on long tall brass stands. Of course all the great Christmas cookies and cakes and pies and food and the christmas Treasure Port and Ruby Port wine sure made this special time extra nice. Momio would take red and gree cheeries and cut them and place them on a white frosted cake to make them look like Pointsetta flowers. This would be my birthday cake since I was born on Dec 22 and came home Christmas Day. Im sure each of us has our own unique memories of Christmas. Mine I'll never forget and I hope you all cherish your fond ones also. this is Jimio saying *Merry Christmas*..oh and P.S. [Hug]

Marching to a different Beat

Sticker I got during EMU Band Day 1970

It was a nice crisp fall day when our band bus pulled into the parking lot at EMU Stadium. We were to join the field during Halftime with 25 to 30 other Marching Bands. I remember the warm-up drills like it was yesterday. I'm glad I memorized all my songs. The first time my Lyre fell off my trombone taught me a lesson in memorization. Never again will I fake playing my songs or worry about my music falling in the mud, plus its so much easier concentrating on my marching without staring at the music. We played some pretty groovy songs by Santana and Chicago but 1 band had some music in a different key than the rest of us. Man did that sound sour :-] I dont remember who won the game but they certainly played better than my highschool did. Every play was fast, sharp and executed with the utmost precision but I guess they would since these are the best high school guys who get schiolarships and a few will be drafted into the NFL once they graduate. These days some go into the NFL or other pro sports right out of highschool. I wish I had taken a camera. Im not sure I had one then and I doubt those throwaway cameras were even invented yet. Marching Band was very enjoyable. We got to stare at a lot of Cheerleaders since we usually had front row seats. This is Jimio saying "Have a Nice Fall"

Autumn

Fall Colors in Full Bloom near Alpena Michigan



Missy and Mindy celebrating the Harvest

 What can I say about Autumn? It's a very colorful time and the smell of leaves in the air is so invigorating. A very robust fermented like smell, not as sweet as spring flowers but a more mildly acidic with a touch of sweetness. Nothing is more enjoyable than "Indian Summer" with its warm temperatures and cool nights. Why do leaves change their color? Some say its due to temperatures dropping   but the experts say it's because of the nights getting longer and this causes less chlorophyll to be produced. Eventually all chlorophyll stops being made and the carotenoids and anthocyanins inside the leaves are unmasked to expose their bright colors. The Oaks turn red, brown or russet. The Hickories turn a golden bronze. Aspens and Poplars turn yellow. The Dogwoods turn a purplish red and the Beech Trees turn tan. Maples differ from species to species from brilliant scarlet to red-orange to a glowing yellow. A succession of warm days and cool but not freezing nights should produce dazzling color displays. It's all due to warm days producing lots of sugars in the leaf but the cool nights trap the sugars in the leaf by leaf veins constricting during the cold nights. A warm dry fall will usually produce duller colors as seemed to happen this year. The word Autumn comes from the old French word Autompne in the 12th century or Automne in modern French. Also before the 16th century the word Harvest was used per the Dutch word Herfst and the German word Herbst. Eventually the word Harvest became know as to harvest the crops. The word Fall comes from the Old English word Fiaell or Feallan which means to fall from a height and I suspect it is to describe the leaves falling off the trees. I also enjoy the burning of leaves. The smell is somewhat like tobacco but more pungent and smokier. And who doesn't like hotdogs or marshmellows on a stick cooked over a burning pile of leaves! This is Jimio saying "Happy Fall- Autumn - Equinox"

Why cant Cars look Great and have Quality?

Why can't we see this beautiful design in today's cars?

I have always wondered why cars started losing their great looks. The 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s cars had such style n grace in their design. I feel the wildest grooviest designs in cars were the years 1967,1968 and 1969. Around 1980 they started getting this "box" look to them. I'm not sure if that was due to their unibody frame but they looked like blocks going down the road. The very first cars were nothing but horse carriges with motors on them, but hey, they just came out, you cant fault them in first few years of existance. After time they started looking pretty sleek. The Dusenbugs, Mercedes and Cadillacs set the trend as did the foreign cars Jaguar, Peugeou,Mazzeratti and Porsche. I understand today we need lighter vehicles to save on fuel and for electric motors which dont seem to have the power a combustion engine has, but still cant engineers design some half-way decent looks to them? Starting in the 40s these cars had such wonderful lines and every Company had their own unique design. Even models within the same company had their special style. When I worked on cars from 1992 to 2006, I noticed how flimsey they were made. If I just touch something inside the motor it would crack apart or fall off. I understand parts need to be replaced but they should be able to withstand a light tug or pull. Many things made today break down or need to be replaced in 3 years when they should have lasted 10 years. Im sure this is done to make sure a company keeps selling more of their products that way. It seems insulting to me that they feel the need to purposely make junk to keep them rich. I was upset when computers had to be upgraded so often but I realized that was due to the technology improving so fast, and I suppose that was a good thing to be able to do so many great things on computers now. do we really need all this high-tech in cars though? I do like the GPS to track your car if it is lost or stolen and the Map technology that even tells you a traffic jam is up ahead and what exit to take to avoid it, but having computer monitors on the dashboard? A car that parks itself? If you get a car that drives itself, you might as well ride a train! Oh well, change happens. I first noticed change in 1973. I thought the Hippies and long hair will be here forever but that was not the case. I thought the Metal and Psychedelic music would always dominate. I thought muscle cars would get more muscular and the bell bottoms would get wider. Something strange happened. People started cutting their hair and music on the radio started getting more boring and laid-back. Radio stations stopped playing whole albums and many went into these non-live formats with programed songs in a loop that repeated every 3 hours. What a nightmare! Now I realize "What comes around, goes around". I have seen little kids with peace signs around their necks and wearing tie-dye shirts. And now with 2 wars dragging on and on, we might even get a whole new batch of war protestors, so its odd how some things never change except you are older and they are younger =B-] This is Jimio saying "Peace-Love and Better Designing through High-Tech" 

Civil War Muster-The Past Comes to Life

Battle of Bethel Church Virginia June 10 1861



Beautiful Civil War dress

 This was my 2nd visit to a Civil war Re-enactment, the first being over 22 years ago in this very same spot. It sure has grown. I saw more troops, more cannons and more vistors. I also met Historical Ken, a blogger of  http://passionforthepast.blogspot.com/ and we talked for a bit about re-enacting. It was a beautiful day, though rather hot but that helped the liquid refreshment Saloon get many thirsty customers. There were many stuffed animal heads of a Buffalo, a Moose and an Elk I believe and the Bar looked right out of the 1860s. I had to go to the Saloon twice it was so humid out. The women were dressed in very authentic looking period clothing for the 1860s. The prominent women of lawyers and doctors and such wore beautiful dresses with a hoop skirt that makes them puff out and give them that "Southern Belle" look. Many children were there wearing accurate period clothing and a few young teens fought in the battle just like some did back in the 1860s. The children also played with toys from the 1860s, it was like you were transported back to the civil war. Even the campfires were perfect replicas, maybe even real 1860s cookware and they had the fires burning on tree logs split with axes with actual food sizzling in the pans *smelled so good!* Everything there, was down to a T and the re-enactors stayed the night in their tents for this wonderful 2 day Muster Event. Plus I must mention the great playing of the Michigan 5th Infantry Band. Baritones, Trumpets, Drums and Piccalos played 1860s Era songs to the delight of all. When the Battle of Bethel Church started, the Muskets were pretty loud, but when the 8 Cannons went off, every toddler in the crowd seem to be crying. They did not expect such a huge *BOOM!* I'm certain the next 4 years of this 150th anniversary of the Civil War will be just as exciting as this year was.

Summer on Maple Hill

Jimio with Tractor and Red Wagon to carry Missy and Mindy

Its amazing I can still remember the Summers on Maple Street like they were yesterday. Our House was high on top of a hill and the driveway went around it. Me Brad and Missy and Mindy plus a few neighbor kids would ride our bikes, tricycles and a tractor around the house while somebody played traffic cop and signaled who had to stop and who could go. I gave rides for the girls and sometimes only the stuffed animals and dolls would ride along. As we passed by the garage, there was a older boy named David [we called him Crazy David] and he would throw ice cream at us from the roof of the garage. It was ok if you could catch enough ice cream in your hand and eat it. There was this guy across the street who made balsa wood airplanes and they had little gas engines on them. He hung them from his living room ceiling and it was awesome for a little 5 year old dude like me sitting there on the couch and staring at them all. One summer this guy came by on a horse and was taking pictures of kids on his horse for like $3 or $5 a photo. He had these cowboy outfits we could wear and my brother and sisters all had our pictures taken. I have the pics somewhere, I must dig them up some day. I remember walking on the sidewalk and I said "Hi" to this kid and he punched me right in the face. Dont know why but I went running home crying all the way ;-] I guess he just wanted to prove he was tuff. Im glad I had many more good memories than bad ones. One was looking out my Grandma's bedroom window late at night and seeing her with Momio and Dadio out on the back lawn with the Tahiti Torches burning and Nat King Cole playing on the record player. I could even hear the clinking of the ice cubes in their mixed drinks.