Wannaskan Almanac

Hello and welcome to Small Business Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is November 30th, i.e. the LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER. You know what that means? December. Only one month left before we close out 2019 and look ahead to the new year full of (re)new(ed) promises and optimistic beginnings. What do you want to make sure gets crossed off your 2019 bucket list before the year is done? Earlier this week, Facebook reminded me that for Thanksgiving 2007, our family skipped out on the turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberries and headed to the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan's U.P. It was a reconnaissance mission, spurred on by my husband who wanted to a) check out the downhill skiing outfits on Lake Superior's south shore and b) see some "mountains." Unsurprisingly, we were the only folks on the slopes that weekend. With no snow and no customers, we were free to roam wherever we wished. The views were spectacular. We stayed at the Anderson Motel in ...

Welcome to Friday with Chairman Joe.   In France, if you call something a Berezina, you're saying it's a disaster. It's like saying someone has met his Waterloo. Which is funny, because both sayings relate to Napoleonic bad days. It was on this day in 1812 that Napoleon's army crossed the Berezina River in present day Belarus during its ignominious retreat from Moscow.   Crossing the river was the final stage of a three day battle. The battle was actually a draw. The Russians had hoped to annihilate the French Army on the banks of the river, but Napoleon managed to get away with most of his army of 40,000 men. However, considering Napoleon had invaded Russia the previous June with an army of 685,000 the word Berezina could stand for the full catastrophe.    What was Napoleon doing in Russia anyway? He had defeated Russia back in 1807. The Tsar had given up Poland and agreed not to trade with Britain. Napoleon's ultimate goal was to conquer Britain which was...

The other night, the wife and I watched an old movie on Netflix, made in 1959 titled, “The Hangman.” “1959?” my wife said, settling onto the couch with all her pillows and the remote. “I was in seventh grade. Were you even born yet?” “Oh yeah,” I answered, placing a dish of food on the carpet by my easy chair and arranging room for a glass on a nearby table.  “I was, like, eight . . .” The movie credits rolled as they did before a movie in those days, the little woman let loose with, “ Ooooo! Robert Taylor! ” recognizing him as a heart throb of her mother’s generation. “ Tina Louise ... hmmm,” I said, leaning back into my LazyBoy and pulling the lever on its side to recline. “Wasn’t she in . . . ?  Then I started whistling bits of a show theme that came to me of the TV program I had forgotten. “Was it . . . Gilligan’s Island? ” My wife affirmed my idea, “Yes, she was Ginger, the movie star .” “Redhead wasn’t she? She was hot.” I mused. “ Fess Parker was Davy Crockett,” I...

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, November 27, 2019, the 48th Wednesday of the year, and the 331st day of the year, with 34 days remaining. Earth/Moon Almanac for November 27, 2019 Sunrise: 7:50am; Sunset: 4:33pm; 2 minutes, 4 seconds less daylight today Moonrise: 8:51am; Moonset: 5:30pm, waxing crescent Temperature Almanac for November 27, 2019                 Average           Record           Today High             26                   51                   25 Low               11       ...

I was an outsider.  Definitely.  I was shunned from parties and pickup softball games.  I was not allowed to engage in political discussions or wear rubber boots to church.  I was a pariah.  Or was it a piranha?  Any way you slice it I was definitely not part of the "in" crowd.  The reason...I didn't know how the locals pronounce the letter "A" (any of them) in the word Wannaska.  I have learned to fake it since way back then.  Often times I just say something like, "lets go to that little town where you grew up" to my wife.  Other times I mumble the word or pretend to cough while saying it.  By doing this I have become less repulsive to the Wannaska pronunciation purists, or at least they have become better at masking their hostility.  Of course I am kidding.  The folks in Wannaska are some of the most wonderful people anywhere.  They are always eager to help a neighbor and genuinely care for each other.  They...

Once again, we are in the thick of it. New characters arrive on the stage, and the main character starts taking the name, Hart. An odd trio, Skitch, Mim, and Nivel, appear to welcome the MC; however, motives soon become clear. As for the trio, it’s hard to know whether they are even related, or just habituated to each other. Nasty doings appear to be developing from opportunities presented. Even the dog, O’Gill is somewhat of an enigma, although he is definitely the kindest of the bunch. The MC immediately develops an affinity for this dog; keep an eye on this canine as the story progresses. At the end of this segment, a short trip into the dream landscape shows up, presaging extraordinary events and reptiles to come, as well as dragons past. Our segment begins with the MC having just entered the trio’s residence. “You can call me Hart,” I lie but speak truth                   ...