MENOMINEE NOSTALGIA

Dear George, 

According to Thomas Wolfe, “You can’t go home again” — truly a paradox since we think of home as a safe place to which we can always return. Wolfe reminds us that change is an ever-present feature of reality. Thus, the world we return to is never what it used to be and we ourselves have inevitably changed as well. Still, “going home” remains emotionally powerful because it involves reconnection with one’s past, if only through one’s memories. 

I left my home town for college when I turned 18 in 1955. While I wasn’t to be a full-time resident again, I’ve visited regularly ever since. In certain ways Menominee is exactly the same as it was in the 1950’s. The magnificent natural environment is unchanged, with the town’s southern border stretching along the Menominee River and its eastern edge along the Green Bay shoreline. The three auto bridges to Wisconsin remain in place. The layout of streets is identical, and virtually all of the buildings are the same. And many of the important landmarks remain, e.g., the courthouse, the library, the marina, the Presbyterian Church, Henes Park. 

I made a list of 70 important places in my youth. About a third of them are still there. Ten have relocated to other parts of town or to Marinette across the river, e.g., the hospital, the newspaper, my high school. Over half of the significant places of my youth are gone. Thinking about these losses, I decided to poetically commemorate some of Menominee’s places from my youth that no longer exist. 

Love, 

Dave 

             The Sheridan Road Business District (now First Street) 

THE LUNDGREN REXALL DRUGSTORE 

Uncle Kent’s store was right on the Square 

Weekdays Steven and I would eat there 

Read the new comic books 

Batman battling with crooks 

And vegetable soup, more than fair 

THE LLOYD THEATER 

The Lloyd, my first movie at night 

“Meet Me in St. Louis” — a delight 

Margaret O’Brien, so swell 

Judy Garland, a sweet belle 

The World’ Fair, an incredible sight 

MONTGOMERY WARD 

Montgomery Ward carried home goods stuff 

Suspenders, black trousers with a cuff 

They had lawn mowers and tools 

Fake furs and fake jewels 

Endless kitchenware, more than enough 

THE A&P GROCERY 

The A&P carried yummy things to eat 

Creamy pastries, avocados, pig meat 

We were often low on cash 

So my mom would make hash 

But sometimes she’d get me a treat 

WASHINGTON GRADE SCHOOL 

First grade, Washington school, downtown 

The best times were on the playground 

Playing boys chase the girls 

Kiddies racing in whirls 

When the bell rang, we had to calm down. 

KIRBY STREET CANDY STORE 

The candy store, half a block from school 

The lemon gum drops made me drool 

Each piece cost a penny 

One nickel, you’d get many 

And caps for my cap gun, so cool. 

COMMERCIAL BANK 

I saved my savings at the Commercial Bank 

Whose interior was large but dark and dank 

I brought a nickel each week 

Since my income was bleak 

But years later, a small fortune in the tank 

THE VOGUE 

The Vogue was my mom’s favorite store

For dresses and scarves and much more 

Not as fancy as Green Bay But it didn’t take all day 

And she always found something she wore 

THE MENOMINEE HOTEL 

The hotel was right there on the Bay 

Known by salesmen as a fine place to stay 

Our glee club sang there 

For the Lions Club’s fare 

I can still hum those tunes to this day 

THE MENOMINEE HERALD-LEADER 

In wartime we lived by the Herald-Leader 

Though I wasn’t a newspaper reader 

The editor was Jean Worth 

Filled with wisdom and mirth 

With a great hunting camp on the Cedar 

G.I. SURPLUS STORE

G.I. Surplus, my number one store 

They sold gas masks, machetes, and more 

I’d buy camping gear there 

Khaki caps I could wear 

And the weapons we used to play war 

POST OFFICE 

We lived by the post office in the war 

A most handsome building, one floor 

Mother sent me there for stamps 

Letters to Navy camps 

That errand was my first big-kid chore 

THE MENOMINEE THEATER 

The Menominee was close to the Bay 

Saturdays, the kids’ matinee 

They charged just a dime 

Double feature each time 

Charlie Chan was the most, I would say 

 

                 North on Sheridan Road 

DR. SETHNEY’S OFFICE 

Dr. Sethney worked in his abode 

Near the drugstore on Sheridan Road 

We’d go there for shots 

Or when troubled by spots 

 Lundgren births were among his case load 

PRODUCERS DAIRY 

Producers Dairy was right on our street 

Three blocks from our house, that was neat 

I’d stop after school 

Chocolate chip made me drool 

And the butterscotch cones, oh so sweet 

M&M BREWERY 

The Brewery made Silver Cream beer 

A golden brew that fostered much cheer 

The tough teens drank Silver Cream 

Mostly jocks on the football team 

But myself and my group had beer fear 

THE D.A.R. BOYS CLUB 

I’d go to the DAR after school. 

Pick and I played a few games of pool 

Then basketball with Jack 

Who could dribble behind his back 

We aspiring pros found this cool 

DR. SEIDL 

Dr. Seidl was Menominee’s vet

We’d go there for care for our pet 

Mike got porcupine quills 

In his nose, gave us chills 

Dr. Seidl yanked them out, no vet sweat 

    West on Ogden Avenue (now 10th Ave.) 

COONEY’S GAS STATION 

Harry Cooney’s was next to the Square 

We entrusted our cars to his care. 

But they never checked the oil 

Caused the engine to boil 

Our poor Lincoln, a total repair 

THE OFFICE SUPPLY STORE 

Age four, my Mom took me to the store 

A pencil, an eraser, sometimes more 

Ogden Ave, a long walk 

We were quiet, no talk. 

Even so, this trip made my heart soar 

TENNIS AT ROOSEVELT SCHOOL 

Tennis practice was at Roosevelt School 

Two hours per day was our rule

Jerry Boucher was the best 

I was lumped with the rest 

But being on the team was so cool 

ST. JOHN’S CATHOLIC CHURCH 

The O’Hara’s would take us to mass 

A ritual of a very high class. 

Our family weren’t Catholics 

At best Lutheran mavericks 

But I hoped for a heavenly pass 

FIRE STATION

Dad would take me to the fire station 

I’d slide down the pole, such elation 

Then I’d climb on the truck 

Like a muckety-a-muck 

Firemen, to me, meant salvation 

DAIRY QUEEN 

The Dairy Queen was at the center of town 

I’d hop on my bike and ride down 

The vanilla was swell 

And the chocolate…well, well 

When the Dairy Queen closed, pout and frown. 

ST. JOSEPH-LLOYD HOSPITAL 

We were born at St. Joseph-Lloyd Hospital 

And returned now and then when still little 

Steven busted his arm 

Which we viewed with alarm 

But they sculpted a cast, made him fittle 

THE GATEWAY CAFE 

The Gateway. our teenage hangout 

Near the hospital, right on our route 

A grilled cheese and French fries 

Chocolate malts for the guys 

Football nights, we were always about 

BOWLING 

Our gang would go to the alley to bowl 

My pal Steppke, three hundred was his goal 

But one hundred for me 

Was a source of much glee 

I never could get on a roll 

ZEPHYR GAS 

At the bridge, the gas nineteen point nine 

Two gallons made teen cars run fine 

Gas wars, just ten cents 

Even so, an expense 

Still we drove there and waited in line 

THE OGDEN AVE. FAIRGROUNDS 

The fairgrounds were the circus’s lair 

Featuring lions and tigers and one bear 

We would go there at dawn 

Watch the elephants’ brawn 

Then trapeze artists flying through the air. 

                 The West End

BOSWELL GRADE SCHOOL 

Boswell kindergarten, my five-year-old job 

A nervous twit, terrified by the mob 

I walked there with Sally 

My five-year old pally 

U.P. winters, we small fry would sob 

BOURGEOIS’ GROCERY 

We got groceries at Franny Bourgeois’ store 

I accompanied my dad on this chore 

Potato sausage was home-made 

Liver sausage, the highest grade 

Mother cooked it up, made our hearts soar 

THE IDEAL DAIRY 

The Ideal on the west edge of town 

Open daily from dawn to sundown 

Two dips for a nickel 

As cheap as a pickle 

Lemon flake, we would have a meltdown 

             Broadway and Stephenson (22nd St. and 14th Ave.) 

MENOMINEE HIGH 

Age twelve, I was off to high school 

Basketball and swimming in the pool 

I did okay at art 

English grabbed at my heart 

But in woodshop they thought me a fool 

GARBELL’S SODA SHOP 

Garbell’s, across from M.H.S. 

A retreat from our academic stress 

Pinball games in the rear 

We would gather round and cheer 

Earl Powell, pinball king, such finesse 

BIKE SHOP 

The bike shop was right by our school 

Its owner, so handy with a tool 

He’d patch our inner tube 

Give the bike chains a lube 

Our repaired bikes would ride like a jewel 

BEYERSDORF’S GARAGE 

Herb Beyersdorf took care of our car

His garage right on Stephenson, not far 

He’d get our boat motor running 

This man had such cunning 

Without Herb, life would be too bizarre 

TRAUTNER’S GROCERY 

A Trautner stop riding home on my bike 

This grocery with treats that kids like 

A Milky Way, a Babe Ruth 

To satisfy my sweet tooth 

Two more miles and I'd greet my dog Mike

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2026

 

Dear George, 

I make the same boring resolutions every New Years: exercise more and lose some weight. I never follow up on these. However, now that I am a really old person, I am realizing that I have less time to improve in all the ways I want to improve. So I am working on a more extensive list. Here is how it looks so far. 

7000 Steps. I was really excited to discover recently that my cell phone records my number of steps. I immediately began checking at the end of the day. According to my AI chatbot, 6,000-8,000 steps is the recommended goal for persons in their eighties. I’ve been doing about 5,000, so I am going to try to get up to 7,000 this month (then to 8 if I am successful). 

Play more with Iko. When our NOLA family visited for Christmas, they brought along Iko’s Shih Tzu brother, L’il Paws. With only us, Iko sleeps about 20 hours a day. But with another dog he was awake and alert lots of the time. I need to entertain Iko more. We can take more walks and wrestle more. (This will increase my steps as well.). 

Battle the cockroaches. We’ve had cockroaches in our kitchen for many months. At first I found them sort of amusing and considered them my night-time friends. But then they destroyed the electrical system in our expensive stove and they immediately became my enemies. The exterminators are coming next week, but I’ve tried to step up our sanitation practices in the meantime. 

3.8 Wordle. I have played the daily New York Times Wordle game about a 1000 times. You get 6 guesses to figure out a 5-letter word, and so far my average solution has been in 3.9 guesses. I’m sure I can do better, but 3.8 might be my optimal goal. 

Learn the Charleston. I’ve been suffering the doldrums ever since they cancelled line dancing at my fitness center. Recently I’ve been watching YouTube videos which teach solo Charleston dance steps. This is another of my January goals. 

Be more poetic. I’ve been doing poetry workshops at OLLI for at least seven years, and I spend a lot of time writing poetry. My main problem is that I’m not in the least bit poetic. My poems sound like the instruction manual for our new refrigerator — factual and concrete, not the least bit emotional or imaginative. I will try to change, but I am less optimistic about this resolution than any other. 

Tackle the clutter. We have lived in our house for over 50 years, accumulated a lot every year, and rarely got rid of anything. Consequently it is difficult to move around in our basement and attic. Closer to hand, my “office” is utter chaos. I never try to clean it up because of the magnitude of the task, but I the time has come. 

Be less bossy.  Both Katja and I are first-born children, so we grew up dominating younger siblings. However, this results in power struggles between the two of us since with operate with different rules for household and married life. I will try to ease up, and she probably will too. This is my plan, and I am enthused about it. By first I need to take a nap. 

Love, 

Dave

A CHRISTMAS REPORT

 

Dear George, 

We’ve just wound up our best Christmas in many years. Our son Justin and teen-age grandkids Alex and Leo arrived on Dec. 23 and left this afternoon (Dec. 28). In between we filled the time with fun and laughter. The family is driving to Nashville where Alex and Leo with fly to L.A. to meet up with their Aunt Jamie and cousins. Justin and their pup L’il Paws will then continue to New Orleans. Our dog Iko is mourning Lil Paws’ departure, and we are doing the same for our family. Here is a rhymed accounting of our time together. 

Love, 

Dave 

Justin and our grandkids were here 

With bags filled with holiday cheer 

The Bulk Outlet was closed 

We sad shoppers deposed 

So we went to the thrift shop for gear 

On Christmas we had presents galore 

My Satchmo cap I truly adore 

Katja did lots of shopping 

Kept all the folks hopping 

And our family brought all even more 

The kids’ notes were filled with affection 

A boon to our holiday connection 

They’re such fun, that’s the truth 

Take us back to our youth 

And make for nostalgia and reflection 

We tuned into the show “Stranger Things” 

Such scary weird creatures with wings 

I struggled with the plot 

What I thought, it was not 

For others, it tickled heartstrings 

Daily walks with Iko and L’il Paws 

Iko was more prone to pause 

These dogs are so cute 

And they’ve mastered each route 

That’s why they deserve our applause 

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” 

A movie that makes a big splash 

At times I was confused 

Then I’d find myself amused 

Three plus hours went by in a flash 

We went to see MAD Magazine 

A stiff challenges to the American scene 

The art was quit fine 

Graphics tickled one’s spine 

And sometimes it proved actually clean 

The gang went to see “Marty Supreme” 

A young man who was driven by his dream 

His thing was ping pong 

An avenue to belong 

Toxic ambition was the theme 

The Bulk Outlet was open the second time 

But the kids thought it not worth a dime 

Off to Pixel Nineteen 

Much more fit for a teen 

A warehouse for customers in their prime 

Off to the Mariemont to take in “Hamnet” 

Death and grief were an ever-present threat 

But Shakespeare wrote his play 

And his show saved the day. 

I cried a few tears, not upset 

Kenwood Mall for our bi-annual trip 

The youth searching for merchandise hip 

They did Alex’s nails 

Then some half price off sales 

We barely had space in our ship 

We went to First Watch for our lunch 

A chorizo omelet, my favorite munch 

Leo, Katja, French toast 

Alex, veggies, the utmost. 

The meals at First Watch pack a punch 

Alex got a school project back 

Lost at the museum — smack, bang, whack. 

Some good soul turned it in 

Which caused Alex to grin 

And now life is back in the black 

Justin did lots of household repairs 

Fixed the lights on the front and back stairs 

Did the refrigerator filter 

The smoke alarms off-kilter. 

The kitchen drawer, among our very longest cares. 

We partied with Hannah, Chris, and Karrie 

A family gathering that proved to be merry 

We dined on China Food 

Very tasty for our brood. 

Traded stories that were funny, warm, and scary. 

To Bronte’s, our very last meal 

Tasty brunch, that was the deal 

Our grandkids are flying to L.A. 

Meet with Aunt Jamie and cousins, more play 

For all concerned, the Christmas spirit is real

CHRISTMAS TALES

 Dear George, 

With our son J and grandkids A and L visiting, we are enjoying a very special holiday season.  It reminds me that Christmas has played a significant role over the years in our lives.  Here are a few of the stories.  

Trees of Many Colors

My dad planted evergreens in the field across from our house on Riverside Boulevard, and, by the time I was 9 or 10, they were reaching maturity.  About a week before Christmas I would go with him, and we would pick out a white pine or a spruce for our Christmas tree.  We would lug it back to our driveway, tie it to the top of our car, and bring it to Van Domelen’s auto body shop in downtown Menominee.  Vic would set it up in the vestibule in which they spray painted cars, and the workers would paint our tree red, blue, or yellow.  My aunt Martha always complained about our tree being sacrilegious, but we children thought it was amazing..  

Santa Comes to Visit

In the late afternoon of Christmas Eve my dad drove us to Vic and Ruth Mars’ home at Northwood Cove on the Green Bay shore where we joined a bunch of other kids from my parents’ circle of friends.  We were told to hide behind chairs and sofas in the living room and to be completely quiet.  After a while who came in but Santa himself, carrying a large bag of toys.  We were entranced.  He put a lot of them underneath the Christmas tree.  Miraculously every kid in the room received a present from Santa.  

A Family Celebration

Every Christmas eve our extended family gathered at our house on the river to celebrate Christmas.  Uncles Kent and Ralph brought cosmetic and health care samples from their drugstores as presents.  However, Kent’s twin brother, Karl, who was a bachelor with no family of his own was much more extravagant.  Gowns, fur wraps, jewelry for the woman and fancy toys for the children.  I used my nuclear science kit to search for uranium deposits on the Lake Superior shore.  Mother made a fancy turkey dinner with Schaum Torte for dessert.  We sang Christmas carols, and the kid took turns reading “The Night Before Christmas.” 

Christmas on My Own

I was at home for Christmas every year until 1958 the I was 21.  That Christmas I was in New York City, living in Washington Heights, and my two friends has gone home for the holidays.  I went to an Irish bar in the neighborhood.  After a couple of shots of whiskey, I thought I’d better call home, and I sent my Christmas wishes.  A couple of guys at the bar then said I sounded like I had an Irish accent, but others said I sounded more Scottish.  They asked if I had jumped ship and was in the country illegally.  I said that I was.  They said that they could get papers for me, but these would come from the Mafia.  Too scared, I said thanks but no thanks, and I headed for home.  

A Married Christmas.  In 1964 Katja and I had our fifth Christmas holiday as a married couple at my parents’ home in Menominee.  We had just returned from a two-month European tour of 8 or 9 countries, and we’d documented our adventure with photos that we’d had turned into slides.  Vic and Doris invited a couple dozen friends to a party at river house where Katja and I gave a photographic European tour to the group.  I’d say Katja did 95% of the reporting, and everyone found her delightful. 

Too much to take in.  We started celebrating Christmas full-scale when Justin turned one — trees, stockings on the mantel, holiday music, a special dinner, etc.  When Justin was four we took him to Johnny’s Toy Store in Greenhills to see what sorts of gifts he would like to ask Santa for.  At first this was a fun outing — Justin was happy and excited, his doting parents were enthralled.  However, the store was huge, the merchandise endless, and the stimulation of all those toys proved too much.  Justin cried and cried, and nothing we could do calmed him down.  Santa did get the necessary information though.  

A Christmas Tree Forest.  We moved to our house on Ludlow Avenue in Cincinnati’s Clifton neighborhood in about 1975.  I cut down a sumac tree near the Digby Tennis Courts and made flour-and-salt cookie faces, painted with acrylics, for decorations.  Our neighbors started putting their evergreen Christmas trees out on the curb as early as Dec. 26th or 27th.  Justin and I agreed that was a shame, so we started hauling them home and setting them up on our back patio.  One year we had 17 Christmas trees in our patio forest.  They stayed there till Valentine’s Day.  

Christmas in the Big Apple.  We spent many Christmases over the years on Manhattan’s Upper West Side with Katja’s sister and brother-in-law, Ami and Bruce.  New York is an absolute joy during the holidays.  Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center, St. Peter’s and Saint John’s, the Met and MOMA, Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, Times Square.  Ami made an elegant Christmas dinner for family and friends each year, and the two sisters were extravagant with their gifts.  Justin became so in love with the city over the years that he decided that was the only place he wanted to go to college.  And so he did.  

A Special Family Christmas.  Over the years we have usually celebrated the holidays with our NOLA family at Thanksgiving, but this year J, A, and L joined us in Cincinnati.  It’s been a wonderful time so far.  We did the “MAD Magazine” art show at the Cincinnati art museum yesterday, took in “Avatar: Fire and Ash” at Cinemark, and exchanged a bonanza of gifts on Christmas morning.  A and L are 17 this year, a year away from getting ready for college.  They are bright, affectionate, mature. and fun.  A joy for their grandparents on this special holiday.  

Love,

Dave 

A POETRY QUIZ: HUMAN OR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?

 

Dear George, 

Can you tell if a poem has been written by a human versus by an AI chatbot? Below are ten pairs of limericks. Within each pair one limerick was written by a human being (myself) and the other was written by Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot. Gemini was instructed to write a limerick on the same topic as my human-written version (e.g., “Write a limerick about bugs in the kitchen”). Your task is to judge which is which. First write the numbers 1 through 10 down a blank piece of paper. Then read each pair of limericks. If you think the first poem in the pair was human-written and the second was AI-written, write H/AI next to the appropriate number. Conversely, if you think the first was AI-written and the second was human-written, write AI/H next to the number. As a hint, half of the pairs are in one order and half are in the other order. Correct answers will be given at the end. 

        1. BUGS IN THE KITCHEN 

The small insects, countless and bold 

In our kitchen their story unrolled 

They marched 'cross the floor 

Then asked us for more 

A sticky sweet chaos of old 

Hordes of bugs have invaded our sink 

Seeking morsels to eat and to drink 

Some are big, most are small 

All delighted to crawl 

These bugs are night creatures, I think. 

             2. AGE EIGHTY-FIVE 

I’ve hit eighty-five years on the spot 

And still feel like a colt that can trot 

My memory's a blur 

But of this I am sure, 

I've learned what to do and what not 

Today I turned age eighty-five 

Quite puzzling to still be alive 

Never planned for this day 

Crummy hearing, hair gray 

The new question, how best to survive 

         3. WORDLE IN TWO GUESSES 

Today I solved Wordle in two 

Success leaped straight out of the blue 

My first word was CREST 

Got three letters, guessed the rest 

Offbeat picks but they proved to be true 

To start, I chose ADIEU with great thought 

For the second guess, the right word was caught 

In guesses just two 

The answer broke through 

A Wordle solved quickly, well wrought 

         4. BENGALS LOSE TO BEARS 

The Bengals' defense, it is said 

Left the Bears' tight end quite well fed 

A big lead erased 

Their victory displaced 

Now Cincy fans just shake their head 

The Bengals got thumped by the Bears 

Though our offense gained more yards than theirs 

Near the end, things looked good 

Victory looming, knock on wood 

Oh no, Zack! Please make some repairs 

         5. OUR DOGGIE’S ACCIDENT 

Iko pooped right on top of our bed 

He must have been out of his head 

I took him straight out 

Screamed that he was a lout 

And now we just eye him with dread 

Young Iko, a pup full of zest 

Put his owners quite fully to the test 

On the bed, soft and deep, 

While his people did sleep 

He left a brown gift, unimpressed 

         6. LEFTOVER THANKSGIVING TURKEY 

We are still eating leftover turkey 

Mixed with chicken a la king, sort of murky 

Most years turkey’s my favorite 

I've always said I savor it 

But right now I would rather have beef jerky 

I thought I would finish the bird 

Every last morsel, uncured 

My stomach then cried 

"You're quite over-plied!" 

Now I'm stuck, very groggy and blurred 

         7. GET A HAIRCUT 

My dear wife, she looked quite aghast, 

"That mop top is growing too fast! 

Like a shaggy old mutt, 

You look like a nut, 

Get a trim, before winter has passed!” 

My wife tells me, “Get a haircut” 

She claims people think I’m a nut 

But I don’t want to go 

My hair’s still so-so 

And who cares if I look like a mutt 

         8. TO THE BODY SHOP 

I’ve bashed in the blue Honda’s fender 

It looks like I’ve been on a bender 

Backed up into a wall 

Now I’m off to John Hall 

That John Hall's quite skilled, he will mend ‘er 

My blue Honda suffered a smash, 

Its front fender looked like pure trash. 

To John Hall's I drove slow, 

Where they put on a show, 

To fix up the dent in a flash! 

         9. DINNER AT THE CHART HOUSE 

The Chart House for my birthday dinner 

Holy moly, I felt like a winner 

I ordered sea bass 

Such a fish, it’s first class 

But the lava cake won’t make me thinner 

For my birthday, I went to the spot 

The Chart House, all fancy and hot 

I savored the bass 

Then ate with great class, 

The warm, gooey lava cake pot 

         10. THE WINTER SNOW STORM 

A huge storm brought snowfall so deep 

Eight cold inches started to creep 

"Dear Iko, I fear 

Will you stay warm, my dear?" 

While he snored in a comforting heap 

We’re enjoying a huge winter storm 

The whitest of white is the norm 

The snow’s eight inches deep 

Our car’s under the heap 

I just hope that our pup Iko can stay warm. 

How did you do? You might want to guess how many of the 10 pairs you got correct before reading the following answers. Here is the answer key. Give yourself one point for each pair that you got correct. KEY: 1. AI/H; 2. AI/H; 3. H/AI; 4. AI/H; 5. H/AI; 6. H/AI; 7. AI/H; 8. H/AI; 9. H/AI; 10. AI/H. 

I bet you did better than you thought. I tried this quiz out on members of my writers’ group, and they thought it was pretty hard. However, most got between six and nine pairs correct. (Because it’s a 50/50 decision, a score of 5 would be chance.). When I imagined doing the quiz, I thought odd rhymes were a cue to AI-generated poems (e.g., “unrolled” in pair 1; “wrought” in pair 3; “unimpressed” in pair 5; "pot" in pair 9). On the other hand, I thought some pairs were almost impossible to distinguish (e.g., 2, 7). 

There has been research on whether people can reliably distinguish between poems written by classic authors (e.g., Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, T.S Eliot) and AI-generated poems (when the chatbot was instructed to write in the style of a given author). There are two main findings. (1) Participants were generally unable to distinguish the two classes of poems, sometimes more likely to judge an AI-generated poem as human-authored than a poem actually written by a human author. (2) When not told whether an author was human or AI, participants often rated AI-generated poems more favorably. The researchers have suggested that non-expert readers prefer AI-generated poems because they are generally more straightforward, grammatically correct, and easier to understand versus the complexity and ambiguity of poems written by classic human poets. 

So the big question is whether poetry writing is going to be taken over by Artificial Intelligence. I don’t think it will, though AI is getting more sophisticated, year by year. Probably the best answer was given by one of my fellow group members: “I wouldn’t have any interest in reading a poem written by a chatbot.”

Love, 

Dave

A DAY FOR THANKS

 

Dear George, 

I think I posted this same message last year (and for X number of years before that). But you can never have too many thanks. Here goes. 

Thanks to my parents, Vic and Doris, who provided a special family to grow up in, put me through Antioch College, and created Farm which all the subsequent generations are still enjoying. 

Thanks to my siblings — Vicki, Peter, and Steven — for all the happy times we’ve had. 

Thanks to Katja who is responsible for all the things that have been and are good in our lives. 

Thanks to Justin who has been a loved and loving son for over half a century now (so hard to believe). 

Thanks to our grandkids — Alex and Leo — who keep us in touch with the young generation. 

Thanks to our extended family of Werrins and Lundgrens who make us feel part of a grand endeavor. 

Thanks to many friends over the years — sources of fun, support, and affection. 

Thanks to the University and to CABVI which supported our careers and provided the pension funds that keep us away from poverty’s door. 

Thanks to our many doctors over the years, without whom we would have been in our graves long ago. 

Thanks to my teachers at Menominee High, Antioch, and Michigan who did their best to keep my brain operating. 

Thanks to OLLI classes at the University (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) and especially Advanced Poetry (as well as my writing group). 

Thanks to our many dogs — Heather, Jacques, Winston, Mike and Duffy, and Iko — remarkable sources of loyalty and happiness. 

Finally, thanks to a vast array of impersonal objects that have been significant in my life, e.g. the computer, Gemini (AI chatbot), mind games, Netflix et al., tennis, camping, postcards, motorcycles, thrift stores, etc. 

Love, 

Dave

SIXTY-FIVE

 

Dear George, 

We have to grapple with such large numbers these days. Sixty-five. That’s the wedding anniversary that we celebrated yesterday at La Bar a Boeuf. I can’t imagine our marriage being that long. Subjectively I would think twenty-five, maybe thirty years. Where did all that time go? 

Our wedding was on the Antioch campus in Yellow Springs on August 28, 1960. After a one-night honeymoon in downtown Dayton, we packed up and set off for graduate studies at the University of Michigan. I think of our Ann Arbor stay as our honeymoon years. We were so excited to be married and tried to figure out how to do everything together. Initially we decided to make joint decisions on all purchases (e.g., groceries, toothpaste, furniture). This proved burdensome, however, so we decided that Katja (as the more adult member) should make all purchases (a decision that I wish we’d thought more about). 

In 1966 we moved to Cincinnati where I’d taken a job as a faculty member in the Departments of Psychology and Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. This was a hard time on Katja and consequently on our marriage. We’d been equal peers throughout our undergraduate and graduate studies, but now, suddenly, I was “the Professor” and she was “the Professor’s wife”, an appellation shared by most faculty spouses. I became immersed with my career, while Katja was trying to figure out what to do next. 

All that changed in 1969 when Katja gave birth to our son, Justin. We were enthralled with our new kid, and parenting together gave new meaning to our marriage. Our newfound family became the center of our life. By age eleven Justin had taken up competitive junior tennis. He was very successful, and Katja and I became maniacal tennis parents. Our child’s athletic success spilled over into good feelings about our family as a whole. 

In 1987 Justin left for college, and we became “empty nesters”. While that meant more time together, we’d been a “threesome” so long that now we felt incomplete. Katja, however, had returned to school and gotten an M.S.W. degree, taking a job as a social worker at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind. We both were busy with our careers. 

The biggest subsequent change in our married lives was when we retired, I in 2009 and Katja i 2011. Such a dramatic change in our lives. Among other things we were together virtually all of the time and had near-complete freedom in what we wanted to do. I think of these retired years as one of the happiest and most fulfilling times in our marriage. I can’t even remember a time in recent years that we’ve quarreled. As we get older, we’re subject to more medical problems, but we’re both there for each other with care and support. We are very lucky to have lived together so long, and I look forward to our future wedding anniversaries. 

Love, 

Dave

KATJA'S FALL

 

Dear George, 

I was sitting in the solarium reading the newspaper when I heard Katja scream for me from the kitchen. I rushed in and was startled to find her lying on the floor, limbs askew, her face pressed against the floorboards. She had been walking toward the sink, was suddenly overcome with dizziness, and had fallen flat on her face. It was a struggle trying to help her get up because her left leg was in excruciating pain. She made it to a dining room chair an inch at a time, and I went to get the walker that we’d stored in the basement from a previous hospital stay. Katja was frightened that she’d broken her leg or that she may have damaged her titanium knee implant. Thanks to our elevator, Katja made it upstairs to bed. We thought about calling 911 but decided to wait until the morning to see how things went. This was Friday, July 19. 

Katja didn’t experience pain if she kept her leg perfectly still, and she slept during the night. In the morning, though, her pain was even worse. She woke up crying, frightened that she might never walk again. We decided to call 911. The paramedics, a team of four, arrived in less than two minutes. I put our dog Iko in the den with the door closed, and the paramedics interviewed Katja — what had happened, where the pain was, her medical conditions, allergies, etc. They were very professional and competent. The University of Cincinnati Medical Center is near us and is the city’s largest hospital, but we’d had to wait over four hours last time so I suggested Good Samaritan instead. Katja, though, opted for UC because of its extensive facilities. The paramedics wrapped her in a blanket-like stretcher and carried her down the stairs from our second floor and out to the ambulance. I took Iko for his walk and drove over to Emergency an hour later. 

Contrary to our last experience, UC Emergency was relatively uncrowded, and Katja had already had X-rays by the time I arrived. The doctor said the X-rays did not show a broken bone, but that X-rays weren’t able to detect soft tissue injuries — muscles, ligaments, etc. He also wasn’t convinced that there wasn’t a fracture and had ordered a CT scan to further explore that possibility. Katja wasn’t able to bear any weight at all on her left leg. Her pain was still terrible. Because she couldn’t stand up, the doctor said she would need to stay in the hospital at least overnight. We were both relieved. 

One night in the hospital soon turned into five nights. The CT scan had detected a fracture in her left knee area. The medical team decided against surgery in favor of letting it heal naturally. A physical therapist worked with her each day. On day one Katja couldn’t move her left leg at all without experiencing unbearable pain. On day two she could raise it one inch (pain at level 9 of 10). Day three, two inches. Day four, several inches, less pain. On day five she walked down the hospital corridor and up and down five practice stairs. The hospital had been negotiating with our insurance for a two-week stay in a rehab facility, but Katja had improved enough that they canceled that. They still weren’t ready for discharge because Katja’s blood pressure was up and down, and they judged that to be the likely cause of her fall.  

The morning of day six Katja called to say she was being discharged. I drove over and waited in the Patient Discharge area till a nurse brought her down in a wheelchair. A significant moment. We drove home, and Katja was able to use her walker to get up the patio stairs and into the house. Iko was out of his mind to see his mom. Katja was feeling improved enough that she thought she might be able to go to the opera at Music Hall on Saturday evening, but that didn’t sound like a realistic possibility to me. We cancelled our plans for a trip for a summer vacation trip which we’d scheduled for the end of the week.  

Katja has been home for a week at the time I’m writing this. We’re both happy about this, but it’s had its ups and downs. Being a caretaker is a pain in the neck, as is being dependent on one’s spouse for just about everything. We’re used to each separately doing our own thing through the course of the day, but Katja is not very mobile and needs help with all sorts of physical tasks. She’s still in a lot of pain and spends a lot of time in bed, though she did cook scrambled eggs and bacon the other day and likes to get up to feed the dog. 

 I find myself very aware that we are at an age where we can be more subject to physical perils. We both worry about Katja’s injury. I find myself drinking more water (since the doctor said Katja was dehydrated) and gripping the handrail more firmly when I go up or down the stairs. The doctor said that Katja’s recovery will take about six weeks. We’re up to it, and it will probably go by fairly quickly. On the bright side, we’re lucky since the accident and injury could have been even worse. 

Love, 

Dave