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City, Culture, Local Government

The Solution to the ‘Same Ten People Problem’

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What happens when, as is sometimes true in Whitewater, the same several people keep showing up on municipal committees? That’s a question city officials considered at a July 21st strategic planning meeting.

The goal, of course, isn’t to discourage ten people; the goal should be to attract twenty, thirty, etc.

One proposal would be simply to reduce the number of committees. (Common Council Meeting 07/21/2015, https://vimeo.com/134219394 beginning @ 1:04:56.)

That would reduce the duplication of attendees, of course, but it would also mean that there would be fewer opportunities for anyone to participate. That kind of approach would only trade one problem for a worse one.

Our better solution is to expand the range of our perimeter fence, and to make that fence more permeable. A wider fence includes more people; a more permeable fence is more welcoming to newcomers.

In a post from yesterday I wrote about how cultures have perimeter fences, figurative boundaries marking the divide between what they consider acceptable and what they don’t, between those of the community and those outside of it.

Whitewater’s maintained a perimeter fence that is too circumscribed, and by design too impermeable.  It’s more than generational change that limits participation. 

We’ve a fence that’s too close and too high. 

There’s still too much thought about finding the ‘right’ people for some committees, for safe choices, and like-minded outlooks.

That close and high fence will crumble. Even now, however, one sees that what passes for all Whitewater is often only a part of it. Rather than acknowledge that we are a diverse and multicultural city, there’s still an insistence that part of Whitewater is all of it.

In this way, the old perimeter fence has a limited circumference, and so actually circumscribes only part of the town. When some talk about Whitewater, they’re only talking about the approximately 7,600 or so non-students in town, rather than the actual population. That actual population includes an additional 7,000 or so resident students.

Talking about Whitewater in this way describes half the town in the name of all the town. Even within each of these larger populations, there are differences of age, gender, political party, religious views, ethnicity, and countless other important differences.

When government looks out and worries over participation, government’s answer isn’t exclusively administrative, it’s also cultural. It’s not enough for a few leaders to talk to each other, from across different institutions, and thereafter proclaim dialogue among all the city’s thousands of residents. Fifty or so political, school district, and university officials do not this city make.

Leadership discussions are only a prelude, if they are even that, to genuine discourse and positive interaction among residents of different vocations, backgrounds, etc.

The not-so-well-concealed secret of Whitewater is that the organizational leadership class in town is only a small part of the whole community. Those really animated this way are only a few hundred, I’d guess. The city’s much larger than that.

As the city is larger than the city’s leadership class, so America is larger than the city.

To our great advantage, to the benefit of three-hundred twenty-one million here and billions abroad, America by law and tradition is a diverse and (still) welcoming place.

Now, Whitewater can expand her perimeter fence sooner or later, but expansion is inevitable.

That’s not an administrative change; it’s a cultural one. Those who try to forestall this (for their own pre-eminent place in a partial community, or by simple confusion about the future) cannot alter the social change, however slow, that moves through the city.

I’m an optimist about Whitewater, because the expansive horizons of many people matter vastly more than the narrow horizons of a few. We can and should be open to those many, however different their views and backgrounds.

Tomorrow: On a Clear Day, One Can See Far Ahead (and Far Back)

City, Food, Recipe

A Recipe for Grilled Corn

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If you’ve had the chance to purchase some fresh, locally-grown produce from the Whitewater City Market (Tuesdays, 3-7 PM) or Saturday Farmers Market (8 AM – Noon), perhaps you’ve picked up some corn.  (A longtime reader kindly suggested doing so at the City Market, and it was an excellent recommendation.)

If corn, then a recipe for corn.  There are many, but here’s one that you may find to your liking:

PREPARATION
Prepare a grill, with heat medium-high and rack about 4 inches from the fire. Put corn on grill and cook until kernels begin to char, about 5 minutes, then turn. Continue cooking and turning until all sides are slightly blackened.
Mix together mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder and some salt and pepper in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lime juice or chili powder if you like. Serve corn with chili-lime mayo.
INGREDIENTS
4 ears of corn, husked
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
¼ teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
Salt
freshly ground black pepper

(The link below includes nutritional information on this recipe.)

Via Grilled Corn, Mexican Style.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 8.13.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in town will be partly cloudy and warm, with a high of eighty-six. Sunrise is 5:59 and sunset 7:59, for 13h 59m 44s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with just 1.2% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1961, to prevent residents from feeling to greater freedom in West Germany, the East German state closed its Berlin border. The New York Times reported the closure to readers:

Berlin, Sunday, Aug. 13– East Germany closed the border early today between East and West Berlin.

East German troops stood guard at the Brandenburg Gate, main crossing point between the Eastern and Western sectors.

The East Berlin City Government banned its citizens from holding jobs in the Western part of the divided city. This will affect tomorrow the thousands of East Berliners who daily commute to work in the Western sector.

The Communists’ orders do not affect the Western Allies’ access routes to Berlin along the 110-mile passage from West Germany. Especially they do not affect Allied military trains, which are under Soviet jurisdiction.

Action Comes in Night

The quietness of East Berlin’s deserted streets was shattered in the early hours of the morning by the screaming of police sirens as police cars, motorcycles and truckloads of police sped through the city….

Here’s today’s game from Puzzability, in its Logical Deductions series:

This Week’s Game — August 10-14
Logical Deductions
This week, we’re bringing order and disorder at the same time. For each day, we started with a word or phrase, removed the seven letters in LOGICAL, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Greasy stuff used for massage; what masseurs do to the greasy stuff (or, make someone feel worse about something)
Answer:
Lubricating oil; rub it in
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Lubricating oil; rub it in” in the example), for your answer.
Thursday, August 13
Unofficial nickname for a Texas NFL team cheerleader; speaking styles for people from Texas

City, Culture, Politics

The Perimeter Fence

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Historian Francis Bremer’s study of Puritanism, First Founders: American Puritans and Puritanism in an Atlantic World, offers insights for our own time, apart from early American history.  (I know that Whitewater’s founding had a Puritan influence, but that’s not my point, today.  Bremer’s observations on Puritanism are useful far from his particular study, and apart from sectarianism.)

Bremer observes that the Puritans had – and by extension many peoples have – within their cultures a figurative perimeter fence:

One of the challenges faced by the first colonists was how to determine the precise nature of a godly order and how to discern between free discussion that promoted their goal and ideas that threatened it – in short, how and where to position the perimeter fence dividing what was acceptable and what was not…..

Most communities, organizations, and cultures have their own perimeter fences. 

For the Puritans (although there was some dissent within their community) the perimeter fence was of narrow circumference and near impermeability.  They defended their way of life by restricting both the boundaries of the community and access to it from the outside. 

For other settlers to North America, this was less the case – other settlements had a wider perimeter fence, with greater penetrability, and so offered a warmer welcome to newcomers and dissenters. 

The question for a community is what circumference and what strength its perimeter fence will be. 

If all communities have perimeter fences, of one kind or another, then for Whitewater this question presents itself: How wide and how high should this small town’s perimeter fence be?

The answer to this question has shaped, and will continue to shape, Whitewater’s prospects. 

Tomorrow: The Solution to the ‘Same Ten People Problem.’ 

 

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 8.12.15

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Good  morning, Whitewater.

Midweek in town offers increasingly sunny skies with a high of eighty-one. Sunrise is 5:58 and sunset 8:00, for 14h 02m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1898, a peace protocol brings to an end fighting during the Spanish-American War:

With defeats in Cuba and the Philippines, and both of its fleets incapacitated, Spain sued for peace and negotiations were opened between the two parties. After the sickness and death of British consul Edward Henry Rawson-Walker, American admiral George Dewey requested the Belgian consul to Manila, Édouard André, to take Rawson-Walker’s place as intermediary with the Spanish Government.[78][79][80]

Hostilities were halted on August 12, 1898, with the signing in Washington of a Protocol of Peace between the United States and Spain.[81] After over two months of difficult negotiations, the formal peace treaty, the Treaty of Paris, was signed in Paris on December 10, 1898,[82] and was ratified by the United States Senate on February 6, 1899.

On this day in 1939, Oconomowoc hosts a world premiere:

1939 – Wizard of Oz World Premier — in Oconomowoc

According to the fan site, thewizardofoz.info, “The first publicized showing of the final, edited film was at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on August 12, 1939. No one is sure exactly why a small town in the Midwest received that honor.” It showed the next day in Sheboygan, Appleton and Rhinelander, according to local newspapers. “The official premiere was at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 15, attended by most of the cast and crew and a number of Hollywood celebrities.” [Source: thewizardofoz.info/

Here’s the Wednesday game from Puzzability in its Logical Deductions series:

This Week’s Game — August 10-14
Logical Deductions
This week, we’re bringing order and disorder at the same time. For each day, we started with a word or phrase, removed the seven letters in LOGICAL, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Greasy stuff used for massage; what masseurs do to the greasy stuff (or, make someone feel worse about something)
Answer:
Lubricating oil; rub it in
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Lubricating oil; rub it in” in the example), for your answer.
Wednesday, August 12
Judicial proceeding, as a suit brought against a prohibited gambling den; poker chip to help start the pot

City, Good Ideas, Hip & Prosperous

Today @ the Whitewater City Market, 3 – 7 PM

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market1024x791

 

If you’ve not had the chance, today would a fine day to visit the Whitewater City Market, at the Cravath lakefront.   They’ve an impressive lineup, and you’re sure to find something you’ll enjoy.

MUSIC

Andrus & the Mariners  5:30-7 p.m.

VENDORS

BeefN’Beaks  grass-fed beef, farm-fresh chickens and eggs

Bluff Creek Nursery  plants, produce, painted trellises

Chippy’s Kettle Corn  popped-on-site kettle corn, fresh-squeezed lemonade

D&B Yarn  hand-spun yarns

D&D Enterprises  wooden birdhouses, feeders, dream catchers, jewelry

Doug Jenks Honey  honey, maple syrup, beeswax, sorghum

Drews Designs Jewelry  jewelry

Grischow’s Produce  produce

Ground to Table  jams, jellies, chutneys, bruschetta, salsas, kimchi, bread

Jazzed-Up Marshmallows  gourmet marshmallows, apples in the fall

Life Giving Nook Goat Milk Soap  bar and liquid goat milk soap; plants and veggies

Malone’s Produce  sweet corn

Morningside Farm & Orchard  chicken, goat meat, eggs, goat milk products, jam, produce

Morsels by Marly  fruit pops, granola, baked goods

Murphy’s Farm Produce produce

Nani’s Nook  handsewn baby bibs, burp cloths, crayola caddies, aprons, eye pillows

New-Age Peasants Field of Dreams  organic produce, all-natural body scrubs, rustic furniture

Number One Dime  crocheted items, jewelry, sculptures

Ron’s Tin Roof Garden  produce, handmade signs, birdhouses

Schoenfeld Family Farm  sweet corn, beans, potatoes, onions, carrots

Shia Shakes & Co. Jewelry  jewelry and jewelry holders

Soap of the Earth  goat milk soaps infused with organically grown herbs

Spark Spices  spice blends

SpinMeKnots  hand-spun hair clips and yarns, knitted headbands, spirit locks

Steffen’s Cherry Orchard  local tart cherries (frozen), jams, honey

Sunny Brook Farm  produce, eggs

Taco Fresco  salsas, picos, pickled Mexican and southern-style veggies

Takou’s Produce  fresh-cut bouquets, sunflowers, seasonal veggies

The Vegetable Stand  produce

Uncle Steve’s Creations  homemade jellies, jams, sauces and relishes

Tony’s Honey  honey, soap, and beeswax items

Vang’s produce  produce

Yang’s produce  produce

FOOD CARTS

Casual Joe’s  pulled pork sandwiches, barbecue sauces, salad kits

Flying Cow Pizza  wood-fired mobile pizza oven

Primetime  burgers, wraps, cheese curds, fries, snow cones, sodas, and more

SweetSpot  coffee, baked goods, bread, lemonade

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 8.11.15

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Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ll have a mostly sunny Tuesday in Whitewater, with a high of eighty-one. Sunrise is 5:57 and sunset 8:02, for 14h 04m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 9.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks & Rec Board meets this afternoon at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1965, riots begin in the Watts section of Los Angeles:

The Watts riots (or, collectively, Watts rebellion)[1] were race riots that took place in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles from August 11 to 17, 1965.

On August 11, 1965, a black motorist was arrested for drunk-driving, and a minor roadside argument suddenly turned into a riot. There followed six days of looting and arson, especially of white-owned businesses, and police needed the support of nearly 4,000 members of the California Army National Guard. There were 34 deaths and over $40 million in property damage. The riots were blamed principally on unemployment, although a later investigation also highlighted police racism. It was the city’s worst unrest until the Rodney King riots of 1992.

What’s this neighborhood like now, a half-century later? See, Watts, 50 Years On, Stands in Contrast to Today’s Conflicts.

On this day in 1919, a founding:

1919 – Green Bay Packers Founded

On this date the Green Bay Packers professional football team was founded during a meeting in the editorial rooms of Green Bay Press-Gazette. On this evening, a score or more of young athletes, called together by Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, gathered in the editorial room on Cherry Street and organized a football team. [Source: Packers.com]

Here’s Puzzability‘s Tuesday game:

This Week’s Game — August 10-14
Logical Deductions
This week, we’re bringing order and disorder at the same time. For each day, we started with a word or phrase, removed the seven letters in LOGICAL, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Greasy stuff used for massage; what masseurs do to the greasy stuff (or, make someone feel worse about something)
Answer:
Lubricating oil; rub it in
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Lubricating oil; rub it in” in the example), for your answer.
Tuesday, August 11
Religious young women who Billy Joel said “start much too late”; central figure in the religion of those young women

Accidents, Birds, Technology

Eagle Attacks Drone

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The drone pilot, from Australia, comments on the encounter:

**Eagle was fine – she was massive, and used talon’s to ‘punch’ the drone out of the sky. Hung around overhead so I got a really good look. Eagle’s health was my main concern also**

This is the last thing a small bird sees when a Wedge-Tailed Eagle decides that you are dinner…

Do not fly drones near birds of prey, they clearly attack seeing you as a threat or the right sized dinner. This will cost you money and potentially harm to the bird. This one was fine.. the drone needed some attention before it could fly again.

If you see a bird of prey while flying. Land. I have added this to my operating procedure.

City, Culture, Liberty, Local Government, New Whitewater, Politics

The (Welcome) End of ‘Big’ in a Small Town

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I don’t think much of the term ‘movers and shakers’ (that a nearby newspaper used to describe supposedly influential people) or ‘big’ people, etc.  The terms almost always exaggerate actual influence. 

I am sure, though, that a combination of diverse social media, the decline of print, the shifting demographics within Whitewater, and the next generation’s unwillingness to be obsequiously deferential dooms the accurate application terms like ‘movers and shakers’ or ‘big’ people.

This is all to the good: Whitewater’s future will be incomparably better when it’s no longer possible (or even believed to be possible) for a few to insist on reserved seats at the political table, at the expense of others. 

The Puritan-like insistence on one city, one culture, one view depends on a willful ignorance of our actual condition: diverse groups, by age, vocation, ethnicity, and ideology. 

The careful, narrow presentations of print publications, or the imitation of the same online, haven’t – for years now – adequately described this city.  The expiration date on that way of thinking passed long ago. 

This thinking lingers because those who push that view benefit from it, by insisting they have a pre-eminent place, and by advancing their work without even simple review. 

Whitewater’s neither a principality nor a banana republic: she’s a small and beautiful city in a beautiful, continental republic.

The undeniable end of ‘big’ is approaching in Whitewater, and it’s a welcome, indeed a very welcome, prospect.  There will be lots of scrapping along the way, but the outcome is assured.

In its place: thousands, different in many ways, but none higher or lower than any other.