Socks

I have never been one to be fashionable.  If you have doubts just ask my kids or my wife.  My wife at one time, talked about pulling a Marie Barone and getting rid of most of my clothes (or as the fashion conscious would say "wardrobe") in favor of items I guess would be more in style.  For years I would wear standard height socks my white, yes white, tennis shoes, with shorts.  I ended up catching some grief from the aforementioned persons to the point that gifts of the now long-in style low cut socks were provided to me. Of course, it took years of them being in style for me to wear them.  Low cut socks may be stylish, but they are far from practical.   In fact, they probably became fashionable from persons who have little effort to put in outside.

The culprit

For some reason I find my ankles to be rather vulnerable. Wearing long pants and regular height socks to work my ankles our covered for most of the week.  A few incidents recently occurred that prove the problem of the low cut socks.  What is surprising is that there are even lower cut socks than I wear.  The low cut socks I wear are below the ankle bone, but can be seen above the top of the tennis shoes.  Other options that are even lower cut.  Higher cut, standard height socks can better protect the lower part of the leg from injury and weeds.  It was a few weeks ago that I received a cut just above my ankle, and later found it to be infected.  I was then put on antibiotics to cure the infection.  Secondly, this last weekend I was working up in the back part of my yard which is more natural, pulling out some grape vine and other disturbing weeds and invasive species (think garlic mustard).  Moving through the area I kept pulling weeds.  After pulling weeds, I made my way to the garage to get to work on something else and my wife comes down to tell me that she noticed some poison ivy right where I had been.  I went in the house and washed my ankles, legs and hands with soap and water.  However, if I had normal height socks, the issue may never have arisen (although the oil from poison ivy can stay on clothes and be transferred from clothing), as my ankles would have been protected.  A third occurrence, on the same day as my tromp through poison ivy laced vegetation,  involved brush.  I gathered brush to take to the drop off site (along with the pulled weeds for composting).  To get the brush to fit in the vehicle I needed to cut it up more, and stomp on it to reduce its mass.  This work can also do a number on the ankles.  Fortunately, scratches were kept to a minimum.  Finally, there are mosquito bites.  For some reason, perhaps the tenderness (i.e.vulnerability) of ankle skin they are quite bothersome when on the ankle. 

Yes, ankle protecting socks

Of course, one would say I should dress appropriately for the work.  The problem is I had generally planned to relax, but wanted to check flowers and vegetables I had planted to see if they needed to be watered, and that brought me to the weeds.  So, you guessed it, one thing led to another, and the next thing I am pulling weeds, gathering brush and getting mosquito bites.  To be properly prepared for the yard work, I now realize, I should have put on higher rise socks to cover the ankle. 

Reminds me of the 70's

Low rise socks are for show, not for yard work.  This may be more a commentary on contemporary life and fashion where yard work is now often a secondary consideration.  Fashion outdoes practicality.  The low rise socks may work well at a summer picnic or as one traverses a concrete jungle, but they do little to provide protection for work in the yard.  It is very easy for me to set fashion aside.  In fact, I could go back to wearing higher level socks, as that would fit my standard fashion method where I am well ahead of the fashion trends.  Many believe, as does my spouse, that I am well behind the times.  I find fashion to be cyclical in many respects and wearing white socks above the ankle will come back into style someday.  It is not if, but when.  I would be happy to start yet another trend by wearing white socks.  I will admit that I was late to the trend of low rise socks, so I might as well be the leader on a move back to high rise socks.  

Free-range

If you are into health foods you probably understand the term "free-range" as it applies to animals, in particular beef and poultry, who are let to roam pastures to their udder delight.  Yet, the term also applies to children.  Free-range parenting was coined about ten years ago and those in the urban planning field have used the term.  Three experiences this past weekend made me think of free-range children.  However, let me give an explanation of what free-range children (parenting) consists.  It is a concept, as one news article explained, that giving children the freedom to do things alone--explore a playground, ride a bike as examples--makes them healthier, happier, and more resilient.

For too many years, some argue, the opposite has been happening to our children.  Think Helicopter parents.  Decision making can be difficult, but we all know that independent thinking can lead to problems, but mistakes are also a learning experience.  I think back to parents on our block who would drive their child the two blocks to school.  I could understand if the weather was bad, but not every day as they did.  Combined with the unwarranted grade configuration, the school just behind my home had to spend more than $250,000 a few years ago in an attempt to improve parental drop offs, and in the mean time add a four way stop, that for all but two times a day during school days for ten minutes, is nothing but a waste of gasoline and time. The solution, in my opinion, made the problem worse.   Too many parents refuse to allow their children to walk or bike to school, such that the amount who walk or bike to school is significantly less than it was in  the 1960's.  I suspect the standard suburban style of development, with the great distances between homes and schools enters into the equation.  I blogged about this, through a series of three different 2014 posts different posts which you can find here,  here, and here.

Apparently only some parenting styles are appropriate

Of the three events over the weekend, one was nostalgic and the other two were real life. First, two young boys live next door one a kindergartner, and the other a third grader.  While talking to their mom about the poor site design of the school addition behind us and lamenting the auto-centric, green space devouring design (she is a trained Landscape Architect, and her husband is a practicing LA, so we kind of speak the same language), she noted the mom of child who is friends with her oldest asked if it would be alright if her son biked a few blocks to visit this summer.  My neighbor quickly agreed that would be fine.  She understands the concept of free-range parenting.

The Sandlot Gang

Of course some decisions can have negative consequences, which leads to the second example.  Friday night of last week at Fitchburg Days a large group of what I heard were rival gangs gathered and started fighting.  A co-worker saw the multitudes, after the altercation, being led by police north bound into the city of Madison.  This was later at night, which shows the importance of proper parental skills.  Utah, the first state to make it legal to allow you child to roam around, states it is not "neglectful to let well-cared for children" travel about.  The problem is why should it have been illegal in the first place.  Those boys made poor decisions, and hopefully it will be a learning experience.  Of course, social media, from what the Fitchburg police department says, allows much quicker response of gang gathering than in the past.

 Squints Palledorous is not on the left.  That is me showing how I
was well ahead of the time in my choice of glass frames

Finally, Sunday evening my wife and I watched "The Sandlot" a story of boys, who play baseball together.  My second of the three posts in 2014 related back to this movie.  I commented to my neighbor last Friday, and later to my spouse, how unfortunate it is that children don't really play pick up games, or get around town any more but for in a car. For the 27 years I have lived behind the school with its (now past) baseball diamond and open sport field and I only recall one, yes just one, pick up game, in which I was not involved.  Children have not only become over scheduled, but they do they learn key skills with all organized activities.  For example, is there a lack of dispute resolution since everything they participate in is refereed?  Even when the nine boys who played in "The Sandlot" had a game against a well outfitted little league team there were no referees, they had to resolve the calls and disputes themselves.  As a child we played a great deal of softball in our big field at home, and had to resolve disputes as well.  At times a few fights broke out, but they would be forgotten a few minutes later.  We had our share of do-overs, as the main mediation tool.  Not all things went well in the movie "The Sandlot".  First, Squints faked drowning to kiss the lifeguard, and there was the time the boys used chewing tobacco and became sick and threw up while on a carnival ride.  (The first link is 4 minutes, the second less than 3 if you care to watch videos of the two scenes.)  Let me say, while I had glasses similar to those Squints wears, I would never have pulled such a stunt.

Stand By Me 

"The Sandlot" is about young boys coming of age and growing up, not unlike the movie "Stand By Me."  While I would not be allowed to leave home for a night without telling my parents, as occurred in "Stand By Me", they gave us plenty of apron string, so to speak.  We would explore the creek behind our house by going upstream or down; we would explore a former wooded hill that is now a subdivision called Carriage Hills.  We would bike to friends on the other side of town using a collector streets, even state highways, in Sun Prairie.  We even biked to a friend who lived in a rural subdivision.  I am sure there were times I got lost, but I always found my way home.  Maybe that is why I studied geography, since a geographer is never lost they are simply exploring new territory.  Getting lost, made you think about where you had been.  And surprise, surprise, I did not even have a smart phone to use Google Maps.  My wife commented that I probably like these movies since they remind me of my childhood.  She is correct.  Growing up in a small community, from a large family there was always someone that knew you.  A Hovel boy was easily recognized.  Realizing hind sight is 20/20, I look back and do think it was a great time to be a child. 

Children are not in constant danger by walking or biking, or going to the park. Is parental supervision always required?  Actually, the way things are going, there may be more danger in being in school than in walking or biking to school.  Children need to learn independence, and allowing them to explore helps their minds and teaches them different skills.  Free-range parenting, I suspect, will not only improve the health of children, but also their mental health.  Of course, discretion on time of day, location and other factors comes into play.  It certainly seems that free-range children cannot be any worse than those children that are cooped up and over-scheduled.   Don't our children deserve a better way to learn and gain independence?  In real life there is not always a referee.  Hey, I think I turned out pretty good, although perhaps those who know me may beg to differ.

Larry and Me

Larry Bucket is one of the featured characters in the cartoon “Buckets”.  Larry and I have something in common, my wife is a school nurse, and his wife was once a school nurse.  Sometimes, I feel like Larry Bucket. In the cartoon strip, see image below, Larry has asked his wife what could be wrong with his leg.  His wife, as a wife will sometimes do, asks rather sarcastically how she should know.   Larry points out that she was a school nurse. She then says, she will get him all fixed up and calls his parents.  I pointed this cartoon out to my wife, and she loved it so much she took it to school to show coworkers.

"Buckets" Comic Strip, from the WI State Journal

As the days go on, Larry’s wife had reason to be concerned and may now wish that she was not so flippant—for Larry ends up in the hospital with blood clots. Blood clots can be deadly.  Several days later (real time and comic strip time) he is still in the hospital. I pointed some of the following strips out to my wife, and with her fastidious nature she pointed out that some of what was occurring was not likely, from a medical standpoint, to occur.  Recently, about a week after having received a cut while working in the garden and doing yard work, a large red area appeared at the cut area. About an inch or more in diameter, with some mounding at the wound site, I was generally ignoring it, until my son commented on it during his short Mother’s Day visit. Later in the morning my wife looked at the sore, marked its extent on my leg with a magic marker, and indicated that some heat should be put on the wound. At varied times through a cloudy and cool Mother’s Day I sat with my leg up and first a warm moist compress, and then simply heat without the moisture. Looking at the wound in the latter part of the afternoon,  my live-in nurse had me squeeze the wound to see what happened. Some puss followed by a sliver came out. Of course, being the nurse that she is she had to squeeze it herself, and squeeze she did, with much greater emphasis than my squeeze.  I then put some hydrogen peroxide, waited until it dried and placed a band aid with antibiotic ointment on the wound.

The next morning I asked her to take a look at the wound.  She noted that she would look at it again at the end of the day when I arrived home from work. As the old sexist saying goes, it is a women’s prerogative to change her mind, and she quickly did so. She instead suggested that I call and see if I can be seen that day. Now, she wanted to avoid a trip to the ER late in the day if it looked bad, but I really think she was thinking of Larry Bucket. Unlike Larry both of my parents are deceased, so no call can be made to them. Instead she is the first point of contact, and she likely realized unlike Larry’s wife who could call his parents, she would have to call herself. Try to imagine that conversation.  To my surprise I received an appointment in the first part of the morning. A culture was taken and prescription provided. After two doses that day, the next morning the wound looked more purple to me, but my wife looked pleased about how the treatment was coming along. The best part is that the PA that saw me had worked with my spouse at Meriter Hospital. I explained what my nurse-wife told me to do—heat and raised leg, and said she was a nurse who worked had worked with him at Meriter. He then knew who I was talking about. He told me what medicine he was prescribing, to keep a band aid, although no time frame. Why no time frame? Well, he made this comment: "have Toni look at it a couple times a day, I trust her judgement." 

As Larry Bucket sits in a hospital bed as the medical staff tries to dissolve blood clots in his body, I can sit at home and type this blog post. While my wife is a school nurse, as Larry’s wife was, they each took two different approaches. Regardless of what my wife says, I still think she had me call the doctor’s office to avoid having to call herself.  

Looking Down

In the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" Andy Dufresne, a banker who had been wrongly convicted of murder takes the Warden's shoes to wear after his escape.  Elllis Boyd (Morgan Freeman) in his narration of the events comments:  "Seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes."   I think we are generally trained to look ahead and up, but how often do we really look down to appreciate what what we see?  When hiking uneven terrain we often look down so as to not trip.  Yet, in everyday urban life we may see the ground, but often fail to appreciate what it holds for us.

Me with TC

We go about our daily life and may see something interesting on the ground or the floor, and even if we notice it, it is but given little thought, since it, well, the ground or pavement.  What we may miss is art.  I recall the first time I visited the Great Hall at Saint John's and really thought of how neat the wood floor was, consisting of blocks of wood with the end grain side up.  A much larger chore of installation than use of wood planks.  I think my when I commented to my wife about the floor, she noted that both she and my son expected me to comment on the floor. They too noticed the floor, but I don't think it held the same fascination as it did for me.   Cathedrals have floors that are works of art, and so too do some areas of everyday life.

Minneapolis Manhole Cover

Last weekend, in a trip to Minneapolis we came across a few areas of public art.  Some of which were in the sidewalk.  Public art can be mundane or nondescript, it can excite the senses, it may be downright odd, creepy, or it can be controversial.  It may do one or more than one of these things to a particular viewer, but it is present to at least grab our attention for a brief, or longer moment.
The public art movement has been assisted by varied agencies, including the federal government which, for many years now, has allowed the use of what is called enhancement funds to make our national byways more appealing.  One can particularly see this on some newer bridges and overpasses.  The faux stone, and other enhancements some designer decided to use was to make the driving experience more pleasurable.  Madison has a logo on many of their newer overpasses.

Roman Manhole Cover, Gerash, Jordan (2013)
Probably dates from 63 BC to 130 AD

Perhaps being a city planner, I may tend to take notice of street furniture and public art more than others.  These furnishings and art work enhance and add interest to what we call the public realm, the street, sidewalks, terraces and front yards that are between building face to building face.  In an urban setting the enjoyment one gains from walking a street is to add to the urban experience.  In Minneapolis, things are different, the store fronts may be at the second, sky-walk level, rather than ground level, although some stores do both.

Sidewalk Art in Minneapolis

Outside Target Field, while on way to a Twins professional baseball game, there were some statues.  One statute was of TC, the bear who is the Twin's mascot.  Why they don't have two, or twin bears as the mascot is a good question, but there is only one bear.  I did stop, however, and had to have some fun by having a photograph taken with the TC statue. I was not the only adult getting a photo with a bear statute, I may have been the oldest, but not the only.  I wonder who gets photographed more, TC or the Mary Tyler Moore statute?  Funny, what a sitcom can do for a city, Minneapolis has MTM, and Milwaukee has the Fonz.  MTM recognizes the millennial, young professional nature of Minneapolis, and the Fonz foretold a story of working class America at the height of its manufacturing prowess. 

More Minneapolis Sidewalk Art

Walking to catch the bus I noticed art work embedded in the sidewalk, and on manhole (or for the gender neutral types:  maintenance hole covers.  Finding art on manhole covers is not new, it has been around since Roman times, when in Rome, they may have been emblazoned with SPQR (The Senate and People of Rome).  Many cities have their own standard form now often sporting their city logo.  A ground version of what Madison places on the bridge.  But, what is not generally seen is the art work embedded in the sidewalk.  This was not standard pavement changes of texture or color to add interest.  On our short trek to the bus stop I saw concrete sidewalk art in two locations.  Of course, I had to photograph this art work, which is stepped on, plowed, swept, and, being in an urban area, spat upon.  While I was getting photographs, the others in the group marched ahead oblivious to my interest, or more likely thinking I am a bit odd for taking photographs of a paved surface.  I don't think they found the sidewalk art as interesting as did I.  Would they have walked by Bert's sidewalk chalk art in Mary Poppins?  Or would Bert's use of colors have drawn them into a magical world with merry-go-rounds, and tea?

If you look down at the ground all the time
you can miss some pretty neat things, too

Being in an urban area, there are buses.  Having photographed one piece of sidewalk art, and hurried to catch up with my group when I stepped into the bus lane.  My wife said I was almost hit by the oncoming bus.   I say, I saw it stopping.  This little tidbit is only included to please my wife, since she knew a blog post was coming and she said, "when you write your blog don't forget to mention how you were almost hit by a bus after photographing a sidewalk."  I not only look to always please my wife, but to also obey.

2000 + year old Roman Road, Gerash, Jordan (2013)
The Romans knew something about the public realm

As one walks it may well do to pay attention to the little things.  You may find some artwork or store front that pleases, or you find unique.  You may come across something that will brighten your day.  Or, you may be enraged, but art work is not meant to always be antiseptic and appeal to the masses like TC, it can be weird, like the Nails' Tales art work near the UW Field House  and Camp Randall Stadium.  Or, you may come across some art work in the ground, at shoe level, where Ellis says few seem to look, or really appreciate what they see.  After all, we walk on the ground and know where we walk.