A very thirsty generation

It seems to me many in the under-30 generation might be the thirstiest Americans in our nation’s history.

If the World War II-era of American’s was the nation’s “greatest” as many believe, then the current crop of young Americans might one day be labeled America’s most hydrated, based on direct but unscientific  observations I made while working at a public high school and a public library.
 
The young people I see at both sites typically carry containers of water with them throughout the day. Some carry 12-ounce plastic bottles, others walk with 32-ounce containers of various design. And some haul gallon-size jugs of water. I regularly see one library patron with a gallon-size container she fills and empties twice in a five-hour period.
 
I’m not being critical of the practice. If you’re thirsty, drink. Better to drink water than soda or a sugary sports drink. And that’s just what Americans are doing, according to a Reuter’s report from earlier this year, which stated Americans consumed more bottled water than soda in 2016, about one million more gallons than soda, a first for U.S. consumers.
 
So if younger Americans want water, I’m fine with that, but I am amazed anyone can consume as much as a gallon or two of water in one day. If I drank a gallon of water each day, I’d put serious stress on my digestive track and would spend most of the day visiting the bathroom.
 
I am a bit concerned about the amount of water many young people carry with them each day. Looking at the size of the containers some carry around, you’d think they were hiking across isolated terrain, remote from any source of safe water.  The exact opposite is the case. The library and the school each have water coolers available in many locations. The library’s water coolers even include a station that allows individuals to refill their personal water containers.
 
I’m probably making more of this than necessary. If parents, educators and health experts aren’t concerned about the amount of water young people carry around and consume each day, why should I be worked up, right? I just wonder how much water this generation will consume  over the next 20 years, and how exactly will this generation react if their water supply is ever disrupted?

— Thank you for reading. Please follow me at sagacioussenior@twitter.com, and like me on Facebook at Fox Valley Notes. 
Kevin Botterman

Lucky all these years or truly blessed?

I don't consider myself a superstitious person, but I learned today I was practicing one superstition wrong for many years.


I pick up pennies and other coins from the ground whenever I come across them, for good luck. It's something I've done for so long I can't remember when I started the habit.  I'm not a big believer in luck, and I am not a follower of superstitious thought. I avoid walking under ladders, but that's just good sense. I don't throw salt over my shoulder, and I am not afraid of black cats.


I came across a penny this morning at work, and bent over to pick it up. A coworker stopped me and asked if the coin was facing "heads" up or was I seeing the "tail"? I took a closer look and reported seeing the tail. My coworker insisted I leave the coin on the floor and walk away from it. I should only pick up coins when the "head" was facing up, he advised. "Those are the lucky ones," he assured me.


I had not heard his version of lucky coins before, but didn't challenge it. My immediate thought was he might be right. My lucky cup hasn't been overflowing with good fortune, I thought, even though I have picked up coins of all types for decades. 


The more I thought about my friend's view of lucky coins, the more I realized that my fortune has been pretty good over the years. And the more I thought about, the more I realized how truly blessed, not lucky, I've been.


I've been blessed with good health most of my years. I enjoy safe shelter, I am surrounded by people I love and admire, and I have plenty to eat. I enjoy many common comforts, and the people I love enjoy good health. I'm doing pretty well, by most standards. Yes, many are doing much better based upon society's measurements, but a great many more are not as well off as me.


I give thanks for each of my many blessings, and I will continue to pick up coins without worrying which side is facing up.

These are the things I ponder as I travel a westward road. 

—Thank you for reading. Please email questions and comments to kbotterman@hotmail.com.

A sacred ritual and the march of time

 

 

Pastor Steve baptized a baby girl at the start of our worship service this morning, and the congregation welcomed her in to the Christian community.

I always enjoy watching a baptism being performed. I find a sense of peace and joy in witnessing a simple, but enduring tradition that binds families and generations. The ritual is one of those symbolic threads that winds its way through time and across centuries.

Time and its passing is what I was thinking about as I watched today’s service. I was moved by the memories of my daughter’s baptism in January of 1996. Family members, immediate and extended, joined us in celebrating Meg’s baptism. Aunts, grandmothers, uncles, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins, and many close friends crowded into our small house for the special occasion.

Meg is completing her final year at college and will graduate in May. I thought about that and the many other special dates that marked Meg’s journey from childhood to adulthood. Once again I was humbled my time’s swift passing and awed by the many blessings I have witnessed through my daughter. And life is good.




Thanks for reading. Send comments and questions to kbotterman@hotmail.com.

Another look at Dean Jagger's outstanding work

Dean Jagger, above, in "Twelve O'Clock High".

I believe a solid supporting cast can be the difference between a good movie and a great film, and the late Dean Jagger is a fine example of what a strong supporting actor can add to a production.

Jagger died in 1991 at the age of 87. His first movie appearance was in 1929, and his last acting credit was a 1985 appearance on TV’s “St. Elsewhere”, according to IMDB.com. During the years in between, Jagger appeared in a variety of movies, receiving his first major role in “Brigham Young”, a 1940 bio-pic. He frequently portrayed quiet men, ones struggling with a moral challenge. He often portrayed characters older than his real age and seemed to be in his senior years for most of his acting career.

He won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance as Major Stovall in director Henry King’s 1949 production of “Twelve O’Clock High". Jagger’s Stovall is the efficient, but good-hearted executive officer of a hard-luck B-17 bomber group being whipped back into fighting shape by the relentless Gen. Savage (Gregory Peck). The film stands the test of time, I think, because of Jagger’s work and the film’s supporting cast, which included Hugh Marlowe, Gary Merrill, Robert Arthur, John Kellogg, and Millard Mitchell.

Jagger delivered impressive performances in movie roles and in TV appearances. Here are a few of my favorites:

White Christmas (1954) - The popular singing duo of Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) plan a surprise reunion and show to help retired Major Gen. Thomas Waverly (Jagger), their commander during World War II. The movie is a Christmas classic, and Jagger is engaging as the grouchy old man.

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) - Spencer Tracy leads a talented cast in director John Sturges’ stark tale about a small town with a dark secret. In addition to Jagger, the supporting cast includes Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Anne Francis, and Walter Brennan. The film runs less than 90 minutes, but Sturges manages to pack more drama and grit into his production than many of today’s directors work into a cable TV series. And it’s great fun watching Tracy’s character beat hell out of Borgnine’s brutish Coley Trimble.

Elmer Gantry (1960) - Jagger joins Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley Jones, Hugh Marlowe, Patti Page and Edward Andrews in director Richard Brooks’ robust tale about a traveling salesman who becomes a fiery preacher. The supporting cast provides nice balance to Lancaster’s domineering performance in the lead role.

Denver and Rio Grande (1952) - Westerns were reliable productions for Hollywood for more than 40 years and were popular with audiences. The productions featured actors of diverse backgrounds and skills. Jagger appeared in several westerns, some good, some bad. “Denver and Rio Grande is one of his better westerns, and he fills another supporting role. Edmond O’Brien and Sterling Hayden lead a cast that also includes J. Carrol Naish, Kasey Roger and Lyle Bettger.

Jagger also performed in many TV shows, including Mr. Novak, The Twilight Zone, the Partridge Family, Columbo, and Hunter.

--Thanks for reading. Email questions and comments to kbotterman@gmail.com. 

One last look at what I enjoyed most in 2016

Before we get too deep into 2017, I wanted to take a few minutes to identify some of the people, places and things I enjoyed during 2016.

It’s a humble list, but here goes.

• I enjoyed a road trip Lori and I took in June to visit Lori’s sister and her family in Austin, Texas. We saw a lot of Texas, a fair amount of Missouri, and portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma. I enjoyed every aspect of the journey, most particularly the time we spent with Lori’s family.
  

• I enjoyed bringing Otto into our home. We adopted Otto, a minature Pinscher, in December. The Kane County Department of Animal Control took custody of Otto in late September, after a he was found in western Kane County, apparently abandoned by his previous owner. The department’s staff took excellent care of Otto, and he has been a wonderful addition to our family.

• I enjoyed watching the Cubs win the World Series. I have followed the Cubs for nearly all of my 55 years and enjoyed the team’s play throughout the 2016 season and its post-season run to the championship. All along the way, right through Game 7, I was aware that I was witnessing something my grandfather, my father, my uncle, two of brothers and countless other Cubs fans never saw during their lifetimes. And that made the experience all the more meaningful for me.

• Family Weekend in September at Easter Illinois University. Lori and I drove to EIU on a warm and sunny Saturday, arriving just in time for the start of the tailgate party before the football game. We met many of my daughter’s sorority sisters and their parents. We enjoyed taking to dinner a few of the girls whose parents could not attend, and we toured a few of the bars popular with the students. The visit was too short, but we enjoyed the time spent with my daughter and her friends, and had safe journey home.

• I enjoyed following Western Michigan University’s 13-1 football season, including the team's  win in the conference championship and its subsequent appearance in the Cotton Bowl, where WMU suffered its only loss of the season. As I write this, P.J. Fleck, who coached the Broncos, is settling in to his new role as head coach at the University of Minnesota. Good luck in the new job, coach.

• I enjoyed reading several good books, including “Target Tokyo” by James Scott, “The Gentleman from Illinois” by the late Alan Dixon, and “My Antonia” by Willa Cather.

• I enjoyed serving as one of the two aldermen representing the Fifth Ward on the Batavia City Council. I enjoyed the privilege of representing my neighbors and voting on measures in good faith and in what I believed was in the city’s best interest. I am particularly proud of my votes in opposition to the proposed Shodeen project and the purchases made in connection to it.

• I enjoyed walking my little dog, Betty, at Batavia’s Engstrom Park. We’re not sure of Betty’s age. She was a rescue, and her doctor can only estimate her age, which he supposes might be 12 or 13, making her a senior citizen in dog years. Despite her years, Betty still has a lot of energy and pep in her. She showed it during every visit to the park. I always enjoy watching her run and often imagine the kind of puppy she might have been had her life circumstances been better during her early years. Of course, if her circumstances had been better, she probably wouldn’t be in my life today.

• I enjoyed good health and the opportunity it provides to complete a variety of routine but pleasant activities, including shopping at the local Woodman’s store, preparing meals with my wife, evening walks, bike rides and trimming trees on the grounds of the church I attend. All of these simple things made my life more enjoyable in 2016. And they are some of the memories I carry as I walk my westward road.

— Thank you for reading. Email comments to kbotterman@gmail.com.

Putting 2016 in the rearview mirror

We celebrate Christmas through the epiphany at my house, so we spent January 8 taking down and packing away our Christmas decorations.

Boxing up ornaments and holidays can be something of a depressing task, particularly if its done alone. I know this from previous experience. Lori joined me in the task this year, and we completed the work in about two hours.

The project provided an opportunity for Lori and I to reflect on the holiday season and the year that was 2016. We inventoried the many blessings we enjoyed, large and small, and concluded 2016 really was a pretty good year for us. 

We worked, we traveled to visit relatives, we enjoyed some TV shows, we liked the movies we saw at the theater, we read several good books, shared savory meals with family and friends, and expanded our family of dogs from one to two when we adopted Otto in December.

We had more victories than setbacks during the year. We welcomed some new friends and offered a final goodbye to a few others. We ended the year  with the same number of family members we had at the beginning of 2016, and having experienced the loss of loved ones in years past, we are grateful for that accomplishment.

Our wins outnumbered our losses, and the Cubs won the World Series. It was a good year. We enter 2017 with a sincere appreciation for the things we believe are essential — family, health, food, shelter, faith and hope.

These are the things I thought about as I packed away the holiday decorations and pondered what might await us in 2017. And the adventure continues on my westward road.


— Thank you for reading. Email comments to kbotterman@gmail.com.