Not Everyone has a Story
And sometimes not having a story is the story.
Let me give you an example.
Today was a day so busy – everyone moving to or from something, and even the gathered groups in waiting are in stasis, with any outsider’s approach treated as an interruption – that the person most…
A Knock at the Door
Knocking once, Blake calmly sings out, “Rooooom ser-vice.”
Silence. Through the door, we can hear the sound of a television. Blake raises his hand slightly, the one that isn’t balancing a tray, considers knocking again when a voice comes from within, “Just a minute.”
The door opens. “Evening…
Finding Your Roots in Milwaukee
Joe, the newest addition to the lobby bartending staff, is standing behind the green marble countertop, polishing a glass; his black pants, stiff white tuxedo shirt and black vest with gold-threaded “ThePfister” monogram crisp in its newness. “I just had the best calamari in the city,” he says, “at…
Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap
Milwaukee is hot with Brewers fever right now. Skyscrapers have windows lit up in a pattern that reads “GO MB!” and the scrolling signs on the fronts of the city buses stream route numbers alternating with “Go Milwaukee Brewers!” Sculptured sheep that graze peacefully in empty storefronts now wear team…
Dinner for Books
“Life is a bunch of crazy!” interjects the young man seated across from me at a table in one of the back rooms of Mason Street Grill, as he shakes his head with slow acceptance of this fact. Nate, 14, is the son of one of the dinner guests, herself…
Relakin
In Colorado, you have “relatives” and in Kentucky you have “kin.” So what happens when a group of people from both states work together and play together so often they consider each other family? Well, the Colorado folk now have kin, and the Kentucky folk now have relatives! And what…
The Turk’s Head
Jimmy McManus sits at a table in the lobby bar, having a beer. He’s heavily bearded, gruff and scruffy, in a t-shirt featuring a skull & crossbones, drinking a nice pint of beer. His appearance indicate you might not want to run into him in a dark alley…
Feeling Famous
When hearing a front desk employee greet a savvily dressed guest, it’s hard not to wonder, “who is that?” and lunge for a newspaper, cross-referencing to see if it might be a celebrity. It’s no secret that the Pfister is one of the hotels of distinction for…
Made in Milwaukee, Found in the Pfister
A foursome of guests was querying Roc, the concierge, about what to check out nearby the Pfister today. He shared with them a few restaurants and then suggested they check out a little festival in its third year, called “Made in Milwaukee.” Featuring local bands, local food and libations, as…
Honor
The sort of gentleman who would be described as “distinguished,” John Harris is 67 years old, though I told him he doesn’t look a day over 61. Straight-backed, and impeccably dressed in a tailored suit for the wedding he’s here to attend, John drapes both his hands…
Fall Right Through
Gwen and Adam are seeing their daughter off to college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. They’re in town to help their daughter settle in to her new life here, as well as renovate a cottage near Oconomowoc for future visits. Originally from Waukesha, Gwen met Adam, an Ohio…
Who Let the Dogs In?
One morning as I enjoyed breakfast with a writer friend in the Café, talking books and playing cribbage, I watched a compact car pull up to the valet; hanging out the back window was the enormous, shaggy, tri-color head that’s signature to the Bernese Mountain Dog. A little…
To Walk or To Ride?
There was a steaming mist in all the hollows, and it had roamed in its forlornness up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none. A clammy and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples that visibly followed and overspread one…
Something borrowed, something blue
Summers in Milwaukee are made for weddings, with blue skies, light lake breezes and sunshine peering through drifting white, fluffy clouds. Any picturesque historic locale books up far in advance, even in a mid-size city like Milwaukee. There’s a lot of competition options for weddings in this town…
Something Old, Something New
I recently got to get acquainted with a freelance marketer, sports journalist and travel blogger from Texas named Jayme Lamm, who I met at the Pfister because Jayme was connected with the Astros and had heard about how wonderful it was from both the tour and booking managers for the…
History in the Air (Pt. 2)
<continued from Part 1>
“Every Sunday – it was a must – they’d take walks together, down to the lake. There wasn’t a house or building there, it was all grass. Just imagine how beautiful that was. One time they were walking through an alley together, as a…
History in the Air (Pt. 1)
“Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” -Theodore Roosevelt
I park in front of the Bay View home of Eleanore Hinich, admiring…
9 o’clock on a Saturday
While the evening was waning for most of Gallery Night attendees in the Third Ward — and elsewhere around the city — in the main ballroom off the Pfister lobby, Rouge, the party was just beginning. In the center of the room, quite literally taking main stage, was a set-up ready…
Games People Play
There’s a clattering sound that breaks into the still, Sunday afternoon quiet of the lobby lounge. It’s startling, but muted enough that nobody else turns to look. When I do look, I see wooden blocks, scattered over the top of one of the lobby tables, as three young…
Things That Make You Go “Mmmm!”
I’m standing with one of the bellmen at the main entrance when a hotel events coordinator approaches to let the young man know about an important arrival: 30 boxes of cookies that will need to go immediately into a refrigerator, so she needs to be notified as soon as…
writersblockwritersblock…or, not.
Recently, I got to sit down and have a thoroughly engaging conversation with several people about the nature of art and creative economy, of how to meld creative non-profit ventures with for-profit results – as it pertains to the artist (and now writer) residencies that the Pfister hosts.
One…
Making Music
A couple recently told me that playing cribbage was part of their secret to a long, happy marriage.
After being married for thirty years, “there are only so many TV shows you can share,” said Tim and B.C. as we sat with crisp, cool drinks in hand, waiting out…
Coming Together
Floating around the room, dressed in white linen, her red curls a striking contrast to the layers of turquoise, jade and green crystal beads that encircle her neck and dangle from her ears. She slices pieces from two birthday cakes, after being serenaded by a gallery full of friends, new…
Summer in the City. . . of Festivals
It’s summer in Milwaukee. Finally. We know the calendar has said it’s summer for some time now, but the weather simply hasn’t cooperated, as evidenced by the city’s wavering between the wet, cold of March and the hottest, most humid dog days of August. Not only…
A World Away (or, just down the hall)
While the lobby bar hosts an array of Monday night businessmen having a casual beer and some mixed nuts with colleagues, buoyed by a soundtrack of classical and jazz piano tunes, just down the hall and through a set of doors is the entrance to the Mason Street Grill. It…
