Think Warm Thoughts...

I love living in Milwaukee. Now, currently, it may be kind of awful dealing with the winter weather. Facing those below-zero temperatures, lake-effect wind and 20 inches of snow when walking to class can be brutal...but it just makes me nostalgic for summer in Milwaukee.

For me, there are five vital elements to a successful summer in Milwaukee.

1. Warm weather - I'm often surprised at the fact that, despite the fact that I was born and raised in the Chicago area and chose to go to college in Milwaukee, I despise the cold. What's more surprising is that I plan to STAY in the Midwest...Maybe it's because I know how great the summers can be, so I suffer through the bitter winter weather.

2. Great friends - I'm lucky enough to still be a student. This means I get to enjoy my summers, free of classes. Yes, I'll be working (hopefully interning somewhere wonderful), but I still get to enjoy being young. And a summer in Milwaukee is even better when you can surround yourself with great friends who provide fun times.

3. Summerfest - This one is a given. I essentially LIVE on the Summerfest grounds during that week. Great music, great food, and great people enjoying themselves. My favorite part of Summerfest is arriving early in the day to check out the lesser-known bands. I've discovered some really talented artists at Summerfest. Of course, inexpensively seeing my favorite bands is a great perk.

4. Shopping on Brady Street - One of my absolute FAVORITE things to do is spend a day on the east side of the city. There are great second-hand shops, botiques, and antique shops to peruse. The cafes and restaurants are all so delicious. It may be my inner-artist talking, but I am addicted to the creative feel of this side of town. Everything is a piece of art.

5. Jazz in the Park - I love Jazz in the Park because I get to enjoy excellent music, being outdoors and packing a picnic. And very importantly, IT'S FREE! (As a college student, this is a huge plus!)

I Am Waiting

I am waiting for my case to come up
and I am waiting
for a rebirth of wonder
and I am waiting for someone
to really discover America
and wail
and I am waiting
for the discovery
of a new symbolic western fronteir
and I am waiting
for the American Eagle
to really spread its wings
and straighten up and fly right
and I am waiting for the Age of Anxiety
to drop dead
and I am waiting
for the war to be fought
which will make the world safe
for anarchy
and I am waiting for the final withering away
of all governments
and I am perpetually awaiting
a rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for my number to be called
and I am waiting
for the Salvation Army to take over
and I am waiting
for the meek to be bledded
and inherit the earth
without taxes
and I am waiting
for forests and animals
to reclaim the earth as theirs
and I am waiting
for a way to be devised
to destroy all nationalisms
without killing anybody
and I am waiting
for linnets and planets to fall like rain
and I am waiting for lovers and weepers
to lie down together again
in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the great divide to be crossed
and I am anxiously waiting
for the secret of eternal life to be discovered
by an obscure practitioner
and I am waiting
for the storms of life
to be over
and I am waiting to set sail for happiness
and I am waiting
for a reconstructed Mayflower
to reach America
with its picture story and TV rights
sold in advance to the natives
and I am waiting
for the lost music to sound again
in the Lost Continent
in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the day
that maketh all things clear
and I am waiting for reconstruction
for what America did to Tom Sawyer
and I am waiting
for the American Boy
to take off the Beauty's clothes
and get on top of her
and I am waiting
for Alice in Wonderland
to retransmit to me
her total dream of innocence
and I am waiting
for Childe Roland to come
to the final darkest tower
and I am waiting for Aphrodite
to grow live arms
at a final disarmament conference
in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting
to get some intimations
of immortality
by recollecting my early childhood
and I am waiting
for the green mornings to come again
for some strains of unpremeditated art
to shake my typewriter
and I am waiting to write
the great indelible poem
and I am waiting
for the last long rapture
and I am perpetually waiting
for the fleeting lovers on the Grecian Urn
to catch each other at last
and embrace
and I am awaiting
perpetually and forever
a renaissance of wonder

--Lawrence Ferlinghetti