TGIF! presents....Level 42's "Something About You"!

Remember this tune? (For Tom)

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Retro. College ID card.

Not sure what year this was. 1982-86. Much of it's a blur.

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Ginkgo leaf.

First time I ever heard of this leaf - and the tree - was at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, my alma mater.

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UW-Whitewater = Division III National Champs!

Congratulations, Warhawks! My alma mater took it to Mount Union and won the Division III National Championship last night, 38-28. Whitewater also won the title in 2007.

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"Quelli sono le polpette di carne!"

"Now that's a lot a meatballs!" Loose translation. (Thanks, Marisa.) I was privy to a traditional Italian feast Saturday evening. Arrived at our hosts at around 6 p.m. - ate at 9 p.m. Hey, that's the Italian way! Great food. Great people. Americana-style, as my best friend Tom says about the town where he and his family live...Wheaton, IL. And I've have to agree.

Wheaton has 63 churches within its limits, "more churches per capita than any town in America." It's home to Wheaton College, with Reverend Billy Graham connections, who happens to be an alumnus. Brothers James Belushi, John Belushi, director Wes Craven, journalist Bob Woodward, footballer Red Grange, Janet Pilgrim (Playmate centerfold three times in 1955 and 1956), actress Gail O'Grady. footballer Chuck Long and Edwin Hubble (the telescope) all call Wheaton "home".

Spent the weekend before last in Wheaton with Tom, Denise, Jacob and Joseph, my first visit to Wheaton since moving back to Wisconsin from Cali in September. And a busy weekend it was. Click on READ MORE! for a couple more pix.

Here are pix from the Kazar visit in May - same people present this time around (Tom, Denise and Aurora).

The oldest - Jacob, and Tom.

Jacob (orange jersey) playing club lacrosse.

Denise made this lickety split Friday night. Aurora came over and the four of us drank wine and talked.

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My alma mater wins 5th consec. football championship. GO WARHAWKS!

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team wrapped up its fifth consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegdiate Athletic Conference title and the league's automatic berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championship playoffs with a 40-7 win over UW-Oshkosh in Perkins Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Warhawk football team's run of five consecutive league championships is the second longest streak since the WIAC crowned its first champion in 1913 (UW-La Crosse, six, 1949-54) and the second longest for any sport in UW-Whitewater history (wrestling, 19074-80). GO WARHAWKS!

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A '54 Chevy and Jim & Jeff at UW-Whitewater.

Saw this 1954 Chevy pickup truck on my 5-mile walk around Culver City yesterday. Reminded me of my close friend, Jim Sickels.

I met Jim at college - it was my sophomore year and I had just become an RA (resident assistant). Here's a photo of him in an early blog post when I first started PASSION = TRUTH. I could tell you a hundred stories, all too lengthy and too much fun. We were RA's in Lee Hall, an all-male dorm and we thought we were the cocks of the walk. Save your pity...we had two all-female dorms in our immediate quad so it wasn't like we were without female company. And we were RA's, which meant we knew a lot of people all over campus. I introduced Jim to his current wife, Sandy. Stood up in their wedding - 19 or 20 years ago now. Jim and I remain as close today.

Anyway, he had a truck exactly like this. We used to tool around Whitewater getting into all sorts of trouble. In the winter, we'd drive through town and Jim and I would hunt down students walking to class. He'd pull over as far as he could in the right lane - just enough so that his tires would plow through the slush that had accumulated off to the side of the road. If he hit it just right, we had the luxury of turning around to see a wall of slush cascade onto the sidewalk and onto a student passing by. But the timing was crucial. We revelled in seeing some poor sonofabitch flipping us off. Good times. Come on...it was college.

We'd also take the truck into the Kettle Moraine State Forest and Jim would purposely drive the truck into a snow bank in order to get us stuck. Then we'd spend however long it took to dig the truck out of the snow. More good times. And when the weather was nice - particularly in the fall - we'd take the truck back in the Kettle Moraine, set up a card table with tea and smokes and study in the woods.

Ahhhhh....youth. Thanks, buddy, for all those memories. Jim's not the type of guy to hug another guy-friend. Or say "I love you" to a guy. Wasn't raised that way. Doesn't mean he doesn't "love" you - it' s just that his handshake means the same thing. But I'll say it here - I love you, Jim. My world would be empty without you.

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"TANSTAAFL" schmanstaafl.

I hated taking Economics in college. I received a "C" and "D" in Econ 101 and 102, respectively. And I was lucky to get the "D". I was failing the course and my professor said, "Jeff, you need to get a high "B" on the final just to get a D". Really? Well if I'm failing the course, how in the hell did I think I was gonna get a high "B" on the final? I can't take this class again...

But I got that high "B". Jim Sickels and I crammed for days. We were RA's at the time (and are still close) so we had the run of the dormitory. We locked ourselves in an empty room in the basement and didn't come out for days. Smoked, drank tea, shot the shit, no showers and studied our asses off.

So it shouldn't be a surprise to me that one of the only economic terms I recall from Econ 101 and 102 is, "TANSTAAFL". It means, "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch". And even that term is bullshit and I'll tell you why.

I ordered a shirt just like this for my friend Donovan's birthday...in October. NBC sent me a small instead of a large. Now I might have made a mistake but I haven't worn a "small" since I was a child. I sent it back. My shipment got lost. I finally got the replacement just before Christmas.

Then THIS(see above) came in the mail yesterday. The exact shirt I ordered for Donovan and received (late). I called NBC and asked how many charges were on my account. Just the first one. No 2nd charge. I kept my mouth shut and VOILA!...my free tee.

If you find yourself in Pennsylvania, stop by Schrute Beet Farms. No one can beat their -beets. And say "hello" to Mose for me.

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Todd Zimmermann's Santa. Chicago, IL.

Todd's another close friend from college. He's originally from Sheboygan, WI - home of Sheboygan Brats. He and I had a run-in with a couple evergreens once in school. Maybe that's why he sent me this instead of his Christmas tree. Every time we get together we get into some sort of trouble. He hates the 3 Wise Monkeys that make up Green Bay Packers' management, too. This is his Christmas card. POON?!?!

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The Kazar's 2008 Christmas Card, Wheaton, IL.

Always creative, those Kazar's. Tom's my best friend from college. He's originally from Cedarburg, WI. We were RA's together and lived off-campus our senior year with Stuey, Saad and Steve in "The Beach Club".

He met Denise at college. They fell in love. I was best man at the wedding. And they had Jacob and Joseph. Merry Christmas, Kazar's. Pokój i miłość.

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Origami No. 10: An "Ode to Jeff Ircink"

This was written by my good friend, Todd Zimmermann, in 1987. Todd was in his last semester of college and I had just graduated in June. I think I was visiting him in the summer - maybe it was the fall. Anyway. we got hammered at his house then hit the bars. But before we went out, I puked my guts out. Not just any normal, random, college puking. It was like - you know those old lawn sprinklers that go "dddddddddddddddddddddd" in one direction then scoot back really quick and start all over again? That's how I puked in Todd's bathroom. At about the 3 1/2 foot level on the wall...all four walls of the bathroom.

Then we all went downtown and I said nothing (got my 2nd wind back after I upchucked - you know how that is) 'cause I didn't wanna spoil the evening. When we got home after bar time, no one noticed. I think someone may have said something like, "what smells?", but we were too drunk to investigate the stench and we passed out.

Until the next morning - that's when Todd found my offering to the porcelain gods. He penned this ode to me pretty much on the spot, I believe (he may have done it while cleaning the bathroom - I think he cleaned the bathroom; I know I didn't...or did I?) and recites it by heart every time he sees me. I just talked to him on the phone today (he lives in Chicago but was in Minneapolis). And he recited it to me.

I think it's helped prolong my 15 minutes of fame. You be the judge:

"Ode to Jeff Ircink", by Todd Zimmermann

If you wonder why it stinks
It's from my friend....Jeff Ircink
He threw up here on Friday Night
And it was not a pretty sight.
He tried to scrub to rinse to wipe
It didn't work, and now I'm griped
So go outside, puke on the lawn
We won't see it until dawn
As for now it still does stink
And I'm pissed off at Jeff Ircink

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UW-Whitewater Football Wins Division III National Championship!

UW-Whitewater finally did it.

After losing to Mount Union (Ohio) the past two seasons in the NCAA Division III national championship football game, My college aluma mater, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (the Warhawks) defeated the Purple Raiders, 31-21, Salem, Va., on Saturday.

Senior Justin Beaver led the Warhawks—who were a 20-point underdog in the game—by rushing for 248 yards. Whitewater opened up a 17-0 lead in the third quarter, then withstood a Mount Union threat that cut the lead to 24-21 in the fourth quarter. The Mount Union Purple Raiders had a 37-game winning streak going into the game.

Mount Union had previously won 9 NCAA Division III championships. Too bad, ya bastards. GO WARHAWKS! Class of '86 rules!

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