Mother Gooses Connects the Dots

These past few days have seen Mother Goose flying from store to store in search of the best back-to-school deals and values. From the rising of the sun ’til the setting of the same, she has been overly occupied with the process of returning some of her children to their various classrooms and preparing some for the GREAT launch out of the nest and into collegehood. There was much packing and organizing of stuff.

Our family enjoyed many fond farewell dinners and meals including an unexpected time at Mancini’s, a treasure of a restaurant at 1111 Lake Street in Oak Park.

Ben (wearing red), Eric (wearing maroon) and Jessi (next to Eric) are all college bound this fall. Please note the accordionist in the background.

The man playing the accordion is Jerry King who has been playing professionally since he was 13 years old. Here’s the link to his website, and be sure to click on the songs he’s put out for us to sample. His virtuoso style of playing will make you smile and dream of faraway places…

And now for the connection:

As we were chatting with Jerry in between songs, he revealed to us that he used to play regularly at La Creperie in the city. My most loyal readers will surely recall the last visit that we made to that wonderfully shabby genteel French bistro in the city, as well as the sad news that the owners’ son had passed away the day before we were there.

Our new friend, Jerry, has been very dear friends with our French friend, Germain, for a long, long time. In fact, when Jerry played at La Creperie on Thursday evenings through the eighties and nineties, Germain would play his trumpet. If only Mother Goose could hear that duet…

But sadly, this is the day that La Creperie will close its doors for the very last time, and Jerry told us that Germain will be moving to California to be close to his son’s widow and children…

The Chicago Tribune even ran a story about the restaurant and the heartwrenching story of Germain Roignant…

Au revoir! We will miss you, friend.

So, the goslings have flown off to college, Germain is flying off to California, Jerry will be playing his amazing accordion music at Mancini’s on Tuesdays and Mother Goose is off connecting the dots to another great adventure… Au revoir!

When the Goose Goes to Racine, Wisconsin

You meet the nicest people on Facebook!

Here’s a little story for you this morning:

Once upon a time, the brother of Mother Goose along with his dear wife adopted a fine young English mastiff pup from a breeder family in northern Wisconsin. They named him Harley Windsor of Sturgeon, and he grew up to be an excellent helper to Dana when he is working on his mud racing truck.

Harley and Dana working hard on the racer.

Through some interesting online connections, we all came to know the ladies who adopted two of Harley’s sisters.

Stella and Chelsea

The girls just adore their Auntie from Minnesota!

My dear sissy has been down from nordern Minnesota visiting Mother Goose this past week, so we made a special trip up to Racine to visit the girls. Racine is a nice town plopped down right on the eastern coast of Lake Michigan, just over the border from Chicago. They have lovely empty beaches and rainbows in Racine.

We had a lovely dinner at Oh Dennis! where they specialize in ribs and steaks of various sizes, shapes and designs. One thing that Mother Goose learned is that you can’t tell a book by its cover in Racine, Wisconsin.

Yuuuup, yeah hey the food is pretty darn good, eh?

We left Racine with THREE quarts of homemade dill pickles, THREE amazing and authentic Danish Kringles from Bendtsen’s Bakery and hearts full of love for our kind friends who we would have never met except through the magic of Facebook. Thank you, Tammy and Carmen, for showing this goose and her sister such a great time in Racine!

Tammy, Carmen and a happy piglet

Mother Goose and Mitch — Part Two

Many aspects of Mitch McVicker’s life have changed over the years.

Though he used to tour with an ensemble of live human beings in the traveling van, these days he mostly does solo concerts. When my dear friend, Linda, and I first began to follow his music career and drive sometimes hundreds of miles to see him in concert (seriously!), he performed mostly with two young men named Cobra Joe Curet and Brad Layher. Both of these excellent musicians have moved on down the road and support their families with real jobs now, but I have to wonder whether they miss the days of traveling with Mitch.

Brad, Mitch and Cobra Joe. Photo courtesy of Suzan Mason, Keeper Extraordinaire of the Fan Club.

In fact, Mitch himself is now a husband and dad! He speaks fondly, wistfully and lovingly of his family and misses them very much when he’s touring.

Nowadays on stage, he miraculously creates his own backup percussion sounds and harmonies with a digital phrase-sampling/looping device. My technical singer/songwriter readers will most certainly be fully knowledgeable of this recording tool. It’s quite impressive to witness!

He bangs on things like a hubcap, a Lysol can, a Hershey’s syrup bottle, a plastic flamingo and also employs the sounds of various children’s toys, bells and whistles. It can be comical at times to watch him perform these acts of percussion, but the end result is joyful, pleasing and wonderful.

He also plays some really great guitars, a banjo, a ukelele, many harmonicas and even a kazoo.

Mitch McVicker at Elburn Hill Church, March 1st, 2013. Photo courtesy of Mark Cramer.

Mitch tours about nine months out of every year, criss-crossing the country several times and chasing horizons that would quickly dull the senses of Mother Goose. He can be found in churches, festivals, camps, school auditoriums, village halls, picnic grounds, college campuses and parks. The man is a modern day minstrel with scheduled stops in all fifty states, Europe and even Asia.

When he’s not wandering the highways and byways, he’s in the recording studio with friends and family.

To date, Mitch has recorded and released an incredible amount of Christian music — eight complete and beautifully original projects in fifteen years. His website is open and the CD’s are for sale anytime, day or night, for your shopping convenience. In fact, as soon as Mother Goose finishes this story, she’s going over there to replace the CD’s that have worn out over the years.

February 22, 2013 marked the latest release date for Mitch’s new project which he has titled Underneath. On the evening we spent with him in Elburn, he played many of the songs from that CD, and once again, Mother Goose was reminded of how far this gifted singer and songwriter has come in his career and his ministry.

In fact, when Mitch tells his stories between songs, we are inspired by the love of Jesus blooming in his heart. The kingdom of God might be invisible to the naked eye and hidden underneath all of the stuff in our lives, but the kingdom is more real than anything else, and the King is gloriously accessible to us.

Mother Goose has found over the years that Mitch always has time to visit with his fans and friends after a concert. He has listened patiently to so many of my stories and signed so many autographs and posed for so many photos. Did I mention that he’s also really really funny? 😀

Mitch McVicker lives out the true definition of love…patient and kind.

Mitch listens patiently to one of my long stories…

Mitch McVicker and Mother Goose — Part One

Well, surprise, surprise! Mother Goose had another grand adventure last night! We were blessed beyond measure in seeing Mitch McVicker in concert at the Elburn Hill Church way out there in Elburn, Illinois. A forty mile drive during Friday rush hour was a small price to pay for a musical evening with this dear old friend.

Not that my friend is old…

Mitch has been touring the country for close to twenty years — our friendship began about fifteen years ago when he was still recovering from injuries he suffered as a result of a tragic car accident which took the life of his friend, Rich Mullins. Rich flew away that night on a dark Illinois highway, but the Lord left Mitch here with us, though for the longest time, he couldn’t answer the question of “why?”

Why would God take a man who is on the top of his career, with songs and albums all over the Christian Top 40 charts, making millions of dollars from royalties and giving it all away to charitable causes and Native American children? It didn’t make sense to Mitch then just as it didn’t make sense to so many other people in September 1997 and since that time.

“But the faithfulness of Jesus persists.”

After nearly a year of physical therapy and hard work, Mitch recovered his voice, his vision, his mobility and his love of life. He rises each day full of hope and faith and love — he gladly shares his story of healing. And God gladly uses Mitch’s story to bring hope and healing to others.

Others includes Mother Goose.

It was the hot summer of 2002 and the place was Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was Lifest, a family-friendly festival of Christian music and Mitch McVicker was on the agenda of performing artists. Of course, Mother Goose was in the audience with her family. Though she was always glad to see her friend up on the stage, on this day the tears rolled down her feathery cheeks.

She was feeling overwhelmed and confused — she had recently received the news that she would be having another baby. Baby number six at the age of forty-four.

In the heat and humidity of that outdoor concert, Mother Goose could only bow her head and pray that she and the baby would be healthy, that the family would be accepting of this new and exciting yet completely unexpected and soon-to-arrive gift from above. Mother Goose had feelings of inadequacy, feelings of loneliness, feelings of confusion, but mostly feelings of fear.

What if the baby wasn’t healthy? What if being in the “expectant way” triggered an MS flare up? What if her husband couldn’t provide for this growing family in an unstable economy? How could she manage all the needs of the older children and still meet the demands of a new baby? What in the world was God thinking?

I do not think that Mitch could see or read my face from up there on the stage, but he began to introduce a new song that he had just written. It was called “Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled”. He explained in his homey way how he doesn’t like to write songs from God’s perspective because he doesn’t feel qualified to put words in God’s mouth. And yet, here he was doing just that. The words he sang came straight from the Gospel of John, straight from the lips of Jesus. And they were headed straight for the heart of Mother Goose.

This is Jesus speaking:

Even in your roughest times you won’t be overcome.
So when that ache bites your heart feel my love.

If you are wondering if I’m around
I have never left your side.
You are never by yourself.
You are not alone tonight.

Chorus
So now don’t you let your heart be troubled.
The peace I bring to you is not of this world.
I set your mind at ease, I quiet down your soul.
I give you peace, don’t let your heart be troubled.

I can dry your tear filled eyes.

I can hear your heavy heart.
So don’t you be afraid tonight.
My light is shining through your dark.

If you’re wondering where I’m at now,
In your despair I’m gonna be your hope.
I am always there, you’re never ever by yourself.
You are not alone.

Chorus

I can still your swirling soul.
In your darkness my light grows.
Don’t let your heart be troubled,
I give you peace

Ten years later, here’s the “gift from above” with Mitch and yours truly, Mother Goose.

The faithfulness of Jesus persists…

The Night Goose

We could almost call this The Lost Weekend of the Goose! The fun of the wine tasting party was just the beginning of a wild weekend for the Gooses — the good times just keep rolling on and on!

Yesterday was a glorious 63 degree day in our fair town — Mr. Goose found it appropriate to get his golf bag out one more time and enjoyed time chasing the little white ball around the course with his friends.

Of course, Mother Goose deemed it much more to her satisfaction to apply her “mystery shopper” skills to an afternoon in the city — I successfully spied on many grocery store employees, coercing them with many prompts for product knowledge, samplings and escort services within the store. I am still amazed and grateful that they pay me to do this!

After going our separate ways for the day, we regathered in the Goose home and prepared for the next big adventure — dancing the night away with friends, Michael and Amy.

When Michael informed us that we’d meet at Venuti’s Vlounge at 10:00, we had some reasonable doubts about our ability to meet this social obligation. The bedtime of Mother Goose hovers around 9:30 any given night of the week! However, I love a good challenge and was feeling spunky. Mr. Goose was not feeling quite as energized as Mother Goose, but after a long soak in his whirlpool tub with the extreme jets pounding into his aching muscles, he recovered nicely and put on his dancing shoes.

Away we went!

Mother Goose assumed that we would be dancing to the music of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and maybe some swing tunes. After all, this is a place called Venuti’s, obviously Italian, obviously suburban, obviously a place for an older crowd (late middle-age…) to gently kick up their heels and waltz gracefully around the dance floor.

Classic Italian architecture, so festive for the holidays!

In other words, we were not prepared for the DJ mix at the Vlounge or the flashing disco lights or the steady pounding and pulsing beat of this modern dance club.

But we had a great time nonetheless! One thing about Mother Goose, she can easily adapt when her expectations are skewed by her reality. I tasted a nice glass of pinot grigio and shouted some nice conversation with Amy and Michael.

Amy and Michael

Showing off their modern moves…

As soon as I heard the remix of Prince’s “When Doves Cry”, I dropped my glass and went charging out on the dance floor. (Prince sounded good thirty years ago, and no matter how you remix him today, he still gets my heart pumping and my knobby knees thumping.) In my zeal, I knocked over a couple of thirty-something women. They were tossing their bleach blonde coiffure and showing off their shapely young legs and moving with all the latest gyrations.

“Look out!” Mother Goose honked at them and stepped over them. “It’s my favorite song!”

Mr. Goose and I stayed on the dance floor until Prince was finished with his song, and then the music morphed into some other heavy beat but we didn’t even notice because we were lost in the magic of the moment. Smiling happily and moving somewhat in time to the music, we each went into our own private worlds of old school dancing. There’s a time for dialogue in a night out, and then there’s a time for just being cool and showing off. Mother Goose tossed back her head, threw her wings in the air and acted out all of her nightclub fantasies there on the dance floor.

Of course, the dance floor immediately cleared out, giving Mother Goose more room for her private dance show.

I remember applause. I remember seeing stars. I remember thinking that maybe I was the star of Dancing With The Stars.

I remember Mr. Goose quietly leading me back to the table whilst the other dancers applauded and cheered. We said our goodbyes to Amy and Michael, and I waved happily and smiled for the cameras of the paparazzi as we left the Venuti Vlounge.

You may know me as Mother Goose, but some call me The Night Goose…

Mother Goose barely broke a sweat in all of her dancing exertions…

Tasting Wine with Mother Goose

Many of my more abstaining readers may be shocked to learn that Mother Goose enjoys a glass of wine now and then! Indeed, I do find great joy in the occasional sip — just to dip my beak into a half-filled crystal goblet brings a smile to the feathery face of this old goose. Of course, I imbibe for medicinal purposes only, you understand. As the great apostle of old advised his young friend Timothy, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” (1st Timothy 5:23)

Recognizing my ever-present health concerns, my dear friend, Jane, invited me to her first annual wine tasting party.

Mind you, this was no run o’ the mill drinking party, but a well-organized and well-attended event. Several of Jane’s most intellectual and well-heeled friends were invited to learn more about wine and to taste some very exquisite varietals around the fireplace of Jane’s new home. There was gaiety and spontaneous laughter and much making of merriness as befitting the holiday season.

Jane had brought in a wine expert for this occasion — a young man by the name of Chuck Keller, and he is an actual wine advisor with a unique company called Wines for Humanity. He travels to your home with his case of fine wines. A portion of the profits of wine sales for the evening are funneled into a worthy cause such as support of shelters for homeless families with children, or aid to the wounded warriors in our country.

Chuck poured a bit of wine into each of our glasses and began educating us about the fine art of wine tasting. Our first sample for the evening was a light-bodied Italian white wine. He patiently explained to us how to examine the color of the wine by holding our glass up to the light.

After we ooooh’d and ahhhh’d about the lovely color, Chuck demonstrated how to tip our glasses at nearly a 180 degree angle so as to judge the “legs” of the wine. Mother Goose was somewhat confused at this idea, but apparently we were to watch for how the golden liquid clung to the inside of our goblet as we tilted it back upright.

This was all quite odd to Mother Goose — I had to pause and reflect how the legs of a wine might influence my drinking of the wine… In the end, it didn’t matter to much to me personally, as all the wines we tasted and retasted were all quite excellent to my palate regardless of the thickness or length of their legs.

When we had ogled the legs of the wine for long enough, our wine advisor showed us the proper method for swirling the wine in our glasses so as to release the bouquet of the grapes. This is not as easy as it appears. You must set your glass on a flat surface and then briskly rub the bottom of the goblet around and around in a vicious circle. Then immediately bring the glass up to your nose and using both nostrils, sniff deeply the aromas of the wine.

This was truly glorious to Mother Goose who had never experienced the rush of wine odors before this particular evening. It is in the swirling of the wine that the very complex smells are mixed with air and then sent wildly into your olfactories. We could identify hints of vanilla, tobacco, berries, pears, cranberries, violets, earthiness in the red wines, and even grapes in the bouquets of these various wines.

At this point in the tasting, our lovely and amusing hostess had an interesting question: “Chuck, are these smells and flavors built into the grapes or do they add natural flavorings to make it taste so good?” I was glad that she asked this question because Mother Goose has also wondered at times how these wines made from grapes can taste and smell so differently. Perhaps you have also wondered that same question… Our wine advisor patiently advised us all that these wines have no added ingredients except yeast to hasten the process of fermentation.

And then at last when Mother Goose was becoming so thirsty and her throat so parched that she thought she might faint, we were encouraged to drink our wine. And oh the joy that filled my heart!

And on and on it went throughout the evening. Starting with the Italian white, moving to a New Zealand Savignon Blanc, over to France for a country red, back to Italy for a deeper red, to Argentina for a Malbec and at last we finished with a Golden Cream Tango served in a tiny chocolate cup. We sipped, we tasted, we nibbled on all the tasty foods at the table — cheese, crackers, shrimps, olives, sushi and even some sweet and sour meatballs.

We learned so much about wine and wine-making and wine-growing regions of the world. We learned history and geography and language. We learned some chemistry, and we learned social graces. We learned about sulfites and the difference between twist-on caps vs. natural corks vs. unnatural corks. We learned about wine pairings which is simply discovering which wines compliment which foods. In fact, Mother Goose even heard Chuck say that wine is perhaps a wonderful condiment for the foods we eat, and I liked hearing that!

But, of course, I only drink a bit of wine for the health of my stomach, you understand…

And it was all really fun for Mother Goose. In fact, the evening just got more and more fun by the minute. My stomach never felt better!

Dear reader, I hope that you will find yourself in the presence of some discerning wine tasters this holiday season. Do not be intimidated by the complexity of the wine you sample, but only let your heart soar to new places as you sample wines from around the world. Let your love take flight on the wings of a dove as you enjoy time with your family and friends and the fine fruit of the vine.

And thank you, dear Jane, for including me in your intimate gathering of sippers and tasters. I’m sorry this picture of you is so blurry — I guess that means that your wine tasting party was a wonderful success!

Jane and Allen might have tasted even more wine than Mother Goose…for their health, of course!

The Faithful Friend of a Goose

Once again, Mother Goose must honk the praises of a very fine feathered friend. Michelle has been interested in me for such a long time — it’s almost scary to think about the years that have passed! When our middle children (Ben and Ellie) still had their long curly blonde baby hair, Michelle and I became BFF’s, and that was long before BFF’s were as common as they are nowadays.

Michelle and Mother Goose

She’s an incredible woman (as are all of the people who would consider a lifelong commitment to a goose), and she’s precious in so many ways. Let me count the ways right now, whilst I’m thinking of them:

1. Michelle is kind and thoughtful. She has helped me to pack up my kitchen more than once when I was moving. She has brought our family more meals than I can count and baked us more muffins than there are stars in the heavens. She writes me letters and sends them through the mail. She always remembers to ask about each of my goslings even though they are numerous.

2. Michelle is faithful. I know that Michelle is praying for Mother Goose. Perhaps she has even prayed life into me when I was feeling as droopy as a ragdoll. Her conversational prayers are not showy and all high-falutin’ and fancy like some churchy people — she talks to God wherever she is. She knows that He’s there too so we might as well talk to Him. Her husband was unemployed for more than a year, and Michelle never stopped believing that he’d get called back to his airplane mechanic job at United Airlines. Guess what? That’s where he is now!

3. Michelle is generous. Whenever I visit her, she gives! She gives hugs like they are going out of style. She gives whatever’s in her fridge or pantry. She gives little scraps of wisdom that she finds and saves just for me. She gives blankets, Fisher-Price kitchen sets, smiles and heart-to-hearts.

4. Michelle is brave. For as long as I’ve known her, Michelle has had ongoing troubles with bipolar disorder and needs to take various medications to stay stable. And like Mother Goose, she has a multiple sclerosis diagnosis on a medical chart somewhere in some neurologist’s office. Her migraine headaches are relentless in their attack, and sometimes her hands tremble. But does she ever complain about these ailments? No. Never. Not once. She takes it all in stride, trusting that tomorrow will be better.

If Mother Goose was to identify Michelle as a certain type of bird, I would call her a Purple Finch. She’s lovely and sociable with such a pretty song to sing. When we were neighbors in Carol Stream, I would enjoy hours of listening pleasure with the finches AND with Michelle. I pray all sorts of blessings on her today and everyday!

My finch of a friend, Michelle.

The Puck Stops Here

You just never know where Mother Goose will be next! A college hockey game, Mother Goose? Seriously?

And yes, indeed, that’s where you could find the goose last night — in attendance at a DePaul University hockey game with friends, Doug and Debbi Brooks. (Many of my faithful readers will recall that Debbi is a professional photographer.) This friendly couple have two sons, James and Steven, who are both amazing hockey players. When Mother Goose asked Debbi what position Steven plays on the DePaul team, she proudly answered that he’s on defense, number 24 — it’s the number he’s worn on his back ever since he was a little hockey mini-mite.

The evening began at the Brooks’ home with warm pulled pork sandwiches, UNBELIEVABLE scalloped taters and taffy apple salad. Just a tiny side note: Mother Goose made the taffy apple salad remembering how tasty it is and how it REALLY does taste like a caramel apple. When I was finished with the preparation of the salad, I taste-tested it. “Oh how delish!”

I was happily honking about it, when suddenly I realized that my mouth, tongue, throat, lips and nose were itching terribly…and then the remembrance came into my smallish goose brain that with the advancement of my years, I’ve developed an allergy to raw apples. HONK!

But everybody else enjoyed the salad, and the dinner was a smashing success! Off to the hockey game!

Oh! Here is another side note: Mother Goose is originally from northern Minnesota where little boys and girls learn how to ice skate before they can walk, and hockey sticks are common Christmas gifts for two year olds. If you are an old avid hockey buff, you may recognize the names of Joe and Pat Micheletti, professional hockey players in the 1970’s and 80’s. This legendary hockey family is from Hibbing where Mother Goose graduated from high school.

Please be patient — I’m really taking the long way around here, but Mother Goose played flute in the Hibbing High School Bluejacket Marching Band, and we never missed a hockey game. No, we did not march on the ice, but we did play peppy songs whilst the guys skated madly back and forth, up and down the ice. We did not even mind when our fingers stiffened up and our lips (and beaks) froze to our instruments.

I hope you’ll enjoy these pictures from last night’s DePaul hockey game — Mother Goose was completely tipped over by all the action, and could barely follow the puck as it was shot all over the rink — by the way, DePaul whupped the Illini 5-0.

Steve Brooks #24 DePaul University Hockey Team

Total hockey action

Intense hockey action

The team played really well, easily defeating the Illini

Debbi had the big guns out for this game!

The Zamboni is covered with images of food from the Peapod company. THAT’s something you don’t see everyday!

Very proud parents of defensive line player, #24.

With an easy victory under their belts, the team left the rink and changed into normal clothes. Defeating the Illini with a score of 5-0 proved once again that DePaul Hockey is a satisfying sport for the young men. Also, I’d like to say that with the NHL lock-out still on, college hockey is a GREAT alternative. They play aggressively, but they also play nice. There were no fights, and only the most minimal checks up against the boards.

Mother Goose was quite comfortable with the level of play, and easily adapted to the chill of the rink and the explosions of pucks hitting the plexiglass repeatedly.

We returned to the Brooks’ home for dessert — a beautiful and fine apple pie, vanilla ice-cream, chit-chat and steaming hot coffee.

Check out the pretty little cut outs — Debbi made this from scratch!

Debbi Brooks, Photographer Extraordinaire

Mother Goose meets so many interesting people everyday! I can barely walk out my front door without running into a famous photographer or world-renown writer or a celebrity race car driver. Today, please hold your applause until the end of my post whilst I introduce you to my friend, Debbi Van Kirk Brooks.

Debbi Van Kirk Brooks, an amazing photographer and such a pretty friend!

Debbi has enjoyed a very long career as a commercial photographer par excellence in the great city of Chicago — her name is very familiar to art directors and creative types in all the advertising agencies in town. Of course, she’s not old enough to know the original Mad Men, but she most certainly has done photo shoots with the Sons of the Mad Men.

Debbi and her charming husband, Doug, completely enjoyed an extended visit to Japan last year to visit friends. Of course, Debbi brought a giant suitcase of camera equipment with her — just in case. And for good reason — Japan is VERY photogenic!

The picture I’ve posted just below is gorgeous, isn’t it? Debbi took this photograph in Nikko, Japan and has entered it in a great photo contest sponsored by World in Focus. (And Doug graciously held the umbrella for Debbi’s shot. 🙂 )

Isn’t this amazing? Check those colors and the soft fog and the rushing river! I want to go to Japan just because of Debbi’s picture.

This is a “people’s choice” contest, and I know you’d want to go to the World in Focus website and vote for her. All you need is your email address to vote for Debbi Van Kirk Brooks. And Mother Goose has even happily provided the link! Just click here (or copy and paste if you prefer…http://2012worldinfocus.nielsencontests.com/bin/Rate?image_id=2007900919).

Dear friends, thank you thank you thank you for helping to give Debbi more “exposure” by voting for her Nikko, Japan picture! And now all together, a round of applause for my photo friend!