Greetings from the Beautiful North Woods of Wisconsin!
I suppose the throwback is receiving a newsletter from yours truly. It’s been a minute.
By way of an update, a few months ago an opportunity opened up for me to spend the summer and early autumn in the North. I was definitely in need of a change of scenery, so I jumped at it for a bit of a sabbatical. I am still doing my coaching up here. In fact, I have a spot open for a new client if you’re in need or know anyone who could use a lift and a fresh perspective. This is especially true for someone going through a major change relationally or professionally Don’t forget, the first session is free to see if we fit. I am also writing another book. The working title is “The Book for Men: Masculinity in the Age of Wokeness”. Aiming for an early 2022 release.
My first book. “Early Wake-Up Call: How a Coach’s Early Warnings About the Pandemic Can Help You NOW” has ended up remarkably prescient, especially given recent attempts by certain authorities to return to the ineffective policies of over a year ago.
Sex in the Pews wrapped in the spring. If you are interested in why and hearing the last show, available on the Pews site and all the other platforms. My general topic podcast “Glenn Klein Online” is on hiatus while I’m on my sabbath in the North and will return in the fall. The last GKO of the season, where I take a bit of “a victory lap” can also be accessed everywhere.
Besides working on my book, reuniting with old friends up here, and meeting new ones, I simply continue to try to make a positive difference in our world.
Speaking of making new friends and a positive difference, the following just happened recently and is portrayed in the picture at the top. I thought you would enjoy reading about it. I posted this a couple of days ago on social media.
The other evening as I continue my summer sojourn in Wisconsin’s North Woods, I was feeling somewhat fatigued and not in the mood to cook. So, I walked the fifteen feet from my friend Fritz’ house where I’m staying to his tavern and restaurant, the Thunderbird. I was just going to go over for a cocktail, their delicious grilled chicken breast and to watch a little of the White Sox-Brewers’ game.
I was sitting at the bar by myself when this group of older gentlemen walked in and sat down at the other end of the bar. As is my want, I began engaging them in conversation, noting several of them wearing University of Illinois caps. They were indeed from Illinois and all of them were White Sox fans save one Cardinals’ booster. So, I started throwing them some old time Sox trivia questions which they seemed to quite enjoy. This group of lifelong friends has been making the trek north each summer for decades to fish and golf. I asked them where exactly in Illinois were they from. They replied, “Rantoul”.
Rantoul is a small farm town in central Illinois close to Champaign-Urbana where the University is located. I have been to Rantoul because an old camp counselor of mine, Jim Wyeth, was from Rantoul. Later, when Dawn and I bought Camp Menominee, Jim was our tennis pro. Eventually, in honor of Jim’s long service to the camp starting in the late 1950s, we named the tennis courts after him, “The Jim ‘Buzz’ Wyeth Courts.
Jim’s nickname ‘Buzz’ came from a prank he would play on unsuspecting campers while they were sleeping. He would draw a buzzard “tattoo” on their arm in indelible marker. They had been “buzzed”. It was kind of a mark of honor when you got “buzzed”. Jim never had kids of his own and he considered the boys at camp his children all those years. He has been gone quite a while now, but definitely not forgotten.
Back to the bar scene.
So, I asked this group of guys if they had ever heard of Jim Wyeth. They all lit up and one fella asked, “Mr. Wyeth?” You see, all these now elderly men had been Jim’s students and tennis players at Rantoul High School where Jim had a long distinguished teaching and coaching career. Well, when I told them about his time at camp, the Jim “Buzz” Wyeth Courts, why he was called “Buzz” and that I had been to Rantoul to visit him there, they were absolutely thrilled. We shared stories about Jim, his love of listening to and playing pipe organs, his love of flying airplanes, and his dedication to education and camping.
Then we took the picture attached.
You never know what will come from engaging strangers in friendly discourse. You just might have a connection to them that you never would have guessed and make some new friends in the bargain.