* * *

It's funny how some weeks I sit here struggling to think of what to write; yet others, I grapple at too many possibilities and choosing one or two of them becomes the challenge. And of course I would not be saying this if it weren't another one of "those days."

So, romancing obfuscation, I'm going to *try* to cover it all. First though, let me apologize to anyone who did not get a complete response to their email. The weather here has been absolutely wonderful over the last couple of weeks -- summer's come early and between visitors and visiting it's been difficult to find the time to write back as fully as I'd like.

And, speaking of email, I'll start there. I'm on an email discussion list for Wausau, called wausaulist. I've been on that list for months and the traffic has been sparse, at best, until a couple of weeks ago when things began getting somewhat interesting for those of us who know some of the other people writing to the list. I mention this only for the benefit of those who may be reading this locally; if that's you, you should subscribe to the list and join the conversation. I quickly ruled this out as a topic for this column because its subject-matter would be of local interest only but, as a part of a bigger story, I think I can get away with it.

Of interest to all of my readers, though, I will be hosting a guest columnist sometime in the next few weeks. Our friend, Sue, who works for the Green Bay Packers fan club, spent a night here with Julie and me. She is leaving that job and moving to Georgia, so is visiting everyone she can before she departs. We had a great time. We were going to go out to dinner with her but the conversation was so positively scintillating that we just had a pizza delivered. She told us some stories about the late Ray Nitschke, legendary linebacker for the original Packers. The story was so touching that I asked her to write it for me to pass along to my readers, and she agreed. I can't wait to read it.

Sue's sister, Dianne, is one of those to whom I haven't had the time to write a complete response. Sue and Dianne are both internet savvy and now that I have their email addresses I hope we can stay in touch. Dianne asked if I had been in contact with any of the others in what was our circle of friends and, sorry to say; no, I haven't. But it's only a matter of time before they show up in cyberspace.

I ended last week at a party for Brian, a former student of mine; to which I was invited by his girlfriend, Shannon, a fellow student. Last Sunday, of course I was writing; Monday it was char-broiled steaks at Stepheno's; Tuesday, beer and pizza at Butch's; on Wednesday it was a visit from Dan, the drummer for my former band; and Thursday, and old friend and drinking-buddy from Phelps, Michelle, came to visit. I could easily write an entire column about my escapades with Michelle and I'm sure that some of those stories will come up in future columns, but I've too many other thoughts vying for this space this week.

I spent the last two days of this week in Madison. The Wisconsin Council of the Blind held an exhibition at the expo center there. Two of my former co-workers, Clayton and Alan, were going there to man a booth representing the Center for Students with Disabilities at Northcentral Technical College (NTC) and they asked if I wanted to go along. It was well worth the trip, I learned a lot. After explaining to the first few people who stop by our booth that I was a former employee turned student, I just lapsed back into my former role as employee and ambassador, skipping the protracted explanation. And I'll skip the protracted explanation of that conference, too.

Sorry for the lack of focus this week but I just couldn't decide on what I should focus. Next week I'll try to narrow my scope.