Hog Wrestling - More than a Crivitz tradition

One can learn a lot of things from a trip to another part of the country. One thing we were not expecting to find on our trip to Crivitz, Wisconsin, was that one day a year, a local bar sponsors a hog wrestling event. At first I conjured up images of pigs wrestling each other in jaunty costumes. Lacking arms and opposable thumbs, I would have been intrigued to learn how these pigs wrestle each other.

But the reality is much more simple, and horrifyingly real. Bartenders at other establishments talk of how the ATM companies make thousands of dollars from service charges alone on that one day of competition. Wrestling a pig, you say? Care to make it interesting?

We inadvertently drove past the bar on our way out for dinner, and cars were lined on both sides of the one-lane road for miles. Most of the people trekking their way to the event looked like a curious mix of biker, college drop-out and ex-felon. Or did I just describe the general cross-section of the area?

The wrestling match goes something like this: teams of four people square off against a hog in a muddy ring. In a timed match, they have to catch the hog and place it on top of a padded barrel. Needless to say, only the pig is in its element. And I don't doubt most pigs are used to being chased by someone up here as well!

Need more hog wrestling to satisfy your curiosity? Try www.caldronfallsbarandgrill.com

What chu talkin' bout, Willis Tower?

Starting tomorrow, the iconic Sear tower gets a face-lift, literally in name only. The Willis Holding Group, out of London, paid for the naming rights to the Chicago landmark skyscraper. Henceforth it will be known, at least on paper, as the Willis Tower. Granted, they are moving their offices and 500 employees there as well.

Chicagoans are already irate after naming rights changed the name of Comiskey Park to US Cellular Field, and the wildly modernistic renovation of Soldier Field stripped it of its historical landmark status. Macy's bought out Marshall Field's, changing the ownership and name of that building as well.

I think that it is fitting for a city that was built on a back-filled swamp that it's venerated structures' names be as equally unstable. Personally, I think Chicago is just catching up to the rest of the country. Naming rights have evolved as big business, and they are not going away any time soon. At the end of the day, they are still business entities, not civic shrines. The next generation won't think twice about Willis Tower, or the "former Sears Tower".

Now that the Cubs are being sold to new owners, anyone care to catch a game at "Ricketts Field"? Come that day, the city would really burn!

Escape to Wisconsin

Sometimes an economic downturn isn't such a bad thing. Robyn and I wanted to take some time off this year, as she loses her vacation time if she doesn't use it. We didn't want to pay for a full-blown vacation get-away, so we were looking for something local to do. As much as the term annoys me, we needed a "stay-cation".

Our good friends, Julie and Dan, have a cabin up in Crivitz, WI, and were gracious enough to invite us up there. In one brief conversation, not only did we get a nice weekend getaway on the cheap, but we get to spend time with two of the craziest people we know and love. And we get the distinction of being the first non-family members to visit their place.

For a little background, if you don't know Julie and Dan, they have been the willing participants in many boisterous evenings out. Whether we are at a local bar or at upscale restaurant like Morton's Steakhouse, we don't hold back. Typically, by the end of the night, there is a buffer zone of empty tables around us. On one occassion, as we were leaving, a table next to us asked if we were there celebrating something specific.

"Is it a birthday or an anniversary you are out celebrating?" inquired the elderly woman at the table next to ours, hoping to put our antics into some sort of socially acceptable framework.

"Nope. Our friends just got a baby-sitter, so here we are! Whooo!"

The woman was incredulous personified.

You can't wait for a specific time to enjoy your life. Don't wait for that birthday or anniversary. Call that friend. Make that opportunity happen. Don't feel like you are imposing. Odds are the people you are afraid to impose upon would be more than willing to do something, and glad that you asked.

To paraphrase the ideology of the "war on terrorism" - if you don't go out and do something, the recession wins!

For myself, the car is loaded with beer and suntan lotion, and we are off to the land of supper clubs, Friday fish frys, and deer ticks. Just another Illinois couple invading Wisconsin for the weekend. And if you see us out, don't move away and contribute to the buffer zone. Pull up a chair and join us!

I'm Irked Again

Zirk's Irks is back!

After a lengthy hiatus I am ready to give the world a piece of my mind again. Just a few things have transpired in the world since I last logged in:

-My mother passed away

- The economy went to shit

- Real estate went to shit

Fortunately I invested in a very upscale refrigerator box under the off ramp to Route 83 and the Stevenson, so I get to pay no taxes and yet still have a Burr Ridge address. As they say - location, location, location.

No, I still own my home, although I'm afraid to think of what it is worth. I'm thrilled that we are in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Depression, and that our standard of living will definitely be lower than that of our parents'. And if you knew what my parents' standard of living was, you'd realize that was not a very high hurdle to clear.

You can pretty much throw out all of your economic reference books, because this is all uncharted territory now! And like explorers sailing off to the horizon, we have no idea if we are heading towards a future of wealth and streets lined with gold, or right off the edge of this flat planet. Exciting!

But at least there is the internet. The vast, soul-draining siren-song vacuum of the internet. That's where you'll find me!

Stay tuned for more irks. Like a runner training for a marathon, I'm just getting warmed up.

(Did I mention I broke my hip, training for a marathon last year?)