Melancholy: A Trip Down Memory Lane Via I-90 & I-94 The Northern Tier Homelessness Crisis Expanding Across Country Will Get Worse as Planned Economic Collapse Takes Hold Legal ID: "The Voice of Labor" SUPER JOCK LARRY LUJACK on WCFL Chicago

 [September 2, 2023 (19:45 PDT)]

Great to be back critical thinkers,

Always monitoring the news cycle in preparation for our next blog, much is unfolding and as I engage in conversation with folks in the Bay Area, there is rising concern on a number of fronts or issues--that we are heading into difficult days ahead.

Spent a Few Days in Missoula Heading to the Bakken Oilfields of ND in September 2013

So, what I can tell you, Missoula is the most liberal or progressive place in the state with UMT at the center which also has rising homelessness issues

Nearby, Bowman, MT is an outdoorsman's paradise and launching off point for several state and national parks, the continental divide [nearby Butte, MT] was challenging even for the rugged '86 Subaru 4x4 Wagon due to the unbeknownst switch to E-85 winter fuel! 

Please note: Take a pass on Billings, MT in the eastern plains if at all possible; decidedly, 4 or 5 oil refineries, state women's prison and some real tweeker-types! However, I found Bismark, ND to be a pretty Kool 98.5 FM radio market. After dropping-off demos & several interviews, thought I would be hired--yet--to no avail; the format, jingles, and the penchant for cruising classic muscle cars--in neighboring Bandon, MT especially--left an impression on me, Late Summer/Fall of 2013.

Map of State of Montana

Back to the Return Trip to the Sac

At 10,000 Ft--the Subaru constantly stopping for octane boost and those yellow bottled, HEET--coasted or limped into Idaho Falls, then finally only able to reach 25 MPH through Northern Nevada until we hit Elko, NV where those wet spark plugs began drying-out after filling with 92 Octane Union 76 Supreme-e-um! 

Thoughts of abandoning the car and accompanying possessions seized, and a 7,000 ft + [highway more like 6,000] Donner Pass on I-80 was a cakewalk as I descended into my all-too familiar Sacramento Valley beginning rebuilding my life thanks to a cousin--who could only tolerate me for a few months--letting me clean-up the property located in Plymouth, CA.

Then, it was off to the just starting-up veterans' shelter, Victory Village, in Jackson, California.

There, I began to rebuild my life after a years' stay, enrolling in online classes at Columbia College, Sonora, CA before moving to the dorms for two-years in this Central Sierra gold rush town turned touristy wine country hang--transferring and graduating from SFSU, Class of Fall 2018.

Alright, you do not come here for poor-poor-pitiful me, but it all worked out splendidly--going on to be born again right here, taking the plunge at Bakers Beach, SF which my parents dragged me to as a toddler.

Here is the real story:

 I Do Not Need to Tell You This is Already in a Neighborhood Near You

WSJ: A Montana Town Faces Homeless Problem Similar to San Francisco & LA

Yes, you are seeing it already in your local area, according to media reports.

. . .And Now Ladies & Gentleman,

Larry Lujack WCFL Chicago "The Voice of Labor"

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Listen, as the Top-of-the-hour legal IDs demonstrate the still--not yet anyway wanning--power of organized labor; back then, Lujack, the author of a book which gave me inspiration, Superjock, was in what shaped-up to be a decade-long ratings battle with crosstown Top-40 rival WLS.

Inside baseball: That was the station owned by Sears Roebuck with those distinctive twin broadcast towers atop. . .

The Sears Tower which hosted the studios & call letters, WLS, standing for World's Largest Store.

. . . remember when most newspapers had a Labor section within the Financial or Business section?

It gives hope that this great awakening we seem to be experiencing will give rise to power for the people.

Between the Ongoing Writers SAG-AFTRA Strike & A Looming Auto Workers Action 

Labor-on, 

Drake

More on the tower's history if interested:

Willis Tower

Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Overview

Summary

The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years. It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck observation deck, the highest in the United States, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations.

The building occupies a site bounded by Franklin Street, Jackson Boulevard, Wacker Drive, and Adams Street. Graham and Khan designed the building as nine square "tubes", clustered in a 3×3 matrix; seven of the tubes set back at upper floors. The tower has 108 stories as counted by standard methods, though the building's owners count the main roof as 109 and the mechanical penthouse roof as 110. The facade is made of anodized aluminum and black glass. The base of the building contains a retail complex known as the Catalog. The lower half of the tower was originally occupied by retail company Sears, which had its headquarters there until 1994, while the upper stories were rented ou