Tom Gorgolis

The Intrepid Story Teller

Happy New Year!

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by

Tom Gorgolis
in

New Year, New Me!

That’s right! I said it! It had to be said! New Year, New Me! Many people have an unhealthy disposition to harm themselves by subscribing to silly mantras. The worst of the worst is New Year, New Me! This is the mantra that is loaded on the front end and assumes that change happens simply by turning the page on the calendar to the new year. It’s an “all or nothing” absolute and it’s pretty ridiculous to say the least! When the mantra is doubled down and coupled with a Dry January self-deprecating stunt, it only sets you up for a miserable start to a New Year which is supposed to be filled with new horizons and endless possibilities 🤮. I’ve come to realize that there is no value in going cold turkey for a month. We can all benefit from drinking and eating a little less and exercising a bit more, but quitting is for quitters. I talked myself into abandoning Dry January twelve days into the new year and the everything was back where it was supposed to be.  I was happy.

The Weather

If there’s anything that should dictate how the New Year is going is the weather. If it’s cold and snowing, the new year is off to a shitty start. It’s the only gauge that is worth benchmarking in the New Year. During this past week, Milwaukee was pounded by a winter snow storm that kept dumping snow, followed by a deep sub zero freeze that has me sequestered in the house for the foreseeable future. For three days straight (January 11-13), I was out snow blowing, shoveling, and staying ahead of the snow plow depositing snow at the end of the driveway. After three days, my Toro Snow Blower couldn’t take any more and stopped working on a beautiful Saturday morning just as I was finishing up. Earlier that evening, a large branch broke off the tree in the front yard which required a chainsaw to clean up.

Three Days of Snow

Clearing out this felled branch would require a quid pro quo from my brother George. I went over to his place and snow blowed his driveway to gain access to his snowblower and access to his truck to transport broken snow blower to get serviced and access to his chainsaw to clean up the broken branch in the front yard. This was a lot of work for me to complete what little work I had left (~30 Sq. Ft. of snow removal). After we quickly addressed the remaining snow removal, we cut up the branch, dropped it off at the dump, ran the snow blower over to Olson’s Power, and then George played his wild card and looped me into snow blowing the new property he bought. Touché!! I thought I would be released from my indentured servitude after snow blowing his driveway earlier in the day. It was just not the case.

After all this work and running around, it was time to call it a day. On the way home, we drove past one of our childhood friend’s parents’ house and saw what a horrible job the snow plow did. We pulled the car over and went to work cleaning up their driveway because they’re both up in age. With the upcoming deep freeze coming, we didn’t want to see them slip and fall once everything gets frozen over. There’s no way they would be able to get in and out of the driveway in case of an emergency. This was definitely the hardest job of the day. It was a two man operation with me shoveling and George snow blowing. All the other jobs that day were done with a beer in one hand and my pointer finger to George working the machine. Mr. Tabbert heard the commotion and came out to see us working on his driveway. He was overjoyed and grateful since his power was out and his wife was out getting a generator to power his sump pump to make sure it wouldn’t back up and flood his basement. Once they had that all figured out, they were on their way to check into a hotel for warmth. It was the most satisfying work completed to date in the New Year.  

Now that everything was well in the world, it was time to go home and call it a day. I went to turn on the faucet in the kitchen and it was frozen over and has been frozen now for two days. I think this is where the old adage of “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished” comes into play for the cynic. The realist in me realized that I was being lazy and didn’t keep the sink open just a little bit, because this is not the first time this has happened when the weather goes below zero. The only thing we could do at that time is get over to Usinger’s to get sausages for the Packer game on Sunday before they closed at 4:00pm and drop in for a quick beer at the Lakefront Brewery to spend one of my remaining tokens for a free beer. I brought my mom along for the ride to get her out of the house. At Usinger’s we bought 3 packages of their excellent weiners, 2 packages of Brats, 2 packages of Polish Kielbasa, a little Liver Sausage for good measure, and just enough head cheese to put a smile on our faces. Head Cheese? Yes! it’s a delicious gelatinous delicacy. No need to read the ingredients. You can see them all encased in the loaf. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! At the Lakefront Brewery, we shared a basket of their seasoned fries and drank a couple of Riverwest Stein beers while nibbling on slices of head cheese. Mom and I made a pact to come back and split an order of cheese curds when the weather gets nice again.

No weekend would be complete without an impromptu cookout in the garage for the Packers game. My brother Niko came down from Oshkosh only after all the snow removal was done to grace us with his presence. He took a few photos of the snowmageddon to send back to the Greek people in the village. My brother George came over with the little ones to assume his place in the cheering section while mom and I catered to their every request.

Every New Year offers new opportunities. However, every New Year also provides time for reflection and a renewed sense of security when you see how your tribe is doing. There is no question that my family is resilient after losing my dad this past Xmas morning. I think the amount of love and humility that continues to carry over from year to year speaks louder than any mantra, including New Year, New Me! I think having a little empathy and a random act of kindness speaks louder than any mantra. If anything, this new year is a re-affirmation that we are stronger when we are together and happier more times than not. This is not a destination that we set each year, but it’s something that we work tirelessly to maintain year over year. Even though we’re down one in this new year, it’s always onward and upward for us. Happy New Year!

Sub Zero Sausage Time!

 

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