Racine - Vibe

 

I was one or two years old, and know this from retelling – My father went from Boston to Racine for his new job at Johnsons HQ. He stayed at the Racine Hotel, and was taking care of details like finding an apartment for us in town.

I should premise the whole thing with the note that it is true, Boston’s are stuffy. You can live across the street from someone and it might be five years before they decide you are going to be around a while and say ‘hi’. No, bringing over ham loafs when you move in, or offering to watch the kids in you are in a ‘pickle.’

It was Sunday morning, sunny, in the summer. And my father was walking down from Monument Sq toward the lake. A fellow walking in up the way says to him: “Hi, nice day!”

My father calls home to my mother in says. “It seems like a nice town – but it is really different here!”

Flash forward to 1973 and I am back for a visit and walking up Johnson in Madison with a six pack and a guy says to me: “Good idea!” Only here, I think!

I used that line (“Good idea”) on a college kid with a 12-pack down the street this week. He chuckled, half from the shock of a stranger being nice. -JV