By Paul Engleman

Last May, my 86-year-old mother-in-law moved from the Wisconsin farm where she had lived for 40 years to a smaller house 15 miles away. With help from seven children and 11 grandchildren, she has accumulated more stuff over her lifetime than she (or they) could ever use, and so during the week leading up to moving day, family members made a dozen round trips in minivans and SUVs, transporting small items — lamps, dishes, knickknacks, plants, wall hangings, her thimble collection, along with a profusion of canned goods — to her new home.

About halfway through the process, my older son whispered, “Please, don’t let this happen to you and Mom.” Someday, it will fall to him and his brother to help move us. And so — although we have no imminent plans to move — the word “downsize” has crept into our vocabulary. 

As the 65-mile marker begins to fade in my rearview mirror, I had better get started — you know, while I’m still young. Gazing around my basement office at the walls of magazines and books, at the boxes and cabinets filled with outdated computers, monitors, keyboards, and cables, and at the 10 file drawers stuffed with paper, I realize that I should have started sooner. Like maybe 21 years ago, before we moved into this house. 

By Jeff Rumage, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, will headline the 25th annual Gathering on the Green music festival in Mequon in summer 2019.

Benatar, who rose to fame in the 1980s with top 10 hits like "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Love Is a Battlefield" and "We Belong," will perform the second night of the two-day festival on Saturday, July 13, in Mequon's Rotary Park, 4100 W. Highland Road.

Benatar will be joined on stage by her husband, Giraldo, a songwriter and guitarist who has written, produced, arranged and recorded more than 100 songs with Benatar.

The night before Benatar's performance, on Friday, July 12, Gathering on the Green will host a country music night with headliner Lee Brice and special guest Post Monroe.

With more than 2 billion listens on Pandora, Brice is among the top 25 most-streamed country artists on the music streaming service.

Brice is a Grammy Award nominee, a Country Music Award nominee and a double winner of the Academy of Country Music Awards. He's taken five radio singles to the top of the charts with, “A Woman Like You," “Hard To Love," “I Drive Your Truck," “I Don’t Dance" and “Drinking Class.” 

Opening up for Brice is Post Monroe, a country duo influenced by a vast array of sounds from country, pop and rock. The group was featured in Rolling Stone Country’s "10 Artists You Need To Know" and have performed multiple times on The Grand Ole Opry.

Fly around the world alone

Ravi Bansal
Rotary Club of Buffalo, New York

Some years ago, my sister-in-law died of cancer. I wanted to find a way to raise awareness of the disease and to raise money for the charity hospital in my hometown, so I got the idea to fly around the world. It was an extremely ambitious plan for me, something like climbing Mount Everest — except that more than 4,000 people have climbed Everest, and more than 500 people have gone to space. But only 126 people have flown around the world solo, and I’m the only person of Indian origin to do so.

Part of the reason it’s so hard is logistical. I flew more than 26,000 miles in six weeks, and I had to acquire numerous documents for each trip, customs clearances, and insurance. If you have a problem with a single-engine plane and you’re flying over land, you can usually land safely on a road or a field. But when you fly around the world, 70 percent of the time you’re flying over water.