Bridge, Fire, Reams of Paper

The title is a pretty good summary.

As most folks should be aware of, there was a horrendous event in the Twin Cities last night. The I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed, and during heavy traffic. Thankfully, as far as I know, none of the Minnesotan friends I know (but don't correspond with much anymore) were involved. I got a voicemail from my mom, letting me know that all my relatives in that area are all right, too.

The reason I heard it in a voicemail, was because she called while I was on the phone with my father. It seems the little village of Cleveland, WI, had its own brush with disaster. Thankfully, this one was less deadly and more ironic. See, most of us Clevelanders know about the hotel that Al Capone liked to stay at; it was located in Hika Bay, part of modern-day Cleveland. It famously burned to the ground.

Last night, another Cleveland icon felt the touch of immolation. The Wisconsin Box factory, formerly the sea green Hipke Packaging building, has been an unassuming landmark in this small lakeshore village for decades. Here's how it looks now:


I got the call from my father the moment I got home from working late. He and my sister were out on the swing, calling family members. Power was out all over the village, and the water supply wasn't running -- both thanks to the fire. Those train tracks you see are a block from the house where I grew up (a large block, but visible from the backyard). Here's the sight that greeted Cleveland residents and the numerous firefighters from all over the Manitowoc/Sheboygan region:


That's 200,000 square feet of factory, all for the purpose of making wooden boxes.

Meanwhile, it all feels a little much. Over 100 invitations sent out for the upcoming wedding. Nearly 30 letters/agreements created and sent out yesterday. Unlike the wedding mailings, these were not happy letters. They've occuppied my worktime for weeks. I'm utterly beat, tired of clerical work, lacking creative outlet... and now these two events, on the same night.

Oh, and the Brewers gave up the lead in the NL Central. Sure, nothing compared to everything else, but... man don't liked to be kicked when he's down.