A Love Affair…

I want to be really careful about jumping on the whole Thanksgiving “I am grateful for…” bullshit bandwagon. Don’t get me wrong, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite Holidays. But one culture’s Holiday is another culture’s Hell: not all folks celebrate Thanksgiving. For instance, many of our Native American sisters and brothers are diametrically opposed to Thanksgiving (and that’s a discussion for another day). But I do want to talk about a love affair that I’m currently in (and it’s not my love affair with my wife). I’m talking about my ongoing love affair with…Lake Michigan (which means I am grateful for Lake Michigan).

My love for Lake Michigan goes way back to when I was a little boy. As a boy I would beg my Dad to drive me down to the Lake. I loved sitting on the shore staring out at that big water. I loved seeing sailboats go by with big billowing colorful sails. And holy crap bonus points if I happened to see a big ship go by!

As I grew older I was eventually able to drive myself down to the lake. I found hiking trails (such as the Seven Bridges trail in Grant Park). I found biking trails. I explored beautiful parks and outstanding nature centers (such as the Schlitz Audubon Center). And I especially loved getting up early to watch sunrises over the big water.

My family even vacationed on the big water. Several summer vacations happened in Wisconsin’s Door County where the big water dominated pretty much everything we did (and to this day I try to get back to Door County with my wife as much as I can…have trailer will travel..and I argue that Door County is every bit as beautiful as, say, Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park in Maine).

And as I’ve grown my thoughts about the big water and my relationship with the big water have changed. Perhaps at one time in my life I didn’t realize how very important the big water was to my life. Perhaps at one time in my life I may have taken the big water for granted. Perhaps at one point in my life I may have even forgotten that the big water was even there (a lot of bullshit on the brain can make you forget the important things in life…at least that happens in my life). Leaving the big water for many years made me realize how big a part of my life the big water represented. I missed the big water. I longed for the big water. When you live near the big water life stops and starts at the big water’s shore. You can’t go any further East than the big water and then you turn around and begin again in another direction. Living away from the big water meant that life stretched on in all directions with no discernible end point.

And now I come to realize that just about all the liquid in my body is Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan gives me life. And Lake Michigan gives life to everyone along its shore. Life along Lake Michigan exists because of Lake Michigan. Could Milwaukee and Chicago be what they are without the life giving waters of Lake Michigan? Could Milwaukee have become brew town without Lake Michigan? And the big water is there everyday giving of itself and not asking for anything in return. It’s doing nothing but at the same time it’s doing everything.

And I argue that Lake Michigan has been doing its thing for a VERY long time. I am a bit of a geology nut. As such I have to subscribe to Earth/geologic time vs. Biblical time. And for those who subscribe to geologic time I argue that Lake Michigan may be one of the OLDEST bodies of water on the planet. Granted, all of the salt water is gone and the shape/depth of the big water has changed. However, all of Eastern Wisconsin was an ancient tropical ocean. And I’m talking billions of years ago. WAY before dinosaurs. I’m talking primitive times. But the evidence exists. All of the limestone around Milwaukee (and even the limestone of the Niagara Escarpment in Door County) exists because this was the bottom of the ocean. Even in the parking lot at Milwaukee’s baseball stadium (Miller Park soon to be AmFam Park) stand limestone bluffs that contain fossilized coral! I think that’s so cool!

But as I look around I am saddened by how easily and quickly we can mess things up. Yes, I took Lake Michigan for granted once upon a time and I am ashamed. And I wish to point out a few things now that I have awoken from my sleep. Invasive plants and animals threaten to destroy our beautiful big water (Asian Carp are at Lake Michigan’s doorstep and Zebra/Quagga mussels continue to wreak havoc). Continued dumping of sewage and industrial/agricultural effluent continue to degrade water quality (well, as most of me is Lake Michigan I guess I may literally have shit for brains!). Foreign ships entering Lake Michigan continue to dump bilge water containing biological stuff that was never ever meant to be here (such as Zebra mussels). Native fish populations such as Perch and Lake Trout continue to teeter on the brink of total collapse. And political/economic pressures make it nearly impossible to achieve any level of ongoing conservation. Why the fork is it so hard to do anything good for the environment especially when it means life or death for our own wellbeing?! Pisses me off!!!

But there is hope. For instance, researchers in Green Bay have been planting native mussel species in the Bay and have been watching those native mussel populations rebound. What’s more is the native mussels are outcompeting Zebra and Quagga mussels. How forking cool is that? As a keystone species mussels are the life of the big water and their survival (coupled with our providing them what’s needed for survival) may mean new life for the big water and subsequently…us.

We can do this. We have the knowledge and the tools to do good. Doing good is always harder than…well, you do the math. But doing good is…good…and the right thing to do. And I look forward to continuing a…healthy…love affair with Lake Michigan.

Thank you Lake Michigan for always being there for us. You always give and always ask for so little. I hope I can give back a little.