Michele's Musings

So last night on the air, we were talking about hot dogs. (I know-- nothing but the most hard-hitting stories on Fox-17). Kevin Craig said something about 'only mustard and onions' on his dog. And I said 'what about cucumbers'? 2 seconds later, Producer Pantaleo is in my ear, completely making fun of me: "cucumbers! cucumbers!". Okay-- I'm not a huge hot dog eater. Even at the Corner Bar in Rockford, I order a salad. But my college friends all live in Chicago, and for years we'd go to the baseball game, hit the bars, then grab a late night dog. So this morning I sent a bunch of emails to my peeps, trying to get confirmation that I have not completely lost my mind: that's the way we ate them. One friend sent this article, so I'll pass it along to you.

Chicago Hot Dogs
By Doug Criner
A Chicago-style hot dog is typically served with the following accoutrements: yellow mustard, green pickle relish, chopped onion, sport peppers (small, smooth, dark-green pickled peppers), kosher dill pickle, cucumber spear, a couple of thin tomato slices or wedges, a steamed poppy-seed bun, and celery salt. Everything is put on top of the hot dog—including the kosher dill and cucumber spear, which are laid parallel with and on top of the dog. Don't worry about remembering all these toppings--if you order a Chicago dog with everything, that's what you'll get.
Ketchup is never served on a real Chicago-style hot dog. Even if you like ketchup, don't apply it to your dog in public. Hot-dog stands have ketchup on the counter if you insist on using it, but it isn't considered proper to order a hot dog with ketchup.
So there you go.
Check out tomorrow night's Back Story, and you'll get a behind the scenes look at the newest member of the Fox-17 News Team!!
See you at 10-
Michele

There are lots of reasons to run: for fitness, for sanity, for 45 minutes of peace and quiet, for fun. This weekend, there's another reason: run for Mitchell. He's 12 years old, and has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Mitchell's Run is a 5K event through downtown Rockford. Steve and Sandra Peterson started it after their then-3 year old son was diagnosed. This Saturday, the race is celebrating 10 years! In that time, they've raised 500-thousand dollars. All of that money has gone to Parent Project, a global organization that funds research to find a cure for Duchenne MD. Here's a link to the website to sign up: www.mitchellsrun.org.
What better reason could there be?
Hope to see you there-- and at 10!
p.s. It's Wednesday: did you have your ice cream today???

It's been a long time, so we have a lot to catch up on!
First-- Mitchell's 5K Run was just great-- huge turnout, perfect weather, and 73-thousand dollars raised for research for a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy!
Last week's Back Story was actor Rainn Wilson, who is HILARIOUS! My photographer that day, Matt Duwe, is a huge fan of his, so it was a fun interview. Check out Rainn's new movie "The Rocker"!
I don't know what to watch on TV, now that the Olympics are over! Did you see Rockford native Dathan Ritzenhein run the marathon last night? He finished in 9th place, right in front of Ryan Hall, and gave the United States a pair of top-10 finishers for the first time since 1976! Yeah, Dathan! He's going to be hanging out with family in Michigan for awhile, so maybe I can catch up with him before he goes back to Oregon.
The biggest reason I've fallen behind on my blog is that I'm in what my friend Marilyn calls 'a mourning period"-- I knew taking Brandon to Michigan State was going to be tough, but WOW this has been really hard. I'm not worried about him at all-- he loves it so much already! And I'm happy for him, and so proud-- I just miss him. So there. 'Nuff said, as Producer Pantaleo would tell me.
Shopping seems to help-- I may single-handedly be putting West Michigan's economy back on track!
On the opposite end of the spectrum, my 5 year old goes to Kindergarten next week!
More tears, more whining (yes, from me-- she's all ready to go!)
I'll be back on my game soon- I promise!!
See you at ten!!
-Michele