Looking at today's list of cool Milwaukeeans made me think of how much I love the cool Milwaukeeans in my daily life. We all have them. They're the ones not everyone knows but that make us smile on a daily basis.
- My family, of course. My kids keep me on my toes and prevent me from becoming too self-absorbed and my wife helps keep me on track. They remind me every day to have fun, to be curious and to just try and mellow the f out (ha ha, good luck!).
- My dogs. They ask for so little and they give so much in return. Few living things are as unfailingly happy to see me as they are and as unfailingly content to just sit with me and hang. We got them from a rescue -- yes, there are poodle rescues! -- but certainly they've given us as much as we've given them.
- My co-workers and my friends. During the week I spend more waking hours with some of them than I do with my family. I'd like to say that some of them are cooler than others, but, really, they're all pretty darn cool, and each in their own way. I'd be happy to sit and have a beer with any of them at any time. Especially if they're buying.
- My baristas. Whether it's Scott or Kate at Alterra on Prospect or Kelly at Whole Foods, they're chatty, personable and witty and in addition to feeding my caffeine addiction, they make me happy to occupy this little corner of Milwaukee. We can't always say that about a lot of people we deal with in the retail world (though, I agree, that's a tough world to inhabit).
- You. Because if you weren't reading this, I'd likely be wearing a tie, sweating, sitting in a cubicle writing about inserting tab a into slot a, or composing an arid press release about new corporate hires. Instead, I had coffee with Jonathan Jackson from Milwaukee Film this morning, interviewed the general manager of a waterpark and gave away four pair of Alice Cooper tickets.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
