To prove that "never the twain shall meet" is wrong, just take a morning trip to Playshore, the free kids' play area in Bayshore Town Center.
It's a gathering place for grandparents, like me, and for young parents, all with kids from about two to five years old.
In a day and age where kid play centers seem to need huge climbing tubes and a million plastic balls and games that go whiz and whee and lights that flash in multi-color bursts, Playshore is like a throwback.
It has a boat and a bridge, a train and a huge half baseball that kids can climb on. It has artificial turf that kids can run on and fall down and pretend they have just scored a touchdown for the Packers.
None of the things move. They are made for climbing. Nothing is too high that you need to worry or be afraid. Sure, you've got to watch your kid, and all the other kids. But there's no fear or anxiety.
Kids play with other kids who they've never met. And the adults, both the young mothers and the grandparents, say hello and talk with each other. One morning I met and talked with a young mother from Russia who had just moved to Milwaukee a month earlier. She said she was having trouble meeting people who weren't from Russia.
Another woman sitting next to us overheard and introduced herself. It turned out they lived less than a mile from each other. When I left a new friendship seemed born.
I'm not a huge fan of shopping malls and chain stores, but Playshore is an amazing place as long as you are willing to let your kid go and figure out what kind of playing he or she wants to do.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
