The normally placid Fox River is showing a lot of strength this spring due to all the runoff from melted snow plus heavy rains. Great caution is advised for those who do any boating on the river - the gentle flows you are used to are much more treacherous than normal. He's a brief clip of the river as it flows downstream of the dam below Memorial Drive, just behind the Paper Discovery Center and Fratello's.

The Live Oak Market in downtown Appleton (119 E. College Avenue) wins my award for the best sandwich in Appleton. This small upscale market and deli offers a spectacular array of unique sandwiches made with high quality Boar's Head brand meats and rich Breadsmith breads. I tried "the Appletonian" sandwich which truly lives up to its name. This hot sandwich features Tender Boar's Head tavern ham, a thick slab of wonderfully carmelized onions and some carmelized apple slices, a little lettuce, and melted cheddar and Gruyere cheeses between hearty peasant bread. My son tried the Chicago Blues sandwich which had tender steak and melted blue cheese, with grilled vegetables in a baguette-style bun. Very good, but we both preferred the Appletonian.

If their menu of elegant sandwiches doesn't have what you want, you can construct your own sandwich using a large list of ingredients they have. That seemed to be a popular route with many of the patrons we saw come in.

Wraps and soups are also available. We tried the tomato basil and noted that this thick and fresh tasting soup had much more tomato than most related soups and no detectable flour to thicken it. Very nice.

The shop only has seating for about 10 people. Most people take out their food. But it has a great view of College Avenue if you do choose to eat there.

They have a nice selection of deli meats and cheeses, with a variety of upscale items such as pasta, sauces, seasonings, and some non-food items.

Live Oak has been there for almost one year. I think their one-year anniversary is in two or three weeks. Nice addition to Appleton!

Phone: (920) 882-6737.

Fajitas is a trendy new Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant that recently took over the beautiful two-story building that once housed the Black and Tan Grille (215 S Memorial Drive). We went on a Friday night, showing up at 5:30 pm with reservations (good idea). We encountered fabulous food, excellent service, and remarkably low prices for such quality and ambiance.

They have a lot of favorites Americans are used to, plus some real authentic Mexican dishes such as puerco pibil. I tried an authentic but difficult-to-pronounce Yucatan dish, a tender grouper wrapped in banana leaves and rice, with a delightful spicy orange flavor. Wonderful! My wife's fish tacos were good. I also sampled some of steak "fajita burrito" dish one of my sons ordered. Tremendous flavors, carefully cooked and seasoned.

What surprised me was the low prices. Our dishes ranged from $9 to $13, but had the quality I'd expect in a much more expensive place. And the atmosphere is pleasant in the elegant old home that has been remodeled into an exciting restaurant.

Our waiter was especially good. A friendly, articulate, intelligent student at Fox Valley Tech who comes from the city of Toluca in central Mexico. A very impressive young man who did a great job in serving us and answeing our questions.

One of the best Mexican experiences I can remember. I'll be back!

Fajita's Mexican Bar & Grill is open for dinner only right now, but in a few weeks will be open for lunch also. They will also be open for brunch on Mother's Day. Call (920) 968-0833 for reservations.

Tell them Jeff (el gringo alto) sent you.

There's a very nice article in the May/June issue of SkyWest Magazine, the nation's largest regional in-flight magazine. It highlights our highly livable community, our proud traditions of parades (we were the first to offer a Flag Day parade, for example), and several aspects of our healthy economy - including the work of my company, Innovationedge, and Fox Valley Tech's awesome Fab Lab.

The article is "Appleton, Wisconsin: A Parade of Possibilities" by Tony Banning, pp. 50-53 of the May/June 2008 issue.

Here's the excerpt that mentions my boss and her company:

Cheryl Perkins is a prime example of Appleton's inventive spirit. The former Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer at Kimberly-Clark, Perkins now heads Innovationedge, a company dedicated to helping both upstart [sic] inventors and established corporate leaders define effective strategies and enhance capabilities. She is also a major booster of the company's home turf and waxes enthusiastic about the FAB LAB--part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Innovation Network. Based at Appleton's Fox Valley Technical College, the program helps inventors and other big thinkers create product prototypes and gain expert insight into business development. It is the only facility of its kind in the state.

Perkins said, "As a long-time champion of innovation, I can tell you that those who leverage FAB LAB to spark new ideas, create new products and services and change people's lives are people who are truly innovative, intuitive, fearless and most of all, life-long learners. We're not only teaching these innovators, the 'what'; we are empowering them with the 'how'--the knowledge they need to determine market viability and the state-of-the-art equipment and tools to make it happen."

The enterprise is among the means Appleton is pursuing to further advance its healthy economy.

I understand another article about Appleton is coming out in the Fall. If you'd like to get an ad placed in this magazine, let me know. An acquaintance of mine handles the ads for magazine. Lawrence University took out a beautiful and persuasive full-page ad in this edition. Nice!

I find it hilarious that a brave Menasha man, Guy Hegg, made the front page of the Post-Crescent this morning by daring to question Maplewood Middle School authorities about their choice of a book. I have to praise the Post-Crescent, though, for doing what is usually not done when parents raise such objections. Rather than just letting school officials talk about the book and dismiss the concerns, they have reproduced a couple of the objectionable passages from the book - giving parents a chance to see that maybe Guy has a legitimate point after all.

Whether you agree with his objection or not, why is this on the front page? Isn't there something about the Packers that could be there instead?

Guy is not asking that the book be burned or banned from the community. He is questioning whether it's sexual and lewd content is appropriate for the sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders in the school. Given that the school can only select a tiny percentage of the millions of available books to provide for kids in the school, this is not a matter of determining what books can be written and published, but which priorities will be used to select a few books for the kids. And Guy as a parent is perfectly justified in wondering if the book is a reasonable choice.

Interviewed school officials make it sound like this kind of objection is unheard of, and that Guy is taking things way out of context. But read the passages in the article and maybe you'll see a different side to the story.

The book is "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison.

Parents speaking out, worried about what the schools promote and expose their kids to? I think it's a healthy thing, as long as discourse is civil, reasoned, polite, and done with due respect to procedures and rules. Remember, these are our kids, and parents should be watchful. We can respect and trust authorities and teachers, but it's fair to ask questions occasionally and raise perspectives they might have missed.

Guy, I don't know enough to fully address the concerns you have raised, for I haven't read the book, but I applaud you for caring enough about the education and welfare of your children and other children to be willing to ask some tough questions. Sorry if this gets you marked for life as some kind of rebel, but thanks for your courage. More parents need to be involved and watchful.

Democracy. I think it has its merits.

While Wisconsin is famous for a variety of agricultural products, many people don't know that one of our agricultural gems right here in the Fox Cities is sprouts, such as bean, broccoli, and radish sprouts. Sunrise Farms of Neenah is a major supplier of sprouts in this part of the country. Many of the sprouts used in the finest restaurants of Wisconsin come from Sunrise Farms, as do many of the sprouts sold at grocery stores. Sunrise Farms was founded by Frank Crikelair 30 years ago, truly ahead of his time, and has developed many advanced and innovative techniques to serve the highest quality products. 100% of the sprout batches from Sunrise Farms, for example, are tested for safety, and they have extremely advanced quality control systems and techniques that greatly enhance shelf life and maintain high quality. A very impressive operation.

Next time you're out shopping, be sure to pick up one of several healthy and nutritious varieties of sprouts from Sunrise Farms. I especially enjoy the broccoli sprouts, which not only taste great, but have high concentrations of cancer-preventing compounds. Kudos to Frank and the staff at Sunrise Farms for a world-class operation!

For those who have heard allegations about some sprouts being toxic, a helpful article is "Natural Toxins in Sprouted Seeds: Spearating Myth from Reality."

A sweet friend of ours from Taiwan recently broke her foot. Since her job at McCain foods requires her to stand and walk a lot in the production of frozen foods, she was worried about how she would get by without being paid during her convalescence, and also wondered if the company would just fire her and get a replacement. She was glowing with good news when we saw her again: not only are they keeping her, they are continuing to pay her while she recovers. While this may have been standard policy, she sure didn't take it for granted and was thrilled to learn that she wouldn't be abandoned. Many white collar and union employees take this kind of treatment for granted, but for those with much lower wages out on the manufacturing floor, life can be much more tenuous. Anyway, I'm glad McCain treated her so well. Kudos!

Appleton was just recognized as one of the top cities in the nation for walking and is tied with Madison as the best city in Wisconsin for walking. The honor comes from Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association. See Prevention's Best Cities site for detailed results. (Somehow they ranked Honolulu, San Francisco, and New York City above Appleton - come on!)

This is a well-deserved honor. Appleton has beautiful streets, good sidewalks, a safe, clean environment, and so many things of interest within walking distance from central locations. There are some great trails also, such as the CE trail and trails in surrounding parks. The Fox Cities in general provide many beautiful walks.

The honor is reported by Steve Wideman of the Post-Crescent in the April 11, 2008 story, Appleton, Madison Tops for Walking: Magazine Ranks Two Cities 11th in the Nation. Here's an excerpt:

Appleton is the best walking city in Wisconsin, along with Madison, in a recently completed survey by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association.

Both cities also tied at 11th among 500 cities nationwide, according to the survey.

The survey notes Appleton offers a low crime rate and a dense downtown area with many eating and shopping opportunities for walkers.

"The nice thing about parking downtown is you can walk to work, walk to lunch, walk to business meetings and shop if you need something," said Jennifer Stephany, executive director of Appleton Downtown Inc., a downtown advocacy group.

Cities were evaluated based on 14 points including the percentage of adults who walk to work, the number of parks per square miles, use of mass transit and percentage of adults who walk for exercise.

Mayor Tim Hanna said the recognition shows Appleton is meeting its mission of answering community needs and enhancing quality of life "through our neighborhood parks, pedestrian-friendly downtown area and 7.5 miles of paved walking trails."