Pam and Marty of Milwaukee

Tonight I dined with two distinguished people from Milwaukee. I always make a point to ask the tourism board where I am traveling to try to set up dinners with interesting people. Wendy Haase, of Visit Milwaukee obliged when she sent Martin Hintz and Pam Percy to pick me up at the Hotel Metro in downtown Milwaukee. This retro hotel has glass sinks and cool '60s furniture. We drove to the Lake Front Palm Garden Brewery, where a cavernous room was packed with people eating fried fish, and in the backm a polka band played. We enjoyed a fish fry, a tradition in this lakeside city of 700,000, where the German and Polish roots are strong.

Pam used to produce a radio show called "Hotel Miwaukee,"complete with paid actors, musicians and script writers. She used to raise $150,000 to cover her costs every year. She published a coffee table book about chickens, with color photos and just yesterday, she found out it was coming out in paperback.

Martin Hintz edits the Irish American Post on line, and writes for many travel magazines and does books for Scholastic and others. They are a couple who laugh easily, articulate their many opinions in that facile way you find with people who read a lot and are able to listen and learn as well as talk.