I  got an all-too-familiar reaction recently when I mentioned that I had yet to patronize The Nucleus Café. “You’ve never been to the Nucleus Café?!?” Yeah, yeah. Over the years, I’ve gotten similar remarks accompanied with stupefied looks along the lines of “you’ve never been to the Gemini Drive-In?!?...The Viennese Ball?!?...Tower Ridge?!?...Hobbs Arena?!?...Action City?!?…The Pickle?!?” No, and I haven’t been to the Mabel Tainter Theater nor the Heyde Center, never went to Country Jam nor Rock Fest nor the Northern Wisconsin State Fair, never fished nor boated on the Chippewa or Eau Claire rivers, and I never climbed to the top of the mound overlooking Elk Mound. I’ve taken advantage of hundreds of other things this region has to offer in my 23 years as an Eau Clarian, but not everything – yet.

Back to The Nucleus. The key word in my opening statement is “yet.” I have “yet” to visit The Nucleus. I’ve heard their breakfast is wonderful. What can I say? I’m a creature of habit. When I go out to breakfast, I head to Perkins. (I can already hear one saying “Perkins? They’re so corporate.”) I personally think they have the best pancakes in town as well as the best morning wait staff.

I also occasionally head for some breakfast joints where bib overalls are a fairly common sight. I suppose I’m connecting with my roots a generation removed; a nod to my grandparents. I’ve slipped into a safe groove. Some might say a rut, but I want to know my hard-earned cash is going to produce pleasurable results. With the poor economy, I’m not taking as many risks as I used to. I want to go in knowing what the seating arrangements are, and that I will indeed have a seat (we have our Sunday morning Perkins timing down to the quarter hour that we know we will have to wait for a booth to open up). You know the faces and sometimes they know you. (Cue the Cheers theme song.)

Am I stuck in a rut? When we habitually go to the same places over and over when there are so many choices from which to choose, is this a bad thing?

    Maybe it’s a generational thing why I go to some places and not others. My list in the first paragraph contains a number of places my kids have been to without me. I have attended some good shows at Stones Throw and the House of Rock, and when I look around, I’m usually the oldest one there. I normally don’t mind, but sometimes I find myself looking at the clock and thinking of my comfy chair in the middle of a song. I love live music, but I no longer want to stand to hear it. Give me a cushy chair with elbow room. And I want a climate-controlled setting. And I want it to be over by 9:30 pm. I think I’ve become an old fart.

Maybe it’s a pacing thing. I used to run from one event to another. My habits are changing, though. “Nesting” was a popular phrase a few years back. I find myself watching more Netflix movies in my sweatpants. However, that may have more to do with the fact I now have to endure 30 minutes of commercials at one local cinema than anything. Sometimes I’ll think, “Hmmm … I really should go hear that new local band,” but then I’ll wind up staying at home. After being in front of people all of the time – I’m a full-time teacher and a children’s entertainer; and no, they are not the same – I want some “leave-me-alone” nesting time.

To be fair, though, I still like to try new things. Even with a slower pacing, I try to get to at least two social or entertainment or sports events each week. I took up the guitar a few years back. I just started to golf this year at the age of 53, and am ready to humiliate myself at several local courses. I recently saw two Bon Iver concerts, went on the Banbury Art Crawl, and petted newborn lambs outside of Menomonie.

So, what’s the point of this Andy Rooney piece? Is it that everyone should get out more and take advantage of what this region has to offer? Is it that folks should work to get out of their routines and try new things? Nah. I just want folks to get off my back that I haven’t been to The Nucleus – yet.