Our friend Tom Kautz is a nice guy. My husband and I know him and his wife Rosemary as good friends with whom we occasionally share a meal and tell stories. We've gotten to know Tom as a man who likes woodcarving, hiking, fishing, hunting and generally being outdoors. He helped me catch and clean my first bluegill. But he is also a man who has spent much of his life in public service.
Recently we were happy to see a notice in the Janesville Gazette that Tom was being honored by having a boardwalk and nature trail at Beckman Mill Park near Beloit named for him. We headed over to the park yesterday to find the pavilion filled with friends and well-wishers, and also some regional television reporters.
This reporter was busy interviewing Tom. We checked out the Rockford station that night at 6 p.m., but although they mentioned the event, we never saw the actual interview. We did see, much to my chagrin, a shot of two people, from the back, walking on the boardwalk. Their faces didn't show, but it was us. Gotta say, my backside isn't my best feature; I would have rather heard what Tom had to say.
