Ace Wisdom

Nana’s funeral was memorable.  Family and friends came from near and far offering spiritual support.  I know that Nana was there.  I know she was smiling.  Trust me, I know!

Lois, the last of Nana’s siblings, was at the funeral.  I was determined to coax some Kruschke family stories out of her.  Lois tolerated my questions with a quiet confidence which reminded me of Nana.  In fact, Lois’ whole demeanor was reminiscent of Nana.  The way she held herself.  The way she sat.  The way she stood.  The twinkle in her eye.

When I met Nana and Grandpa George 55 years ago, I was an intrusion in their life.  Being an outsider to the family, I would constantly hear stories about the Stegers and the Kruschkes.  It was confusing.  It took me awhile to figure out that with 9 children in Nana’s family and 8 children in George’s, I might never get all the names straight.  So I began a “name association” process that had a lyrical ring to it.  It became “Amie and Franklin” (Amie was the oldest Kruschke sister).  When Mom would tell me Amie was coming to visit the family I would respond with “who”?  You know, “Amie and Franklin”.  Yep I got it.  I needed Franklin in the title.  I remembered the whole family that way.  Love and marriage.  Horse and carriage.  Lyla and George.  Chet and Lois.

For me, Chet will forever be part of Lois.  As I began to talk to Lois yesterday there was a similar life pattern to Nana’s that began to evolve.  The beginning years were farm.  There were the “living years” which included earning a living.  Wouldn’t you know that Chet and Lois owned their own retail business for auto parts (known as NAPA).  Most of the sales were to other businesses.  Lois was the “bookkeeper”.  Her memories include hours and hours of trying to find out why the general ledger system was not balancing.  It meant finding differences of several pennies.  Why spend all that time balancing the books?  Because that is what you do.  Nana would relate that same story as she tried to reconcile the “sheet metal books”.   Actually your Mom would agonize over ledger sheet errors at Mooney and Mooney Law offices.  Talk about family traits!

Lois was slow to share stories with me.  I asked her if there had ever been any family fires?  Nope!  Were there any car accidents in the early days?  Nope.  Had any of the Kruschke kids fallen through the ice?  Nope.  And so it went.  Provocative questions followed with a cute grin.  I gave up.

As your mom and Grasshopper No.5 were taking down the bulletin board in the Church basement, they asked Lois if she would like any of the pictures.  She noticed one of a young Nana sitting on the fender of an old model car.  Lois said she remembered the family car.  It was a Whippet (I think I got the spelling right).  Whippets went the way of the buggy whip.  Lois said they took the Whippet to church one Sunday and while the family was in church, a fire broke out around the engine compartment.  A “passer-by” saw the fire and immediately threw dirt and gravel on the fire to put it out.  When the family came out of church, the front of the car was covered with sand and gravel.  My intense questioning could not find that story.  A single picture on a bulletin board got the whole deal.  It was a car story.  It was a family crisis.  The story had the history I had been looking for.  Maybe I need more pictures in my life.

After a short time with Lois I think I can finally drop the word association game with Chet.   Lois and Nana are now etched in my mind.  There is no doubt Nana and Lois are sisters.  Oh my, they are sisters.

Love,

Dad

Every now and then, a family member comes along that endears themself to everyone.  Nana was one of those people.  Her “passing” will create a void that will be tough to fill.

She had an unconditional acceptance of “family”.  Growing up as one of eight children created a sense of belonging.  Living on a farm requires family members to share and pull together.

It all began with Nana’s value system.  Respect for everyone.  A common sense approach to life issues.  Integrity.  Unconditional love.

Her work ethic was “just do it”.  She made you feel a “little bit’ guilty when you procrastinated.  You had to get a job.  You had to earn money.  You had to do meaningful work.  That is what you do.

She honed life skills to survive.  She could “can” fruit and vegetables for use over the winter.  She could stretch potatos further than anyone I’ve every known.  She knew how to butcher animals for meat.  She could sew, knit and macrame.  She could harvest crops and she nutured one of the best flower beds in Plymouth.

Along the way she lived life.  She married another farmer and had 3 children.  Nana and George ended up in Plymouth because of a family connection. Walter Rienhold.  Wouldn’t you know Rienhold was in the sheet metal business.  It wasn’t long before Nana and George bet everything to start their own sheet metal business.  For two farm people, succeeding at business was a tremendous accomplishment and sense of pride.  She was always humble about their business success.

And then there were the Grandchildren, and Great-Grandchildren.  Lots of them.  She paid personal attention to each and everyone making them feel important.  Nana was involved when each of you Grasshoppers were born and remained that way.

Nana earned her way to the top of the family pyramid.  She was bestowed with the nickname “Nana” and was universally loved by all family members.  It was understood that nobody else could assume that name.  There was only one Nana.  She had become the matriarch of the family.

In the later years, her visits to our house included “food-fests”.  Your Mom and Nana would make potato pancakes the old fashioned way, she would eat my whole grain breads and consume our Johnsonville summer sausage. 

I’m going to miss the twinkle in her eye, her presence at family events and my annual birthday card.

I know that Nana made this a better world.  She was a credit to everything she did.  She was the embodiment of “family” and everything it means.  We are lucky to have had her in our life.  She will be missed.

Love,

Dad

 

There are milestones in the aging process that trigger financial change.  For example, once you turn age 62, you qualify for reduced Social Security benefits.  At 65, you become elgible for Medicare Insurance.  The final step is that at around age 66, you will be entitled to full Social Security.

This year, I turn 70 and by October I reach 70.5 years of age.  The IRS requires mandatory withdrawal from any 401(k) or IRA (Individual Retirement Accounts) in the year you turn 70.5.  There is a formula that determines how much a person must withdraw from all his accounts.  It starts at approximately 5% of the value of the accounts at age 70.5 and escalates to 10% of the remaining values at age 90 (yeah right, I’ll live to be 90).  This means I now have to pay taxes on my “mandatory” withdrawals.  As Grasshopper No.5 would say “darn”.

If I have the facts right, I do not get an increase in Social Security this year because “cost-of- living” is so low.  I don’t know about your world, but I haven’t seen many reduced prices.  My medical insurance for prescription drugs has increased.  Now I must withdraw 5% from retirement plans and pay more federal and state taxes.

I admit that I knew how the tax laws affect retirement income.  The 70.5 age withdrawal rules are stated very clearly in every retirement document.  Like everything else, as long as I hadn’t reached 70.5, the rules didn’t apply to me.  Now they do.

The good news is that I got to protect retirement”savings” from taxes for up to 25 years.  Savings do grow at a faster rate if you do not have to pay federal and state taxes when you set the money aside.

I must say my financial year is starting out very well.  Grasshopper No.1 sent me homemade chicken soup for my cold, Grasshopper No.3 bought me a breakfast and a car wash (part of Christmas) and Grasshopper No.5 paid for lunch at Hu-Hot (part of Christmas).  I guess all these “free-bees” offset my financial difficulties.  Keep it coming!

The lesson Grasshoppers is that 401k (and IRA) plans are just one part of retirement planning.  When used effectively, they can be powerful tools.  Learn the rules.

Love,

Dad

 

There is something positive about beginning a New Year.  It is a time to “wipe the slate clean” start anew.

There are several New Years Days that stick out in my mind.  The first was at the City Club.  Anyone that owns a business knows that you have to “take inventory” at the end of the year.  It is necessary to calculate the cost of goods that were sold during the year and calculate profits correctly.  My Grandma Myrna shut the City Club down on Jan.1 each year to count inventory.  I would help her.  It involved counting barrels of beer, candy bars, bottles of alcohol and lots of food products.  In the basement of the City Club was a room that was padlocked.  The room contained bottles of brandy, vodka, gin and many upscale liquors.  When a bottle of brandy was emptied at the bar while serving a customer, someone had to go into the locked basement room to procure a new bottle and bring it upstairs for use.  Only Myrna did this.  Apparently many bottles of booze had been pilfered over the years and it resulted in a locked room with only one person having a key.  There must have been 500-700 bottles neatly orgainized on shelves in that basement vault.  Each bottle was worth from $5-35 each.  New Year’s Day centered around the counting of booze bottles.  Of course roaming wild in an empty bar room on New Year’s was fun too

The second New Year’s day I remember was at the Stegers who lived on Plymouth Street “on top of the hill”.  They purchased one of the first real color TV’s in Plymouth.  It meant they could watch the Rose Bowl Parade in “living color”.  They must have been really rich!  The Stegers would invite several friends to join them and of course I “horned in”.  It was a big deal.  The Rose Bowl in color on TV!  It meant munchie foods and beverages of choice.  Two to three hours were always filled with ooooh’s and aaaah’s.  Only the privledged got to watch.  Interestingly, many years later, Grandpa George and Nana went out to Pasadina to visit George’s brother Clarence and the highlight of the trip was to personally attend the Rose Bowl Parade.

Yes, I will watch part of the Rose Bowl Parade today.  I have to.  History beckons.

Maybe you will be able to make this New Year’s Day a “memory”.  I hope your New Year is prosperous and rewarding.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dad 

Christmas came and went.  I am always amazed at the amount of preparation that goes into celebrating Christmas and then within hours it is all over.  It is always nice to have the whole family together at one time for a few hours.  Thank you one and all for making it happen.

Grasshopper No.5 and her furry friends made it home inspite of cruddy road conditions.

I got to walk on Sunday (the day after our Christmas) with two good looking babes.  One was Grasshopper No.2 and the other my daughter-in-law.  I was described by one of my buddies as a thorn between two roses.  I think he was jealous.

Nana was rushed to the hospital Sunday night.  She was having trouble breathing because of fluid in her lungs.  She is “on oxygen”.  Your Mom spent last night with her at the hospital.  Nana is well enough to watch “Little House on the Prairie”.  At last word, the plan was to arrange Hospice care for her at her assisted care home.  If things worked out, Nana would have been able to visit this morning with her youngest sister Lois.

This is my final blog of 2009.  I feel compelled to comment on the year.  If you have survived and have a job, rejoice.  I apparently will get reduced healthcare coverage with Medicare thanks to pending legislation.  Rejoice.  The financial crisis at the banks is apparently over.  Now no-one can pass the rigid screenings by banks so no-one gets loans.  Rejoice.  Most cost-of-living pay raises are non-existent.  Teachers still got their raises.  My property taxes went up to pay the teachers.  Rejoice.

In 2009, the biggest sports story has to be Tiger Woods fall from grace.  Someone estimated that the companies he represents with advertising have cost their stockholders $12 billion dollars because of falling stock prices.  The issue seems pretty simple.  The dumb shit got married.  He will be back.  He will continue to make billions.  Alas, he will be forgiven.

The Packers go into the playoffs playing well.  The Vikings go into the playoffs with a “limp”.  Brett Favre is arguing with his coach and even the lowly Bears beat the Purple Vikes.  Like I said before, I hope Green Bay meets Minnesota again and whips their ass.

I really do hope 2010 is a good year and that you enjoy good health and prosperity..

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

Love,

Dad

 

Besides watching a few episodes of Dexter (to apease Grasshopper No.5), I noticed that several movie channels were playing “White Christmas” (the movie) over and over.

Come back with me to days of yesteryear.  It is the early 1940’s and World War II has broken out in Europe.  Christmas is approaching and you are a field soldier.  You live in cold, wet sloppy foxholes.  You yearn to be someplace else, almost anyplace else.  Then over the “radio free Europe”, you hear a broadcast of crooner, Bing Crosby belting out the new music release ” entitled “White Christmas”.  It begins with “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I use to know”.  Suddenly you are transported in your mind to better times.  Loved ones.  Christmas trees.  Good food.  Most importantly, snow on the ground.  Millions of people in the military fell in love with the song along with their loved ones back in the “states” did to.  No wonder it was the No.1 record of all time.

So I wonder why people get their undies all in a bunch over snow at Christmas.  The ground is supposed to be covered in white.  The song says so.  Snow enhances the dream.

Listen to me.  I don’t have to travel in lousy weather.  The worst of the current storm is winding down.  Conditions should continue to slowly improve.  We will have survived the second big storm of the year.

Grasshopper No.5 made it out of Minneapolis hours before bad weather began to move in.  It looks like the twin cities will get over 12 inches of snow followed by slop.  Now I ask you, would you rather be back in Minneapolis or Appleton near family and friends.

Drive very, very, very carefully while listening to “White Christmas” on your car radio.

I hope Santa fullfilled all your dreams.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Love,

Dad 

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year.  The days now start getting longer.  It won’t be long until the sun is shining in your bedroom window at 5:00 AM and the birds are chirping.

Living above the City Club tavern when I was growing up, I had a continuing fear of fire.  The patrons of the tavern were heavy smokers and they would get careless with their “habit” as they drank more.  The tavern was 100 years old at the time and made of wood.  Dried wood and fire are a lethal combination.  On top of that, there was a grill for sandwiches that generated lots of grease.  My feared “tinderbox” fire never happened but I had my escape route all mapped out in my mind.  Last night in Blanchardville, Wisconsin, the Silver Dollar Saloon burned down.  It was a tavern/restaurant downstairs and a hotel upstairs.  It burned very rapidly and four people died.  My childhood fear played out in real life.

I got a Christmas card from Phoenix, Arizona with no return address and the card was signed Chin and Joann (no last name).  I couldn’t remember knowing any Chinese or Asia friends named Chin.  I thought the card was a mistake.  Brother Jack asked it I had received a card from Big Jerry (Grandma Alice’s younger brother) recently.  Nope!  Apparently Jack got a card.  Then it dawned on me.  5-6 years ago Big Jerry and his bride made a tour of the Midwest including Wisconsin.  In a visit with them his wife Joann called him Chin.  I remember asking where that nickname came from.  Big Jerry lived in California near Joann.  He was raising chinchillas for the fur pelts.  Joann would tease him about the little critters and labeled Jerry “Chin”.  So yes I got a Christmas card from Big Jerry.

Brother Jack is now living with a new friend Hanna.  Jesus!  Why would he want to complicate his life by living with another female?  She is eleven months old.  She was seen in the Sheboygan Press.  She could be adopted for free.  Jack says she is a “part Collie mix” and very loving.  The dog had either been abused or in some trauma accident because her rear legs have arthritis already.  She can walk and run but their is some obvious discomfort.  Jack said she is very docile and loving.  She is always “underfoot”.  She sounds like a perfect match for the cantankerous old bastard.

Santa Claus is preparing for his Christmas Eve flight.  Don’t forget to leave out the cookies and milk.  Actually a shot of blackberry brandy would warm his soul.  He still makes dreams come true.

Keep Nana in your prayers.  She has always been a special part of your life.

Stay Warm.

Love,

Dad