Ace Wisdom

I am a sports enthusiast. I like football but ……….!
The NFL season “kicked off” it’s season Thursday night followed by games all day Sunday including a featured evening contest. Then on Monday night there was a double header starting with the Packers followed by a Denver-Oakland matchup. It was non-stop NFL. It went on and on and on.
If NFL football wasn’t enough, college football began with a serious agenda all weekend. Saturday was non-conference encounters with a few major match-ups. Cheerleaders, bands, mascots, tailgating and more.
On a more personal level. your Mom and I and attended a Badger game in Madison. I think it has been almost 3 years since we’ve seen a “home loss”. At least attending a home game involves a personal commitment and some exercise.
If you are into youth football, you could have watched Grasshopper No.4’s team get blitzed by a losing score of 48-12. Didn’t the same team win a championship last year? I’m sure that lucky breaks for the other team determined the contest.
Dominic centered the offensive line on his new team with his No.75 intimidating the opponents on the other side of the ball. My understanding is that teams platoon players so everyone gets a chance to play. Dominic’s unit played very well, it was the other guys that caused the 19-0 loss.
So if you are a football fan, you had everything you could wish for. If you are not a football fan, you are probably wishing someone would put you out of your misery.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that football seems to be woven in to our cultural fabric. It represents competition. It generates passion. It personifies “team”. Yep, and it gives fans a reason to buy expensive TV’s, drink beer, eat pizza and do stupid things. Does it get any better?
To be fair as I make fun of football, I did take part in the “overload”. Your Mom and I did go to the Badger game in Madison. Monday night, I turned up the volume on the HDTV presentation of the Packers and watched the “Packer Nation” get over the rejection of Brett Favre.
The whole football extravaganza continues until February next year. Sigh!
Love,
Dad

Occasionaly someone arrives on the national political scene and wins over the electorate by storm. That happened this week!
There a lot of people hyped by the biased Press like Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and the promised one, Barack Obama. Once you get past the hype, it is the same old sh–. The good old boys and the lobbyist deals. Trust is a lost word.
Then along comes Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Of course she is pretty. Her smile is beguiling. She has an air of confidence. You get the feeling that she could un-nerve “the good old boy” club. And, yep there is more, she can work a crowd into spontaneous support.
For those of you that were not part of the 38 million viewers that tuned into the Republican Convention to see Sarah accept the Vice Presidential nomination for the Republican ticket, you missed an electric moment.
Sarah has all the credentials. Good family! High school athlete actually winning the Alaskian State Basketball Championship. A reputation for fighting for what she believes (her nickname is “Sarah Barracuda”). Five Children. Her guy (her husband) who has stood with her for 21 years. Accomplishment! Understanding of huge issues like taxes, medical insurance and energy. Imagine that.
The reason I even mention Sarah is because I am a student of special people. Grasshopper No. 4 calls it the “It factor”. “It” is something that you can not exactly define but when someone has “It” like Sarah, good things happen. Some times it seems magical. Charisma has something to do with it but there is more. Sarah has the ability to rally people for a cause.
I know there are two months before the Presidential election and Sarah is only No.2 on the Republican ticket. I am sure the “Press” will drag Sarah’s family through excruciating falsehoods and she will wonder why she even agreed to a national stage. If she survives the scrutiny, remember the name Sarah Palin.
The lesson Grasshopppers is that our national government is floundering like a ship without a rudder. Someone needs to inspire people to move toward good values and fiscal responsibility. I love this country. Why else would I get goosebumps when high powered jets fly low over a sports event after the Star Spangled Banner. Sarah might have arrived just in time. I’d give her a chance to steer ship.
Love,
Dad

It was a hot summer day in Plymouth. 1952! My Dad was smoking his daily ration of cigars in the office of the local Foundry as General Manager and his family (wife and 4 kids) were sweltering away in the City Club apartment.
Bucky called mid-morning and inquired if we wanted to go out to Elkhart Lake to the Fireman’s Park. It had a great park area to romp around and we could all go swimming. So promptly at noon, Bucky picked us up in 1938 Cadillac and we zipped out to Elkhart. My Mother didn’t have a drivers license until the late 1950’s so my Dad had to drive. We only had the one car. My Dad would drop us off and go back to work. So we were “commited” for the afternoon.
Fireman’s Park hasn’t changed much. We parked for free in the gravel parking lot. We always wore our swimming suits so that we didn’t have to change clothes at the beach. My Mother brought a big bag of “stuff” along to take care of us for the afternoon. It was always filled with candy bars, chewing gum and “sun tan oil”. No it wasn’t sun block with a PF factor of 45 like today. The sun tan oil (I believe it was Coppertone) was always heavy and thick and it was rubbed on like you baste a pig. I guess the idea was that you would develop a golden brown suntan even though you had light white pigment skin. When you went in the water the sun tan oil would wash off. I remember a lot of afternoons where we ended up wearning T-shirts in the lake to give extra protection. There was a small building near the beach where we could buy a soda.
Fireman’s Park had one of the greatest beaches in the area. It was white sand and you could walk out 50-100 yards with the water getting gradually deeper. We would bring snorkels and water masks for diving. Yep, we frittered away the whole afternoon in the water.
Then around 5:00 PM my Dad would come back to the lake to go swimming, “fry out” and finally take us home. I know that we would throw the baseball around and I think there was an occasional football. The Park had plenty of shade trees and they provided concrete permanent outdoor grills.
For some reason I remember my Mother (who didn’t smoke cigarettes up to this time of her life), worshipping the sun. She loved to lay on a blanket in the park near the water lathered with sun tan oil trying to develop a tan. A tan was symbolic of healthy. It was a desired look.
As the sun would begin to set around 7:30-8:00 PM we would jump in the car and trundle on back to Plymouth. Somehow the hot apartment didn’t seem as hot. We had spent the day at the beach and we didn’t even need a cottage. Maybe those days influenced my desire to own a cottage later on in life? Hmmmmm?
The lesson Grasshoppers is that your early life influences the choices you make later in life. There were many good times that my family shared while I was growing up and Fireman’s Park remains indelibly etched in my mind. I could revisit the same routine today if I wanted. Of course I wouldn’t look the same. Another Hmmmm!
Love,
Dad

If you notice, the sun comes up a little later each day. Your kiddies are back in school. Then there are the bees. Lots and lots of bees. The radio is blasting the UW Badger “Bud” song. Yep, summer is over.
We are all the “result” of our mother’s warnings. You know! “Don’t cross your eyes because they might stay that way”.
Your Mom also conditions you for your eating habits with her insights.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away?”
“If you have a cold, you need Chicken soup.”
“If you want muscles like Popeye, eat your spinach.” Mom never convinced me.
“If you don’t drink your milk, you won’t grow big and strong,”
As the years have gone by, I have adopted a regimen of eating too much and exercising too little. If someone says that I am too heavy, I rationalize that I am too short for my weight. If I were 6 inches taller, my weight would be perfect. Or, I’m not heavy, I’m just “big boned”. You get the idea. I’ve got good reasons for being like I am.
The comic Jay Leno helped me put things in perspective. He observed that he has been in training for the Olympics all his life. Michael Phelps eats 10,000 calories per day to supply all the energy he needs in the pool. Leno says he has the 10,000 calories down. now all he has to do is develop a swimming routine. Don’t we all. I’ve got the calorie requirement down. Now all I need is lots of exercise. I plan on starting tomorrow (or maybe the day after).
The lesson Grasshoppers is that our nutritional lives are filled with myths and dillusion. The reality is that we eat too much. We eat the wrong foods. We rationalize that what we do is okay. For sure, it is not our fault. I know, blame it on Mom.
Love,
Dad

I watched the Olympics in Beijing. One of the ads was of a car tire hitting debris in the road and “blowing out”. But fear not! They were Bridgestone tires with “run flat” capabilities. An inner tube of air keeps the tire inflated enough to keep driving until you can get the tire fixed.
Some new cars do not carry a spare because the “run flat” feature eliminates the need for it. If your tire goes flat, just stop at a tire dealer and have them fix it.
Great idea, huh? Guess again!
Most “fun flat” tires can not be repaired because the internal air tube prevents getting to the inside of the tire to repair it. Sometimes (and I emphasized sometimes), a small nail hole can be “plugged” from the outside. The net of all this is, if your “run flat” tire blows, you probably have to buy a new one. There goes $250.
Next comes the availability factor. Run flat tires are not stock items. So if you need a run flat tire replaced, you have to wait. One day? One week? One month?
Then you need the same brand tire to match the three tires that didn’t go flat. The dealer you stopped at may not have that brand and you are screwed. Yes, you can search dealers until you find the right tire.
So some people order an extra “run flat” tire so that it is available in case of failure. Oops! There goes another $250.
It is a bullsh– system!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that for now, stay away from “run flat” tires. Some German designer in Europe came up with a better idea. He (or she) needs to get out in the real world.
Love,
Dad

During my morning exercise, a young lady that has hardly acknowledged me for years, tapped me on the shoulder and said “my you smell good”! Whoa! I told her that was the best compliment I’ve had in years. I guess I’m still attractive to 70 year old women.
Previously I mentioned that at age 12, 13, 14 and 15, I worked in the Stokely fields during the summer weeding beets. When I turned 16, I was now elgible to work in the Stokely factory “canning” the early crop of peas. No more hot work in the sun. And I was elgible for the big money jobs.
Again my neighbor, Harry Zelm (plant superintendent) made sure that I got a job in the plant. Not only did I get a job, I was a “pea inspector”. Now there is a title to relish. I was Chief Pea Inspector. I started at $1.06 per hour. Once Stokely would begin to harvest the peas, I would work 15-16 hours per day (no there was no overtime), seven days a week. Still for a kid, earning over $100 per week, I was always in “pocket money”. There were interruptions when it rained but I usually found alternate work in the Stokely warehouse.
As I look back on summer employment, I realize that there were many positive lessons. First, I was taught financial independence. Having my own money allowed me to do many things without having to involve my parents. Second, I developed a “work ethic”. There is no shame in earning money. Third, I learned that I didn’t want to work in a factory all my life. It is an honorable job position but I just wanted to have Harry Zelm’s job as superintendent or better.
From my parents perspective, they always knew where I was during the summer (I was at work) and it kept me out of trouble. Other than dating that girl from “up on the hill”, I’m sure my parents felt like they were in control. Ha.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that good things happen from early employment. The lessons are numerous. There is nothing wrong with hard work. The “big money” isn’t bad either.
Love,
Dad

One of my favorite movies is “Born Free”. The music is classic and haunting.
A young motherless female lion cub (named Elsa) is rescued from the wilds of Africa by a childless couple. As the lion grows up, she is very docile and loved by all.
But little lions become big lions. It becomes obvious that Elsa’s natural pedigree requires her to live with “her own” in the wild. There is a great deal of pain by her adopted family in dealing with the return of Elsa to the wild. The effort begins. Elsa is placed into settings natural to a female lion to see if she can break away from domestication. She keeps coming home. It turns out to be a very painful process but eventually Elsa learns to exist on her own.
The parallel to life is uncanny. Children grow up as part of a close family. There is an unwritten law that once kids graduate (or try to graduate) from high school, they will have to move out of the house and begin to support themselves. The reality is similar to Elsa the lion who had no clue about how to survive. Some kids make the transition with relative ease and some kids would be content to live at home forever.
Like Elsa, the transition to independence needs to be made. It is a natural part of life’s process. Each person should be allowed to grow and evolve on their own terms. Why would you deny a child the opportunity to become President or a neurosurgeon?
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life is meant to be lived. Children should be nutured to develop as many skills as possible but the evolution to becoming independent needs to be made. Forcing your kids to learn meaningful skills should be a priority.
There is one poignant scene in “Born Free” where Elsa wanders into the camp of the couple who raised her after she has been on her own for several years. There is a stark realization that Elsa remembers and loves her previous home and she brings her two lion cubs with her. But Elsa also meanders out of camp to pursue her new life. Everyone (and Elsa) understands that what has happened is “right”.
And then the music theme of Born Free begins in and everyone cries.
Love,
Dad