Ace Wisdom

Grasshopper No. 4 has suggested several times that his Dad should buy the City Club (he assumes I could afford it), then have it declared a historical landmark. Apparently there is financial help from the State of Wisconsin to restore old properties to their original condition. I am aware of a small simple house in Fond du Lac that cost over 1 million dollars to get back to original condition. It took many years and my guess is that the State did not supply all the money.
My recent prediction was that some real estate mogul would purchase the City Club property, tear it down and erect a parking lot (isn’t there a song about tearing down a house and putting up a parking lot). I’m kidding! The property is in downtown Plymouth and conversion to office buildings or restaurants probably make the most sense.
We were contacted yesterday by one of Harry Stroebel’s nephews. He had discovered a complete “slide” collection including projector while cleaning out junk. It had been determined that the slides did not belong to the Stroebels so they gave us the slides. I have a feeling that they don’t belong to us either, but we will take a look.
Now on to “new life”. Apparently the City Club has been sold. It was purchased by a restaurateur from Sheboygan Falls who is going to re-establish the City Club as an eating establishment. The menu is supposed to be expanded to include additional items. The new owners plan to make it a “work in progress” by doing continual improvement by themselves. I don’t know the extent of restoration. Stay tuned! It is fun to watch. So new life is being pumped into the old facility.
Alas, I can put my checkbook away and Grasshopper No. 4 can turn his attention to other endeavors. Damn, another opportunity lost!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that opportunity lays in the eyes of the beholder. The restaurateurs from Sheboygan Falls see a positive investment. I see a “sink hole” for cash and lots of work. Time will tell!
Love,
Dad

First an apology. I recently mentioned that snow was a special part of Christmas. I must have been on a bipolar high because I now hate the stuff. Three snowfalls in 6 days convinced me that there is nothing good about snow. I hate the f—— stuff. Maybe I’ve shifted to a bipolar low.
I’ve been watching the mortgage mess that has been created. Fear not! The government is coming to the rescue. Government is you and me wiping the noses of the financial a–h—- who made bad loans.
It is really simple. Financial institutions lent money to “marginal” customers with creative mortgage instruments. You could borrow money with “nothing down”. You could borrow money for more than the value of your house. You could borrow money and pay “interest only” on a mortgage. And then there is the beautiful “adjustable rate mortgage” that lets you borrow at a low rate and 1-3 years down the road the rate adjusts upward to reflect market conditions (and then you can’t afford the payment).
Who is at fault? The banks and credit unions with their MBA’s and economic guru’s ought to know better. Common sense says that you don’t loan money to marginal customers at teaser rates for more than what a property home is worth. The financial institutions did it and the whole economy is now in jeopardy. The founder of Countrywide Financial (the largest mortgage company in America) paid himself $130 million before the debacle began. Not a bad reward for creating financial chaos. Shame on the financial companies for putting the home market in such jeopardy. Don’t worry! “We the people” will bail them out.
The people taking out mortgages for houses they could never afford were wrong for making such a move. This part of the issue gets very emotional because people could lose homes. Who’s fault is this? It is the people who commited to pay mortgage money they could never afford. Dry the tears. Our government will come to the rescue. We will keep you in those house you can’t afford.
What is really wrong is that good people will pay. You and I. We will do it because the economy will slip into a really bad condition if we don’t. We were wrong because we elected really lousy government officials to champion our economic system
The winners are the financial institutions that won’t incur large losses like they thought. The winners are home owners that get to stay in extremely nice home conditions because we feel bad that they might get thrown out.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that sometimes common sense gets lost. There is enough blame to go around but until all parties accept responsibility, mortgage messes will continue to occur.
Oh well, I guess I’ll do something really important like shovel my snow covered sidewalk.
Love,
Dad

As Christmas approaches it imposes stress. Decorations! Shopping for presents! Demands on your time. Frenzy. Rushing. Chaos.
STOP!
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Christ child! That is spiritual. Rejoice!
Christmas conjures up to special images and feelings such as:
Being with the one(s) you love.
Snow.
Beautiful music at the mall (no filtering religious songs).
Santa Claus!
The Xavier high school annual Christmas program.
Your kids participating in a school play or choir.
Smiles.
Anticipation.
Jobs.
Cookies baking (yummy as Grasshopper No. 5 would proclaim).
Good Health.
So make yourself a good cup of coffee or cappuccino, rent yourself a good movie, cuddle up with the one that makes your heart go “pidder-pat” and enjoy the season.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you can manage the Christmas blitz. Keep it in perspective. Don’t let it manage you.
Love,
Dad

I vowed years ago to avoid the obituary section of the newspaper. Alas, as the years go by, I find myself glancing at “obits” because it might include people I know. So much for my “vow”.
My Monday morning golf league is for retired men. The ages range from the late 50’s to guys in their 80’s. Golf partners are random based on the tee-times you select. Over the last several years I found myself regularly paired with Frank. He was in his early 80’s and he always wore long sleeved shirts with a high neckline. He had a keen sense of humor. You could tell he was “grounded” by the stories he told. There was mental anguish when he talked of losing a big oak tree in a storm. You’d think the horses on his farm were his kids. You get the idea. Frank was a really nice guy.
It turns out that Frank Wright was a medical doctor (a general practitioner). In the early days, he actually made house visits. He ended up with severe radiation exposure from holding the arms and legs of kids while their broken bones were being x-rayed. Constant exposure to radiation gave him the lifetime allowance of millirads. He could not take anymore radiation. So he wore long sleeved shirts with high collars and a broad brimmed hat to protect from the sun. He also developed cancer. He began to get random tumors on his body and they couldn’t use radiation to destroy the tissue. The cancer kept reoccuring.
Frank died this week. I’m going to miss him on the first tee. He was my expert source of information on most medical aches and pains I experienced. I’m sure Frank had no regrets. He lived! My how he lived!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you meet many people along the path of life. Most have something positive to offer. Even though these encounters are for short periods of time, they can have a profound impact on you. Listen for the meaning!
Love,
Dad

Thanksgiving is over!
This morning I was greeted by 18 degree temperatures and 35 mph winds. Jesus it was cold. The artic blast looks like a 2 week endeavor with the jet stream from Canada dipping into the mid part of the country. Dress your kittys warm.
Our Christmas tree is now in the living room. It is not trimmed but it is in the right location.
My morning task was to turn off all out-door faucets so they don’t freeze. It is not good to freeze water in your outside pipes. It could create a mess you don’t want to deal with.
My stash of “left-over” food is gone. Gone is the dressing made by Grasshopper No. 1. Gone is my pot of chili. Gone is the container of ice cream. So now it is back to the same old boring sh–.
Grandson Tommy has a birthday today. Grandson Mitchell is next week. Suddenly as we approach December there is a plethora of birthdays to celebrate. My brother Jerry has a birthday on Dec. 27 and Grasshopper No. 2 is Dec. 30. Most people lament having a birthday close to the holidays because it gets losts in all the other celebrations.
I finished my “no call” registry for our telephone. Alas I think my info will get lost in the great abyss of government documentation. You don’t really get your number screened from unwanted callers, you just think you do.
Music at the mall is good stuff this time of year. Christmas music by Elvis, Bing, Gene and Burl Ives. Almost makes you want to spend money. The operative word is “almost”.
Stay warm!
Love,
Dad

Usually the season for “working out” begins in January after everyone over indulges for the holidays. It involves outdoor walks, treadmills and even joining a sports gym. Not this year.
Grasshopper No. 3 has his whole family enrolled in Gold’s Gym in Appleton before the holidays and I’m sure the pounds are melting away and everyone is feeling good. I understand Keely ran 2 miles. Go, go, go No. 3.
And then there is the Madison chiropractor who has incentive from her employer to enroll in a health club and exercise 7-8 times a month and get reimbursed for most of her expenses. The whole family is running, lifting weights and doing aerobics. I know Grasshopper No. 2 can do a 3 mile run easily (along with Mitchell). The result of all of this is defined “six-packs”. Show off! Go, go, go No. 2.
I know that Grasshopper No. 4 has been using the frisky puppy as an excuse to exercise every morning and it does have a positive effect. It will be interesting to see if the new job interferes with the daily routine. Do you exercise in the morning or in the evening when your ass is dragging? Whatever you do, don’t give up on the routine. Go, go, go No. 4.
I keep my daily 3-4 mile regimen at the mall. Combined with my elimination of snacks, I have lots over 20 pounds. So I’m just your normal handsome (No. 2 says that having hair generates the illusion of handsome), svelte jock. So late last week as I’m finishing my daily walk routine, a middle aged woman approaches me and asks “there are 3 ladies that say you were just married recently and they’d like to know your age”. Ho, ho, ho! I said “how old do they think I am”? The guess was early 60’s. I said that I was married but it was a little more than recently (try 47 years) and I did tell her my age. So now I either have 3 secret admirers or the lady making the inquistion is interested. It dawned on me that they don’t care about my exercise routine. They just want to catch some poor unsuspecting bachelor in a moment of weakness and turn him into some sex object. Say it isn’t true! Probably widows looking for husbands. Go, go, go Dad go!
Your Mom with her combination of nutrition and exercise continues to get compliments. She has had two guys recently approach her in stores and start conversations. Say it isn’t so. Go, go, go Mom go!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that staying active is not only great for the body but it can be great for the ego. Just stay focused and comitted to staying in shape. You will feel good. You will continue to be “looking good”.
Love,
Dad

Your Mom and I headed northwest last weekend to Norwegian “Uper” country. It is the land where bridges fall down (no disrespect intended) and they serve stinky fish. Yep, we were in Minneapolis.
Our travel day going north was Friday, the day before gun deer hunting officially begins in Wisconsin. We stopped counting “car kills” along the road at around 15. The deer herd is at an all time high count and of course they were moving around as a result of hunters. Then there is this thing called the “rut”. A male deer in the “rut” can mistake a Saab car for a female deer. Go figure. “Bucks” get stupid when they are in the rut. Imagine loving a Saab?
When we got to Minneapolis, we were surrounded by a “sea of red”. The Wisconsin Badgers were in town to play Minnesota on Saturday. At times it felt like we were in Madison. The game was not available on cable in Minneapolis because it was the exclusive presentation of the BTN (Big Ten Network). The Badgers did win and I lost a bet to Grandson Mitchell.
Grasshopper No. 5 kept us busy with some Christmas shopping. The downtown Nicolett Mall was in the process of being decorated and extortion prices adorned the gifts. Crate and Barrel!
Barnes and Nobel! Maceys! Actually the spending was fairly frugal. It was a festive atmosphere.
Then we attended a presentation of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”. The theater is like the Fireside in Fort Atkinson. It is a family operation. It was a delight. They selected a young (around 10 years old) boy and girl from the audience to be in the play. It created lots of interest as you watched the untrained young actors actually particapate in the action. Yes, there was a young stud scantily dressed in a loin cloth prancing around the stage pretending to be Joseph. It wasn’t the same as a half naked Donny Osmond. It was the first play that I have ever attended that after the play, the whole audience stayed seated and enjoyed band music as it performed for another 5-10 minutes.
After a light Sunday brunch, we left the “Uper nort” country for home. The weekend passed so fast.
Grasshopper No. 5 is a gracious host. She ochestrated the visit of her guests in flawless fashion. She said to give all her siblings a hug. So hug, hug, hug, hug!
The lesson Grasshoppers is that family visits are precious. Life comes at us very fast. It is good to take time to smell the roses.
My Thanksgiving started early today. I stopped to get snow tires put on the Saab. I used a dealer frequented by Calnin-Goss and my favorite son, Grasshopper No. 3. There was no-charge. They wouldn’t take my money because I was the dad of Grasshopper No. 3. Hey, hey, hey! It isn’t how much you know, but who you know.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Dad