Ace Wisdom

Grasshopper No.1 has a “mid-50’s” birthday on Friday.  No parent should have a child that just yesterday was a toddler, turn 50 plus.  That makes the parents very old.  Happy Birthday No.1.

Grandson Dominic, the “physically fit” center on the Sheboygan North High School football team got caught in an offensive play and was shoved backward over another player’s helmet.  Officially he broke his back.  Technically he broke a “spinous process” which is one of those knobs you feel on each vertebrae as you run your hand down your spine.  Other than a lot of pain and a good prognosis for healing, Dominic will probably be back bench pressing heavy weights in a few months.  I keep telling him “don’t do that”.  “You are going to hurt yourself again”.

Grandson Mitchell is apparently getting notariety from playing football.  The girls at school are all chasing him.  It seems like a terrible problem.

Daughter-in-law Jenny is a “mudder mutter (slang for mother)”  She ran an obstacle course at Road America.  It was 12 miles of hills, valleys, water, mud, obstacles and rinsing stations to get all the bad “stuff” off your body.  You have to climb over things, under things, wallow in the mud and jump from a 12 foot platform into water.  Why would Jenny do such a thing?  I guess because she could.  Every “mudder” throws their shoes on a pile at the end of the race and I think they burn them?  So next year she will probably do the same thing again.  I’m sure she will be a “better mudder mutter”.  To feel better, I recommend she buy healing butter (on special sale at the mall) to sooth the aches and pains.  I dare you to “utter, healing butter for the better mudder mutter”.  Congratulations Jenny.

Think apples!

Love

Dad

Grasshopper No.1 has shared Vudu online streaming of “Hell On Wheels”.  Your Mom and I blew threw the first 3 seasons of TV programing but Season 4 is now airing and we have missed it.  Apparently, Vudu has access to current weekly presentations.  We are up to date!  Thank you No.1

Tonight is Friday night high school football.  Game time temperatures will be 45 degrees and wet.  Do we like this game or what?  Both Grandsons Mitchell and Dominic are in action.

As you know, I grew up with a baseball pedigree.  One of the secrets to being a good baseball hitter was to “stand-in” on a curve ball.  As a batter you need to discipline yourself because a curve ball starts out looking like it is going to hit you (the batter) and then it suddenly breaks away and goes over the plate for a strike.  If the ball does not curve properly, the batter gets hit.  That hurts.  The result is most baseball players are not good at hitting a curve.  At the Brewers game last night, a Florida Marlin batter got hit with an 88 mile per hour pitch because he couldn’t “get out of the way”.  The hitter had facial lacerations, fractures of facial bones and some teeth knocked out (I don’t know about concussion).  The question will be “does the Marlins player Giancario Stanton have the guts to stand in” when pitches start coming his way in the future?  He will remember getting hit forever.

Finally it seems that to be successful with money, the TV series Breaking Bad is necessary viewing.  Warren Buffett, “the Oracle of Omaha”  had treatment of a cancerous prostate and was told by a friend to arrange for streaming old issues of Breaking Bad to fill the time while being treated.  He apparently enjoyed the shows.  His friend, Jamie Dimon, Chairman of JP Morgan bank has been undergoing treament of throat cancer.  Buffett recommended Breaking Bad. Yep, Jamie enjoyed the shows also.   These two financial gurus can’t be wrong.  If you want to be financially successful, you need to watch Breaking Bad.  Don’t say I never gave you a tip on money.

Harvest your crops soon.  You might freeze your gourds.

Love,

Dad

 

Your Mom and I attended Grandson Mitchell’s high school football game on Friday night.  Mitchell is a junior and he plays “alot”.  He is listed as a tight end on offense and on defense he plays “defensive end”.  His Middleton team does not use the term “defensive end”.  One end on defense is the “Rush End” and the other is the “Stud End”.  Yep, Mitchell is the Stud End.  So our Grandson is a “stud” of some sort.

I have long told the story of my high school football career from years ago.   Like Mitchell, I played end on offense.  I caught a lot of passes but never a touchdown.  There were a few close misses but alas, never a touchdown.

Friday night, the Middleton team was on offense and driving in the 2nd half of the game.  Mitchell was playing tight end.  I don’t believe in premonitions (maybe sometimes wishful thinking), but on a 3rd down play I was thinking about how fantastic it would be for Mitchell to catch a touchdown pass.  The quarterback dropped back and threw a 15 yard pass over the center of the field.  No. 39 grabbed the ball and ran untouched into the end zone.  Yep, Mitchell had scored his first high school touchdown.  He did what I was never able to do.  He will never have to lament about “what might have been”.

Middleton is unbeaten this season.  The final score was 40-6.

After the game, we met up with Mitchell.  I thought he would be “gushing” about the touchdown catch.  The first thing he said was “did you see the bone crushing tackle he made on the punt returner after a Middleton kick”.  Yeah, the touchdown was nice.  Really?

I suspect Mitchell will score more touchdowns over the next two years but he will come to appreciate the significance of his “first”.  I never got to experience my “first”.

Obviously his Mom had done a great mentoring  job!

Love,

Dad

 

It has been over one year since my open heart surgery.  I got to celebrate with an annual visit to the heart doctor.  It was routine in the sense they took my vital readings like blood pressure & pulse but they also check height and weight for changes.  Incredibly I’m shrinking.  I always checked in at a height of 5’10” in the past.  This time my height measured 5’9 3/4″ suggesting I lost 1/4 inch in height.

Normally 1/4 inch is no big deal but this change gets logged into my computerized, digital medical file and updates related information.  Wouldn’t you know that my BMI went from 29.1 to 30.1.  Who cares?  Well, the minute you go over the magic “30 BMI”, you become classified as obese.  BMI stands for “body mass index” which calculates the theoretical amount of fat you carry around.  So I’ve got several options.  I could lose more weight (I’ve lost and kept 20 pounds off).  I could stretch out my spine before my next doctor’s visit to get my 1/4 inch back and drop below 30 BMI.  Or I could ignor the arbitrary “fat” classification!  Actually with all the computer security issues, I might be able to hack my medical file and change the data.

Be warned.  1/4 inch can change your life.

The Green Bay Packers went into Seattle last night to prove they are the best.  Oops.  The offensive line still stinks and they lost by 20 points.  As Grasshopper No.4 would probably say “it was only one game”.  There are 15 more games to play.

Enjoy the perfect weather.

Love,

Dad

 

Your Mom and I grilled steaks over the Labor Day holiday.  They were just as good as St. Anna.

Over the last month I have been trying to “upgrade” the 10 year old computer that your Mom uses for scrap booking.  The storage space and speed of the old computer were just becoming obsolete (imagine that).  As components for the new computer were put in place, all the usual problems were encountered.  You know!  Compatability of the new software with “old programs”.  Transferring “priceless files of pictures”.  Working with new hardware including a better printer.  Grasshopper No.1 worked with Mom for several hours one afternoon to “learn the new system”.  The body language of your Mom was “crossed arms”.  But wait.  Mom got a hero to rescue her.  His name is Justin.  Go Justin, go.  He is the visiting member of the Geek Squad from Best Buy.  Your Mom is smiling.  She is happy.  I am happy.

My favorite daughter-in-law Jenny from Sheboygan is planning on running a one-half marathon this weekend at Road America.   I think it is call “a mudder”.  It apparently is 12 miles of obstacle course (including the running of course).  It includes submerging under water.  There will be climbing over things and I can imagine why they call it “a mudder”.  I’m told there are dangling electrical wires that must be dodged.  4 person teams compete together and can help each other.  One of Jenny’s team-mates is pregnant and within 2 weeks of “delivery”.  She will not compete.  So now there is a 3-person team.  This mudder sounds more challenging all the time.  I’m sure it will be memorable.  Good luck Jenny!

Grandson Mitchell’s high school football team, the Middleton Cardinals, is in the running for ESPN Team of the Week.  There is a voting that is taking place with the help of WisSports.net/Statewideteamofthe week.  It sounds like Middleton has a good thing going on.  I’m sure I passed on some good genes to Mitchell.

Love,

Dad

Grandson Mitchell made newspaper headlines in Middleton.  He is a junior and playing both offense and defense for the football team.  Pictures enhance the newspaper article.  It must be his fine inherited athletic genes.

Grandson Tommy has played his first Youth Football Game.  We haven’t seen him play yet but I’m sure his height serves him well.  I think this is the first year his Dad has not been the Head Coach or Assistant Coach of the Youth Squad.  I’m sure Dad wanders the sidelines.

Grasshopper No.1 dumped “Hell On Wheels” onto her Vudu account.  Your Mom and I just finished the first 3 seasons.  I guess we have to wait for Season 4 until it finishes it’s current run on AMC.  The main character is a good looking, tough minded guy named Cullen Bohannon.  He lost his wife and child in the Civil War and is fresh from killing all the responsible Union soldiers.  He is my hero.  He has the ability to be kind and understanding but can kill “evil”.  Don’t pi– him off.  Bohannon is my kind of guy.

For some reason “Breaking Bad” has not grabbed me like “Hell On Wheels”.  I am stuck at the end of Season 2 (out of a total of 6 seasons).  I’ll save future viewing until cold, cold January.

This is “remorse” weekend.  It is Labor Day.  The families that can afford it all head for lake cottages.  One more big Summer “splash” (get it: cottage, water, splash).  It signals the end of Summer.  I sort of miss it.  I sort of don’t.  I want to get invited by my kids to their cottages.

Love,

Dad

 

I noticed “black and yellow” things buzzing by my windows this morning.  No, not bumble bees.  They were school buses.  Private schools started this week.  Whoa!  Where did the Summer go?

There are moments in everyone’s life that will forever remain a vivid memory.  Great Grandson No.2 arrived Sunday and I’m sure proud Mom, Dano, will never forget.  It was supposed to be a routine delivery until all the bells and whistles went off.  Something about an improperly wrapped cord.  Everything turned out well.  How could you forget a moment like that!  Congrats to all.

Grasshopper No.5 apparently has returned from roughing it with a camping trip along the Minnesota border to Canada.  I’m told it was a memory.  Something about cool weather.  Oh yeah, throw in a little “wet”.  What ever the conditions, being with people that are special to you is priceless.  Plans now begin for next year!

Tiger Woods has stuggled with body “break-down”.  First it was knees, then it was a sore back followed by “minor” surgery to repair a vertabrae.  Tiger is only 38 years old.  He has the perfect solution.  10 years ago after winning 4 major championships in a row, he finally lost a few tournaments. He solved that by firing his coach (Haney).  Then he took on a new coach and won some more major championships but Tiger wasn’t as dominant.  So he fired his coach (Butch Harmon).  The last few years he has reshaped his swing with the help of a real technical oriented coach (Sean Foley).  He has won no major championships under Foley.  So he fired Foley.  It is a lesson well learned.  If things don’t go right in you life, fire your coach.  All the excitement in Tiger’s life seemed to change years ago when his wife caught him “cheating”.  She put a 5 iron through the window of his Cadillac Escalade.  Tiger couldn’t fire his wife.  She fired him.  Maybe Tiger’s problem lies within himself?  Maybe it because he using a broken 5 iron.

What is with all the ACL tears in football player knees?

It sure is getting dark when I get up in the morning.

Love,

Dad