Ace Wisdom

For those football affectionados who love a “circus admosphere”, tomorrow is your day.  Alabama has dominated the college football scene for 3 years and is again rated No.1 nationally.  Alabama rolls into Texas A&M to visit “Johnny football”.  The quarterback for A&M is Johnny Manziel, the cockiest little sh– to hit the football world in years.  A&M was the only team to beat Alabama last year.  Johnny taunts the other team.  He runs.  He throws.  He creates pandamonium.  Can he beat “bama” again?  Tune in!

I am not an expert on food but I can read nutritional labels.  The trend for 20 years has been to try and get people to eat healthy (to avoid open heart surgery and clogged arteries).  The Cookie Company I worked for was constantly trying to come up with snack products that were nutritious and tasted good.  We had a lot of scrumptions cookies like chocolate chip and macaroon sandwiches.  Creme filled wafers.  Chocolate covered mints.   Whoa!   Delightful but the calorie counts and fat content  were very high.

Cookies fall into the category of  “treats” so there is an expectation of indulgence.  The goal of the Cookie Company was to develop more nutritious cookies and maintain high levels of taste.  It was a never ending battle.  Some cookies hit a nitch.  For example, marshmallow cookies contain no fat but they are loaded with calories.

We did develop a creme filled wafer using “Nutri-Sweet” as the sugar substitute.   At the time, every diet soda you purchased had Nutri-Sweet on the label and the connotation was that it tasted good and was also healthy.  The creme filled wafer was a huge success for several years until people discovered that the generic ingredient of Nutri-Sweet was aspertame.  The internet is filled today with testimony about the negative effects of aspertame so the Nutri-Sweet name died.  In the end, the creme filled wafers are still being sold (as are many diet sodas) with aspertame in them.  The wafer probably came the closest to fulfilling “tastes good and from a perception standpoint was good for you”.

So here is the story.  Because I’ve had a few clogged arteries, eating healthy is “suggested” for my continued good health.  Everyone is trying to encourage me with their creative recipes.  Lots of spices.  Your Mom has created a tomato based chili with spices from a local “spice shop”.  It has been the best creation yet.  Grasshopper No.2 knows how to cook healthy stuff and Grasshopper No.5 (who is gluten intolerant) is an expert on healthy cooking.  Actually, your Mom’s knowledge of nutrition is amazing.

How do you create an alternate taste for a Johnsonville brat?  What is the substitute for a holiday ham?  Is there food that tastes better than apple pie with a sugar crusted top (and two scoops of ice cream).  And so it goes.  French fries?  Hot dogs and potato chips?  A summer sausage sandwich? 

Presently I am  in a learning mode.   Different foods.  Different tastes.  I’ll let you know if I find any new dishes where the taste really “is off the charts”.  I do appreciate the help of all those steering me towards a better life.

Love,

Dad

Grandson Dominic’s JV high school team “kicked ass” last night.  Something like a 44-3 victory.  It must have been his Dad’s coaching.   Yeah, right.

Joining the football exploits was Dominic’s younger brother Tommy.  Tommy also plays on the defensive line.  On Saturday his Youth football team “kicked off” the season.  Quote “Tommy was clearly the best defensive player on his team”.  Twice he “came off the edge to sack the quarterback”.  Way to go Tommy!

We all have “firsts” in our life that remain vivid in our minds.  I can remember my first grade school “crush”.  I remember first dating your Mom.  I remember the “first” child born to our family (Grasshopper No.1) along with the birth of each and every Grasshopper.  You get the idea!   We all have things in our mind that will be with us forever and will  remain our first experience ever.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I played guard on the JV basketball team (where else does a 5’10 person play?).  Late in the game our team was trailing by one point with seconds left on the clock.  I stole the basketball on an inbound play.  I turned toward the basket and shot from about 15 feet and as the horn sounded, the basketball swished through the net.   We had won by one point at the buzzer.  That was my first game winning shot (and the last as it turns out).  I can still see the ball ripping through the net.   It is a vivid first time memory.

Where am I going with this?  Grandson Mitchell who plays defensive end for a very good JV football team in Madison has been “on fire”.  Deflected passes.  Sacked quarterbacks.  Recovered fumbles.  Mitchell also plays tight end on offense on a “platoon basis”.  He and another team-mate alternate plays.  Saturday, Mitchell’s team won and continued undefeated.  Mitchell caught his “first” pass for a touchdown.  That doesn’t seem like a big deal but I guarantee you that Mitchell will remember that pass, that catch and that touchdown for the rest of his life.  It will remain a precious first memory.  Enjoy Mitchell.  You did it all by yourself.

My list of first is long and vivid.  I remember the first kiss!

I remember buying my first car.

How about my first “brand new car”.  It was a 1965 dark blue with contrasting light blue interior Chevrolet Bel-Air.  I think the engine was a powerful 283 cube V-8 with a stick shift and an AM radio.  You can’t polish a brand new car enough.   It remains a classic.

I remember our first family cottage.  It was a rustic building, kind of musty but it was ours.

I remember being told I needed open heart quadruple by-pass surgery to safe my life.  I can’t imagine why I will always remember that event as a first!

What is your most vivid “first”?

Love,

Dad

I reported that Grandson Dominic had his JV High School football game scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.  It was game No.2.  Another first.  Dominic’s team won 20-0.  It followed a loss from previous week of 22-20.  You might say the team is 2 points away from being undefeated!

Grasshopper No.3 helped me yesterday with some minor errands.  No.3 and I used to walk together occasionally at the Mall but somehow that routine “fell apart several years ago”.  Last night, No.3 offered to join me on my walk (I need a witness to my collapse).  It was a beautiful night.  The conversation was excellent.  It was memorable.

Grasshopper No.2 had offered to walk with me last week when she visited.  It didn’t happen but it will!  Actually, the “nutrition information” I gleened from my No.2 (the chiropractor) was as good as the walk.

Obamacare has tweeked my interest since it was passed.  It is a 15,000 page Act that nobody understood and the document left many “loose ends” to be written in the future.  The costs are un-imaginable.

Oct.1, the insurance exchanges in each of 50 States must begin offering insurance programs to the un-insured.

First you have your Platinum plan intended to cover 90% of medical costs followed by the Gold program covering 80%, Silver 70% and the lowly Bronze 60%.

Then each exchange in each State is unique so that the new premium costs vary by State.

Of course there is the “older” premium.  A 30 year old person pays less than a 40 year old person who pays less than a 50 year old.

If you don’t have medical insurance and you don’t apply through the exchanges, you will be fined (I think through income tax penalties).

There apparently will be income tax credits to offset medical premiums for low income people.

I will stop!  I have just begun to touch all the variables associated with Obamacare.  I personally know people who can’t balance their checkbooks and they are supposed to navigate their way through the medical minefield of  choices.

What has been gained with Obamacare.  Oh, yeah!  We will all experience a reduction in total annual medical costs.  Give me the name of one person you know who will pay less for their existing medical plan.

Exciting times!

Enjoy each day.

Love,

Dad

 

 

Grandson Mitchell played his second game for JV in Madison.  His team Demolished Beloit 88-6.  As defensive end,  he sacked the quarterback 3 times and recovered a fumble.  It is called “fun”.

Grandson Dominic plays his second JV game today for Sheboygan North.  Hopefully they can turn things around.

I keep experiencing “new firsts”.  For the first time I slept in my own bed and not in a  lounge chair or on a couch.  I did sleep better.

For the first time I walked the same path as before the surgery.  Before the surgery, I had to stop to get my breath 5-6 times.  Yesterday, I walked the entire route at a steady pace.  Yes!

My car has not been driven in almost 3 weeks.  Yesterday we took it out (no I wasn’t driving) and it still goes from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds.   Yeah, right.

For the first time in almost a month, I took out the family checkbook.  Somehow cash flow and budgets have not been a priority recently.  The balance was still above 0.

Today is the first day of physical cardiac rehab.  They have a program (paid for by insurance) to gradually increase my strength and endurance.  Of course they have a program!

So except for wanting to expedite the recovery process, progress is proceding according to a plan.  I’ve had people tell me that it will take a year to reach full recovery.   The doctors say that in 3 months I should be back to “normal”.  Stay tuned.

A special thank you to Grasshopper No.1 who kept me supplied with healthy vegetable beef soup, potato soup and heathly chili.  Those were my breakfast entrees every day.

Public Schools are back in session.  The Packers kick off the season this week.  Dispell all the rumors, the Packers now have two back up quarterbacks.

Love,

Dad

Grasshopper No.5 has “bats”.   You know the little black mice with wings that look sinister but eat their weight each day in mosquitos.   Her landlord closed up some potential openings into her house and the bats seem to be abated (get it? Bats. A-bat-ed).   I don’t think No.5 remembers the bats we had in our house in Sheboygan.   They were slipping into the house through the fireplace.   A glass front “screen” fixed it.  No.5 needs a cat!  Whoa she has a cat.  I guess rabies are a concern.

Grasshopper No.5 has a special friend that also has bats.  I think the bats have actually made it into his house.   I know he is sealing all open holes feverously.

I need to talk about my caretaker, your Mom.   She has joked in a devilish way that she would not make a good caretake.   I wouldn’t either.   The saving grace is that in my current situation there is an end point.   In two weeks, I get my driving privleges back.   In two weeks I will be well into my physical rehab program.   You get the idea.  This caretaker thing should be temporary.   My caretaker has been with me every step of the way.   She hides telephones so that if they ring, they will not annoy me or wake me up.  She chases for meds, shops healthy foods and accompanies me to all scheduled meetings.   She does this while eliminating the normal things in her life that she likes to do.  So that for the time being, both our lives are that of quiet desperation surrounded by very few moments of “kick ass joy”.  I love her!

I also thank Mom’s friend Jan.  I cherish more than anything, an ice cold Diet Coke.   The arguments rage about the negative effects of aspertame.  During the last two weeks, getting a Diet Coke has been difficult.  Mom has allowed me Diet coke without caffine.  Yuk.  Choke!  Choke!  Friend Jan (who has made a miracle recovery from a stroke several years ago) shared that she allows herself Diet Coke.  Why?  Because she likes it and it is a treat.  Needless to say Jan’s opinion swayed Mom.  Now I am back on the “hard stuff” Diet Coke.  Thank you Jan.

Labor Day Week End begins.  Enjoy the time off!

Love,

Dad

 

The 18 years our family spent in Sheboygan were memorable.  For some reason, Sheboygan always had a flare for dramatic events.  This week, headlines were made by a man who was growing 5 foot high marajuana plants in his basement.  He also was having a three way love trist with his wife and another guy.  But the “capper” was that the man chased the other parties with a chainsaw.  Now, you just can’t make this stuff up.  It sounds like lots of lawyers, court appearances and potential jail time!  Really?

Grandson Mitchell is imitating A. J. Watts, the NFL defensive tight end that used to play for Bucky Badger.  Mitchell is in embarrassing physical shape.  He “works out” continuously.  Mitchell is the starting defensive end for the Middleton High School JV team.  In the first game, he knocked down three passes from the opposing quarterback and Middleton won 29-22.  Mitchell also plays some tight end on offense.

Grandson Dominic, who weighs 185 pounds and can bench press 405 pounds, played his first JV football game yesterday in 90 degree heat.  I remember playing in extreme heat.  You cannot decided whether you just want to drink water to hydrate or die.  Dominic’s team, Sheboygan North, lost 22-20.  Dominic plays inside linebacker.  Early season loss!  Still lots of football to play!

I continue to be amazed at the physical conditioning effort of young athletes.  To play football, you need to be building into shape all year around.  When I played football, you just showed up at “fall practice”, competed for position, won every game as a junior and senior and dated “chicks”.  Now, I’m not a rocket scientist, but I think I had more fun!

The UW Badgers football team opens against University of Massachusetts on Saturday.  Normally, I would attend because it would round out the Labor Day weekend, but your Mom is blocking the doorway.  I guess I’ll have to stay home and have a brat fry.  You know, fat juicy morsels of artery clogging fame.  What is this?   Your Mom won’t me let me eat brats, either.  As you can tell, my life seems to be going into the “crapper”.

Enjoy the last remanents of Summer.  After Labor Day, it is a long time until the next holiday.

Love,

Dad

 

The “open heart surgery process” is complex and filled with many surprises. I will spare all the technical stuff like enzymes being released when your heart is under stress or that your heart stops beating during surgery for an hour. My heart went into “A-Fib” before they could restore “sin-curve” rythum. That gets exciting.

There were tiny milestone victories. First of course, I discovered that I survived. That was the greatest victory. We will have to see if there will be any residual problems.

I wasn’t told about the potential of the heart not returning to regular rythum. 30% of the cases need something to restore rythum such as blood transfusions, special heart medicines or possible electric shock. Being on a heart monitor the doctors knew my heart rythum at all times. The arythmea occurred 24 hours after surgery. The nurses were watching all the drama and about 8:00 PM, the blood transfusions began to work. My Registered Nurse came into my room announce, the rythum is back. A little cheer went out from the nursing core. Great news, great victory. I do not know what the long term effect of strange blood in my system will have, but I need to thank somebody.

Finally there is one achievement a patient must make before going home. They must achieve a bowl movement. Now this seems like a little thing but the prospect is I could have spent the rest of my life in the hospital. Three days after surgery, I rang the bell. Yep. Another victory. I thought maybe I had won a national championship. Give the man a Diamond Ring. All the nurses shared the information. Embarrassing!

There you have it. I was alive. My heart was back in rythum, I sh–, and I got to go home.

Life is always a series of little victories. Seems like I’ve had my share recently.

Love
Dad