Ace Wisdom

Congratulations to Grand-daughter Keely (and Pedro) on the birth of a bouncing baby girl. Keely lives in Cleveland but the pictures were transmitted almost immediately. That makes Chris and Shelby grandparents. Welcome to the club. Wait, that makes Mom and I great-grandparents (for the second time). The little girl will be named Myla which I understand eminated from Mom’s Mom (Nana) whose first name was Lyla. What a nice tribute. It sounds like everyone is healthy and wholesome.
Grandson Grant in Madison has been lobbying for his own “junker car”. Ah yes, I remember it well. I got my first junker when I was 16 years old. It was a 1947 Oldsmobile with “slushomatic” drive (the first hydromatic transmission). The car was a heavy, gas guzzlinng piece of “crap” but that didn’t matter. The car was mine. It gave me the freedom to “come and go” as I pleased. The freedom was an illusion. The car was part of my “independence puzzle”. I have a lot of great memories of that piece of crap.
Grant got his “junker” car in Chicago. As I understand it, it is a 1996 Camray with 151,000 miles. It needs a few things to be fixed on the inside but the Toyota Camray should be good for another 100,000 miles. So Grant is free?
Grasshopper No.4 is getting son Tommy interested in golf. Tommy is about the age that I was when my Dad began taking me along to the golf course. It took me several years, but eventually I could “beat the old man” on a pretty regular basis. My Dad actually became General Manager of the Hickory Hills golf course in Chilton for a few years when I was in high school. That meant I could golf for free anytime. We will have to see how long it takes for Tommy to beat his “old man”.
The family continues to make new memories.
Love,
Dad

I have received information about family history over the years. Most of it is by “word of mouth”. My Grandma Myrna had a curiosity about heritage and told stories about her family.
There has been a void of information tracing our Surname. My Dad’s father was Grandpa Chalk. His birth name was Charles but that even got screwed up on a 20th century census. The name given on the census was Charley.
Staying with the surname history, Chalk’s father was Elmer J. (my Great-grandfather). The early census records say he was born in Wisconsin. Elmer’s wife was Adaline which is really confusing because my sister Addie May was supposedly named after Elmer’s wife. In records from more recent years, the name Adaline morphed into “Addie May”. Either Elmer married twice (“not”) or early records were wrong.
Here we go. Elmer’s Dad (tracing our surname another generation) was George W. who was born in 1828 in Vermont. George W. married Susan R. who was also from Vermont. George W. was drafted into the civil war and served from 1863-1865. He was buried as a Civil War Veteran and his grave is so marked.
So I’ve traced the Surname back one more generation. I am now back to Vermont and as I trace further, birth dates will be in the late 1700’s. Hopefully I can find out how the family got to Vermont.
Everybody who traces a family tree will eventually get back to the same Mom and Dad (i.e.Adam and Eve).
Maybe our family is descendents of Kings and Queens. Yeah right!
Love,
Dad

Grasshopper No.5 is scheduled to move to a new apartment before the end of June. I’m sure the excitement is high. The thought of packing up all her stuff is a “downer”.
When Mom and I were in Minneapolis, Grasshopper No.5 talked about her job at the News Magazine which is owned by GameStop. Her job is all about games. It involves the latest news releases on video games. It is about selling new and used video games at retail outlets around the world. Lately it is about downloading games to ipads, ipods and iphones. Of course there is the obligation by Grasshopper No.5 to “try out” games so that she can talk first hand about new technology. I know that Grasshopper No.5 teams with her older brother (Grasshoppper No.4) by internet connection to a national hookup video game on Saturday or Sunday mornings to try and outwit the world. Really?
Grasshopper No.5 used the word “gamer”. In fact she indicated that she and I were a lot alike. We are both “gamers”. What the hell does that mean? I don’t play video games. No.5’s explanation is that gamers like a challenge. Gamers like to win. Gamers are super competitive. Gamers take great delight in driving a stake through the heart of a vampire.
Somewhere in life I must have given Grasshopper No.5 the idea that I possessed “gamer” qualities. Just because I never let you kids win at sports is not an indicator. Just because I need a goal and strategy with tactics to get there. Just because…. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I guess I can see what No.5 was talking about. I like to picture myself as loving teddybear just wanting to enjoy each situation and not be obsessed with winning. Apparently that is a misconception. Now the question is “is being gamer a good thing”?
Watch your gardens grow. Lots of rain and humid weather coming.
Love,
Dad

My Dad had one brother Bob who passed away last year. Bob’s wife Helen was in Madison last weekend to attend her Granddaughters college graduation. I missed connecting with Helene but I understand she got to meet Grasshopper No.2. Helene is one of the last survivors of the “City Club” years.
Tomorrow May 25th would have been my sister Addie’s 69th birthday. I think my mother Alice’s brother (Big Jerry) also has a birthday tomorrow. He would be celebrating 80 years of age. I haven’t heard from Big Jerry for 10 years but for some reason I remember Addie and Big Jerry celebrating on the same day.
To finish the May birthday reminiscing, my Dad’s birthday was May 28th. He would have been 93.
Memorial Day weekend signals the start of the “cottage season”. The piers go “in”, the boats, rafts and pontoon boats get placed in the water. Let the fun begin. Families scurry to the cottage. Un-invited guests inevitably show up. Charcoal grills work overtime. Swimming is rare because it is too damn cold. Amateurs race their speed boats around the lake dodging the sail boaters and angry fisherman trying to catch early season bass and walleye. In summary, it gets nuts. Ah, the memories. I’m waiting for one of you Grasshoppers to buy a cottage so your Mom and I can drop in un-announced.
Parking at UW-Madison football games is based on many factors. Today I get notice of the official day and time that I am allowed to apply for Parking tickets. Really! For example I will be told that on Tuesday, June 11 at 2:31 PM, I can apply for a preferred parking lot. If I qualify, if I’ve paid my “dues”, and if the lot I want is not oversold, I get the privilege of paying several hundred dollars to park. Is this a great system or what?
Enjoy Memorial Day.
Love,
Dad

I try to keep secrets. I guess the secret is out. Grasshopper No.5 did introduce your Mom and I to the guy in her life, Jeff. He is an accomplished photographer. No.5 told of her last trip to the vet with Bruno and while there, she saw this figure looking in the window of the clinic. The doctors and nurses thought it was a “homeless” man. It turns out it was Jeff. So upon meeting Jeff for lunch, we honestly didn’t know what to expect. He is a really good guy. He cleans up very well. Hey, he drives a Honda.
Grasshopper No.5 spent 3 days with Mom and I and hardly mentioned she was looking for a new apartment. Mom and I have been home for one week and we get news she is moving. Did I miss something (maybe I wasn’t listening). The new place sounds really nice.
I checked on daughter-in-law Jenny on Sunday morning. Her 1/2 marathon in the Cellcom race in Green Bay started at 7:00 AM. She had to drive to Green Bay (I assume with family) and prepare for her long distance run. Hmmm, that means she had to get up at 4:30 AM or 5:00 AM. My question is “did Jenny get any sleep while anticipating the race”? The race results were available almost immediately. Apparently she was wearing a computer chip that registered as she went past different mile markers. She did great. The women’s winner of the 1/2 marathon finished with a time of 1:12:27 or an average of 5:22 minutes per mile. Jenny passed mile marker No.5 (5 miles) averaging 9:39 minutes per mile. Spectacular for a weekend warrior. Jenny’s total time was just over 2 hours.
Grand-daughter Keely is getting very close to giving birth to a new son or daughter. If she knows the sex of the baby, she ain’t telling. I’m guessing a boy. That makes Grasshopper No.3 and “his better half”, Grandparents. I suggest they get used to the new label. Wait, that makes your Mom and I Great-grandparents. Again! Really?
It sounds like the Memorial Day weekend weather is lining up to be really nice. We deserve it.
Love,
Dad

The Dalai Lama intended to raise the spiritual awareness of the masses with a personal appearance in Madison on Tuesday. Clearly the anticipation of getting close to the “Big Guy” was a once in a lifetime experience. Some family members that we know and love arrived late to event because of huge traffic issues and the Dalai had a problem with the audio system at the Alliant Center. So the experience fell short of expectations.
I have been hearing about the Cellcom Marathon in Green Bay all week. It is a big deal. I’ve mentioned that daughter-in-law Jenny will run the half-marathon. Her anxiety level must be high. Wait until this weekend. Thousands of participants will line up. All will wonder if they are up to the task of completing the run. The gun will go off. The journey that began months ago will finally have an end point. All the anticipation will finally be answered. Good luck Jenny.
University of Wisconsin football tickets have always been fun. I have had season tickets for over 20 years. Originally the team played a 10 game season and played most of the teams in the Big 10. Next years schedule under the re-organization of schools means we now have a 13 game season. Wisconsin is in the West Division and rarely plays Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan or Penn State. The first Big 10 game next year doesn’t occur until the second week in October. All the early games are against “easy” non-conference opponents. The TV revenue is shaping college athletics. Clearly the yearly anticpation is going down hill.
There is only one family member (my Aunt Helene) left from the “Greatest Generation” (World War II era). Maybe, and that is a big maybe, I will get to see her one more time this weekend. She will be in Madison for her Grand-daughter’s graduation from college. There might be a “window of time” during her visit when Mom and I can get to see her. Hopefully it works out. Helene knows lots of family history. Anticipation is high.
I’ve come to the conclusion that anticipation most times adds more excitement to life than the actual events.
Dream on!
Love,
Dad

Your Mom is off exploring the spiritual mysteries of the universe. The Dalai Lama is touring the country and today he is Wisconsin. As I understand it, Dalai is chosen by Budda to be the spiritual leader of the world. Officially, the Dalai is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. Buddaism is founded in the belief that “every human being has the same wish: to be happy and avoid suffering”.
The areas of study go include mind control, health, suffering and finding answers from “within”.
Would you believe that I wasn’t even invited to study with the Dalai! I’ve been excluded from the self-development crowd. Go figure.
My sources tell me that when the current Dalai Lama dies, a new Dalai is chosen by divine direction to continue Budda teachings. The choosing of the new Dalai is mystical in nature and nobody knows ahead of time that they will be selected to perpetuate the faith. Hey, maybe I could become the new Dalai. They better hurry up because my years of leading a new faith are limited.
A couple friends Tom & Lynn that I walk with regularly came up with my title for this blog “Hello Dahai (i.e Hello Dolly)”. Clever. If I were chosen as the Dalai, I would become Dalai Charles. It was noted that if Dolly Parton were to become Dalai, she would be “Dolly Dalai”. Dolly won’t be chosen because she is a girl. What?
Just a note. Grandson Dominic has taken up competitive skeet shooting through North High School. Skeet is where you propel clay pucks into the air and shoot at them with a shot gun. A perfect score would be 100 hits out of 100 “birds”. Dominic hit 85 out 100 in the State competition for Sheboygan County. For a first year novice, that sounds incredible. I think he is 15th place. He must have inherited a family gene.
Daughter-in-law Jenny should be getting anxious. She runs a half marathon on Saturday. “GJG” (i.e.,Go Jenny Go). Her journey is another incredible story.
Love,
Dad