Ace Wisdom

I am dancing with my local “furnace/air conditioning” service and repair company. They represent Lennox. Where have I heard that name before. Grandpa George would make regular trips out to Marshalltown, Iowa for annual Lennox seminars and sales meetings. I remember how anxious he was to have his son (Uncle Bob) accompany him on one of the trips. Hey, what about his son-in-law?
I have my furnace and air conditioner serviced every Fall. The system is 17 years old (it is not Lennox). Every year during the service, they find something wrong. It seems I am rebuilding the whole system.
I asked the question “how much would it cost to place my furnace and central air conditioner”? I know the improvements in efficiency are huge much like refrigerators and other major appliances. I figure I could save on gas and electricity while avoiding these annual surprises on repair bills.
I got the quotation for a new system. Holy Sh–! I didn’t know I was going to solve all the problems of our slow economy all by myself. I know that Lennox is not known for “dealing”.
Stay tuned! I might just make the old system work for another year.
The UW Badger football game was a shocker. They played Northern Iowa and it figured to be an easy game. We were going to leave early if the Badgers were winning big. Alas, they eeked out a 26-20 win. We stayed to the end. I guess we will have to wait for the juggernaut until next week.
Grandson Mitchell is playing football. Offensive End (he caught a touchdown pass already) and he also plays defensive end.
Grandson Grant is playing on the Varsity JV team. He loves defense and tackling quarterbacks for a loss! Go Grantster!
School is back in session. Life is back to normal.
Love,
Dad

Today is the last weekend of Summer. Well, not really but the long Labor Day weekend always signaled that schools were back in session and football kicked in “for real”.
Growing up as a kid, my hometown hosted the county fair. It would start on Thursday and end on Labor Day. I’m sure the 75-100 year tradition takes place again this week-end. Cotton candy, corn on the cob, brats, popcorn and “bumper car” rides! I always ran out money quickly and had to kill time walking the animal barns. I understand Grasshopper No.1 and hubby have lots of extra cash they intend to take Grandchildren to the Fair. Somebody has to keep the economy going.
Tomorrow there is football in Madison and the UW-Badgers. The game is against Northern Iowa which should not be too difficult but the Fall campus pagentry begins. Because it is a 2:30 PM start, all the “old” alumni gather in the morning, grill brats in the parking lots and drink lots of Bloody Marys. By the mid-afternoon, nobody feels any pain and the festivies begin.
I registered “again” for the No-Call list (deadline Aug.31) to get two years of telephone peace. Somehow it doesn’t accomplish my goal. I still get regular call from my credit card companies offering low finance rates and from insurance companies telling me I can extend my car warranties. Then there are the political calls, market surveys, and non-profit solicitations. Wasn’t I supposed to be on a no-call list. Why do I end up re-registering every year when the exercise is supposed to last 2 years?
The weather is supposed to be exceptional this weekend. Enjoy.
Love,
Dad

During the Lombardi years in Green Bay, Lombardi had a pair of offensive guards that were key to executing the “Packer sweep”. The guards were famous for being able to “pull out” at the snap of the ball and cross to the opposite side of the line to block. The biggest guard was Jerry Kramer. The smaller guard (by weight) was Fuzzy Thurston. So guards can be famous.
Your Mom and I went to see Grandson Dominic play his first freshman football game last night. He plays guard. It was in Pulaski, Wisconsin. When Dominic lined up on offense, he was paired with another larger guard (Jonah). Early in the game, the guards cleared the way for consistently long runs up the center of the field. It wasn’t exactly the Packer sweep but maybe we have a “Fuzzy” and “Jerry” in the making.
The game ended in a 8-8 tie. There is no tie-breaker system.
Dominic played every play on both offense and defense. On defense he plays defensive tackle or “nose tackle”. I guess he has healed from a deep thigh bruise.
I was reminded of my Dad and his Cronie buddies. He attended all my football games (as does Dominic’s Dad). My Dad would frequent a pub or two on the way to the game and somehow found the same pubs on the way home. The pubs were necessary to “rehash” the game and offer solutions for all the obvious bone-head plays. Of course my Dad always had opinions on how I could improve my play (that discussion went on with me for days). I distinctly remember a game where I played offensive end. I dropped a pass in the end zone (the game ended in a 7-7 tie). My Dad told me if I had caught that pass, he was going to run for Mayor. By dropping the pass, I had ruined his political career. Lots of laughter. Needless to say my Dad lived and “died” with my performance on the field.
I think Dominic’s Dad had more than a casual interest in his performance.
Ain’t that great!
Memorable Night! It could make a Grandparent very proud.
Love,
Dad

27 years ago this month, I accepted a new job with a paper company in Appleton. The job required a move to the new city and began the longest era of my life in one city. It meant your Mom and Grasshoppers No.4 and No.5 had to begin anew. In hindsight it was the right move but it did require a lot of adjustments especially by your Mom and Grasshoppers No.4 and No.5. Lots of shared memories. The journey continues.
The journey theme comes to mind as I read about Lance Armstrong dropping his fight against the “anti-doping” governmental agency. Doesn’t the government have enough things to do. Armstrong began his journey with a personal fight against cancer almost 15 years ago. He used cycling as his exercise program and peddled his way to “healthy”. He started his own cancer foundation. Oh yah, along the way he cycled his way to 7 straight Tour de France titles. He has been accused to doping but after years and years of tests, he was found not guilty. I don’t know if Armstrong beat the system or not but he is an inspiration to millions and millions of people. His cancer foundation continues and he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars. Can’t the government find something better to do with taxpayer dollars. Create some jobs.
My journey to healthy continues. In the next several weeks, I get the third invasive basal cell skin cancer procedure this year. That goes with finding out I have partial cataract eye impairment in my left eye which gets coupled with experiencing regular leg cramps during my daily walking routine (something to do with the piriformis muscle). Add in medication such as a beta blocker, a small blood pressure pill and uric acid spikes and you describe my present state of wellness. Other than that, I feel great.
Life is a journey. It is filled joy along with issues and distractions. You need to enjoy all the precious moments as they occur.
Love,
Dad

Granddaughter Keely was in town last weekend to be God Mother to a friend’s new baby. Keely’s occupation is helping dis-advantaged people in Cleveland do tax returns. Cleveland? Cleveland! She has promised to help me with some complicated tax issues next winter. Her Mother and Dad hosted a “fry-out” on a new patio comprised of 50 tons’s of quarry stone and materials. It must be nice.
Grandson Dominic recently participated in a “pre-season” freshman football scrimmage. He spent a whole summer of working-out. He has worked hard to prepare to be part of the greatest offensive line ever to hit North High freshman football. Apparently 5 minutes into the game, Dominic got a deep thigh bruise. I know deep bruises hurt. I think that took him out of the game and probably several weeks to heal. His family still made him mow the lawn. Next week, the dream continues. That is what tough football people do.
Just a note on my living expenses. The local “rag”, the Post Crescent has just raised rates 30% for local news. The 2% inflation must be hitting them hard.
My gasoline prices for the car have gone up 10% in one month. Again the 2% inflation is proving difficult. It has something to do with a broken transmission line between here and Chicago. How come prices go up immediately and it takes months, even years to go down?
The drought nationally has caused corn prices to zoom. The crop is going to be down 90% in some areas. Any products containing corn are already raising prices. Didn’t our government mandate that gasoline for our cars use 10% ethanol made from corn. Isn’t that great! Now both gas and corn prices are zooming.
Things are pretty bad when Jay Leno takes a $10 million pay cut so that more people don’t have to be laid off from his show. What a guy!
Don’t forget Donald Driver who was signed to a $5 million contract several years ago. He gets the money only if he makes the team. The Packers indicated that he probably wouldn’t make the team unless he would settle for around $1.5 million. I guess he “took a hit for the team”. At least he is employed.
And so it goes. Our leaders in Washington D.C. say things are getting better. That helps me understand that the things I see are just aberrations. Or maybe I’m just too stupid to know the economy sucks.
I have faith that we, the “good people” will prevail.
Love,
Dad

We’ve just gone through a television blitz of Olympic coverage. Everything from Motorcross racing to Beach Volleyball. The U.S. team won lots of gold, silver and bronze metals.
There is a financial reward that goes with winning. Gold metal winners get $25,000, a Silver metal yields $15,000 and Bronze $10,000. I didn’t realize there was cash for prizes. It is also estimated that the value of gold in a gold metal is $650. Silver metals are worth $185 and bronze $5.
Congratulations to all the winners. Micheal Phelps won 6 metals (I think I got the count right). It was 4 golds (metal value of $650 each, plus a cash award of $25000 each); that totals $102,600. Then Phelps silver yielded $15,185 and the bronze $10,005. Phelps’ total winnings come to $127,790. It is a nice “haul” for all the work.
Oops, the tax man cometh. The winnings of the Olympic champions is considered income. Income must be reported on Federal Income Tax. So, for Phelps who has lots of endorsement income, he probably will pay a higher 35% Federal Tax. Kiss $45,000 good-bye.
Nobody asked me, but it seems that athletes, that sacrafice so much to get to the Olympic stage, represent their country and then win recognition with terrific performance, shouldn’t have to surrender part of their winnings to tax. Then again, what do I know.
I do know the Milwaukee Brewers suck. I know the Packers need to get their act together or they are going to suck. Packer pre-season performance has been awful.
Badgers first football game is Sept.1. That is only 2 weeks away.
And then there are 4 Grandsons playing football at some level starting August 24. I think I got the first date right. Friday Night Lights?
Is it dark when you get up in the morning at your house, too? Are the mornings cool and damp. Yep, the Summer is almost over.
Love,
Dad

Your Mom and I had dinner at St. Anna last week with Marjorie and Alan “D”. They were at the end of a trip that started with a family reunion in Michigan.
Marjorie and Alan live northeast of San Diego. In recent months, wild fires have ravaged their area. San Diego was threatened when the winds blew from the east off the hot desert driving fire towards their condo community. Everybody was advised to evacuate. Marjorie and Alan were not allowed back in for over 4 days. Their condo was spared but they were several blocks from major damage.
The question is “if you were forced to evacuate your home in an emergency situation, what personal items would you take with you”?
Some things are self evident. Save loved ones and yourself first. Nothing is worth putting your lives at risk.
I know animals are top priority. Katy, Indigo, Penny, Casper and LeRoy would be on that list (and others).
Immediate personal items that allow you to function would be important. Things like cash, credit cards, and insurance ID cards would be nice (even if you forgot these items, they are replaceable however).
Important papers like insurance policies, financial papers (including Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney) and important license information are on my list.
A few days worth of clothing would be nice.
And then there is the “information” glut. You know, computer software that has all your personal infor. There are the pictures. Yep, the pictures. The gigabytes and gigabytes of pictures. People pictures. Animal pictures. Trip pictures. Stupid pictures. And more pictures. By some accounts the pictures are treasures and not replaceable.
Then of course are the family heirlooms. They too include pictures but there are pieces of furniture, jewelry and clothing.
Losing your home does make you think. I’m sure I missed something that is really important that should have been included. It doesn’t matter. It is your list. Your priority. What would you include? Grabbing the car keys would be nice. Oops, don’t forget the big screen TV, iPads, iPods and cell phones. I know I forgot something!
Love,
Dad