Ace Wisdom

Memorial Day has come and gone and we are into the unofficial Summer. We had a very nice “fry-out” over the week end. I can’t figure out how I volunteered to do the frying?
This week Thursday, Grandson Mitchell graduates from the Christian middle school he has been attending. Then it is on to Middleton High where history will be made and he will set school records in sports. Congrats!
I have been trying to order parking tickets for the UW football games in Madison. Tickets have to be ordered on-line in June. They keep telling me to follow the instructions in the e-mail they sent me. I never get any e-mails. Yes I’ve checked spam. Bottom line is if UW can’t figure out how to send me a simple e-mail, I may have to park at Grasshopper No.2’s house and take a cab to the stadium. Jesus!
My mother always said “when it rains, it pours”. The analogy was that if you seem to be getting bad news, wait because it will get worse. The Milwaukee Brewers traded Fielder (that was their choice) but all the new players they brought in are hurting or disabled. LaCroy, the catcher was searching for a sock in his hotel room and while on the floor, his wife dropped a suitcase on his hand. Yep it is broken. Now he will be out for 4-6 weeks. Freaky! Loosen up your arms, you might be able to play for the Brewers. Hey, it beats McDonalds.
My leg is not getting better! A doctor may be in my future.
Enjoy the great weather.
Love,
Dad

When I left the Cookie Company, I rolled my 401k into a Broker account. I do not deal with the Broker directly because I have internet access to my account. The broker must be feeling lonely because he sent me a “nominal gift”. It is a ballpoint pen. When you click it on, the tip lights up so you can write notes to yourself in the dark. I guess it would be useful in bed. When you are told all the things you are doing wrong in bed, just click the pen and take note. Call it the “passion pen”.
I am still doing my exercise routine but last week my leg tightened up. The pain is just above the heal and below the calf. I’ve experienced this before and it usually is in the Spring of the year. My theory (I’m never short on theories) is that I got dehydrated and my leg cramped up for lack of water. I know. I know. I should take more calcium. I should see a chiropractor (I saw a really good one and she said I had a sore ass muscle or was it a psorus muscle). The easiest solution is to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. The question is “what are my good sources of water”. I’m told soda doesn’t count. How about water- melon? Does coffee provide the body with water? Maybe I could take some salt tablets because they help the body retain water. Possibly drinking water while exercising would help. I’m told all food contains water that the body extracts and uses.
So you can see my dilemma. I am doing something to cause my body to dehydrate and I need to change something.
Maybe I should stop exercising.
Oh well! It is Memorial Day weekend and I don’t have time to think about my petty problems right now. I need to celebrate the contributions that all veterans made to keeps us free. My little pains are nothing compared to those who sacrificed their lives for us.
Enjoy the weekend.
Love,
Dad

Most young ladies have dreams of meeting the perfect man and sailing off into the sunset to live happily ever-after. A perfect day if you will.
Pricilla Chan had the perfect day. Pricilla is the young lady who is engaged to Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook. They attended Harvard together and have been “dating” for 9 years. On Friday, Facebook issued stock to the public making Mark Zuckerberg very rich (20 billion dollars). I’m sure Pricilla had ownership of some stock and probably became independently rich in her own right. Then on Saturday, there was a celebration of Pricilla’s graduation from Medical School where she got a degree to be a Pediatrian. So over two days, Pricilla got rich and received a doctor’s degree. What else is there? Getting married of course. Pricilla and Zuckerberg were married on Saturday. Her Prince Charming happened to be a billionaire. How does it get any better?
Just a note. I think there was financial tax trickery taking place. If Pricilla and Zuckerberg had married before the public stock offering, Pricilla would have been entitled to half his 20 billion dollars as part of the community property law. I have a feeling Pricilla really doesn’t care!
Continuing on the theme of “perfect day”, we got to spend the weekend with Grasshopper No.5. She treated us to good food and a performance of The Addams Family. My favorite is actress Morticia. Your Mom never wore outfits like that around the house. So a thank you to No.5 for letting us into her life for just a little while.
Your Mom and I threatened to stay an extra day in Minneapolis to spend additional time with No.5. She turned pale white and I think broke out in the hives. We decided to come home instead. No.5 could breath again.
Memorial Day approaching. It signifies the start of summer.
Love,
Dad

My nephew Joe and wife Kendra celebrated the birth of their second son Griffin Henry recently. Congratulations to all (including brother Jerry and wife Jane who become grandparents. Again!). Joe has a new job headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. Everyone is moving in early June from their home in West Bend.
Imagine you are Greek. You live in the land of Oz (the nation of Greece). Nobody works. Unemployment is very high because business can’t afford the mandated union wages. The government provides unemployment compensation like we do here in the “States”. Retirement plans allow people to leave the work force a very young age. Unfortunately, there is not enough money sitting in the pension plans to pay for the retirees. People find it very easy to get sick and live off government subsidies. Taxes are sky-high. You get the idea. Nobody in Greece likes to work. They all want to be taken care of.
As a Greek you have come to understand your country is broke. Other countries in Europe and around the world will not loan money to Greece to keep things going. Greece is one of 13 European countries that use the “euro” as their basis of money. 12 other countries are threatening to drop Greece from their monetary union which means Greece will have to revert to using a new Greek money system. The new Greek money will essentially be worthless if that happens.
You (a Greek resident) are afraid your “euro” money which is pretty stable in all of Europe will be replaced by Greek coin. So Greek people are running to their local bank and withdrawing as much money in “euro’s” as they can. The Greek banks have lost 25% of their assets in the last few days. The money that has been withdrawn will go into “coffee cans” because it’s value is safer than the bank.
The answer is every Greek needs to sacrifice. Retire later. Accept lower wages. Demand less benefits. Yeah, yeah, yeah! Greece is already in fiancial crisis. It ain’t going to get better.
Could something similar to the “Greek financial meltdown” happen here. Certainly not. Our government has plenty of money (oops they borrowed it all from pension plans and Social Security). At least our govenment is not in debt (oops we owe 15 trillion dollars). Unemployment is extremely low (what about the 5 million people that have stopped looking for jobs). Medical insurance is being mandated even if you can’t afford it. Hey this scenerio sounds familiar. Remember the Greeks (the title of my new book)
Love,
Dad

Mothers Day came and went. Grasshopper No.3 fried up marinated chicken. Weather was fantastic. All the phone calls were appreciated. Your Mom seemed to enjoy the day.
Your Mom and I are not part of the “Facebook” revolution. Zuckerberg will become an instant billionaire on Friday as Facebook issues stock for the first time (it is call an IPO-Initial Public Offering). Unless you are one of the “one-percenters” or a government insider, getting the right to purchase Facebook stock “when issued” is almost impossible. The theory is that once the stock starts trading, it will soar in value and insiders will make a lot of money. That leaves “average Joes” like you and me hustling a buck like always.
Zuckerberg is known for wearing a black sweatshirt “hoody”. He has been attending meetings of financial executives that wear 3-piece suits. Zuckerberg has been critized for not dressing up. The question arises, “if you are about to become a billionaire, why do you have to conform to a 3-piece suit”?
Black sweatshirt hoodys have been selling for up to $200. They are flying off the shelf. Somebody is making a fortune indirectly off the Facebook stock story. Is this a great country or what?
This last item is about a restaurant in Milwaukee that serves “all the fish you can eat” every Friday night. A man weighing 350 pounds came into the establishment last Friday and finished off 12 pieces of fish. He ordered more. The restaurant refused to serve him more. After making a “fuss”, they prepared 8 more pieces of fish for him “to go”. The man still wasn’t happy because he wanted more (we are now up to 20 pieces of fish). He is now picketing and harassing patrons of the restaurant as they enter or exit. The man is absolutely right. The advertising of “all you can eat” is false and misleading. But come on. After 20 pieces of fish, you aren’t satisfied. My advice is to change the advertising. Dah! There appears to be a reason the man weighs 350 pounds.
Enjoy the Spring weather.
Love,
Dad

Today is Grandson Grant’s 17th birthday. He has been able to drive a car for over one year. I bought my first car when I was 16 for $75. Maybe Grant will get a car? Happy Birthday Grant.
Sunday is Mother’s Day. I hate the commercialism associated with Mother’s Day. The assumption is that if you don’t get Mom a big gift, you don’t love her. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mom that we all know and love would enjoy a phone call, a personal visit or some simple declaration of “Mom, I love you”. Give her a big hug.
One of our favorite Grasshoppers got her Mom chocolate covered cherries. They are scrumptious and calorie free. Hey, didn’t I just say gifts weren’t necessary for Mothers Day? Chocolate covered cherries are the exception.
There is a racy book out called Fifty Shades of Grey. It is rated X. Maybe it is rated XX. It is flying off the shelves. A library in Green Bay purchases popular books and you can check them out if they are available. Apparently the library bought Fifty Shades of Grey and has now kicked off a controversy about the appropriateness of such a book because of explicit sexual passages. The library is evaluating the situation which means they don’t intend to remove the book from their archives. I figured, “how damaging can one book be if it lent to one person for long periods of time”? People would get tired of being on the waiting list. The issue turns out to be bigger in magnitude. The library ordered 37 copies of the book and has a waiting list of interested readers of over 500. It sounds like the principled, christian people of the world are losing! No, I’m not on the waiting list!
Have a nice weekend.
Love,
Dad

I voted this morning. As a U.S. citizen, it is my “right”. Regardless of my political party affiliation, I have the power to vote my opinion. It felt good.
Money is also power. Having financial independence lets you make choices. It allows you to avoid ridiculous credit card interest rates. A good credit rating (because of wise use of money) lets you borrow money at reasonable rates. If somebody sues you, you have the financial resources to higher good legal advice. Money allows you to send your kids to schools of your choice. You get the idea. Having money allows you to make choices.
But there are other powers. There is spiritual power. There is the power of being healthy. You get the idea.
Most of the powers we attain in life are a result of the governmental system we live in. The Greeks are on the path to financial ruin. Their power as a country and as citizens of Greece are almost non-existent. The French may be great lovers but their government has crossed over to extreme socialism. The next step is financial crisis. After they get done screaming at each other, they will be left with little power.
Which brings me “full circle”. We live in a country where generations have fought for personal freedoms and the right to choose. As the government gets more power (and money), it becomes a force. Slowly, very slowly all our rights are slipping away. Don’t let the militant minority screw up a system that works. If our system wasn’t so great, why would everybody try to immigrate here.
So the ultimate power is the right to choose the system you live in. In the end, if you do not vote, you have no right to complain. Don’t do that. Vote your opinion! Feel the power.
Love,
Dad