Ace Wisdom

Grasshopper No.1 noticed that her cat was playing with one of it’s toys. How cute! Wait, this toy was moving! The cat had caught a mouse and was playing with it. Any attempt to dispose of the mouse was futile because the cat would run off and hide with it. Suddenly the cat was on top of the bed tossing the mouse around on the bed-covers. Yuk! I assume the mouse is dead and buried.
We have had a mouse or two in our house over the years. After No.1’s story, I decided to check some mouse traps that I place strategically around the basement. I found one cute little black mouse in the trap in the garage near the door. He never made it into the house. I checked a second trap near the water heater. I found two more little black mice that were mired in the glue. That made a total of three. I had one more trap in the furnace room but it was empty.
I don’t know the habits of mice but it seems to me that they become real active in the Spring. I had my traps set for over 6 months and never caught one single mouse. Suddenly we capture 3.
Maybe the ultimate solution is get a cat and let it prowl the basement. Of course then I’d have to deal with it throwing around the mice it caught on my bed (like No.1).
Better yet, maybe I’ll rent a cat.
I thought I smelled lilacs outside this morning! Enjoy.
Love,
Dad

I went to the skin doctor again today.
In January of this year I had two minor operations that removed basal cell cancer. One procedure was on the face. The second was on the shoulder. Both operations left a scar but healed really well.
I thought I was done with cancer of the skin along with any omnimous looking spots. A follow-up visit to the original operations was scheduled 90-120 days later to allegedly check the healing.
Here is my dilemma. I would really like to have the surgery inspected just to be sure that everything is okay. Because I don’t trust the motive of the doctors, I envision more medical procedures during the “follow-up”. More medical procedures this soon after surgery don’t make sense. It all has to do with the profit motive of the doctors.
My visit bordered on ridiculous. The doctor asked me why I was there and what I was concerned about. I told him that he scheduled me to check of the earlier surgery. He is the one who did the surgery. Then I had to describe the areas of surgery. Upon inspection, the surgeries looked good but he found 2-3 more suspicious skin spots that he treated with cryosurgery (use of liquid nitrogen). He literally destroys the skin by freezing it. New skin will replace destroyed tissue. Part of my dilemma is how serious were the spots that he “worked on”? It means more money for the clinic.
The second part of the dilemma is “I’m scheduled again in 3 months for a follow-up visit for the new surgery”! Do I keep the next visit.
My advice is to be vigilant to any changes in skin spots or color. You do want professional care because of family history. The judgement you have to make is the necessity of the care and quality.
Am I going back to the doctor in 3 months? I’m darned if I don’t. I’m darned if I do. It is a dilemma. Stay tuned.
Love,
Dad

The excitement around my birthday continues. On tuesday, one day after my offical celebration I got a package of strawberries delivered by FedEX. They weren’t ordinary strawberries. They were dipped in scrumptious dark and white chocolate. I’m sure they were prepared by culinary chefs. The berries were fresh and juicy and the chococate melted in your mouth. Each offering was about the size of a small egg and there were 12 of them. The challenge is to eat 12 chocolate covered berries in 48 hours (while the berries were fresh). The berries were calorie free. Thank you to my favorite Grasshopper and Son-in-law.
Happy birthday to Grandson Dominic who celebrates No.14 on Monday. Then it is on to high school in the fall. Add 2 years and he will be driving. Add 4 years and he is off to college on a football scholarship. Add 4 more years and he will be waiting to be drafted by the NFL. Then the big money. For the time being however, attention is on how to celebrate this birthday. May all your wishes come true.
Grasshopper No.3 keeps remodeling his home. He now is adding a stone based patio to complement the enclosed patio he already has. It means more patio doors and lots of expensive flat stone for the patio. It must be nice.
Your Mom and I saw “West Side Story” at the Performing Arts Center last night. It is part of your mother’s effort to culturally enrich me. The play is 55 years old. It still about Puerto Rican kids fighting white kids. People fight. People love. People die. It has a gloomy ending. It takes a long, long, 2.5 hours to tell the story.
Cover your plants or the big bad frost will get them.
Love,
Dad

My birthday was yesterday, Monday the 23rd.
I wanted to go to St. Anna for steak. It had to be on Sunday because Schwarz’s restaurant is closed on Mondays. Immediate family was included.
As usual, the steaks, prime ribs and other “stuff” was really good. I made the mistake of leaving our table during the meal. Somebody ordered a birthday cake. Yup, the whole routine. Flaming candles followed by singing a sick “Happy Birthday” song. As you can imagine, I was elated. I’m still looking for the person that ordered the cake.
The cake was placed in front of me with burning candles. My instruction was to make a wish (and if I blew out all three candles, my wish would come true). I took a long, long time before I blew the candles. I had lots of thoughts. Maybe I could wish to win the lottery. Maybe I could wish for good health. As I was thinking about making a wish, Grandson Tommy was getting impatient. He wanted me to cut the damn cake. Tommy’s advice was make a “wish for another wish”. That meant I didn’t have to think about my wish any more and I could cut the cake. I did wish for another wish. Tommy got to eat his cake. I made my new wish later that evening.
My wish had to do with my daily exercise routine. That very morning (Sunday) while I was walking, I began “wheezing” very bad, almost like an asthma attack or maybe a latent pnemonia. I admit it scared me. When I made my wish later that evening (the one that Tommy told me to delay), my choice was really simple. I didn’t want my wheezing episode to be the start of something more serious. I wished to return to “walk normal”. I got my wish. Tommy got his cake.
Your Mom made my birthday very special. I got two pots of home made chicken soup with dumplings (made with love) and a long, long foot rub. A special thank you goes out to my soul-mate. She is the best ever!
Love,
Dad

Tomorrow is another birthday. Grandson Collin celebrates Number 20 or is it Number 21. Happy Birthday Collin. I understand the Marines just promoted him to Corporal. Big money increase?
I’m told Dolly Pardon was seriously considering running for Congress. After deep deliberation she decided not to run. There are too many boobs in Washington D.C. already.
I got a free lunch from brother Jerry this week. Beware of family bearing gifts. Usually they want something in return. Jerry and Jane’s son Joe has accepted a new job in Charlotte, N.C. and he will be moving. Joe and his wife are expecting child No.2 in 2 weeks. Joe starts his job May 14. What the hell! If you are going to relocate to a new job (opportunity), you might as well make it exciting.
Grandson Mitchell graduates from his Highpoint Middle School at the end of May. Freshman Mitchell enters Middleton High School in the Fall. His brother Grant will be a Junior. In a couple more years, Grasshopper No.2 will be home alone. I bet she is grieving already.
Grandson Dominic also graduates from middle school in a few weeks. He will become a freshman at Sheboygan North High School. He began his football strength conditioning regimen months ago. I think he could bench press “me” (160 lbs). What happened to Summer fun? Swimming. Playing. Band Concerts in the City Park. Dominic spends serious time “working out”. Really?
I will spend the rest of the day huddled in a corner worrying about snow. Lakewood County north of here got 3 inches of snow last night. I guess I better not put the snowblower away yet.
Stay Warm,
Love,
Dad

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic was April 15. Even the movie theaters were showing the special 3D remake of the block buster movie. Over and over we get to experience the sinking of a large piece of metal into ice cold water caused by idiots trying to establish a record time for crossing the Atlantic.
There is a book that parallels the Titanic tale. The book’s title is “Futility” (?) and it is about a ship called the Titan. It sails from England, hits an ice-berg and sinks. 50% of the passengers are lost in the cold water. You would think that the author would be sued for copyright infringement. The amazing part of the book “Futility” is that it was written 14 years before the Titanic made its maiden voyage. How erie is that? What forces of the spiritual world caused the book to be written before an event happened? I’m sure it all just coincidence.
Yesterday I completed a marathon saga at the dentist. Several years ago, I needed a root canal in a “back tooth”. $1000. After the root canal, it was determined that a crown was required on the same tooth because there was not enough tooth structure to hold a filling. $1000. Then in January, the crown fell off the tooth. Luckily I didn’t swallow the crown. It was glued back on. More dollars. In March, the crown fell off again. It was glued back on but I was for scheduled for a more reliable attachment of the crown to the tooth. More dollars. Yesterday, the tooth and crown were anchored together by a common “post” and I now have a permanent fix. More dollars. Stay tuned! I think I just described an annuity for my dentist (payments that go on forever and ever).
I spend a lot of mental energy fighting my dentist (who is really a pretty good guy). Going to my doctor is not much better. I guess the key is don’t eat candy, stay away from soda with lots of sugar, eat organic foods and exercise. Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Love,
Dad

A political consultant to the Obama re-election campaign opened her mouth before her brain engaged. To quote the consultant “Ann Romney never worked a day in her life”. Whoa! Ann was a “stay at home mom” who raised 5 boys. That certainly doesn’t quality as work. In addition Ann has survived a bout with breast cancer and presently has been diagnosed with MS. It must be good strategy to tear apart the opponents.
I don’t know if Obama wants to receive the women’s vote but I would suggest some “damage control”. I did notice both the President and the First Lady refuted the comment by “strategist” as being off base. Women who raise a family certainly have the toughest job of all. You can bet the Republicans will print a few clever bumper stickers about “precious moms”.
Every now and then I have conversations with people about the subject of “credit scores”. I usually don’t care about credit scores because I’m not looking for mortgage money and a new car is not on the horizon. I am entitled (as is every consumer) to one free credit report per year. Several years ago I requested my credit report, it showed the typical stuff. A history on each credit card and major utility bills. The information was basically correct. Previously I had no “credit score” shown. You had to pay extra for the aggregate score. I checked my free report yesterday and for the first time my score was revealed. The highest score you can get is 990. How do you get one of those? Maybe Warren Buffett gets 990. What I haven’t been able to find is how do they do those damn calculations. What if I make a payment 10 days late, how does that affect my score? Somebody knows the magic formula!
Yesterday I experienced my “first” of the season. I filled a propane tank with liquid, cleaned my outdoor fryer and threw a couple of brats on the grill. Damn they were good. There is something about the first freshly grilled brats of the year. Maybe it tastes so good because it is really bad for you. It has lots of grease, lots of fat and it clogs your arteries. Why do healthy foods always taste like sh–.
Easter came and went. It was nice to have “family” around.
Love,
Dad