Ace Wisdom

My birthday came and went. I tried to play it low key.  The good news is lots of people remembered.  The bad news is I added another year.  The day ended with special people at the Ginger Root, a local chinese restaurant.  Nice.  Thank you!

I know that lots of family members had access to HBO’s “Game of Thrones”, episode 1 for Season 6.  I understand this is uncharted water.  There is no book to follow.  It ends with a beautiful red-headed young lady undressing in front of a mirror.  She finally removes a strange necklace and sets it aside.  She immediately begins to age and her body begins to sag.  She ends up as a very old lady with straight gray hair. A “wicked wit” I know compared the necklace to a marriage certificate.  The minute you got the certificate ….  Never mind!

I am watching the NBA playoff circus.  I don’t watch any team except Charlotte because 7 foot Frank Kaminisky, formally of UW fame, is a rookie with team.  He plays quite a bit.  After a long season, Frank finally started game 3 of the series with Miami.  Charlotte won for the first time in 21 playoff games.  This could be a good story brewing.  Go Frank.

The other NBA story is Stephen Curry.  He had been a phenomenon for the last year making long shots from all over the court.  A week ago he sprained an ankle. He carefully rehabbed the ankle back to health by missing playoff games.  Curry played last night and in the second quarter sprained the MCL in his knee. Prognosis is that he is out for at least two weeks.  Trust me, Curry is done for the year.  If he is lucky, the ankle and knee damage will heal in the off season and he will have a long career. Ask your Mom about knee injuries.  Derrick Rose from the Chicago Bulls tore a knee ligament 3 years ago and he has never been the same.

I could turn these injury stories into a financial lesson but I won’t.  Superstar athletes are on top of the world when they’ve got great health.  In an instant, a knee, an ankle or a concussion can change their career forever.  If they were smart they would have had a financial plan to “cover them” when they couldn’t play any more.  Damn, I couldn’t resist.  I did insert a financial lesson.  Have an emergency financial fund along with a long range goal.  Do it!  It is smart.

Next birthday in April?  Grandson Dominic on Saturday.

Love,

Dad

Happy Birthday to nephew Michael. Our contact has been limited in recent years but he has to be dancing with “50”.  Mike of course is born under the sign of Taurus which automatically makes him special.

Your Mom and I were invited to dinner to celebrate Grandson Collin’s 25th birthday yesterday.  He had Great-Grandson Shaeley along.  It took me over an hour to convince Collin to change the “S” in Shaeley’s name to a “C”.  Then we would have four generations of male names beginning with “C”.  My name starts with “C” of course.  Grasshopper No.3 also.  Grandson Collin keeps the phenomenon going. By changing our Great-Grandson’s name to start with “C”, we could call our selves “the Four C’s Sons”. Clever huh?  Collin’s wife Audrey said “no”.  Really?

I did get my $50 rebate check from Starz! It was a difficult ordeal but I won this battle.

I have been installing digital devices required by Time Warner on a couple bedroom TV’s.  As of June, if we didn’t install the devices, our “remote TV’s” would go blank.  It takes hours to install because I have to become familiar with all the equipment. Then I had to install the adapters followed by calling Time Warner to activate the devices and then try to synchronize new universal remote controllers that operate everything. And for all of this they will only charge $3.25 per month per adaptor forever.  I can already get public TV through my special antenna. Time Warner is very close to losing me to public TV.  Not yet.  Presently we are part way through the series “Outlander” through Starz and we have the “Game of Thrones” coming up.  It is a complicate web cable TV weaves.  I just realized, I’m addicted.  Help me!  Is there a clinic I can check into?

Love,

Dad

 

 

I’ve been hacked!  No, I do not have a virus or spyware in my computer.  No, I didn’t have my mega-gigabyte cell phone with the obvious risks of electronic transmission compromised.  This time it was the U.S. Mail.  My bank statement was “mistakenly” delivered to another address.  It was opened (supposedly in error), re-addressed, and sent back to me in a new envelope. Someone in our sub-division now knows where I bank, my account number, my balance and lots of transaction information. It could have just been an honest mistake.  It could have the makings of major trouble.  What do I do?  What do I do?  Sh–!

Grandson Collin turns 25 on Thursday.  Oh, to be 25 again.  Happy Birthday Collin! May your day be special.

Collin was born under the sign of Taurus.  We Taurians understand each other. We are strong, tough minded, compassionate, intelligent people.  Don’t screw with Taurus the bull.  We also have long memories.   Collin and I will be joined in the next 30 days under the Taurus sign by Grandson Dominic, and Grandson Grant. Call us the grand Taurus Knights.

Your Mom and I went back in time Saturday.  We toured our home town where we grew up (Plymouth).  We reminisced about where good friend Maureen grew up, buddy Ronnie lived and the home of the Zimmerman clan with 9 boys (followed finally by a girl).  We redesigned your Mom’s dilapidated homestead by re-building a big wrap-around front porch.  The goal is to sit on the open porch during a warm summer rain in a rocking chair.  We finished the tour at the local A&W (now Chesters) with pork steaks and root beers.  And then it was over!  It was our version of Back to the Future.

Sunday we did brats on the grill.  Will the Spring madness ever stop?

Love,

Dad

 

It was September, 1980.  Grasshopper No.2 had enrolled at UW-Madison.  She had also enrolled in the UW Marching band.  Our family was not familiar with the band and what it entailed.  I do remember No.2 committing to an exercise program during the Summer to get ready for “The Band”.  She was one of the first female trombone players because girls didn’t have the stamina for rigorous regimen.  Nobody tells No.2 that she couldn’t “make the band”.

The Band always plays before, during, and after the Saturday Home games.  I don’t remember the exact date in September but UW’s first Home game in 1980 was against Michigan (The Darth Vader of the conference).  UW hadn’t beat Michigan in 30 years (?).  I had purchased football tickets for the game.  I know that your Mom and I, Nana and Grandpa and I think Grasshoppers No.3 and No.4 all went down to the first game.

Game Day for us started at the South Union at around 11:00 AM.  The Marching Band which of course included Grasshopper No.2, put on a Pep Rally at the South Union for about 20 minutes usually ending with the “Bud” song.  It was followed by the band marching across campus to Camp Randall followed by all the fans.  There was always the “Bucky Wagon” (old fire truck) and lots of brats and beer (beer has since been outlawed).

The Band always had the “run-on” before the football game.

The half-time musical performance was always the highlight for the Band.

The game was followed with the Band playing “the chicken dance”, the Bud song twice (maybe more) and of course the “Alma Mater”.

The Band ended their performance with a march out of the stadium to Bascum Hill where they played some final sentimental tunes (of course the Bud song again).

By the way, on this beautiful sunny Saturday in September 1980, Wisconsin beat Michigan.  The place went nuts.

Our family has followed UW-football and the Band ever since.  When Barry Alverez took over the football program in 1991 (?), we had to get season tickets just to be able to attend games.  Our four season tickets were used by Nana, Grandpa, Grasshoppers (and friends), Grand-children (and friends) along with Sons-In-Law and Daughters-In-Law.  It has been at least 25 years of season tickets.

This will be the first year of “no season tickets”.  It has been a great ride.  Nana, and Grandpa have passed on, Grand-kids are going off to college and most Grasshoppers have “a life” on busy Saturdays.  Letting the tickets “go” creates a form of withdrawal but the memories will last forever.

Just because we don’t have season tickets doesn’t mean that we can’t attend a game!  For me it would have be a Big 10 game against some of the old rivalries like Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State or Penn State.  We’ll see!

Love,

Dad

I watched Jordan Spieth lose the Masters Golf tournament by taking a score of 7 strokes on hole No.12.  Par requires 3 strokes.  He hit a shot in the water.  He hit a shot fat.  He over-clubbed into a sand-trap.  All on hole No.12.  Hell, I can do that!

I see that the outstanding balance on all credit card debt stands at $638 billion (that is billion with a “b”).  That calculates out to an average balance of $15,000 on all credit cards.  Interest on credit card debt is around 20% per year (20-30%). With a balance of $15,ooo, at 20% interest you will pay $3,000 per year penalty. Really?  Do you know how many hours you work for $3,000.

Burn the credit cards.  Tell Ernie Von Slupps Ford dealership to find another sucker to finance his cars.  Other than your house mortgage and possibly a car loan early in your life, pay cash for everything.  Then get rid of the car loan.  Then get rid of the mortgage.  Then move to Mexico with your cash and retire in the Sun!

I have been told there is a “thing” called a Foo-Foo fund.  It is a fund where cash is set aside to be spent on anything.  It has nothing to do with budgets.  It has nothing to do with retirement.  You do not have to account for how the cash is spent.  It is your money to be spent as you see fit.  Money that goes into the Foo-Foo fund could be rebate money from a purchase, spare change from your pocket, bonus money from an incentive at work.  You get the idea.  Spending the Foo-Foo fund can range from stupid to extravagant.  You don’t care because you don’t have to account for it.  You could buy bon-bon cookies and eat them secretly.  You might spend the money on better golf balls.  You might buy that Rolex watch. Hey, you might even reach for a Chevy Suburban.  All because of the Foo-Foo fund. Think big!  Okay, okay I got carried away a little.  I’d settle for an extra trip to our favorite restaurant, St. Anna.

The word Phoo Phoo, Foo Foo or Fu Fu is not unfamiliar to me. I have long had my FU money.  It is money I have set aside so that if somebody pressures me financially, I have enough to say FU.

You can have a “Foo-Foo” in your life.

Love,

Dad

Johnny Carson went to his Junior Prom with Wanda Lustsome.  He said she was kind of “loose”.

A belated Happy Birthday to Son-In-Law Tom.  He was born many, many years ago up on the tundra, Wausau.  Hope his day was special.

Ripon Foods was sold in 1999.  It has been sold again and again.  Recently the Ripon plant was closed.  The company history lives on.  Even though the Ripon community gave up on the tag line “Cookie Town, U.S.A” they are trying to perpetuate the memories. There is an effort to create a “Cookie Outlet and Museum”. The museum would include some old equipment, videos, articles and pictures.  I am sure one of the major features will be baking the World’s Largest Cookie as verified by Guinness Book of Records in the 1990’s. Everybody loves a cookie!

Last July (2015), I signed up for our “cable” TV package.  I agreed to one premium channel, Starz in order to get the series “The Outlander”.  I was promised a $50 Visa card after 6 months as a rebate.  It is approaching 9 months and I still don’t have my 50 bucks.  I had to contact Starz direct for the reimbursement and prove 6 months of actual billing.  I will prevail.

Which brings me to the seemingly popular practice of “rebating”.  I bought a new set of tires this week which includes a $70 Visa mail-in rebate.  Again I had to prove purchase and deal with the company direct.  I think that the rebate practice has proven to be a very profitable practice many companies. People that don’t use the rebate contribute directly to company profits.  It is kind of like “gift credit cards” at Christmas.  Many cards never get used. Clever?  Devious.  Is this a great country or what?

In the meantime I could use a loan until my two Visa rebates come through.

Love,

Dad

I voted this morning at around 9:00 AM.  I was #279 to vote.  In a recent primary, I voted at the same time and I was only #35.  It looks like a big turnout!

My vote was for one witch and one loudmouth.

Your Mom and I have been invited to two high school graduations in June. Congratulations to two special grandsons.  One graduation is in Madison at 2:00 PM on Sunday, June 5, 2016.  The other graduation is in Sheboygan at Vollrath bowl at 1:30 PM also on June 5.  Now what do we do?  What do we do?  How do pick between two #1 favorites.  Being a Grandparent isn’t easy.

Your Mom entered a fun “Bracket pool” picking teams in the recent NCAA college basketball tournament.  I helped her pick the teams (because I have a deep knowledge of basketball).  The final results of the pool were posted this morning.  Yep, your Mom finished dead last!  She probably won’t ask for my help any more.  I think using the color of uniforms or nicknames or mascots as a basis for picks might work better.

I’m taking the snow tires off my car tomorrow.  It is supposed to snow tonight, then again on Friday and over the weekend.  Really?

Just note!  The Brewers “blew-up” their player roster over the winter in favor of young players.  “Rebuilding” they say.  Yesterday was opening day of the season against the Giants.  The Brewers only lost 12-3.  This could get ugly.

Vote today!  Do it!

Love,

Dad