Ace Wisdom

I tried to remember the words of a song that is probably over 100 years old in my last blog but my memory was failing me (again).  It was about Grasshopper No.1’s adoption of Katie.  I think the real song goes “Ka ka ka Katie, beautiful Katie, you are the only one that I adore.  When the moon shines over the cow shed, she will be pi-pi-pi piddling on the kitchen floor”.

KGM is the acronym for a new running club in Madison.  The first letter stands for the first name of Grasshopper No.2 and GM is for Grant and Mitchell.  They are pooling their resources and entering the Crazy Legs Run later in April.  I believe it is 5K endeavor.  If they win with the fastest times, they will be heaped with praise and prizes (I think the prizes are a trophy and T-shirts).  Actually if they all finish the race, they will be my heros.   When is the last time you ran 5K.  Go KMG.

Here are some clues that winter is ending.  I took my snow tires off the Beemer (and it now goes faster for some reason), I installed a new propane tank on my grill so we can “fry-out”, the snow mountain that Grasshopper No.3 created in my backyard is almost gone and I pulled out my “spring jacket”.

I am watching the “hanging chad” argument over the State election process for State Supreme Court.  Very interesting.  Doesn’t it seem we are experiencing more close elections?

Grasshopper No.4 is contemplating going back to school.  Life is a continual learning process and the more you learn the more you grow.  The more you grow the better you feel.  So pursue you dreams it’s a fulfilling deal (I had trouble with the rhyme for feel).  Go PJ.

Speaking of learning process, Grand-daughter Keely graduates in May with an under-graduate degree in business.  When she is rich and famous, I hope she remembers her lowly family members (with money).  Go KA.

More Masters mystique today.  Will Tiger win?  Is he over his divorce trauma?  Is Tiger getting too old?  Has Tiger lost his competitive edge?  What a bunch of bullsh–.  What would Spring be without announcers whispering in reverence at the Masters.

Enjoy the warm temperatures.

Love,

Dad

 

 

 

Vote today.  It affects your life in many ways.  It is your right!

Ka Ka Ka Katie, beautiful Katie, you’re the girl that I adore …..  Rumor has it that Grasshopper No.1 is adopting a young female named Katie.  Exciting.

The celebration of our 51st wedding anniversary was more sedate than the dinner we had on our 50th.  For some reason (maybe because the anniversary was on a Saturday), I kept remembering my memorable day in 1960.  I was just finishing my second year of college at Oshkosh.  We got married on a weekend.  I had to be back in school on Monday.  I would never offically live at the City Club again.  My official uniform of the day was a black suit with white shirt and tie.  I didn’t know how to make a Windsor Knot in the tie.  I had to got down to the bar room at the City Club and Chuck Andes (of all people) “fixed” my tie.  I remember the wedding ceremony, the reception at Riverdale and “sneaking away” in the evening.  It seems like yesterday.  I resided at a “rooming house” near campus at Oshkosh State College.  There were six of us in the house.  We studied together, we ate together and we played cards together.  More interesting, I never told my house-mates I was getting married and when I left school in late May (intending to go to Marquette), they still didn’t know I had got married.  I really didn’t want my campus life to change for the rest of the school year.  It didn’t.

Men’s basketball is finally over for the year.  U.Conn reigns supreme.  The fairy tale is over for Butler.  I don’t know if anyone picked all the NCAA bracket winners correctly.

Brewer baseball has started.  Same sh– as last year.  Good hitting.  Average starting pitching capability and a bull pen that stinks.  Maybe that is why they’ve started 0-4.  Fans cling to the knowledge that there are 162 games in a season and everything will turn around.  Yeah, right.

I know that I am tempting Mother Nature into another snowstorm, but my snow tires come off this week.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad

 

Grasshopper No.3 has had a good experience with a local bank.  April Fool!  He was in the process of closing the checking account of our investment club.  There was one check outstanding for $90.  When an attempt was made to cash it, it “bounced” because the balance in the account had fallen below $100.  That meant an automatic $11 service fee.  Now there was $79 in the account.  A second attempt had been made to cash the $90 check (the account showed the $79 balance).  A fee for $35 was charged for trying to cash a check for “insuffiicient funds”.  The bank had paid the holder of the check $90 but now our investment club owes the bank $46 for two charges.  You can’t make this sh– up.

Ladies, ladies, ladies!  There is hope.  As you all know, you will eventually find “Mr. Right”.  He has bad habits, but you can change those.  He is rude, but you can improve his manners.  He dresses like a slob, but you can change that.  Every woman in the world figures she can change her Prince Charming in the perfect guy.  Yeah, right!  Again April Fool!  That only happens in a fantasy world.  Did I tell you that your Mom and I went to see “Beauty and the Beast” last night at the PAC.  The beast gets transformed by the girl into a Prince.  Remember this was a fantasy presentation.

I’d be remiss not to mention that April 2 marks our 51st wedding anniversay.  It seems like just yesterday that we were being toasted by family and friends at St.Anna on our Golden Anniversay.  The Beauty (your Mom) has done a masterful job of transforming the Beast (me) into the perfect husband, father and caring human being.  Of course it only took her 51 years and she might argue that she has not changed me at all.  Anyway!  I wish my wife of 51 years a Very Happy Anniversay.  Thanks for taking the journey with me!.

Love,

Dad

My understanding is that Grasshopper No.5 has officially been named “Entertainment Editor” of her newspaper.  Congrats.

Good times are coming.  Yeah, right.  Our government is the process of implementing a healthcare plan that has not been written and will take until 2014 fully take effect.  Making insurance available to everybody including 32 million new “enrollees” is going to cost huge dollars. Dah!

It is starting.  Retired people receive Social Security.  Last year there was no incease in the amount retirees got because cost of living was negative.  I guess that is okay because we are still in a recession.  The prediction is now that at the end of 2011, any increase scheduled for Social Security will be “eaten” up by Medicare Part B (Part B covers doctors and expenses beyond hospitalization).  Medicare Part B is deducted from Social Security.  So as medical costs soar in the future, net Social Security payments will actually decrease.  The logical extreme would be for Medicare Part B payments to get so large that they actually offset all Social Security and retirees will get nothing to live on.  Nah, that couldn’t happen could it?

Inflation consumes my purchasing power.  The last time I looked, gasoline is about $3.50 per gallon and increasing.  Cereal is higher, clothes are higher.  Inflation will keep increasing and my Social Security will be decreasing.  I don’t think that is good?

My saving grace is that I know my children will take good care of me and their Mom when the money runs out.

The brackets of the NCAA basketball tournament have been busted by lots of upsets.  There is one “on-line” website that promoted filling out brackets with a prize to the winner.  9 million people entered the contest.  After 2 weekends and 62 games, 2 people still have the potential of winning the NCAA contest.  Ugly!

Grasshopper No.3 won the family NCAA contest.  Grasshopper No.4 and I will have to dig deep.  Hope No.3 doesn’t spend it all in one place.

My snow tires come off the car tomorrow.

Love,

Dad

 

Officially it is Spring.  By now snow storms are a rare event.  Somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature.  We got 10.5 inches the last few days.  Maybe global warming has something to do with it.

My snowblower has been tested this winter.  I store gasoline in a 2 gallon container and usually I have to make one trip during the winter to refill the container.  I did that.  I was down to almost no reserve of gas.  I figured that I had enough for one more snowfall?  The last snowfall event lasted 36 hours and was heavy and wet.  By the time the snow arrives it is too late to run to the gas station.  I snow blowed the first time.  I still had some gas.  I snow blowed the second time and I had fumes left in the gas tank of the snowblower.  I am now out of gas.  If we have no more snow, I am in the perfect situation.  My gas does not “age” and lose it’s octane and I can get fresh stuff in the Fall.  If it snows, I have no gas for the snowblower and I can’t clear out the driveway and sidewalks.  I save $7 by not filling my 2 gallon container.  Am I tempting fate if I do nothing.  Exciting stuff.

Badgers basketball team lost and the NCAA tournament has lost some of it’s luster.  The term “blown up brackets” comes to mind.  Lots and lots of upsets.

It looks like I will beat Brother Jerry in my NCAA picks.

Grasshopper No.3 seems to be fading in the NCAA bet.

Grasshopper No.4 might edge out a victory over me.  It is tough to make a prediction because it is so close and I have to deal with his being obnoxious.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad

With the help of Grasshopper No.1 (and my favorite son-in-law), we have a new wireless “blue-ray” DVR that is connected to Netflix.  By pushing a few buttons, popular current movies are available on demand.  How great is that?  Now we get movies from Netflix via the internet, movies from Nexflix by mail, HBO movies, Showtime movies and Cinemax movies.  Of course the premium channels have free movies on Demand.  Our cable company has movies on demand.  Does it seem like movie “overload” to you?  Thank you No.1.

It seems like everytime I have a favorite basketball coach, he either gets in trouble or gets fired.  Bobby Knight was my hero at one time. He was a great coach at Indiana but read too many of his own press clippings and turned into an a–hole.  So I had to search for a new hero.  I chose Bruce Pearl.  He coached at UWM in Milwaukee very successfully and moved on to Tennessee.  Every year has been a success.  Pearl got fired yesterday for improperly talking to a recruit.  I think he invited the recruit to his house for a “fry out”.  Mercy.  Talk about ticky tack infractions.  The truth is that Tennessee didn’t want Pearl around.  So now I have to find a new coaching hero.

Grasshopper No.4 is talking “trash” about the bet we have on the current NCAA tournament.  You wouldn’t believe the abuse I get.  Doesn’t an old man deserve some respect.  He won’t be so bold when I win the bet.

Grasshopper No.3 is trying to sell me a new snowblower.  Somehow it is tough to get excited about a new blower in March.  I know.  I know.  It is probably a good time for the best deal.  I get the feeling that No.3 might make some money on the deal.

First day of Spring was yesterday.  Guess what?  Snow, sleet, and heavy rain are moving in for the next two days.  The forecast is for up to 2 feet of snow in northern Wisconsin.  Maybe I should reconsider the new snowblower.

Grasshopper No.2 is in Missouri hiking with her two boys.  It is a good way to use spring break.  In a couple of years, the boys will want to go other places for spring break and not with Mom.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad

 

First matters first.  Grasshopper No.3 and Grasshopper No.4 have challenged me in the NCAA basketball pool.  Silly guys.  After day one of tournament play, Grasshopper No.4 is sucking exhaust.

I have been having an occasional lunch with brother Jerry.  The difference in our age is similar to the difference in age between Grasshopper No.3 and No.4 – close to 7 years.  Jerry was always the little brother.  He tagged along to baseball games to watch Jack and myself play.  My Dad was usually the coach.  Jerry would sit in our dugouts.  As he got older, he became a batboy for our team.

When our Dad (Bucky) died, Jerry was almost 11 years old.  He never had Bucky coach his baseball team.  Bucky never saw Jerry play organized PeeWee League baseball.

I asked Jerry about his memories of going to “our” games as we were growing up.  Most vivid in his mind was a baseball game involving Jack (age 14) and my Dad.  My Dad had made a decision regarding Jack’s placement in the batting order.  Jack didn’t like it.  They started arguing and pushing each other around.  Jerry remembers they wrestled and both fell to the ground on the third baseline.  I can’t imagine that because my Dad was the one person who could dominate Jack.  Jerry thought that my Dad had been drinking before the game.  Oh!

Anyone who has played sports remembers certain events or certain personal achievements.  Jerry said that at age 10, he played in a youth baseball exhibition at an annual Booster Night promotion.  It was held at the city baseball field called Carl Loebe Field.  Jerry said he was selected to pitch.  He hit a single, double, triple and homerun.  I think they call that the “cycle”.  I know Grasshopper No.4 has certain shots in basketball he still remembers.  I remember a game winning basketball shot beating Kohler when I was in high school.  I can still see the basketball swishing through the net as time expired.  Jerry says he remembers vividly the home run on Booster Night.  He said it was a line drive down the third baseline and because of how hard it was hit, it made it past the pursuing left fielder.  It is a homerun that will be pictured in his mind forever.

Jerry was just far enough behind me in years that we didn’t have a lot in common.  He had different friends and was just getting into sports when I was graduating from high school.  But for a very short period of time, my Dad and his 3 sons shared sports participation.

With each lunch with Jerry, I learn a little.  It is interesting to get his perspective.

Enjoy the warmer weather.

Love,

Dad