Ace Wisdom

I’d be remiss if I didn’t share what I know about radiation.

Years ago when I worked in Sheboygan, we had a stainless steel foundry.  Some of our government business was for castings that had to be defect free.  That required we take x-rays of each casting.  In order to penetrate the casting, we needed a radio-active isotope.  We had to train people on how to handle the radio-active materials and I remember brother Jack went to school regularly in Philadelphia to be trained.  All x-rays were taken in a cement encased building and all employees were required to wear badges that measured exposure to gamma rays.  All people working with the radio-active materials were required to get annual physical check-ups.  It was mandatory.

Radio-active materials are insidious sh–.  You don’t know how many times your body is being bombarded by gamma rays.  Some exposure is normal.  The sun creates radiation exposure.  Your friendly dentist exposes you to radiation with x-rays (they always say it is such a small amount, you have nothing to worry about).  As a kid, I would buy shoes at the local Red Goose store and they would put my feet in an x-ray machine to see how much room my feet had.  The radiation exposure was huge and they stopped the practice.  The x-ray exposure I got from Red Goose stays with me to this day because it is cumulative.

In theory, you are allowed a maximum amount of exposure before your body begins to do funny things.  The effects are not known for days, months and years.  Heavy exposure to radiation mutates your DNA, meaning, that you will have trouble fighting off certain diseases.  If you get DNA damage at a young age, your children will potentially get the mutation.

Many cancer treatments require chemotherapy along with radiation treatment.  Once you get the maximum radiation doses that your body can handle, all radiation is usually stopped.  That means if the cancer goes into remission and then re-occurs, you probably can never have new radiation treatments.  Each person tolerates radiation differently.

I’ve heard claims lately that during the nuclear disaster in the early 80’s at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Philadelphia, “not one single person died”.  Bullsh–.  Nobody fell dead on the spot, but exposure to radiation affected millions of lives in different ways.  Some of it didn’t show up for 5, 10 or 20 years, but the incidence of cancer in people who lived downwind from the damaged plant is much higher than “normal”.  The problem is that with radiation exposure, it is hard to prove the nuclear power calamity is the direct cause.

I know this.  Stay away from as much radiation exposure as you can.  Limit your time of exposure.  Be aware that when dentists take x-rays and doctors examine your body parts with x-rays, it comes at a price.

The nuclear meltdown that is occuring in Japan is more dangerous than the Tsunami.  It will affect more people now and for years to come.  Land around Chernobyl in Russia will be radioactive for thousands of years as a result of their meltdown.

The maximum exposure you are allowed is “your age multipled times 1000 and expressed in millirems.  I am 70 years old.  My max allowance is 70,000 millirems.  I don’t know what the hell a millirem is. I also don’t know how much exposure I’ve had over the years because there is no body measurement procedure.

The lesson, Grasshoppers, is minimize your exposure to radiation.  Period!  It is bad sh–.

Love,

Dad

 

Today is supposed to be 42 degrees and sunny.  You would never know that an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale hit this morning off the northeast coast of Japan.  8.9 is a “wow”.  The earthquake occuring underwater sets of a Tsunami with walls of water 23 feet high.  Imagine a wall of water coming down the street as high as a two story house. And water keeps coming.  The forecast is that Hawaii and even the west coast of the U.S, will be afffected.  It kind of puts life in perspective.

I have always been interested in the engineering that goes into nuclear power plants.  Japan gets 30 percent of all it’s power from nuclear.  Apparently there are 4 nuclear plants directly in the line of the Tsunami.  New nuclear plants are built to withstand earthquakes.  I don’t know if a quake the magnitude of 8.9 is part of the design criteria.  Tsunamis are another matter.  A nuclear power plant has radio-active rods inserted into a core generating lots of energy (and heat).  If the water cooling system for the core fails, potentially you get the “China Syndrome”.  That means lots of radioactive water and air can released into the atmosphere.  News services are reporting that evacuation is taking place around one of the nuclear plants.  That is not good.  If you think a tsunami is devasting, uncontrolled release of radio-active materials would be a disaster.  At this point, there are no reports of radio active releases.

So when you get 3-4 inches of snow and have to shovel again, consider yourself lucky.  There are bigger problems in the world.

I suppose the fanatics will cry “global warning” but ever since the earth started cooling millions of years ago, earthquates have been occuring in some form or another.  I guess you have to decide.

Tomorrow night is “Spring ahead” time.  You “workers’ of the world will lose an hour over the weekend and your time off will seem much too short.  If you are retired, who cares.

Hug those close to you.

Love,

Dad 

In early 1950’s Major League Baseball, the Brooklyn Dodgers were the good guys battling the Evil Empire, New York Yankees.  Every year the Yankees would become World Champions.  Every year, the Dodgers would vow to “get them next year”.

The Dodgers had some great baseball players and were considered “blue collar” heros.  My Dad of course fostered interest in major league baseball and there was constant banter about the Dodgers during each baseball season.  It turns out that brother Jack aspired to be a catcher and Roy Campanella was the All-Star catcher for the Dodgers.  Campanella was his role model.

Perhaps the biggest star on the Dodgers was outfielder Duke Snider.  He died last week.  His stories brought back memories.  Duke was left handed and batted third in the batting order. He hit lots of home runs.  This was in the days before “juiced up” baseballs and steroid laced athletes.  Duke had 5 straight years of hitting over 40 home runs.  What made Duke Snider’s home runs unique was the design of the Dodgers baseball field.  Ebbets Field had a short right field fence that was 38 feet high.  To hit a home run, a batter had to launch a high towering shot that cleared 38 feet as it left the playing field.  Duke Snider was a master at it.  It captured a kid’s imagination.

The Duke and company lost to the Yankees year after year after year.  I think there were 5 consecutive defeats in the World Series.  Finally, the Dodgers broke through and won the World Series (1955?).  The Evil Empire had been overcome in 7 games.

Not long after the World Series victory, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles for bigger money and the rest is history.  The Evil Empire still resides in New York.

Jack’s hero, Roy Campanella was involved in a devestating car accident.  He became a parapalygic and never played again.  I remember Jack’s disbelief.

Duke Snider was the centerpiece of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  His baseball card was desired by everybody.  He was a hero.  He defined 10 years of my life.

Love,

Dad

I’ve always liked short mystery stories.  There is always a curiousity about where the story is taking you and it is fun to guess the outcome.

There is a television series called, “Who Do You Think You Are?  It is about tracing the family tree.  Movie stars allow professionals to help trace their family back 3-4 generations and sometimes more.  Emmit Smith from the Dallas Cowboys traced his ancestors back to Africa in the late 1700’s.  Kim Cattral from Sex and the City ended up in Liverpool, England, with a great-grandfather that was married to two women at the same time.  Interesting stuff.

In the 1940’s my Grandpa Chalk and Grandma Myrna invited Chalk’s mom and dad to live out their lives at the City Club (Elmer and Addie May).  Addie died in 1943.  Elmer died 7 years later in 1950.  Elmer had been a farmer for many years around Waukesha, Wisconsin, before moving to the City Club.  Myrna had 7-10 years to “bond” with her father-in-law and share stories.  One of the tales about Elmer involved his early years living in Canada, fathering twin boys and eventually moving to Waukesha.  The validity of the story has always intrigued me.  Do I have “shirt-tail” relation in Canada that trace back to Elmer?

I guess we would call the story, “Elmer’s Secret”.  The story would begin with Elmer as a young man traveling to Canada on an adventure.  He meets the first love of his life and in a moment of passion, fathers twin boys.  He marries and lives a few years in Canada until he learns his wife is a tramp and she runs away with another man.  Heart-broken, Elmer returns to Waukesha, Wisconsin, only to meet the true love of his life, Addie May.  They marry and have two sons, Charles (Chalk) and George.  Both sons become successful.  Near the end of their life, they move to the City Club to be near family.

My tale is obviously a fictitious version of something that might have happened.  Did Elmer go to Canada before he met Addie?  Did Elmer in fact ever go to Canada?  Was he married while in Canada or are his two sons “bastards”?  Did he get a divorce in Canada before marrying Addie?  You get the idea.  Lots of questions, lots of unknowns.  You can create your own story.

The lesson, Grasshoppers, is that there are many computer programs and applications that might answer the mystery of Elmer.  By tracing back through the right courthouse records, press releases and obituaries, the truth may be readily available.  Then again, what do I care whether Elmer fathered two little bastards in Canada almost 100 years ago?  So the mystery goes on.  Maybe it is better that way.

Love,

Dad 

15-16 years ago, your Mom and I (and I think Grasshopper No.5) took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the different monuments and museums.

One day we took a trip across the Potomac River to Virginia and drove down to visit the George Washington estate at Mount Vernon.  I remember the terrific location over looking the Potomac.  We toured the house which had been restored to it’s original condition.  My thought was that the house was smaller than I had imagined and very square in it’s design.  Lots of little rooms and narrow stairways.  The home was considered austentacious in it’s day.  The quality of wood thoughout the house was impressive.  The front porch overlooking the river had a view that was worth the price of admission.  Stunning.

Which brings me to my story.  Your Mom and I got an invite several weeks ago to visit Mom’s brother Bob (and Mary) at their renewal project on the edge of the Kettle Morine west of Plymouth.  I had teased Bob and said I was only going to show up when invited.  We were invited. Mary prepared a home made meal and we toured the farm house.  I will say that Bob and Mary are doing their part to keep the economy going.

Bob and Mary’s home took me back to the Early American construction similar to what we had seen on the banks of the Potomac.  The home is squared off with a big front porch (I understand it will soon get even bigger).  The view of the “Kettles” is special and my guess is that a lot of time will be spent on the porch.  The “renewal project” has been done in a very classy way with high quality wood, windows and decorations.  Just like the George Washington home, every room is very simply designed and utilitarian in nature.  Using the geothermal heating and cooling system makes it very unique.

So if you want to go back in time and enjoy a little bit of “yester-year”, journey out to the Kettles and visit your Aunt and Uncle.

I did notice that there are no curtains on any of the windows.  Mary’s comment was “who is going to see you out here in the country”?  I guess she is right but it would make me uncomfortable (maybe I’ve just got to learn to chill out).  I visited the gorgeous Kohler bathroom to use the facilities and there were no curtains in the bathroom either.  I wonder if George Washington had curtains on the windows.

Bob and Mary seem to enjoy their labor of love as they renew the past with the home.  Isn’t that what life is all about.  They are enjoying the trip.

Love,

Dad

Many years ago when I was going to Marquette University, the college presented itself as the ultimate Catholic experience.  You weren’t just a “number”.

When I graduated with a Mechanical Engineering Degree, work was in my future.  Work and supporting a family with two young kids.  When I landed a job at Allis-Chalmers in Milwaukee, I figured I could get the Masters degree in business at night.  It turns out I had to take 20 more credits (6-7 courses) in business to qualify for business school (engineering courses didn’t qualify).  I did that through Marquette.  My employer paid for the tuition.

Here is the anger part.  I finally applied officially for the graduate program to get a Masters Degree in Business Administration.  Even though I had received an engineering degree and successfully completed preliminary courses, I had a blemish on my grades.  The semester I took accounting I was traveling a lot for Allis-Chalmers and missed enough classes to irritate the professor.  He gave me a “D”.  That “D” got me rejected.  No Graduate School.  I appealed to the Dean of Admissions (he was a compassioate priest).  He patted me on the head and said there would be no exceptions and he would not intervene and grant me an exception.

Fast forward to Sheboygan.  I entered the business program through the UW system going to class at night.  I finished in 3 years with straight “A’s”.  I got my MBA degree.

Marquette keeps calling to solicit money.  They figure because I got my first degree there I have a warm, fuzzy feeling for the school.  Quite the opposite.  I actually have contempt for them.  They screwed me over during the last admission process.

When Marquette calls, a sweet young voice (probably a student) asks me how I am and makes a lot of small talk.  I always reply, “I do not want to do anything at this time”.  I try to be the nice guy that everyone knows I am.  I got a call last week.  A young girl kept pushing for a commitment and I finally (at 71 years of age) decided enough was enough.  I said, “years ago you people denied me admission to graduate school.  It turns out I had to get a Masters degree somewhere else.  No, I am not interested in contributing to the university”.  I hung up!

I feel better.  I was never going to tell the University why they never got any money from me, but they badgered me into it.  I got to release all my pent up anger.  The truth is I was being solicited by a “phone bank”.  The caller will just write off my response as a cranky old man and probably went on to another thousand calls.  Just like before, nobody heard me.

The University really never cared about me personally.  They still won’t hear.  I will get more calls.  I do feel better.  They still won’t get a donation.

Love,

Dad

Congratulations to Dano (and her significant other).  She gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday, 2/21/11.  His first name is Aayon.  I think the pronunciation is different than you’d think.  That makes Debs a grandma and your Mom and I great-grandparents.  Could that be?  Dano will remember the birth because of all the pain and discomfort.  It also be remembered for happening during one of the largest snow storms of the year.

I don’t know how many inches of snow Sheboygan got but Appleton received about 11.  Just about the time we thought the snow storm was over, it just kept dribbling more snow.  I had snow drifts on the front sidewalk over the top of my snowblower.  I’m getting too old for this sh–.  Thank you to my special “snow angel”.

My Dad grew up with one younger brother Bob.  Bob lives in Florida after retiring from flying commercial 747 airplanes for TWA.  Bob (Robert Jack) turned 87 in January.  He is in a facility that helps him manage (he will be there forever).  I don’t know if it is “assisted care” or a “nursing home” but he will never return home.  He has dementia. His wife Helene visits daily.  Some days Bob’s memory is pretty good and they laugh and share stories.  Some days he has trouble recognizing his own wife.  I would have trouble handling that.  She cries.  He cries.  They both cry.  Bob’s mannerisms sometimes remind me of my Dad.  The family “chuckle” has endured.

I have finished our income taxes.  We get a tiny refund.  Enough for lunch at McDonalds.

Today your Mom and I have an appointment with a photographer to get our 50th wedding anniversary picture taken.  We needed to do it before we reached our 51st.  I can’t believe the amount of planning it takes for a photo shoot.  Do I need to shave?

March is fast approaching.  We can endure this lousy weather.  Yes we can.  I know we can.  We can do it.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad