Ace Wisdom

The term “under the bus” became popular when the Obama Healthcare plan was passed last year.  The theory was that Grandma (the little sweetheart with curly gray hair) was going to be denied healthcare as she got older and might die pre-maturely as a result.  Hence the term, “we are throwing Grandma under the bus”.

I was thrown under the bus yesterday.  The love of my life was exercising with friends.  The discussion revolved around Valentine’s Day.  One lady mentioned she got a “chocolate diamond” from her sweetie.  I’m sure there was enough jealousy to go around.  Your Mom was asked what she received for Valentine’s Day.  Her “matter of fact” response was “a plant”.  A plant?  A plant!  In comparison, a plant doesn’t sound very romantic.  Needless to say your Mom threw her sweetie “under the bus”.  I was never so embarassed.  Do you know what that did to my feelings?  I must say I got her beautiful purple flowers that will continue to give off fragrance and color for a long time.  Along with that, your Mom got a special card.  My gift isn’t measured in dollars and cents.

The truth is that each Valentine’s Day, your Mom and I talk about not spending money.  We buy enough things during the year.  Of course that is a trap.  Women lie.  They tell you they don’t want anything but that is “double speak” for “you better get me something”.

I crawled under the bus to eat the last of the 4 chocolate covered strawberries your Mom got me for Valentines Day.

I’m headed to Madison for teacher’s conferences.  Teachers aren’t in town today,  They are all at the Capital Building.  It seems like a long way for me to go for a conference.

While in Madison, I thought I would talk to several State Senators and State Assemblymen about local issues that concern me.   It looks like I’ll have to drive to Illinois because all Democratic representatives are vacationing “out of state”.  Again it seems like Illinois is a long way to go to voice my opinion to people I can’t find.

I understand there will be beer and brats served at the Capital today.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad   

Yesterday was Valentines Day.  It was the day to tell the special person in your life how much you love them.

The important person in my life gave me a very sweet present.  She wandered down to Wilmar Chocolate Shoppe (known for very high quality chocolate) and bought 4 large, scumptious strawberries that were freshly dipped in dark chocolate.  Ummmm good!  How do you top that for sweetness?  Thank you special Valentine.

Last week I made some financial predictions.  Some say it came off very negative.  Uh, uh, uh.  For example, I predicted interest rates long term are headed up.  If you are going to borrow money, there will never be a better time.  I gaurantee that rates are hovering around their bottom.  They may fluctuate by a half or quarter of a point, but rates are very attactive right now.  I predicted inflation is going to “kick in”.  If you buy an asset with intrinsic value (i.e. property, home, gold), inflation will carry it’s value forward and protect your investment with steady appreciation.  The key Grasshoppers is to take advantage of the financial trends.  I am just tellling you what the obvious trends are.

I got my notice to renew my drivers license.  I’ve heard they revoke “old people’s” driving privledges.  Something about not being able to react, see, hear or “passing out” due to medical problems.  Nope.  I got my renewal and I’m good for 8 more years.  Somebody mentioned that I might experience a “slow down” by state employees at the DMV because of labor issues.  It took me 15 minutes to get my picture taken, eyes tested, pay my fee and collect my new wallet size license.  It couldn’t have gone better.

I am now faced with dealing with troubling issues of the day.  Tiger Woods spit on the green Sunday during a golf tournament and the officials had a “cow” because of his disrespect for other golfers who might have to hit their ball over the spot where he spit.  This is a major golf issue.  Tiger agreed to pay a large fine for his grievious error.  Sunday night Lady Gaga arrived at the Grammy’s in a specially designed egg breathing from compressed air tanks.  This is an important statement relative to her new song.  You’ve got to be kidding me.  Gaga is a marketing genius but the relevance to anything is beyond me.  So forgive me,  I need to go somewhere quiet to contemplate these great issues and ponder solutions.

Hug the person you love.

Love,

Dad

Money matters.  I am putting on my “Swami” hat.  I am getting a vision about your financial future.  What is “this” I see?

Higher interest rates are on the way.  The “Fed” has been keeping loans to banks and financial institutions at 0% (technically .25%).  That means banks can get money for nothing and loan to you.  That can’t go on forever.  Swami says the cost of borrowing money for homes, cars and credit cards will only increase.

Inflation is headed up.  The housing debacle is clouding the trend on everything else.  Food prices are going up.  Oil, up.  Corn, up.  You get the idea.  Swami says you will be spending more dollars to buy less.

Job creation will be limited.  Swami (me) managed several companies over the years and a company does not hire new people because the Government creates $1,000 tax incentives for new hires.   The real world is pretty simple.  A company is supposed to hire a new employee, pay wages and all kinds of benefits at a cost of $50,000 per year (and higher).  Then it gets a $1,000 credit because of a government program.  As Grasshopper No.5 would say, “big fricking deal”.  You hire people because they will do meaningful work and they will help your company grow and prosper.  Swami says “don’t expect huge increases in the employment numbers”.

Taxes are going up.  All taxes.  Property taxes.  Sales taxes.  State Income Taxes.  Federal Income Takes.  Swami says that we as a nation we are spending money so fast that the only way we can pay our national debt is with increased taxes.  Expect your “take home pay” to continually erode because of taxes.

Swami knows that NFL football doesn’t necessarily affect each of you directly but my crystal ball does have an opinion.  The NFL (National Football League) has been predicting a quick and reasonable settlement to union contract proposals that govern the pay of people like Aaron Rogers, Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson.  I think March 3 is the deadline for settlement.  This is about millionaire football players negotiating with billionaire owners.  Swami says that the fight over billions of dollars of revenue will drag out a settlement into the Fall.  The NFL starts its official season on 9/11, the same date as the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the twin towers.  There will be no settlement by 9/11.  A dark cloud will hang over the football world.

Swami predicts that the standard of living of our nation as a whole will steadily decline over decades in the future.  As the standard of living of the rest of the world catches up to us, there will be battles over resources like food, oil and limited “good” water.  That is not a prediction of doom, just fact.

So now Grasshoppers, with all that financial insight, how do you structure your life to win the game?  Swami suggests the following.  Continue to educate yourself (you’ll be more valuable).  Work Hard.  Spend your money wisely.

Love,

Dad 

 

 

The Green Bay Packers are world Champions.  The party continues.

Aaron Rodgers (affectionately referred to as A-Rod) won the MVP of the Super Bowl.  He gets a shiny new 456 HP bright red Camero convertible.  I wonder how his teammates feel about Rodgers getting all the attention and they get on a plane back to Green Bay.  A-Rod hops a private jet to Orlando and they hold a special parade for him at DisneyWorld.  I’m sure the team understands.  He then flys by private jet to New York to be on the Letterman Show.  It ends with a private jet returning him to Green Bay the same evening.  The team probably had cold pizza at Shakey’s.  Do the teammates feel left out?   Just wondering.

There is a “love-fest” in Green Bay this afternoon to welcome the Packers back to Lambeau.  Tickets cost $5 per ticket with a limit of 20 tickets per person.  Tickets are being scalped for as much as $150 per ticket.  Who would pay the outrageous premium for a one hour lovefest in windchills reaching minus 10 degrees.  I guess it is just zealous fans caught up in the exuberance.  Just wondering.

A homeless couple living in shelters won a contest for a trip to the Super Bowl.  They got four tickets (worth $800 each), four days at a first class hotel in Dallas, plane tickets and some spending money.  They were offered $3,000 per ticket as well as reimbursement for all the other “goodies”.  Now remember, before winning the contest they were broke and after the Super Bowl game, they will return to “broke”.  They chose not to take the premium buyout money being offered and went to the Green Bay Packer/Pittsburgh Steeler game.  Why would they turn down the money and return to “broke”?  Just wondering.

The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Super Bowl.  They added over 1200 temporary seats.  The seats sold for $800 each.  The City Inspectors ruled the temporary seats to be unsafe.  Over 800 people were turned away from the gate (even though they had legitimate tickets).  The NFL has agreed to pay each person, $2400 per ticket for inconvenience.  They also get tickets to next years NFL Super Bowl game in Indianapolis including hotel accomodations.  Would that make you happy?  Just wondering.

Would you pay $20 for a Packer T-Shirt?  Just wondering.

Would you pay$38 for a Packer hat?  Just wondering.

What will Packer fans use as an excuse to get drunk and stupid next year?  Just wondering.

Will the Packers win another Super Bowl in your lifetime?  Again wondering.

I guess when you win the NFL Championship, the experience is priceless.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad

 

It was February 7, 1964.  A national day of significance.  It was a cold Friday morning in Milwaukeee.  Your Mom suggested that I stay home from work because the birth of Grasshopper No.3 was eminent.  A call was made to Nana and Grandpa George in Plymouth.  They had offered to come down to Milwaukee to pick up Grasshopper No.1 and No.2 when Mom went into the hospital.  They didn’t get to Milwaukee until after lunch and as I recall we left for the hospital before Grandpa and Nana got to our house.  I think we left hot water on the stove.

We rushed to the West Allis hospital.  Your Mom was ushered off to the “delivery” area of the hospital and I was ushered to an office off the main lobby where a stern nurse administrator had a stack of legal documents for me to sign.  We had insurance through work but I hadn’t been there 9 months so we had to pay all delivery costs out of petty cash (yeah, right.  I had to arrange a payment plan with the hospital before I could leave the office).  My recollection is that I had Grasshopper No.1 and No.2 with me and that I had to get them back to the apartment so Nana and Grandpa could take them home.  The rest is a blur.  I know the birth did not take long.  Remember there were no cell phones with which to take pictures and no facebook to share immediate details with the world.  “Sharing” was done by pony express.

Here comes the true confession.  Today couples having children “share” together at the hospital for the first 24 hours to enjoy the whole experience.  I didn’t do that.  After Grasshopper No.3 was born (and I knew your Mom and No.3 were resting comfortably), I headed for Plymouth and celebrated with my side of the family at the City Club.  So while your Mom (exhausted) and No.3 were in Milwaukee, I was drinking beer and dancing the Polka with my Mother and friends.  That was not a good decision on my part.  Yeah, I was young and stupid too!  Today I would do it different.  Yes, I would!

So now it is 47 years later.  I’m sure that Grasshopper No.3 experienced the birth of his own children better than I did.  No sir-ee.  There was no beer and polka music at the City Club for him.

As Feb.7 comes and goes, it is a fitting to reflect on the significance of that day in our family.  A new little creature entered this world and has been making it better every since.

Happy Birthday No.3.

Love,

Dad

 

The television stations teach their weathermen (better known as meteorologists) to be fear mongers.  It starts with predictions of potential weather outcomes supported by maps that have reds, whites, blues, and purples.  There are weather advisories, storm warnings, areas subject to blizzard conditions and evening flooding predictions.  In addition the switch has been made from reporting the temperature outside to reporting “wind chill” equivalents which sound worse.  The weather tonight is predicted to be the storm of the decade (even storm of the century) because of it’s size.  I’ve even heard the term colossal proportions.  It is nice to know bad weather is coming but to sensationalize it seems over the top.  If the track of the storm changes, all bets are off.  I will say this winter sh– is gettting old.

And what is it about Sheboygan?  They seem to get the effect of each snow storm coming through.  Then then get a backlash of “lake effect” snow.  With this new storm, they are in the blizzard advisory zone because of the winds off the lake.  I don’t remember that kind of stuff when we lived there.  I bet my son-in-law wishes he was back on the tundra.

Packers are in Dallas for Super Bowl.  Warm weather.  Pretty girls.  Parties.  Today Dallas will get sleet and 3 inches of snow.  It will be 20 degrees tonight.  Somehow I feel better.

My expensive watch (expensive by my standards) was repaired last summer.  It was like putting a new motor in an old truck.  Just to let you know how resourceful I am, yesterday my metal band that holds the watch on my wrist came apart.  The long slender pin that attaches the band to the watch came out and the watch fell off my wrist.  Being the engineer that I am, I found a paper clip the same diameter as the pin.  I slid the paper clip through the proper openings and crimped both ends.  Nobody would ever know my watch is being held together by a paper clip.  The inevitable is coming.  Sometime in the near future I’ll be wearing a cheap Timex.

Today would have been brother Jack’s 68th birthday.  It seems strange not sending him a stupid humorous birthday card.  We are also approaching what would have been Nana’s 100th birthday.  She came close.

Stay warm and safe.

Love,

Dad

 

Your Mom and I attended the updated version of “Wicked” at the PAC last night.  I found out that people can be born with a dark green skin color with a fluorescence glow.  Did you know a scorned green person can become a wicked witch with her own broomstick.  I know a lot of people that are not green in color that I am sure have a flying broomstick parked in their garage.

Wisconsin is getting a double dose of consumer spending.  First it was the UW Badgers going to the Rose Bowl.  It resulted in the sale of lots of Jerseys and T-shirts not to mention food, booze and TV sets.  Follow that with the Green Bay Packers making the Super Bowl.  We are going to have lots of fat people and alcoholics.

The tax season is upon us.  If you file a tax return with itemized deductions, the Federal government computers will not be properly programmed until Feb.14.  So if you were looking for an early refund, it won’t happen.  All affected tax filings will be put on a pile until mid-February before they will begin to process.  Last week I went to the IRS office for copies of the standard 1040 tax form.  The local office didn’t even have any.  It was the first time I have visited the local office to be greeted by a security guard.  Why would you need a security guard to protect officials?  Maybe there are a lot of angry taxpayers out there.

Grasshopper No.3 had started an investment club 5-6 years ago with guys from work.  I was lucky enough to get invited to join.  We disbanded unofficially last summer.  We did not make a lot of money but learned a lot.  Guess what?  Since we disbanded, the stock market is up 10-15% and we missed a significant market move.  Our club name was The Wannabees (I think because we all wanted to be rich).  Guess what?  We all still Wannabee.

Stay warm.

Love,

Dad