Ace Wisdom

I just got an e-mail with an attachment showing a “thriving” raspberry plant from Grasshopper No.1 (actually Tom has the green thumb).  I think that means raspberries will be forthcoming.

I got my renewal notice for auto insurance and my rates went up.  It has something to do with increased medical limits and more coverage for uninsured motorists.  Our State government recently mandated increased insurance.  A–holes.

Your Mom and I have Supplemental Insurance to Medicare.  Our rates just went up 10%.  There is no explanation but anticipation of the “Obama healthcare plan is in there somewhere”.

I see that Walgreens had a “DNA kit” that could be purchased for $30.  You swab the inside of your mouth and then mail the sample into a lab.  You have to specify the kinds of tests you want performed but if you take all of them, you can spend another $475.  The test lab then sends you information on all the potential genes that might cause you health issues in the future.  So if the lab found you had a pre-disposition for multiple sclerosis, you could begin to do things that might fend off getting the disease.  My question is, “do you really want to know that you have a one in a thousand chance of getting a disease”.  I think it would drive a person nuts.  People would begin to imagine all kinds of syptoms common to a particular disease.  For the time being you won’t have to wrestle with such a deep issue because the FDA has said they have not approved the tests for validity.  Get ready though.  Someday you will know at birth all your genetic defects.  I wonder how all the healthcare plans will deal with that?

Lastly I saw that somebody had advertised a diamond ring on Craig’s List worth thousands of dollars.  A person showed up at the door with 3 friends to buy the ring, mugged the seller and stole the diamond ring.  I wonder if selling Packer tickets would attract muggers?

The only thing I really know is that the world is changing at the “speed of light” and I keep adapting (at a snails pace) as best I can.  I am losing ground.  I’m dedicated to keeping my life simple.  It keeps me “grounded”.

Love,

Dad

 

 

 

 

My friendly local banker (M&I) called several weeks ago to inform me that they were changing the numbers on my checking account.  Normally it wouldn’t concern me except with all the fraud and scams being reported, I began to wonder.  Was the phone call even legitimate?  I was told that they would provide new checks with all the proper account numbers.  I should throw the old checks away.  Now let me see, I got a random call telling me my bank account numbers were changing and I should use the new checks provided.

I stopped at the bank a week ago (drive-in window) to cash a check.  I inquired about the upcoming changes to checking accounts.  The gal at the window did not know of any changes.  What the hell?

Several days later I got a letter under M&I letterhead telling me what my new checking account number would be.  I would be getting new checks by mail soon.  Do I trust the M&I letterhead?  Letterheads can be easily forged with new computers/printers.

Yesterday I stopped at the local bank drive-in again.  I was making a deposit.  The teller told me that the deposit transaction would not “go through”.  They had no record of my account.  “I didn’t exist”!  This was starting to get scary.  After consulting with her supervisor and accessing a special computer program, I was told that my deposit would be logged under a new number.  When I asked if anyone else was having this problem, I was told I was the only one.

Late yesterday I called the main M&I office to find out what was going on.  I still had not received new checks and now I couldn’t access my old account.  Your Mom and I have Social Security checks directly deposited into our checking account.  Now what?  Would direct deposits get made?

I was told to relax!  Imagine a banker telling me to relax.  I was told my new checks would be arriving in a few days and any old checks in the system would be honored.  Anybody like the Social Security Office would be notified to deposit money into a new bank account number and everything would be okay.

It turns out that M&I is merging with some banks in St.Louis and Kansas City.  I happen to be one of 40 customers that have the same account number as a customer in St.Louis.  To avoid future confusion, the privledged 40 involved were receiving a new bank account number.

Now I feel better.  I have the same checking bank account number as a customer in St.Louis and M&I will orchestrate an orderly transition to a new number system.  This is the friendly local bank that screws everyone with late fees, processing fees and overdraft fees.  They will take care of me.  My deposits will probably go to the St. Louis customer.

So Grasshoppers, I’m bracing myself.  This new numbering is somehow going to get messed up and my life is going to get complicated.  I don’t need this.  Stay tuned.

I’d like to wish my Grandson Grant a Happy Birthday today.  He is 15 and still growing.  This summer he can take “drivers education” and one year from now, he’ll be begging his Mom for the car.  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

Love,

Dad

I must be running a fever.  What else would explain my state of confusion and hallucinations?

I imagined that my Grandson (undergoing basic training at the Marine Corp training facility in San Diego) finally got a chance to write a letter home.  There has been a 3-4 week period without any communication.  Alas he did write.  He sent his love.  He mailed his only letter to his girl friend.  I must be delirious because I know Mom’s and Dad’s get the first letter.

I imagined that the Greek government which is “broke” having trouble getting a loan.  I guess their credit cards are over loaded.  All the people living off government checks are refusing to give up any benefits.  Can this be true?  Rumor has it that Greeks now get 14 monthly checks in a 12 month year.  I wouldn’t want to give up my cash bonanza either.  Does anyone what to loan the Greeks money?  You can only conjure this stuff up if the a fever reaches 103 degrees.  I didn’t think I was that sick.

I imagined that Brett Favre again declared there is 100% chance that he will not play this year.  He needs a minor bone spur operation on his ankle but that did not influence his decision.  The strangest part of my delusion was that Favre changed his mind and came back to play.  Again.  I’m not well.

I dreamed that all the people that are in our country illegally are running the country.  On top of that we employ, feed and provide “entitlements” to people who shouldn’t be here..  Isn’t that a silly dream.

To top off my delusions, some Harvard graduate pushed the wrong key at a trading desk and the whole stock market plunged 1000 points in 3-4 minutes.  Mind you that it sometimes takes 2-3 years for the stock market to inch up 1000 points but our electronic gadgets can instantaneously lose years of growth.  I dreamt that our Government launched an investigation and had now installed new penalties and controls.  I’m really sick.

I imagined our Government owned General Motors and Chrysler.  Of course that is not real.

Don’t despair.  I think I’m getting better.  Yep.  NFL football players are still thugs.  Prince Fielder is still having trouble keeping his shirt tucked in (and he is not hitting home runs).  Tiger Woods is again playing golf.  It is good to be getting back to reality.

Love,

Dad

I grew up in the era of World War II.  There was a solemn respect for all Americans who served in the European and Pacific theaters.  My family members were in the Pacific conflict.

I have been watching the HBO series called “Pacific”.  It follows a Marine named John Basilone in the early 1940’s.  He was one lean, mean fighting machine.  He wins a Metal of Honor for his exploits in storming the beaches in the Phillipines early in World War II.  His obligation to the Marines and our Country ultimately ends but he requests to go back.  He is again a hero on the shores of Iwo Jima but is killed.  As he lays on the beach dying, there is an understanding that our soldiers did what they felt they had to do.  Basilone gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  He wouldn’t have had it any other way.  He did it for us.

Today we have people who burn flags in the name of freedom of speech.  We can’t put up a Christmas tree in the town square because we might offend someone.  We allow people who aren’t even citizens to decide the direction of our country.  John Basilone would cry!

In Milwaukee an “Honor Flight” was arranged through donated dollars.  A 747 took 300 Veterans from World War II to Washington D.C. to witness the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier followed by a visit to the new World War II Memorial.  The Veterans got to pay tribute to their fallen comrades and tell stories of the sacrifices that were made.  Most Veterans are now in their mid 80’s and find it difficult to travel.  But they came!  Men and women in wheel chairs and on crutches.  Some had never been on an airplane.  As they told their stories, one couldn’t help but get a lump in the throat.  They deserve to be called the Greatest Generation.

The lesson Grasshoppers is that we have a rich and storied history.  People died to make sure we have the freedoms and opportunity we have.  It sometimes feels like things are sliding away.  Don’t let it happen.  This Country is yours.  It is worth fighting for.

Love,

Dad

 

Several weeks ago, we saw what we thought was a mouse in the house.  After setting many traps and 5 weeks we have had zero success catching the critter.

My suspicion has been that we actually saw a mole.  We had a few in the yard several years ago.  They burrow under the grass and eat grubs.  They kill the grass where they burrow yielding “yellow” strips.  I think that somehow a little black mole got into the house five weeks ago but eventually found his way back out into the front yard.

Now we have a mole in a hole.  His/her entrances are clearly marked.  I love the rhyme.  A mole in a hole.  It’s like a mouse in the house, a pest in a nest, a hog in a log, or a bear in a lair.  The mole would be funny if it wasn’t so destructive.

My friendly ACE hardware man gave me a cannister of toxic “stuff” to pour down the hole of the mole.  A heavy stone is then supposed to be placed over the entrance.  My assumption is that they eat the “stuff” and go to their eternal heaven.

Outwitting a mole is at the top of my list of things I want to do today.  I think it is God’s way of keeping me “grounded”.  Today we battle the mole.

Today is Grandson Dominic’s birthday.  I believe it is No.12.  He is a Taurus just like me.  It means he is strong, caring, persistent and a good problem solver.  Taurus has a tendency to be strong minded and independent.  Not us!  Here is wishing Dominic a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

May 1, is tomorrow!  That means great conditions for growing raspberries (I know someone who has bushes).

Love,

Dad

There are some annoying morning doves outside our window each morning that keep “coooing”.  That usually means that Spring is in full swing.  They fly stupidly into our plate glass windows and do white “dumps” all over the deck.  Can it get any better.

I signed up for golf yesterday.  Last year I screwed up my back early in May and never played golf again.  This year my back is still “in place” and I paid my annual dues to play Mondays.  You’ve got to admit I don’t learn quickly.  Spring does that.

The weekend rain has activated the “green” grass.  Now I’ve got to get out my law mower.

Sports enthusiasts are caught “in between” this time of year.  Packer football revolves around a stupid draft.  Badger football hinges on a successfful Spring practice, NBA basketball stinks.  The drone of Milwaukee Brewer baseball is beginning to dominate the airways.  Baseball is the official game of Spring.

Grasshopper No.4’s roof still leaks.  As the snow disappears and real water (rain) begins to pelt his new roof, water still makes it into the rear doorway.  Yep, Spring.

My real signal of Spring used to be opening the cottage.  It involved lots of planning.  Turning on the water system, cutting the lawn for the first time, putting in the pier, and getting the boat engine serviced before launching.  Don’t forget stocking the refrigerator with soda and beer.  There was a whole lot of optimisim.

We bought a small tree in the back of the house two years ago.  It doesn’t get real tall but it blossoms white and pink in the Spring.  It is in full bloom.

Grasshopper No.1 and spouse (actually mostly spouse) planted raspberry bushes several weeks ago.  It is a Spring procedure.  I can’t wait until I get free berries.

Last night we got a freeze warning and the temperature did drop below 32 degrees in a few spots.  Ah, Spring.

Put your screens on the windows, get out your summer jackets and plant your flowers.  The optimism of Spring reigns supreme.  Now if I can just stop my eyes from itching and nose from running, I can enjoy it all.  Pass the sun block.

Love,

Dad

 

Birthdays are significant only because they serve as benchmarks of our life.  I guess “round” numbers like 70 should release bells, whistles and balloons.  Hmmmmm!

I get questions like what would you like for your birthday?  I want quiet days, cool nights and a warm breeze!.  I want a rickety old Ford pick-up truck, a loyal egg sucking dog, and a jug of watermelon wine.  I want my “stars and signs” to align perfectly with the universe to produce unbelieveable happiness.  I want simple things!

The early years of my life were spent near the poverty level.  My mother would get us fed and dressed in the morning and proceded to usher us out the door.  Sometimes we didn’t come home until supper time.  We played basketball on the local blacktopped school playground.  We waded in the dirty mullet creek with our shoes on at the “Little Park”.  We would catch crabs and pull their pinchers out.  We caught frogs that we would take home with us.  We wandered the “Meyer Woods” on the edge of town and actually got lost a few times.

When we came home late in the day we looked kind of scrufty and raggity.  We would have mud on our denim pants, holes in our water ravaged shoes and sweatshirts filled with thistles.  I think my Mom’s words were, “Where in hell have you been?  You look like ragamuffins”.  I knew that was not a good thing.  It resulted in many baths.

I always thought the word “ragamuffin” was just a German slang description.  There is actually a word in Webster’s dictionary meaning “a poor ragged child”.  To be honest, I didn’t really feel poor or ragged.  My days had plenty of adventure and excitement.

Those were the early days.  I am now in the more advanced days.  The road traveled has been fullfilling.  I’m not sure I am a ragamuffin any more.  My days have transitioned from adventure to productive to retirement.  Along the way there has been a marriage, a great family consisting of 5 special Grasshoppers, more marriages, grand-children and losses of loved ones.  I’ve had one special partner that has traveled the path of life with me.  I consider myself fortunate.

So on this day which marks my 70th birthday, it does not conjure up any negative connotation.  I look forward to what is in store for me.  “Bring it”.

Love,

Dad