Go Jack Bauer, go. Your Mom and I finished Season 4 of the hit series "24" and we are part way into Season 5. That means that TV programing stinks and watching "24" is the best alternative.
Grasshopper No.4 has purchased the current Turbo-Tax software. I have started the same process. The software does all the calculations and formating but you still have to gather the information for data entry. There is always some bank or government agency that sends information after you finish your taxes. Don't file to quick. To those of you who might profit from "cash only jobs", be sure to report the income on your tax forms. Remember you are on the honor system (especially you Sheboyganites).
This is a free year for those who die and leave a sizeable estates. Last year, your estate if you died, would have paid federal and state estate taxes on everything over $7,000,000. All estate taxes have been eliminated for this year only. So for those of you with large estates, this would be a convenient year to pass away. You people with large estates, you know who you are.
This is Super Bowl weekend. People buy new HDTV's just for the occasion. Just making the Super Bowl the highlight of your weekend is symbolic of winter blues. I picked Minnesota and the New York Jets to be in the Super Bowl. Yep if you had ignored my picks and picked the other teams, you could have won a lot of money. So if you want to make a ton of money on the Super Bowl game, pick against me. I pick Indianapolis.
The good news is that the days are getting longer and when the sun comes out, it melts sidewalks and driveways. Summer is not far away.
Have a nice weekend.
Love,
Dad
Rumor has it that Grand-daughter Dano's Mercury "puked". It is vintage 1992. Originally it belonged to Nana and Grandpa George. They babied it and drove it very few miles. When Nana couldn't drive anymore, Debs bought it. And now 18 years later, Dano has it. A faulty transmission appears too expensive to fix. The car will either get donated to the "Rawhide Boy's Ranch" or get scrapped.
Now to the Dodge. My Grandma Myrna never learned how to drive. Her husband Chalk drove a Buick until he died in1946. For several years after he died, the 1940 Buick sat in the Garage in back of the City Club. It Myrna had to go somewhere, she paid a bar-room patron to drive her Buick. Myrna liked the independence of owning the Buick even though she couldn't drive. Then after she married husband No.2 (Chuck Andes), he talked her into replacing the Buick with a black four door Dodge (I believe it was 1950). So now instead of a Buick sitting in the garage, a Dodge sat in the garage. It had an automatic transmission with fluid drive. I called it "slush-o-matic". The engine would roar, the fluid transmission would take forever to shift and it would go from 0 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour in 2 hours.
When I turned 16 in 1956, I got my drivers license but I didn't have a car yet. Grandma Myrna would let me drive her to do errands. Being a young kid, I always knew that the Dodge was in the Garage so I would pester Myrna to let me use it. She was a "softie" and most time I could get the car. I took the car on dates and used it to cruise up and down the main streets of Plymouth. I eventually got my own car but whenever I needed alternate transportation, there was always the Dodge.
Then 3 years later, brother Jack got his drivers license. He began to pester Myrna to use the Dodge also. Jack logged a lot of miles on the Dodge. He also drove it more aggressively than I did. He "pounded" it. Wouldn't you know that he would run the car out of oil on one of his excursions. The car was 10-11 years old. Myrna never got the engine fixed and so ended the story of the Dodge in the Garage.
My brother Jerry never got to use the Dodge (he can blame Jack).
The lesson Grasshoppers is that most of us have a car story from when we were growing up. Myrna's Dodge in the Garage is one of my fond memories. The fate of Dano's Mercury and Myna's Dodge appear to be the same. It is called "scrap heap".
Puxsutawney Phil (the famous groundhog) saw his shadow this morning. There will be 6 more weeks of winter. Stay warm.
Love,
Dad
I was traveling south yesterday towards Fort Atkinson when my fine European automobile (at least the accelerators don't stick) had a warning light displayed on my dash control panel. I had my co-pilot look up the meaning of the warning in our 227 page instruction book. Did you catch that? 227 pages! After fooling around with buttons and lights, I determined my oil was down one quart (imagine my panic). What do they expect when oil changes are scheduled 15,000 miles apart?
Why can't I have my simple instrument panel back. Oil pressure was on display. Engine temperature was on display. Most people checked their oil when they got gas by pullling out dipstick. I dare you to lift your car hood and even find the dipstick. Simple works.
Our Camry has escaped the "sticking accelerator" recall. 2005 was a very good year.
The Fireside program was a 50's and 60's music review. Lots of toe tapping music. I'd recommend it to anyone.
Tomorrow night is a full moon. All you gals can fire up those broom sticks and I'll look for long broom handles and pointed hats in the night sky. Lots of wickedness on display. Strange things happen on full moon days.
I've got to keep this blog short so I watch the end of "The Electric Horseman". The horse goes free and the girl leaves Redford. Can life get get any better?
Stay warm.
Love,
Dad
I watched Brett Favre take a pounding Sunday. New Orleans made sure he got beat up. When he got tackled or "bumped", the defensive line man would make sure all 350 pounds came down directly on Favre. Again and again and again. By the end of the game, I was still encouraging him to get up like the warrior he is but secretly I had the hope that he would just stay "down".
"Stay down"? You are talking Favre. In the third quarter, he personally thought he might have broke an ankle. He almost crawled to the sideline. They retaped the ankle, probably found some pain killers and there he was, running back onto the field. You are talking "heart" here. His Dad had taught him if you can get up, you can play. The team depended on him. All it would take was a few more passes for a win. His competitive juices were flowing. His team was depending on him.
And then when the game was on the line at the end, Favre had the chance to use his head as he rolled out to pass. All his receivers were guarded. He could try to force the ball to a receiver (as he always did in critical moments) or he could have limped 10 yards forward because nobody was anywhere near tackling him. The limping 10 yards foward would have given his team a chance at a field goal by Ryan Longwell (who is terrific in critical situations) and a trip to the Super Bowl. We witnessed the famous "brain fart". Favre tried to force the ball down the field and it was intercepted. The game changed on that play. So many games changed in the late moments because Brett thought he could do the impossible. Now the Vikings can wait until next year to see if he will return. Packer fans know the feeling.
I will say this! Favre is fun to watch. He may be the toughest son-of-a-bitch I have ever watched. In Brett's view, the game isn't over until the clock runs out. He has had the enthusiasm of a little kid. He is "human". He has tasted victory but way too many defeats. Favre is always standing at the end of the game. After 309 consecutive starts, he may just be the "last warrior". He is a good guy. He is my hero.
We will know in August whether Favre will play again. We will have to wait again? Yep we will have to wait again.
Stay warm.
Love,
Dad