I have been aware that there is economic stimulus payment coming my way. I know that most of you Grasshoppers have already received yours but the economy is going to have to wait for another jolt until I get my check. I just happen to have a very high "last two digit" number and we are last to receive our stimulus. Retired people should get theirs first.
The good news is that there is an IRS website that gives the status of our stimulus payment once the check has been scheduled for issue. We are in the schedule and Appleton will be richer in a few weeks. Zippity Doo Dah!
What to buy? What to buy? Maybe I shouldn't buy anything but keep it because taxes will be rising in the future as a result of all the free money every taxpayer got.
I need to call the Appleton City Bus Manager to see if they will cash my check on the bus. Petty cash carried by the driver should cover the amount
I could fill my tank with gas. I'm not sure the stimulus would be enough.
I could buy a book on how to save money. If I spent my stimulus check on the book, I wouldn't need the advice on saving money.
I could purchase Dairy Queen Dilly bars. Maybe vanilla cones? Maybe Blizzards?
Or, I could motor on down to Paul and Jenny's for the 4th of July celebration. I know you are all invited and the weather will be mostly sunny and 78 degrees. Everything is free except getting there. I probably will use my stimulus check to get back and forth to Sheboygan. Oh, damn. I don't have the check yet. Maybe I can get a Grasshopper loan?
As you can tell, my attitude is rather flippant. It goes with the nice summer weather. The weekend is supposed to be gorgeous. Add to that a family "get-together" along a little stupid conversation, you get a nice 4th.
The lesson Grasshopper is that the economic stimulus check is not enough to alter anyone's life and the 4th of July weekend should be spent enjoying the summer. Enjoy the simple things in life. I can't resist the next comment. "There is nothing simpler than our family"!
Love,
Dad
It was a cool, clear Saturday night in Plymouth and the High School Class of 1958 gathered to celebrate another time (50 years ago). Your Mom and I were both a part of that Class.
We all morph physically from a "hard bodies" to softer, gentler beings. The big question was "would I recognize all my old classmates"? Thank God for name tags.
As we arrived at the VFW Hall, we were joined by others arriving at the same time. Jim Owens, the son of my chemistry teacher, saw your Mom and I coming from the parking lot and shouted out "Shelby?". Sh--! He didn't yell out "Chuck?" I had been one of his best buddies. What was that all about? So we struck up a conversation with Jim outside the VFW and had trouble progressing to the hall because other people came by and the "recognition game" began. Lots of nice people! Lots of memories.
Everybody loves Shelby. How could they not? She lit up the festivities. There were exclamations of "Shelby, Shelby" followed by lots of giggles and laughter.
It is interesting that we all see the world from only from our perspective. Jim Owens thanked me for saving his life as a kid. I had no idea what he was talking about. Apparently we had been walking on the ice of the Mullet River when we were teenagers and Jim fell through the ice. He claims I reached down, grabbed his hand and pulled him out. He was soaked and cold. I took him home to the City Club and my Mom made him get out of the wet garb she wrapped him with blankets. As he described the ordeal, my memory of the event came back but I never perceived it to be life threatening. Apparently Jim did. I guess that qualifies me for one of the 5 people he would meet in heaven. Jim was always one of the good guys. He is a retired civil engineer.
Then there was Tom and Judy. They were high school sweethearts and Mom and I "double dated" with them many times. Tom was all-conference everything. You know. Football, basketball and baseball. They never had kids which limited the conversation. He became a naval dentist and Judy was a career hygenist. Money to burn. I forgot that Tom was not a "talker" and conversation had to come from me. Yawn!
Late in the evening I was approached by "the lady in the black dress". Phyllis was a class member. She had lived on a farm and I never had too much contact with her. She sought me out as I sat on cushioned ledge. She was very friendly and the black dress was very attractive. I suddenly was deep in discussion about the path her life took (of course I asked lots of questions). There was lots of laughter. I turned around and there was Mom introducing herself to the woman in the black dress. Your Mom's words were "Oh Phyllis, I didn't recognize you"! From then on, it was a 3-way conversation. Actually, Phyllis was very nice and she has aged gracefully. I will always remember the woman in the black dress.
The rest of the night was Bob, Mike, Richard, Kazahito, Chico, Bernie, Launa (of Johnsonville sausage fame), Tom and Judy. There were many more and they all had their stories. It was an intriquing snapshot of yesterday. Time went very fast.
So we move on knowing that we were surrounded by good classmates (and families). They belong in the past. They will stay in the past.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you can't go back. You can not return to yesterday. The past helped shaped what you are but the future is ahead. Live it!
Love,
Dad
Your Mom celebrated her birthday recently and you Grasshoppers certainly helped make it a success. It turned out to be more than a one day event. It was a continuous series of celebrations.
Her "exercise buddies" treated Mom to a breakfast (a week before the official date). The breakfast was the only time that everyone could get together.
Then the same buddies held a luncheon at one of the "buddy homes" several days later for anyone who could make it.
On Mom's actual birthday (June 20th), the special person in her life took her to the Fireside to see "Barefoot in the Park". The day included the serendipitous trip through the countryside to avoid all the flooded areas and a footrub at the end of the day. Oh yeah, there were presents involved.
Then several days later, her sister invited her up to Door County (for her birthday) to spend the day and do some shopping (I was forced to play golf at the Harbor Golf course in Egg Harbor-tough duty). It ended with a dinner in Egg Harbor and a leisurely trip back the next day.
It gets me wondering how long a birthday can last. Mom's seems to go on and on and on.
Maybe a birthday celebration can last throughout the year. Maybe it is just a matter of perspective and attitude. Is it possible that everyday could be your birthday? Perhaps you just have to believe.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that birthdays are what you make them. Your being born is reason to celebrate every day. Go for it!
The next Grasshopper birthday celebration is the 29th of June. I remember a Thursday morning in 1972. I remember sunny skies. I remember 80 degrees. I handed out cheap cigars at work and Nana came to babysit for 4-5 days. I think Nana cleaned and reorganized the whole house. Now there is a celebration!
Love,
Dad
Here we go again with "I remember when ......."!
Growing up in the small town of Plymouth, the two banks in town were within walking distance of the City Club.
My Grandma Myrna had a "working relationship" with the Dairy State Bank across the street. Many employees of the Kohler Company (and the local Borden Cheese Company) would stop at the City Club on Friday afternoon. Myrna would cash their weekly paychecks and they would celebrate the end of the work week by purchasing food and beverages. She needed a lot of cash for one day to handle all the transactions. Myrna worked out an arrangement with Dairy State for "one day loans" to cover the huge cash requirement. She could call the bank and get instant service without a signature for the loan. The bank in return could call Myrna to find out the status of her situation. How about that! A bank concerned for a human being.
Fast forward to 2008. Banks are now impersonal organizations trying to make a buck on every mis-step we take. They love overdrafts because they can charge you $25 for each and every mis-calculation. A one day loan arrangement like Myrna's would cost a fortune today.
I recently read about a lady that got her statement from her bank and noticed a charge of $15.75 for having her checks returned to her. She remembered that she had enrolled in the "Gold Premium Checking" account. By keeping $1000 in the account, there was no-charge for her checking service. She called the bank and indicated that the $15.75 charge was improper. The bank agreed. So they went back 3 months retroactively and gave her 3 months credit. Everybody is happy right? Wrong.
It turns out that the bank had been over-charging the lady for more than 3 years and that there was $500-$600 potential credit involved. The bank said they only went back several months in this case because their files are limited. The lady indicated that she wanted her records for 3 years searched. That would cost another $45. Even with the search, the bank indicated that their policy was to limit correction of errors to 3 months. The woman was out the $500-$600.
There are lots of obvious questions. How could the woman miss a charge on her statement of $15.75 every month? Maybe she didn't balance her checking account? Maybe she was 100 years old? I don't know. What I do know is that Myrna would never have had any problems of hidden charges leveled on her by a predator bank. Isn't progress great?
The lesson Grasshoppers is that the big warm "fuzzy" friendly banker is a disguised shark. They will eat up your hard earned cash everytime you make a minor slip. The suggestion that you have a good relationship with your bank is an illusion. Check all your transactions! When it comes to your hard earned cash, don't trust anyone.
Love,
Dad
Yesterday was the longest day of the year. It a the solstice. The first day of summer. The good news is that you get extra sunlight to enjoy outdoor activities. The bad news is that days start getting shorter.
It was also your Mother's birthday. I know that every "offspring" remembered her birthday which made her very happy. There were even a few gifts.
Some "brain-trust" group of medical scientists developed a formula that takes into account human emotional and physical cylces. They calulated using calculus that June 20 is the happiest day of the year. So Grasshoppers, your mom was born on the happiest day of the year. This whole idea is predicated on the assumption that you can calculate happiness using a mathematical formula. Yeah, right!
We decided to visit the Fireside yesterday in Fort Atkinson. I knew that the southern part of the state had been hit hard with rain storms a week ago and that flooding was causing serious problems. Several areas, like Jefferson, Wisconsin were applying for national disaster relief.
I figured when I made reservations a week ago that flooding caused by the rain would subside and travel would be "normal". Even after a week of sun and nice conditions, southern areas were still under water. Our trip takes us through Jefferson. Not yesterday. We had to take a detour. I had looked at the map and decided not to follow the normal detour and find my own shorter route. I found a convoluted county road. It was like driving through the Kettle Moraine. It was scenic. It seemed to take forever. My comment to your Mom was "that we seem to have to have found the serendipidous route". She lit up like a Christmas tree. She liked the word "serendipidous". It seems many of her adventures in the car are serendipitous. Her suggestion was that would should take this route again some day. Yeah, right. It tooks us 15 miles out of our way.
The highlight of our trip to Fort Atkinson was entering the city from the only open road into town (we had to come in from the east). Fort Atkinson has also applied for federal disaster relief because the Rock River overflowed it banks and flooded the highways. As we entered Fort Atkinson, Highway 106 was lined with sandbags on both sides of the road and water was 1-2 feet above road level but the sandbags and pumps were keeping water off the road. It is an erie feeling driving with water "along-side" your car at levels that would flood your engine if the sandbags broke. The highway itself was almost dry because pumps were keeping water away and the sun was so strong.
So we zipped in to Fort Atkinson between the sandbags. It was like Moses parting the sea. Happy, happy, happy. We were approaching the promised land.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life is what you make it. If you want to believe June 20, is the happiest day of the year, go ahead. It is your Mother's birthday. What could be happier than that?
Love,
Dad