Last Friday was the first time in over 3 years that I didn't post a regular blog. The world survived.
My birthday came and went. For those of you who remembered, my sincere expression of appreciation. For those that didn't remember, you are out of the will. My favorite gift came from Mom. She bought a box of Titleist Pro VI golf balls. They cost almost $50 per box of 12 versus $24 for "normal" golf balls. I always "cheap out" and buy the less expensive golf balls. My rationalization is that when I hit one ball in the water, I've only lost $2 with each ball. But now, because of the extravagant gift, everytime I hit the ball in the water I've "pi---- away $4. I wonder how that is going to feel.
Grasshopper No.5 gave us a gift certificate to a Minneapolis playhouse (equivalent to the Fireside in Fort Atkinson) at Christmas time. We used it this weekend to see "42nd Street". Add to that a free Asian dinner for my birthday and I can only say it was a nice weekend. No.5 has photographs on display at one of the local Minneapolis art galleries. She has promised to send us one that we liked. The best one turned out to be a patched pocket from the bottom of one of her jeans. I recognized it immediately.
I understand Grasshopper No.2 ran the Crazylegs 8K marathon in Madison. There was some complaining about strong headwinds but she beat all the times from the previous season and finished 37th out of 265 in the her women's age group. Pretty damn good! I understand Mitchell competed and finished also. Good for him.
Warm weather is approaching (I think). I signed up for my golf league yesterday in a driving snow storm. In fact, 1 inch had accumulated on the grass as I paid my $30 annual dues at local golf club. Only an optimist would sign up for golf believing that we will have some nice days.
I understand that tax stimulus payments have begun a week early. I assume that will accelerate everybody's payment schedule. By my calculation, one-half of your stimulus payment will go for gasoline. Someone explain to me how that stimulates the economy.
As I finish my blog, my information is that Nana (who was rushed to the hospital last night) will be okay. Apparently it was a combination of asthma and a cold. Good news.
Keep the faith!
Love,
Dad
There is a whole list of Murphy Laws. Things like, "if things can't go wrong, they will".
Well I heard a new one this morning. If you come into some extra cash (you know, a tax stimulus rebate or an unexpected gift), your house knows it. Your house will develop a plumbing problem, the roof will leak or an appliance craps out. How does the house know this? Maybe Murphy's Laws are involved.
There is a corollary axiom to the house knowing you have extra cash. Your car knows it too! If you have extra money, a water pump starts leaking, a battery dies or windshield wipers stop swiping.
Oh yeah, there is another corollary axiom. The family knows when you have extra cash. Summer league soccer costs $90 or the dentist recommends immediate braces.
I don't have a magic solution for this phenomenon. Somehow you've got to make sure the house doesn't know you have extra cash. You've got to deceive the car also. And never, never tell the family when you have extra bucks. "Squirrel" the money away quietly.
In the end, you can't beat the system. The world is going to get your "extra money". Strange how that happens! I think Murphy was a pretty smart guy.
Love,
Dad
I recently attended a concert put on by Andre Rieu, an accomplished violinist and band leader. He obviously has a passion for music and it shows, His message was "keep music in your life because it performs miracles". Huh!
Andre gave a couple examples. He knew of a cat that had been sterilized. The owner felt so bad for the cat that he played Strauss Waltzs to help her feel better. Several years later the cat had a litter of kittens. It must have been "the power of the waltz". A married couple was going to get divorced but decided to spend one last evening together. They played Waltzs in the bedroom and now they are possesed by love. Powerful stuff those waltzs. Waltzs can make anemic plants grow and bloom.
So in this era of superheros, I have decided that in addition to Captain Marvel, Mighty Mouse and Superman, there should be one more hero, Wally Oh Waltz (initials WOW). I shall refer to him as Mr. WOW, the fastest dispenser of Waltz music in the world.
Mr. WOW is the most powerful action hero ever. Imagine knowing a friend with an incurable disease. It would be Mr. WOW to the rescue. He would launch a string of beautiful waltzs and the person would be healed.
There wouldn't be any war. Mr. WOW could have zapped Hitler with a constant barrage of Strauss Waltzs. HItler would have signed Peace Agreements rather than Declarations of War. It would be a different world.
When your boss at work makes unreasonable demands, you would turn on the CD player at your desk loaded with Waltz music. The boss would be transported to another place (mentally) and you would suddently get 30% annual raises. Powerful stuff, this waltz music.
You get the idea. Maybe Andre Rieu has something. Welcome Mr. WOW into your life. He is a good guy.
I have a personal connection with Mr. WOW (sometimes referred to as just plain Wally). If you need an introduction, let me know.
The lesson grasshoppers is that when your life sometimes turns to sh--, call on Mr. WOW. He can help you slay the demons. Serenity could be just around the corner.
Now I need to figure out what my action hero should look like?
Love,
Dad
Almost a year ago I went on a rant about the insanity of using food to produce gas and diesel fuel. We will be able to drive our Chevy Suburban but we won't have food to eat We do make brilliant decisions.
I see that the World Health Organization headquartered in London has sent out an urgent plea for financial support because prices of the food they supply to needy countries has gone up at an astounding rate. Even worse, there are food shortages because corn, wheat, and soybeans are being diverted to "petrol". Dah! So President Bush rushes to the crisis and sends $200 million dollars worth of food to help cover the shortage. Who do you think pays for the $200 million? That's right! You and me. Now let me see. I pay higher prices for food because it is being converted to fuel. My fuel prices are not going down (food based fuel was supposed to alleviate supply/price problems). The world is experience a greater food crisis as starving nations can't get food. And then we are sending emergency food (which will result in higher taxes) to needy nations. Turning food to fuel is a brilliant strategic decision.
On a more personal level, I am spending my time nursing my Saab through another crisis. Two weeks ago a logo disintegrated going through a car wash. Then a decorative strip around the front bumper mysteriously disappeared. The latest problem is my "bulb" fell out. The large lamp that "houses" the front turn signal fell out. Gone. So I ordered a new lamp for $137 and scheduled installation. After 45 minutes of waiting for a turn signal lamp to be installed, I was informed that a wiring harness was also missing and needed to be replaced. The harness is not in stock so we are waiting for overnight delivery. I will probably spend another hour tomorrow waiting for installation. Don't believe it. Something else will be wrong and I'll have to go back again.
On the way home from the garage, my AM radio started crackling. Every bump brings a static sound. Great! As Dr. Phil would say, "how is your Saab working for you"?
So Grasshoppers, we are back to the Serenity Prayer. There are things I just can't change and I will let them go but not before voicing my opinion. Then I will search for serenity.
Love,
Dad
Usually I give my Dad credit for instilling many value systems that have become part of my life.
My mother rarely gets mentioned for wisdom. She got dealt a difficult hand in life. She persevered after my Dad died and raised her four children without ever complaining. She was a bright lady. In high school she got straight "A's".
Where am I going with all of this? When I got one of my promotions at Vollrath years ago, my mother mailed to me at work a printed message mounted in a glass covered picture frame. It was her advice to me. It was the only printed information I can ever remember her giving me.
The framed gift was the first paragraph of the Serenity Prayer. It goes:
"God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change,
COURAGE to change the things I can,
and the WISDOM to know the difference."
For those of you familiar with the prayer, it contains more paragraphs and you can read them if you do the research. Her framed prayer only contained the first paragraph.
I placed that prayer on my office wall (of every job I held). I sometimes tried to remember the phrase verbatim when I was away from the office and I'd get it all screwed up. The essence always stuck with me that there are things you can't change and you need to know when to let those things go. I think I have been pretty good at that but even I struggle at times.
I watched a program on Primetime the other night called the "The Last Lecture". It was about a middle aged man diagnosed with a fatal illness lecturing his family, friends and "the world" about positive principles to live by. He referenced the Serenity Prayer. He accepted that he could not change his fate but he could try to make life better for all those who loved him.
My Mother taught me that. It is amazing how smart Moms can be.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you need to chill out about things you can't change and change only the things you can. You will avoid getting your shorts in a bunch. It is amazing how often the Serenity Prayer keeps appearing in my life. Hmmmmmm!
Love,
Dad
If you are not a sports "affectionado", this blog will probably bore you. Well, get over it! I do think that there are lessons to be learned in sports that can be translated to everyday life.
First, the Milwaukee Brewers finally have a competitive ball club. As much as I dislike their high prices and extortion fees for food and memoriabilia, they do have reasonable entertainment. It has been a long time since I memorized batting averages of several players on the ball club. In the 1950's, I could tell you the current averages and home run totals of Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews. Now I memorize Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. I guess my "roots" back to baseball have something to do with it.
Second, the golf season officially kicks off this week with the Master's Golf Tournament. This is the ultimate in snob appeal because Augusta National Golf Course is private and the members list reads like a "Who's who" in business. People like Warren Buffet, the richest person in the world belongs to a golf course he probably never uses. It is not about golf. It is about creating a place in the world that every golfer dreams about. So I will watch as 150 of the world's best golfers try to carve out their piece of their personal snob appeal. Tiger Woods is favored. His secret is that he is the best putter on the planet. Can golf season be far away?
I watched Kansas eek out an overtime win over Memphis in the NCAA Championship game. The lessons are that people perform differently under pressure. Some people excel. Some people tighten up. There are plenty of "brain farts" to go around as decisions have to be made in the heat of battle. Does it get any better?
And then, if you like sports and you are a guy, this gift would interest you. It is the ultimate. The New York Yankees are building a new stadium and it will be completed by year end. The original stadium was built in 1923 and witnessed the likes of Babe Ruth, Joe Dimagio, Lou Gerhig, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and many others. They are going to auction off the memoriabilia from the old stadium. If you bought the urinal from the Yankees locker room (probably cost over $10,000) and install it in your bathroom, you could claim to pee where many greats have in the past. My Dad would say "if you run with the tall dogs, you have to pee like the big dogs". So if you had the Yankee urinal, everytime you went to the bathroom you would be "standing tall".
There aren't many meaningful lessons here Grasshoppers. Just enjoy the entertainment.
Love,
Dad
You will all be getting a check from the Federal Government in May or June that is part of the tax stimulus package. You can actually go to the IRS website (www.irs.gov) and do a calculation to determine how much you will get. If you do the calculation, have a copy of your recently filed federal tax forms available. Good luck.
I keep hearing how inflation is under control and estimates range from 2% to 5% per year. "My world" seems different. I pulled into the gas station this morning and the customer before me had put in slightly over 22 gallons of gas (must have been a Suburban) and the total bill came to $77. For me, that was sticker shock. Market statistics show gas prices being up $.75/gallon from one year ago. That is a 30% price hike. Hello! The argument is that gas only represents a small part of your total budget (6%). In my world I am spending over $1,000/year additionally on gasoline.
I can be lulled into believing that gasoline price increases are really insignificant. What is this? Independent truckers across the country are waging a "slowdown protest" because they are going broke with high diesel prices. My world says that freight rates are going to go up and be passed on though higher prices of goods that are hauled. Ah, I shouldn't be concerned because freight is such a small part of the price of goods. Yeah, right!
Then I hear that corn prices and the products they go into will increase 20-30% this year. We have learned how to convert corn into ethanol for gasoline and our government mandates using the ethanol. It has also been reported that farmers are going to plant 10% less corn this year because soybeans represent higher profit. Let me see! Now we have higher food prices and higher gas prices.
Have you checked your electric bill lately. It is increasing at least 8-10% per year and higher rate requests have been proposed. In my world, that is real money.
In my world, I am paying more for almost everything. I don't see that changing unless we have a really bad recession.
My advice Grasshoppers is manage your budget really well!
Maybe I just don't understand! Maybe "my world" isn't real.
Love,
Dad
Tomorrow, April 2 is your Mom and My wedding anniversary.
There are a lot of jokes I could make about marriage but they all are flippant ways of avoiding getting serious about 48 years together.
It was meant to be! Being together seemed right. You Mom and I always had the same dreams of family, home and a successful career. The dreams have been exceeded.
Your Mom has always been the center of the family. She has solid core values and has passed those along to Grasshoppers and Grandchildren. She was the strength when I could not always be there.
So without being too mushy, I have to thank her for 48 years (actually many more) of travel down life's path. I wouldn't trade any of them.
With so many people getting divorces and commitments lasting a nano second, I can only say that I always felt that my relationship with your Mom was always "meant to be". A sincere thank you to her for always being there.
Love,
Dad