This blog is written for my own entertainment!
I play golf every Monday morning. The first hole at Chaska in Appleton is 385 yards long and straight. Truth is that I can not hit two good "wood" shots and reach the green. So for me, achieving a par of 4 strokes is difficult. My goal this day was a 5. I've been getting 6's and 7's all season. I was determined to change this.
So yesterday I was going to really focus. I hit two great wood shots and was 50 yards short of the green in two. I heisted a pitching wedge high into the air and landed 10 feet left of the hole. This was the day. If I made my 10 foot putt, I got a par 4. At worst I would "two putt" and get a 5. This "focus thing" works.
So I stood over my first putt for par 4. I kept thinking, don't leave it short and miss this great opportunity. I struck the putt solidly and it rolled toward the hole. It didn't break to the right quite as much as I anticipated and the ball rolled past the hole. Then the ball kept rolling. It rolled and rolled down the ever present slope. When it stopped, I was 7 feet past the hole. So I didn't get 4 on this nemesis hole. My next putt was makeable for a 5 but it "lipped out". 5 had escaped me. I tapped in for a 6. Of course, I always get 6 or higher.
How could this happen? I was 10 feet from the hole in 3 shots and I took a 6 on the hole!
My conclusion was that my game plan was flawless. I executed the first 3 shots flawlessly and I had a chance at incredible success. My mistake was that I got greedy. I wanted the first putt to drop so that I could gloat about a making a par 4. My decision "not to leave the first putt short" turned out to be super aggressive and I paid the price by running the putt way past the hole rather than "cozy" the ball towards the hole and getting a sure 5.
So what did I learn with all the dramatics. Nothing! It was fun to go for the par 4. Imagine if I had made it. I would have bragging rights for weeks. I had eight more holes to play and maybe I could recapture the lost strokes with stellar play. Yeah, right!
The fellowship was great. The weather was fantastic. I still shot a 45. But still I can't help but wonder how good everything would have been if I had parred the first hole.
My goal is to get a 5 on the first hole at Chaska. Next week! I can do this.
Love,
Dad
Today is "happy face" day. Don't rain on my parade.
The world is full of butthead announcers that broadcast negative news 24 hours a day. "Crawling news" flashes across the bottom of the TV keep telling me Favre is to rejoin the Packers. You get the idea. The world is inundated with negative info.
I'm here to tell you that the University of Michigan today said the consumer confidence in the economy increased to 61.2 on it's index from 56.4. The world is getting more optimistic, I have no idea what the index measures but I am happier already.
The Milwaukee Brewers are on a roll. They won every one of their last 7 road games. C.C. Sabathia has won every game he has pitched since becoming a Brewer. Ryan Braun hit a ninth inning home run last night to extend their winning streak to 8 games. Can you feel the glow?
By now you've all received your tax stimulus checks. You've got a "windfall' infusion of cash that you can spend on anything. Full pockets! Now that is happy.
Fortune magazine offers a formula to maintain confidence and being happy:
Gas costs too much? So drive less. Stop driving cars that cost more than $64.50 to fill up.
Take the bus. Relax.
House prices down? Keep your home until it regains it's value. Where do you think you are
going anway?
Unemployment up? Stay in your job and try to be as happy as possible.
Stock market stinks? Don't buy stocks.
Limit browsing news. Get off the blogs and limit yourself to 30 minutes per day of local news.
The internet is supposed to be fun! Browse e-bay for something you always wanted!
So go forth today and whistle "Zippity Doo Dah" as much as you can. Don't let anybody screw up your day.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that much of life is what you make it. Today I'm making it a positive effort. Don't you dare rain on my parade. La la la la la la la la la.
Love,
Dad
Grasshopper No.4 recently told a story about Dominic getting a job mowing laws. Upon inspecting the completed job, there were many missed areas of grass. Dominic was forced to redo the lawn correctly and ultimately felt good about a job well done.
You have all heard me say "the teacher arrives when the student is ready". You can teach, and teach and teach but if the kid isn't listening, the effort is for naught. There is an artform in recognizing when a person is ready to receive information. These are magic moments and you don't always know when they are going to happen.
So the question is did Grasshopper No.4 really teach Dominic about doing a proper job when cutting grass or does he just think he did. Only Dominic and future performance will tell.
Now I will take you back 20 years. No.4 would cut our backyard lawn on Greenfield Street and I could watch as No.4 would miss large swaths of grass. No.4 didn't want to be cutting grass and he would only do it with headphones blasting hard rock music. So my teaching moment was to point out he had missed grass and I made him do it over. He never showed any remorse for missing swaths. He just "bopped" over the rows again and I was never sure he would get those cut properly. I always felt I had failed in my teaching moment because No.4 did not seem to respond effectively.
Fast forward to Dominic missing areas of grass and No.4 teaching him to do it right. Obviously I did teach No.4 but just didn't know it at the time because here he was teaching his son the same lesson. So No.4 got to experience the frustration I felt as he tried to teach Dominic. Did Dominic (the student) really learn from No.4 (the teacher) that cutting grass must be done right?
There is one nagging question that has always bothered me. Who is the teacher and who is the student? Maybe when Grasshopper No.4 was bopping up and down the uncut rows of grass he was teaching me to "lighten up". Who gives a damn whether every blade of grass gets cut or not? It is just grass. Maybe I was the student learning to put things in perspective. In hindsight it was comical and makes for a good story.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that life presents many opportunities to teach as well as learn. A commited teacher needs a receptive student to create an effective exchange. You will know when a teaching/learning moment has taken place. Be careful. Are you the teacher or the student?
Love,
Dad
I am the unofficial watchdog for increasing inflation. I observe what is happening to my personal spending and draw my own conclusions. The f------ cost of everything keeps going up. The only exception I know of is housing. Unfortunately I am not in the market for a house so I don't care about housing prices.
Enough is enough.
I still get upset everytime I pump 10 gallons of gas and pay over $40.00. I keep thinking gas is going to come down in price. I guess I need to travel to India and China to experience what global demand is all about.
Yesterday I picked up some routine grocery items. You know! Soda, orange juice, brats, buns and some fruit. The bill came to $90. Normallly when I pick up "stuff" it is under $60. Sticker shock set in so when I got home I analyzed the bill carefully. I got charged for two packs of brats and I only bought one. Bastards! But then I saw this large entry for fruit. I had grabbed two bags of cherries. I love cherries when they are in season. The weight of the two bags came to 3 pounds. It didn't seem like that much weight. The clincher was that cherries are close to $5 per pound. Holy sh--. I had $15 worth of cherries. Talk about inflation.
This morning I stopped at my local McDonalds for a "senior diet coke". You can purchase a small diet coke or a small black coffee for 42 cents. McDonalds is one of the few companies I can count on to keep costs down and give their customers fair values. I was informed that senior diet cokes are now 51 cents. The news was devestating. That represents 21,4% increase. Come on! I am a senior.
I need to get serious about shopping in establishments where I get better values. I will be going though the Sunday paper for coupons and I will be watching for more sale merchandise. Enough is enough.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that all companies are trying to cope with increasing oil prices in their business from "oil derivative plastics" to increased transportation costs. There are solutions. You just have to reach the threshold of pain to do something.
Anyone wanting to buy an SUV, I can help you find one cheap.
Love,
Dad
Several years ago, a little white trailer with a radar indicator was placed on some near-by streets. The idea was to give you some feedback on how fast you were going. Duh! Isn't that what speedometers are for?
Then signs began appearing along the streets reminding drivers that children were always present and we should be mindful of the ever present danger. They are cute signs with a yellow and black motif.
Lately the local police department has been setting up speed traps using radar to catch speeders. They are pretty clever at hiding their vehicles behind trees and bushes and there has been a steady stream of local residents pulled over.
Last week I got a letter in the mail. It was addressed to me personally. I was given information on the new program called "Speed Watch". Volunteers use a radar unit to document the speed of vehicles. On a day in June 2008 at 11:20 a.m., a black Toyota registered in my name was observed traveling 10 mph over the speed limit. It was signed by an officer of the Police Department.
Here is my question! I don't normally drive our Toyota. How do they know is was me? It could have been one of you Grasshoppers using the car. It could have been a thief on the premise it was stolen. It could have been Mom. Yes, there is a slight possibility that it could have been me.
What next? Maybe each car will have a GPS locating device mounted inside it's frame at the factory and the government will know where you are all the time and how fast you are going. Wait, don't we have that already? Aren't dashboard mounted navigation systems capable of tracking you at all times? Yes we have reached the point where "Big Brother" is capable of watching you 24/7.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that our personal freedoms are extremely important things. There is a fine line between being reminded that you were speeding and "Big Brother" continual surveilance. We get closer to losing our personal freedoms with all the hook-ups of computers, cable TV connections, security video cameras, GPS systems and satelite tracking. I don't know about you, but I don't like being watched all the time.
Obey the law. Protect your freedoms.
I don't doubt for one moment that someone was speeding in a black Toyota.
Love,
Dad
David Copperfield makes things disappear. In his last trick, he made airforce jet disappear. One moment the jet was in front of your eyes and the next moment it was gone! Pooofff!
I am not a genius when it comes to numbers and money but I can understand Pooofff. I put cash in pocket each week and by the end of that week, Pooofff the money is all gone. It is like magic.
Now to my point! Our money is going to other countries and in particular the Middle East. It is like magic. The wealth of the United States is being transfered. The concept is really simple. We fill the gas tank of our car regularly. $50.00 is not a lot! Now follow my chain of thought. Out of that $50, $35 dollars was paid for import gas. That $35 went to the Arabs. We drive around town for a week and then we need to fill up our tank again. What have we got to show for the $50 we spent. Nothing! We burnt it all up. It disappeared into the atmosphere. Pooofff! What else happened! The Arabs got an infusion of $35. They have money to spend. We are slowly transfering our money to the Arabs. Then we beg them for more oil to keep things running. I think I just discribed "an oil addict". We have an expensive habit.
So when your local grocer gets purchased by Ishmal the Arab or your local bank becomes known as the MiddleEast Trust Company, remember how it happened.
I know the issue of breaking the "oil habit" is complex but if we don't figure it out, your kids will be wearing a turbans.
The way I got it figured, your hard earned money is disappearing out your tailpipe (Pooofff) and the Arabs are smiling.
Love,
Dad
When a car speeds past you on the highway, it goes "varoooom". You hear the throaty engine sound and then the car disappears into the distance.
Grasshopper No.5 spent the weekend going "varooooom". She blew in from the north in her little red Mini called "Pumpkin". Nobody calls a car "Pumpkin". Maybe a name like "Buzz" or "Zippo". You don't take a finely crafted, high performance machine and give it a cutesy name like "Pumpkin".
I don't want to say that a Mini is a small car but during No.5's trip to Appleton she approached a traffic cop from behind on the highway. He never notice her as she zipped right under his vehicle and disappeared into the sunset. Varoooooom! The Mini is too small to be detected on radar. They don't tell you that in the sales literature.
I took a test drive around Appleton in the little red chariot. With the top down and a thoaty engine, people waved and gave a thumbs up approval. Another Mini driver (I think she was blond) actually waved as though there was some sort of brethrenly Mini fraternity.
Then it was a quick trip to Grasshopper No.4's for the 4th of July, a quick visit on the 5th and the thing called "Pumpkin" was gone. Varoooom!
I must say that purchase of a Mini in this economic environment with gas prices over $4.00 per gallon is like hitting a home run. Allegedly mileage is 40 miles per gallon on the highway. Most people don't know that the Mini Cooper is manufactured by BMW and known for high quality along with performance.
So laugh if you will, I think Grasshopper No.5 gets the last laugh. She has a fun car with great performance and it sips gasoline.
Just one final observation. I don't think Grasshopper No.5 would purchase the Mini if she had several kids (along with car seats that mount in the back). The Mini will not tow 21 foot boats and you can not use it to bring home lumber from Home Depot. But for this moment in time, it seems right for No.5 and it can go Varoooom.
I obviously am spoofing about No.5's Mini. There is a lot of truth in the sensibility of the car along with the "fun". We all are going to be faced with serious transportation decisions in the next few years. Good luck! See if you can do as well.
Pumpkin?
Love,
Dad
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