Grasshopper No.4 celebrates birthday No.39 tomorrow. The day will be similar to the day he was born. Sunshine. Mid-70's for a temperature. Clear sailing. Happy Birthday No.4
Grandson Nevin has a birthday tomorrow also. It marks No.24 which almost makes him a senior citizen. Happy Birthday Nevin.
Not family related but Ann Fuerst, a neighbor from Sheboygan also has a birthday tomorrow. Ann would babysit for Grasshopper No.5 (maybe even No.4). Happy Birthday Ann.
My last week has been filled with domestic sh--. Things like putting mulch around the shrubs bordering the house, pulling nasty weeds from the burm in the back of the house, and scraping, priming, and painting the garage door damage of the past winter. Things are looking better but I hurt all over.
I understand that my home town is doing a make-over by having murals painted on walls of old historic buildings. Apparently there was some sort of a competition between cities and Plymouth won. My first thought was the paintings would have a "graffiti" overtone but upon seeing some of the results I have to admit the artistry is very classy. Isn't putting a mural on a wall like putting lipstick on a pig?
The murals represent everything from types of business, products and evenevents. One mural is for "Cheese Derby Day". My sister Addie was Cheese Derby Day Queen (I believe in 1963). She was the prettiest queen ever. I have the pictures to prove it.
My Grandpa Jiggs owned Plymouth Spring Bottling Company in the late 1940's. New murals portray Plymouth Bottling, Bottling Co. and Hi-Ho soda drinks. I'm not sure how all the names historically are tied together but Granpa Jiggs is in there someplace.
The Milwaukee Road railroad, Chaplin Airport and S&R Cheese Company are all in my memory bank. As a kid, I got a summer job washing milk cans for S&R Cheese Co. (yes, farmers put milk in cans for transport to market). All I remember is that it was a wet sloppy job and of course I was underpaid.
The 4th of July is just around the corner. Enjoy the excitement.
Love,
Dad
Grand-daughter Keely is the first Grandchild to graduate college. I think the degree is in business administration which would make it a BSBA. I guess we'll all get to see her degree at the graduation party. Congrats to Keely. The accumulation of knowledge is something they can never take away from you. Now that she understands money, she will become rich.
Your Mom's birthday came and went. It was spread over a two week period starting with a vacation through northern Minnesota with Grasshopper No.5 and ending yesterday with a lunch with sister JoAnn. These birthday celebrations are exhausting.
Grasshopper No.3 is selling his Volvo station wagon. It has something to do with wanting to go back to a Saab. There seems to be a restless spirit here.
Rumor also has it that Keely might be selling her Honda Accord as she gets ready for foreign travel. I'm told it is in very good condition for a high mileage vehicle.
Grandson Grant is within a month or two of getting his drivers license. I don't know if he will be able to buy a used car or not but I know someone who has a used Honda Accord. Grant definitely needs lots of headroom and legroom.
Grasshopper No.4 is a month into a summer class at Lakeland College. It is the last undergraduate course required before admission into a Masters cirriculum. Being in a classroom on a warm summer night sucks. Been there. Done that. Somehow when it is over, it seems worth it.
Summer has officially begun. We are getting our 15 hours and 32 minutes of maximum daylight. The bad news is the days are now getting shorter.
Enjoy the warmer weather.
Love
Dad
The Green Bay Packers had a ceremony to award championship rings to last years Super Bowl Champions. There were smiles. There was crying. There were people "lost for words".
The Super Bowl Rings have become the symbol of excellence in NFL football. It signifies achievemnt at the highest level. The NFL contributes $5,000 per ring and if the cost of each ring exceeds that, the championship team must pay for the additional cost. I don't know what the Packers rings cost but they are covered with diamonds and "green and gold" gems.
Remember, I am an owner of the Packers. I have my one share of stock stuffed in a drawer and pull it out to remind myself that I am one of 112,000 bosses.
54 players got rings.
Players on the "taxi-squad" got rings.
Injured reserve players got rings.
Coaches, top management and even team assistants got rings.
All full time employees working inside the Packers office got rings.
The Board of Directors got rings (33 Directors got rings). That means you should ask John Bergstrom to see his championship ring when you buy your new car.
I think as an "owner" of the Packers, my role of providing the funds so that we can even have an NFL club in Green Bay should be rewarded. My hope is that I will get my piece of the action. I was told my "ring is in the mail". Yeah, yeah, yeah!
My Mother would say "you'll get your reward in Heaven"! Alas, I'll have to wait. Again?
Love,
Dad
Fathers Day is Sunday. I have to control the excitement that goes with celebrating Fathers Day. I almost bought myself a large cookie at the Mall that had a "Superman" decoration on it. Yep, that is me.
Several months ago your Mom and I visited Grasshopper No.5 in Minneapolis. While browsing several stores at the Uptown Mall, I came across a display of can openers. We have had the same can opener for 25 years and I have intented to replace it so it on my "list" of things to do. No.5 admonished me for being a cheap-skate so I relented and bought a new can opener for $13. Damn they are expensive. No.5 also asked me what else I had on my list. I mentioned a toaster. We looked at new toasters but she could not coax me to spring for "big money"!
Last weekend when your Mom and Grasshopper No.5 took off on a mini-vacation, I got an early Fathers Day present. You guessed it. No.5 gave me a new toaster. It is shiny and glows with soft blue lights when it is operating.
What is the point of the "toaster" story? My life has changed.
My old toaster needed to be pushed down three or four times before it would engage. It had a clicking sound that let me know it was 'on'. When a cycle was completed, toast would pop up with a loud springing noise. It always took two cycles of toasting to get nicely browned toast. The toaster was also my "timer". I made coffee, took medication, got out plates and butter all to the sound of the toast springing up. At the second "pop-up" I was ready to butter the toast and my coffee was done.
The new toaster is quiet. It displays gentle blue lights to tell you where the toast is in the cycle. It engages to begin toasting without a noise. It pops up without a noise. The toast is evenly browned. My problem is I don't have the "noise" to remind me of where I am in the process of making breakfast. I have to keep looking to see if the toast has popped up. My morning ritual has been interrupted. What do I do?
Here is a "toast" to Superfather (me) who adjusted to change. I continue to use the new and improved toaster and I have learned to handle break-fast without the noisy old toaster. Who says I am a creature of habit? Thank you No.5.
I also toast all you special Dads on Fathers Day. Make your wishes come true. You too deserve perfect toast.
Monday is your Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday to the love of my life!
Love,
Dad
We sometimes forget how lucky we are to live around The Great Lakes. The shore line of The Great Lakes is littered with beautiful cities, expensive resorts and spectacular shoreline. Sometimes in the middle of Winter when the wind is coming off the lake bringing a foot of snow, it is easy to become dis-enchanted with The Lakes. But then comes Summer.
Last weekend, your Mom and Grasshopper No.5 spent a few days along the north shore of Lake Superior. It is populated by historic highways, rustic lighthouses and great scenery. It is a little different than Door County because it isn't as densely populated and has a lot more trees.
Did you know there is a place that serves only pies. Cream pies. Berry pies. Ice cream pies. It is hard to imagine all the choices. It is hard to imagine all the calories. It is hard to imagine Mom and No.5 indulging themselves. What the hell! It is what you do on vacation.
They also sell funny hats on the North Shore. I can prove it. Grasshopper No.5 took lots pictures including one of Mom in a cowboy hat. The last time I saw your Mom in a cowboy hat, she was picking beans for Krier Canning Company as a teenage girl. She was cute then too!
Then of course you do casual shopping. I saw a device that spins the water out of lettuce. I think it is called a "spinner". That is what you buy when you are on vacation.
Finally there are the pictures. I mean lots of pictures. Grasshopper No.5 had her super duper, super fast digital machine with a quick trigger finger. Your Mom had her digital camera, fully charged with alternate disks available for quick change. Maybe we could call this encounter "dueling cameras". There were lots of unsuspecting shots. For sure, Grasshopper No.5 will post a few of her treasures on her website (she already has). There are lots of smiles.
What did I do during Mom's vacation you ask? Anything I wanted to. Steak on the grill, watching the new movie release of SUPER 8 and lunch with my favorite son. It was a struggle, but I made it. And now everything is okay. Your Mom is home.
Keep smiling.
Love,
Dad
The City of Neenah has a "Chicken" Law. If you apply for a license, Neenah will grant you permission to have up to four chickens on your property. How would you like to have neighbors with chickens running around their lawns? That would be a lot of chicken sh--.
With public tensions running high (slow economy, layoffs, & foreclosures), minor things cause big problems. A property owner in Neenah violated the "Four Chicken Law". She had five chickens in her yard. Clearly a City violation. She had to get rid of one chicken or face a misdemeanor and a fine. She was given 24 hours to correct the situation.
Chicken "number five" suddenly disappeared. Nobody knows what happened. My guess is that the chicken became part of a 12 course meal. How do you decide which chicken becomes "excess"?
When police investigated the "chicken violation" they also found 3 peacocks, 3 geese, 3 turkeys, 3-pigeons and 3 guinea hens. The "foul" birds had been gathered into a pen in back of the house and for the time being were not a nuisance to the neighborhood. Because all the "other" fowl were not in plain sight, there were no further citations.
I guess you could say "all's well that ends well" except if you were the unlucky chicken that had to be eliminated.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that when you are having a bad day, think of Chicken No.5. He really had a bad day. Your problems are minor.
Love,
Dad
Unless you live like a hermit in a cave, you've got to notice that Anthony Weiner, the Democratic Congressman from the State of New York has admitted to sending pictures of himself to acquaintances on the "social network". Weiner's first line of defense a week ago was that someone hacked into his computer and sent information under his name. Finally, Weiner has admitted to the dastardly deed.
First of all, having a name like Weiner in a sexual scandal expose' is comical. You can't make this sh-- up.
Then there is the "crying" TV interview. Of course. He apologized to his wife, his constituency and his dog. This is the "sympathy gig". Weiner, Weiner, Weiner! You are a weiner.
We have gotten to the point where politicians "stuff their failings in your face". They admit they did wrong but they will not leave office. Weiner fully intends to remain in his Congressional Seat. What is sad about this situation is that New York State will re-elect the a--h---.
Weiner's wife (who is an Administrative Aid to Hiliary Clinton) was not by his side during the "confession" news conference. Finally a wife who doesn't want to be associated with her a--h--- husband.
Maybe Representative Weiner can compete in the Sausage race at Miller Park during a Milwaukee Brewer game. Weiner would have stiff competition. He would have to beat the Polish sausage and the Italian Sausage. He would probably win by a head.
None of this news about politicians going astray is new. There is Elliott Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York. He paid call girls up to $10,000. John Edwards had a million dollar baby while running for President. The Governor of the State of South Carolina went hiking alone in South America (his hiking partner was gorgeous).
The ultimate sexual transgression was "Slick Willie". Bill Clinton uttered the famous phase "I did not have sex with that woman" while President. The encounter under the Presidential desk resulted in a impeachment process which proved unsuccessful.
So it goes! People in power seem to get caught in their own ego. Maybe there is excitement in the possibility of getting caught in a transgression.
My only comment is that our economy is not growing, jobs are not being created fast enough to handle population growth much less the 8 million unemployed, the mortgage crisis is not over and banks are not loaning money to anyone. We have major national issues and we a fixated on a "Weiner".
What do I know?
Love,
Dad
Several years ago, my brother-in-law Bill, encouraged me to read the book "MONEY BALL". I bought the book but it has been sitting on a shelf for several years but I intended to read it some day. I finally read it. It is about baseball. It reveals how the Oakland Athletics with the smallest payroll in baseball, continue to win their division year after year.
The General Manager of Oakland is Billy Beane (you can't make a name like that up). It kind of rolls off your tongue. There is a commonly used description of a baseball thrown at the head of a batter is a "bean ball". It is as if Billy Beane was meant to be the lead character in the book.
I'm in the book. There is a description of a ball player that the Oakland Athletics see potential in. He can't field a ground ball. He can't hit. and he can't throw. That is me! Oakland teaches a player named Scott how to play first base and field ground balls. Scott learns how to hit a curve ball which is something I always wanted to do. Scott becomes one of the most productive players in baseball. The beauty is that Oakland paid Scott almost nothing by major league standards. That part I didn't like. lf I make major contributions, pay me big. i can dream can't I?
The revelation in the book is really how the computer has revolutionized baseball. Putting statistics together in meaningful ways has allowed for more effective management. Baseball is one of the few sports that has over 100 years of historical data from which to draw trends. The Oakland Athletics were really the first team to take advantage to statistical revelations. Getting on base as a batter is really important. Dah!
So when you read MONEY BALL, look for me. I'm there under the name of Scott.
My conclusion is that my time in baseball didn't coincide with the new computer assisted analysis available today. That is the story of my life. Right skills, wrong time.
Summer is here. Yeah!
Love,
Dad