Point Made

As I mentioned in my last post, because of the generosity of my son, Sean and his wife, Rosslynn, I stayed with the family at an all inclusive timeshare resort in Cabo San Lucas. We had access to a personal Chef. We had maid service every day. We had the sun shining through our southern exposure balcony and pool patio. We had a pool and a hot tub. Everyone had or shared a king sized bed. But on this hilly terrain with its many levels of activities from the sandy beaches, through the common area pools, shops, and restaurants and up to our villa, the best feature was the taxis, shuttles, and golf carts. Accessible by merely phoning the concierge, going to a terminal point or hailing one when it passed you by, these darting demons of transportation whipped you around hairpin turns and delivered you rested and ready for whatever adventure you had planned. Taxis were used to get to and from the airport or a shopping/eating adventure into Cabo San Lucas. We alwa...

I'm back home. The turkeys, my dog, and my gym mates all wondered where I've been. I got back from a visit with my son, Sean, his wife, Roz and sons, Max nd KC. They live in LA. However, when they knew, I was coming they surprised me with a trip to Cabo San Lucas, MX. They purchased a time-share many years ago. Sean was able to trade his time for another. The place is fantastic. The villa is located on a hillside, that is so steep they had to wind the road back and forth across the face to get people up and down. (More about that later. Maybe even in another post .) Not only are the accommodations and the services spectacular, but the climate, view,  and people are wonderful. But before that all happened, I must share with you an experience that I call "The Journey." While not up to the standards of Odysseus let me say between the stress of trying to get to LA on time to make my flight to Cabo and the lunacy of some of my fellow passengers, it's not har...

No screwing around this time, Winter is here. Today, (Dec. 12) I'm looking at 4-6 inches of snow on my lawn. Actually, it's not quite winter, according to the calendar, but when the temperature and the snow fall it sure as hell looks and feels like winter. My point, things can change quickly. A drop in the temperature of a few degrees and rain becomes snow. Roadtrip, before the storm. Last week my pal John B called me and asked if I wanted to take a road trip to Two Rivers. Two Rivers is on the shore of Lake Michigan. What he anticipated was the chance of photographing a phenomenon that occurs when we get a cold day with low winds and open water, while Lake Michigan is still relatively warm. What you get is clear skies over land and the formation of a high wall of fog and clouds over the lake. The contrast is amazing. Unfortunately, if it happened at all, it occurred far offshore and a little earlier in the day. That didn't stop...

Batten down the hatches. The winds blew, the snow flew and our love affair with the long, warm fall died like the winter sunset on a partly cloudy skyline. In other words, it's cold out there brother. View of Lake Maria Maria and I have already attended an open house that required us to sing Christmas songs. Char and Bob Van Astin hosted a mob of friends that is enviable. Eclectic is one word that comes to mind. The singing was average, but when you consider the age and diversity of the crowd that's a compliment. I certainly can't sing like I did when I was younger The accompaniment was outstanding. Bob's son, Leo played the carols like the pro he is. His Mozart performance was awesome. As I announced earlier, I'm cancer free. The growth on my face was successfully removed , the stitches have been taken out, and I'm told that I won't even see the scar in a couple of weeks. I will be happy as soon as I can get a clean shave in that area. I plan on u...

Like many of us, I have a strange habit. I write in a log book in the morning. I use a stenographers wire bound tablet. I record the day of the week, the date and the time I make my record. Then I put down the Temperature, the "feels like temperature," the sky conditions, the wind direction strength, and the highest wind speed in that day, the barometric Temperature, and the dew point. Then I jot down some goals for the day. I get this information from Weather Underground, and they tell me they are using Kimberly as the reference point for my zip code. I don't record it, but I also review the ten-day forecast Why do I do this? I started years ago when I saw the hostess of the country club dining room I was working in do it. She would occasionally refer to it when she wanted to evaluate staffing for the shift. No secret here. At a golf club, better weather is going to indicate more customers and vice versa. I suspect the chef would have appreciated the informa...

Mother Nature cast an icy stare in our direction this week. We went from a day in the sixties to subfreezing overnight. To make matters worse, the wind, sometimes gusting at over forty MPH, clocked from the south around to the Northeast in a twenty-four hour period, assuring that no matter which way you would rake your leaves, they would end up back on your lawn. Those of us living in the Fox Cities got about an inch of snow during this transition. It was the kind of snow you can live with. By that I mean it was somewhat pretty and you didn't have to shovel it. It also disappeared by Saturday. Maria and I got back on track this weekend. Early this fall we took advantage of Marcus theater's $5.00 Sunday. We bought $25.00 Passports that allowed us to see any film we wanted to see on Sunday up until December 4. Are first two weeks we watched, and presumably assisted in helping the box office, the number one film that weekend.The pass gave us the opportunity to experime...

If you know me, you're that I'm upset and exasperated. The Party of No has finally gotten what it wants, unabated control of all of the government. The Party of No's  first goal was to convince people that government was the enemy. They did it by letting the American People know that they were not alone with their prejudices. With a wink and a nod, it was okay to carry suspicion dislike for; people of color, foreigners, anyone not Christian or heterosexual. By diverting the attention of the electorate with astroturf campaigns for issues like abortion, prayer in school, gun rights and the sanctity of the flag, they have been able to pick the pocket of the average Joe Sixpack. The overall tactic was simple. The phrase "starves the beast" was put in practice by voting to give the electorate anything they wanted or needed, but refuse to fund the program. In many cases, programs like financial regulation and food plant inspections failed. These failures are not...

Years ago, two friends of mine, who have the kind of sense of humor and quick minds I love to hang with, pointed that the signs in Door County that advertised that U'Pick Em's were misleading in the sense that they were not a different kind of berry, but a discount for labor. They further educated me that 0%'s were neither a different model nor even a vehicle. The Poppa is batching it a Camp Jeff this weekend. The Maria is romping in the swamps of Louisana with the Coven of the South ( Linda & Meme) . It was pitched to me as an opportunity to have quality time with our dog, Lucy. I don't deny the fact that Lucy is glad somebody is home, but I don't think she is sleeping any less.  I sat with my friend Danny Chauvin and watched the Alabama / LSU game last night. We were actually in our homes, mine in Appleton, WI and he in Mandeville LA, but we IM'ed our feelings back and forth until the painful end. You can love them or hate them, but you have to ad...

There is the planned reconnection. 'Let's check in with each other on (fill in the date). If we're not married to anyone, maybe we should think about getting together.' Many of us went to our class reunion. It frightened me that many of my classmates had not changed at all, especially the high school sweethearts that married and are still married. But a spontaneous reconnection is always informative and for some reason more satisfying. It can be joyous. It can be sad. My joyful reunion came when I noticed a familiar name on Facebook. Char Van Astin commented on something I posted. I liked her site and back and forth went the comments, likes, etc. I called, left a voicemail. I met Bob Van Astin when we both worked at the company that required you to call on Monday to find out what the name of the company was. (Xpedex when they downsized me.)  Bob returned my call. We agreed to meet so we could catch up. Many of you might remember Spirit Halloween Stores. Afte...

George Will, Columnist and Chicago Cubs fan, once said, "They wouldn't be the Cubs if they didn't disappoint you". Let's hope that, like his abiding faith in right wing political precepts; Mr. Will is wrong. It' hard to see anything other than we have the first female president on our historical horizon. Aside from the possible contingent of over confident support for Hillary Clinton staying home, little stands in her way. What this means for us is going to play out in the next year. We can only hope. If she is elected, at least, we will be able to breathe again. Our backyard friend Tom, the Turkey, has been here and not here all week. I worry about him and what does that say about me? All I know when he does pop in I feel a little better. I've been told by many people not to fed him. He is a wild animal and to feed him would somehow domesticate his instincts. I'm still not sure of this evaluation, but I have no plans to buy a bag of cracked corn a...

No, this will not be a repudiation of the skyrocket on the fourth of July Presidential Bid by Donald Trump. I say skyrocket because, as the life of a skyrocket, his nomination and campaign is attention demanding during its launch, building interesting in its accent and awe-inspiring in its climax only to leave the night dark and quiet. No, I will not be writing about The Donald. Many of you remember Gordon, the Gecko. For some who may have forgotten, Gordon was my backyard companion in Mandeville, Louisiana. D espite my pleading, Gordon  chose not to migrate north with us. Silly Lizard! My guess is he believed those who told him about the weather. I have a new backyard buddy. Tom (sorry no poll to select his name this time) has taken up residence in our well-wooded backyard. I'm told that he is the victim of nature. We had a flock of six wild turkeys in our yard. We assumed that it was Mom, Dad, and four young ones. Probably not, we find. It seems that after th...

It was a quiet week in Camp Jeff, next to the calm shores of Lake Maria. That is until our Grand-daughter, and grand she is, arrived on Saturday to spend the night with us. She is better exercise than a trip to the gym. For one thing, the gym never gives me a kiss and a hug. We capitalized on her visit to watch two films we had wanted to watch but had not taken the time. The Minion Movie was an attempt to sate our grandkid, Violet's desire for all things Minion. Cute film. Not a total waste of time.  Zootopia was much more of a family movie in that it had enough animation action to hold the littles and enough story to entertain the adults. Violet will soon be two years old. Except for the bouts with "teething," this little princess is and has been a joy to us. She seems to be so amused with life, and its challenges. I wish I could talk her out of unrolling toilet paper all over the bathroom floor. But hey, we can always look past the little stuff when she ...

Maria and I made such a strong connection with Milwaukee that it is always like coming home when I visit. Last year I came back from Louisiana to attend my yearly Packer Game with my friend John Brownson. After our successful defeat of the Seahawks, I migrated south to Milwaukee to attend the Milwaukee Film Festival. In slightly repetitious occurrence, (This year we beat Detroit, and I didn't have to fly in from Louisiana) I attended the Milwaukee Film Festival. I used the occasion to not only see some great films but to reconnect with old friends. If I missed you, please know that I tried and you've moved to the top of the list for my next trip. This year we are living in Appleton, Wisconsin. And for all of my friends, I didn't see let me answer the most asked question I got from the folks I did run into. My wife is very happy in her position as Executive Director of The Paper Discovery Center. A PS: to that answer, she's utterly giddy...

I got my bus ticket. I know where I'm going to sleep at night. There are a few appointments on the calendar to meet and catch up with old friends. I've scheduled most of my films, and I still have prepaid tickets left. Things are good. Meanwhile, trying to stay in the moment, there is a marathon race going on here in The Fox Cities. Our street is part of the course. So early and often we have entrants coming down the road in their cone designated lane. It's interesting to see the different people and their choice of attire. We got the young adult lycra rainbow. Running amongst this array are the older guys in cutoffs There are ladies of a certain age trotting in a mixed costume of a swimsuit top and baggy seersucker pink stripe shorts. I saw more than a couple of runners pushing a tricycle cart with a handicapped occupant. Flag bearers, cartoon characters, and animal imitators were running and often walking. Many were conversing with the runn...

When I logged today, the temperature was 61 degrees. The sun was peeking through the branches of the trees on the shore of Lake Maria. The air was brisk and dry. This is the climate that Mother Nature intended her brood to thrive in. Bright skies from Canadian Highs, Dry air from way up there, and low sunlight giving us deep shadows. She can be a bitch, but there are times when you just have to love her. We are twice blessed this weekend. Our Badgers beat some little kids from down the street. And our Packers survived the heat and humidity in Jacksonville. For football fans, it was a lot of beer, fear, and tears.  Thanks to two of my friends in Milwaukee, I have a place to stay for my trip to the Milwaukee Film Festival. The film choices look fabulous. This annual event is like going into an ice cream store and knowing you can't order every flavor. You have to miss one of your favorites and it's a sure thing you're going to take a pass on an u...

I haven't seen too many signs of fall at this point, but the calendar tells me I should keep a sharp eye for the eventual arrival of color nights and shorter days. The only vegetation that is showing signs of stress is the back "lawn". I put that in quotes because I want to be clear, my back yard has no grass as we would normally classify it. What it has is a rather friendly collection of low growth weeds. These are now turning kind of a beige with red highlights color. Our first hint of the upcoming fall season was the appearance of six wild turkeys in our backyard. A handsome rooster and his brood or harem, I'm not sure which, strutted into our yard about four days ago. They stroll through our neighborhood on an irregular schedule with no purpose that's apparent. Last evening, they decide to roost on my roof. I know it's kind of difficult to see, but there four of our drumstick totters that flew up there. I, like many other Wiscon...

A couple of stories that have no ending keep lingering in my life. Maria and I were sitting in the family room at my son's home in Seattle watching the news when both of these stories originally came to light for me. First, it was the floods in Louisiana. A low-pressure system was sucking moisture out of the Gulf of Mexico and delivery it in copious amounts to the western and central region of Louisiana. A high-pressure ridge to the north and east held the low-pressure system in place like a good offensive tackle on a football team, for a couple of days. Some places received over 30 inches of rain in the 24 to 36-hour time frame. This amount of rain exceeds the amount of rain some areas of Louisiana get for an entire season. Rivers climbed out of their banks, covered the floodplain, as defined by the history of these rivers, and then kept on climbing.  T he term a one hundred year flood  has become part of our language. It is defined as an event that would statistically oc...

After a redeye flight from Portland to Chicago and a foggy ride from O'Hare to Appleton, yours truly can't remember going to bed last night. My Fitbit reported to me that I did get approximately two and a half hours of sleep on the plane. I don't remember that either. At 5:45 am this morning, I woke up in our king sized bed in our home. What I do remember is six days in the company of friend and family, who live in the upper reaches of the left coast. The "ninth daughter" Anne Nagler lives in a wonderful neighborhood of one-hundred-year-old homes with trees and flora to match. With Anne, we took one day to explore the shoreline of the Columbia River Valley. Washougal, WA on the north bank of the Columbia River yielded its' Dalila's to Maria and Anne. I, in the true spirit of my mentor Danny Chauvin, spent my time chatting up the locals at the sales tent finding out about the history of the town. Not unlike Wisconsin, the sett...

After a redeye flight from Portland to Chicago and a foggy ride from O'Hare to Appleton, yours truly can't remember going to bed last night but at 5:45 am I did wake up in our king sized bed at our home. My Fitbit reported to me that I did get approximately two and a half hours of sleep on the plane. I don't remember that either. What I do remember is six days in the company of friend and family, who live on the upper reaches of the left coast. The "ninth daughter" Anne Nagler lives in a wonderful neighborhood of one-hundred-year-old homes with trees and flora to match. We took one day to explore the shoreline of the Columbia River Valley. Washougal, WA on the north bank of the Columbia River yielded its' Dalila's to Maria and Anne. I, in the true spirit of my mentor Danny Chauvin, spent my time chatting up the locals at the sales tent finding out about the history of the town. Not unlike Wisconsin, the settlement originated...

Short ribs have sauce on them, and I'm taking a diuretic. Recently I had one of those problems only we males have. My wife and I were out to dinner with some of our friends. I ordered pork ribs which were dripping with sugary BBQ sauce. I was able to keep almost all of the sauce off my clothing, but my face and hands felt like I had been bathing in the stuff. While the restaurant provided a fairly high-quality paper napkin, it provided only one. Coinciding with this event was my need to be aware how long I could go without using the bathroom. My doctor concerned with my tendency to retain water has prescribed a diuretic which causes me to need to go to the bathroom often. Might I add, that need is also accelerated if I have my occasional non-alcohol beer. When I quit drinking alcohol in 1982, I ended my career as a fairly high functioning alcoholic. In the early stages of my abstinence, I stayed away from bars and maintained vigila...

This last week, the media was filled with rhetoric of hatred, wildly concocted stories of conspiracy, victimization, and class warfare, in other words, The Republican Convention in Cleveland. In a political campaign, you should expect the loyal opposition to show you that if they were in charge life would be better for you and they would ask for your support. It's fair in this atmosphere to run down the competitions record on the issue, and things can get a little out of hand. The boundary can be vague, but it should be short of wishing your opponent a horrible death. Amidst the shouts calling for Hillary's imprisonment one of the participants stated that Hilary Clinton should be shot. To be fair, it was not without reason. The Hillary well-wisher suggested she should be shot for her treasonous part in the Benghazi killings of American diplomats. This is aside from the fact that congressmen from his party squandered millions of dollars in...

This last few days have been some of the worst I have ever lived through. Remember, my generation watched the Vietnam War every night on the national news. We woke up to learn Bobbie Kennedy was killed in LA before we were able to adjust to the world without his brother Jack and our civil rights hero, Martin Luther King. We saw some benefits from these things as these events energized people to insist on change. We witnessed the success of the civil rights movement and the women's liberation movement. These events put the USA on a slow, bumpy path to recognize our blind stupidity in try to repress people of different nationalities, ethnic origins, sexual preferences and religious beliefs. We now look at things going backward. There are powerful people that would love to roll these gains back. And now we experience mass killings, occurring almost daily in our country. We get hung up on the "It's the guns / it's the mental state o...

It is getting to be more like summer here on the shores of Lake Maria. We are in full bloom season. Whatever can take root in our backyard is doing so with relish. The mosquitos are thick enough to dim the midday sun. There is a story in Wisconsin about Mosquitos. It seems two of the flying pests were cruising about looking for prey. They spot an old man on a porch sitting in his rocking chair. They both swoop down and lift the old man chair and all and began flying to a private spot where they might drain his body of his blood. As they flew, other mosquitos showed interest in their bounty.  To the extent, that one of our winged bloodsuckers,said " I'm worried. Let's take him out in the deep woods." The other winged pest replied, "No, we don't want to do that. The deep woods is where the real big mosquitos are." Nevertheless, we find ourselves in a quandary. Do we plant repellant plants and use other ecologically sound insect control p...

I'm getting more sympathy for people who will not commit to firm acceptance of event invitations. "We will if... (fill in this blank with any lame farfetched excuse that can't be ridiculed face to face). I have to check with my kid's schedule. I think that's the day I have to dust my houseplants. We'll be there if my husband/wife's parents don't show up without calling first. Tim looks a little sickish. Let me see how he feels in a couple of days. It never fails. If you factor in past performance, the believability of their excuse, and the weather you still you don't know if they will show up. The way to assure a high turnout percentage is to settle on a low number and plan your menu for that amount. In this case, everyone you invited will show up, the food and refreshments will evaporate two hours after the first guest arrives and the couple that left everything in the air because the in-laws might show up, they did arrive and they bring ...

Today I'm pushed to write a short blog entry, mainly because we have guests for Linner (Late lunch Early dinner). Also, yours truly needs to pack for my sojourn to Milwaukee for my book club and other meetings. So, I'll make it short. Brexit : It may have been a terrible choice for the Brit's but it might accomplish something that hundreds of years of warfare could not, the freedom and reunification of the Irish people. And that's a good thing. (Almost by accident I watched the Irish defeat the Italians in the European  Soccer Championship. It heightened my pride in the homeland. Sorry to say, they lost the first elimination match to Wales.) As it concerns America only time will tell, except in the minds of some of us, who will naturally blame anything bad that results on Obama and anything good on The Free Market of Ideas. Raod Trip Maria and I travelled to Spring Green on Saturday to visit with our artist friend, Len Nagler and his wife, Helen. They wer...

Back to my roots: Mother Nature outdid herself when she invented the golf course. However for a claim closer reality, if you haven't seen Robin Williams great rift on how the golf course was originally fashioned by a drunken Scotsmen check it out on You Tube . I've had golf clubs in my hands since I've been six years old. Frankly, I don't use them much better than I did when I first played in the yard with my dad's sheathed-in-steel set. In this group of mismatched clubs, he had a niblick, a brassy, a wooden-shafted putter, an assortment of irons and a driver. His "Woods" were fashioned out of wood. The celebrity who endorsed his incomplete set of irons was Gene Sarazen. My early hero was Ben Hogan, replaced later by the swashbuckling Armold Palmer. Needless to say, a lot had changed in the world of golf. More courses. In Wisconsin, along with the collapse of the family farm came the flood of golf course architects. The evolution of the golf cours...