Skip to main content

Yes, It's Legal to Grow Grass In Wisconsin, But No One Smokes It.

Why do weeds grow faster than grass? 
Report from the War on Dandelions
A hardy hello from Camp Jeff, here on the shores of Lake Maria. It's spring and what was hiding underneath a couple of year of fallen leaves, has blossomed. And it is, (Hold for a drum roll) Dandelions. Not surprised? Don't feel too smug. Anyone from the midwest would have guessed that correctly.
Two thoughts here. Number one. No one is responsible for an outbreak of dandelions. Not even the Trump supporter who didn't cut his lawn until it was so long you couldn't read his little fanboy sign supporting "The Donald."
Rather than cutting the blossoms while they weren't ready to promulgate, safely enclosing them in a bag for the trashman to pick up where he would deposit the seed in a landfill, he waited. He waited until the somewhat attractive dandelion blossoms turn white. These facets from these complicated dead blossoms become parachutes, which convey the dandelion seed as far as the lightest breeze can carry it. However, let me re-emphasize, People don't spread the horror that is a dandelion outbreak, dandelions do.
Number two. Given that not cutting his lawn did give the dandelions more support, if you will, it did cover the Trump sign. If I had to select between these two situations, I might choose dandelions. Come on! Some people make wine out of them.
But not everything is dandelions.

Murder In Appleton
The news from The Valley today included a report of a homicide. Police responding to a domestic disturbance found a woman and corpse. The eventual body bag occupant was her late husband. After some investigation, she was charged with homicide.
When we lived in Milwaukee, the report of shooting was daily, and deaths by gun were in the hundreds every year. (635 in 2015) In Louisana, we read the score daily. The record will show shooting deaths in Louisana are higher than Wisconsin. Louisana ranks second in the nation in homicides per 1000 people. New Orleans contributed to the toll of 165 deaths in 2015
Here's the situation in Appleton. The police in Appleton investigate a homicide an average of once every other year. I suspect they would attribute that to the lack of local gang activity. I know that the police in New Orleans andMilwaukeee will tell you that gang wars are the biggest part of their problem.
PS: The late husband was a fellow my boys have known since grade school. He was notorious for his "anger" issues and his progeny. He is the father of eight children, courtesy of a number of mothers and the instigator of many a bar fight.

I miss Gordan. Good, I got that off my chest.

Summer is arriving sometime this week. With her ironic sense of humor, Mother Nature sends us sunshine days, cool evenings and mosquitos. There is no truth in the myth that the State Bird of Wisconsin is the Mosquito. I don't know what the Wisconsin State Bird is and I don't care or I'd Google it, but I know, it isn't the mosquito. The Mosquito is the State Bird of Minnesota.

Until next time, this is the report from Camp Jeff in the middle of a field of dandelions on the shores of Lake Maria.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diversity

As we look forward to celebrating the Pride we have in our Gay population, (Yeah, I couldn't resist the pun.) I'm pleased to report that diversity in the mix of our residents here in the Fox River Valley continues to surprise me. Example: As my wife and I waited for friends, in the lobby of the Marcus Hollywood Theater on the west side of Appleton, I witnessed three AfricanAmericann ladies buying snacks. Behind them was a Latino couple. At the end of the line, behind was an Asian fellow with three kids. We represented the WASP's. This is in a community that when I first visited in the nineteen sixties, if a black man walked down the street, he more than likely played football for Green Bay. After that, there was a rather pronounced immigration of Hmong and quieter arrival of Latino's. For a while, the worst keep secret was that the new Italian restaurant was actually owned by Mexican's. Since returning to the Valley, I've grown use...

A rustle in the hustings

I am trying to stay away from politics on my blog. I know that some of my intended readers do not share my feelings. As well, I don't entice dialogue. Occasionally my readers will address something I've written about. For the most part, they are merely saying something like, "Oh yeah, I felt that way too," regarding some experience, that I related. However, I have to share these particular feelings about the new Ryan Healthcare proposal that is sailing through the House of Representatives. Market-driven healthcare provision: This concept proposes that if put on the free market health care insurance will become more affordable. The theory is there will be competition among insurers to gain market share and lowering the prices will be a possible outcome. None of the insurers want customers who are old people or people with a pre-existing health problem ( heart disease, cancer, etc...) Older people, who are not on medicare, have more health care ne...

Ring The Bell

 It appears there is a tradition in the radiology department at Ascension Hospital that patients, upon completing their course of treatment, ring a bell. ( We know not for whom this bell tolls.) Ring the Bell with My Sweetheart Jeanne. Jeanne drove me to all but two of the appointments. Pam Frautchi took me to the other two. Today, after being zapped thirty-two times, I rang the bell. This begins a roughly one-month recovery period where the effects of the radiation abate and, I'm assured, a return to normalcy occurs. In my case, I anticipate more energy and greater awareness. Books, Books, & More Books I am simultaneously celebrating the end of the third year of volunteering for the All Saints Hunger Book Sale. Next week, we will wrap up the preparation for the sale and open our doors on August 3 for the public. I ran into this humourous but quite accurate cartoon on a T-Shirt that shows most of the volunteer's sentiments at this point. If you think the printed and bound p...