Point Made

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...