Point Made

You Don't Know It, But I'm Your Daughter. Beware of those DNA tests. by Jeff Jordan If you have or ever thought of having your origins discovered by submitting DNA for testing? This s a cautionary tale. I provided my "spit in the tube" sample supposedly to help my granddaughter, Abbott build a family tree. Given the number of divorces and blended families, this was going to be more like a bush than a tree. It was a ruse. The real story was that my oldest son and his family did submit DNA to Ancestry and Abbott was building a family tree. From what I understand things were going well until she got an email, through Ancestry with a question from a young lady in Minnesota. The request was something like, 'I'm doing our family tree and all of these Jordans keep showing up and no one in our family knows who you are.' Abbott turned it over to her dad, Brad who just ignored it. Another email came. My son, arranged for a phone conversation. His question ...

The Two Popes Is This What Organized Religion Is About? by Jeff Jordan Each Month Milwaukee Film Festival Members have the opportunity to see a film for no charge. During the annual Festival, the film's title is kept secret. This year, I was thrilled to see "The Two Popes." The Backstory With the problems of its historical inability to deal with pedophile priests, Catholic women flaunting prohibition of practicing birth control, and fewer men and women becoming celibate members of the Catholic Orders of priests and nuns. Add to that the politicization of the tenets of the church between the liberal and conservative branches and you have the potential of a schism. Presently in the United States, the Catholic Church is running scared, and the only thing that might be holding it together is Pope Francis, a prelate, who is clearly in the camp of the compassionate priests. Pope Francis is a man who washes the feet of sinners, rejects the opulent perks of the papacy, a...

Notes on acting your age: Here are a couple of signs that provide evidence to friends and family that your thinking like an old person. We should review this classic sign of aging.  It used to be the typical sentence that started off with, "When I was a boy, we...." Presently,  it's a little more subtle. Try to see the senior citizen seeping out of this statement. "I don't like reading off a computer or tablet screen. I love the feel of a real book in my hand." First of all, I admit I agree with that preference, but I do also read books on my tablet. I have a hand-me-down I=Pad with a cracked screen on which I read books that I have purchased for pennies when compared to mass-market paperbacks. I also purchase used books from various venues, including the rack at the Public Market, which offers books for one dollar each on an honor pay system. Why am I so stingy? (Wait for it.) Because I'm on a fixed income and have to watch my spending. The n...

Niceties, A Stage Play Confrontation on Steroids By Jeff Jordan On either side of the stage, the seats are arranged like bleachers like a football field. Between them, the set looks like the office of a long-tenured History professor with stacks of books with bookmarks sticking out of them like cactus leaves. The beverage stand has a machine that allows an actor to make tea on the set. There are a desk and rows of books shelved behind it. The other wall has the entrance door. On both walls, there are pictures and paintings. The largest of which is a painting of George Washinton. Keeping with the set theme of a well known and accomplished history professor at an elite school, suspended above the set, there are two elaborate chandeliers. We are given abundant clues in the opening dialogue that the year is 2016. It’s the end of the spring semester. When two actors appeared on the stage, they are introduced to us by some very snappy and informative dialogue. We have a babyboomer whi...

Show Time! by Jeff Jordan Someone once said ninety percent of success is a matter of showing up. I started doing just that this week. There's the gym. There's the continuing effort to reconnect with friends here in Milwaukee. Probably the most essential item on the checklist, making sure each day has something in it that makes my life and those around me better. I made a pot of beans because I got a hankering for some beans and rice. In the South, beans and rice are like mashed potatoes and gravy in the North. My stop in Mandeville, Louisianna, caused me to become hooked on it. The dish can be served as a meal or a side dish. After I soak my dried beans, I slow cook them in my crockpot with some salt and pepper.  Once the beans are soft, they are ready to eat. However, to give them more flavor, I fried some bacon, chopped it into smaller pieces, and then dumped the bacon and the grease into the pot of beans and let them simmer for the afternoon. I did rescue a serving of...

Things Are Working Out by Jeff Jordan There's an old joke about the guy that tells his friends that he bought a gym membership a couple of months ago. He admits it didn't seem to help him reach his fitness goals. Then he admits, "I found out you have actually go to the gym to make any progress." While that might be obvious, what you do when you get it is equally important. My first workout at the Milwaukee YMCA was discouraging, to say the least. My two goals are building endurance and regaining my balance. I going to have to add flexibility to that list. I had trouble mounting a stationary bike. Just getting up into the seat and getting my feet on the pedals was more effort than I anticipated. The problem was partly balancing, but my ability to move my legs with any kind of certainty was a surprise. Then having to get into the seat of a leg exercise machine turned out to be complicated. There's o question about my need to ease into a regular workout and co...

The Fall of Man by Jeff Jordan aka Poppa Jeff I took the bus to Appleton last Wednesday. My primary mission was to attend the Packer Game. I also needed to pick up some left behind possessions from Maria's. As it turned out, the best thing that happened was a birthday celebration for my Pal John Brownson. John and I took a countrywide route up to the Packer game. I swear we found every road repair project in Outagamie and Brown County. When I think of it, we may have even gotten into Waupaca county. We went West to find out we needed to go East. We tried state highways. We went down county roads. John even decided to drive through a construction project because it was signed as open to residents. When we finally got to Green Bay, we had no trouble getting to our favorite parking sot, which is just a couple of blocks from our gate. We have been parking in this person's yard for years. My guess is over twenty. The couple that ran the place when we first started has turned ...