Point Made

Living in a racist society: So much has been said and written about how we fooled ourselves into thinking we were in a Post Racist Society because we voted for a black President and even re-elected him. It took the nomination of Donald Trump with his blatant and outright legitimizing of Far Right Wing of bigots and white supremacists to require us to recognize how wrong we were. If anything, The election of Barak Obama was a rallying point for that part of our society that is frightened of losing its control of their relevance in our future. To them becoming a minority and to coexist with people that don't look like them is incomprehensible and unacceptable. Their leaders are varied but most visible in the political world are what many, including myself, refer to as "old white men". They could be called silly old white men except that what they do and say causes so much pain and suffering to people who for the most part cannot defend themselves, that it's not fun...

Louisana Hot. If you've never been in the deep south in the summer, you won't understand what I call Louisiana hot. We moved to Mandeville LA in July. when we arrived the temperature was in the nineties with dew points in the seventies. In the north, we talk about wind chill. Wind chill is the effective temperature that we feel when the wind on our bodies affects the temperature we experience. It's that blast of cold air you feel when you walk outside. In the south, the problem is the "feels like" temperature, that combination of high humidity and air temperature that sucks the fluids out of your system and stamina out of your ability to function. If you ever wondered why the South got a reputation for being slow and sleepy, you haven't been there in the summer. From that first day in July when we arrived in Mandeville, it was over ninety degree's every day for three months. It was over ninety degree's for weeks before we got there. That is Lo...

A question no doubts had bubbled up in my mind as a clarified the status of my Milwaukee County Transit M-Card the other day. I wanted to check the balance, as I'm going to visit the City by the Inland Sea in a couple of weeks. The M-Card is like an electronic Passport for me. I can get on any MCTS bus, tap the card on the pay pedestal, and I have paid for my ride and received a transfer for another bus in my route. I understand because of a new agreement with Bublr Bikes, I will be able to also use the card to rent a shared bike for the all-important last mile. Some might just say that it just makes sense for me to keep my M-Card since I will continue to visit Milwaukee, but I know different. .Just looking at the thing brings back memories. I think of the first one I got when the concept was being developed. I was a member and then Chair of Transit Services Advisory Committee (TSAC) We were issued the passes in order to test the system. I glad to say th...

Sunday Morning is spent watching CBS Sunday Morning at our house. both Maaria and I have been watching this program from the Days of Charles Kuralt through, as I called him, Chuck The Second and now with Jane Pauley. Lately, I've been recording Chuck Todd's Meet the Press. This last Sunday, one of his interviews was with Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister. Trudeau was skillfully and forcefully telling Todd why Canadians were taking Trump's Trade Tariff's so indignantly. Trump's reason for the tariffs was that importing steel was a security threat to the United States. Trump's reasoning is that raising tariffs on steel and aluminum would foster a better competitive situation and promote US Steel production. This production would make US steek available in the event of a threat to the United States. After pointing out the long-standing record of mutual trade benefits the relationship between the US and Canada, Trudeau vigorously ...

If there were a word similar to chameleon, which refers to a trait of being able to change colors to fit into the environment, I would say that is how my friends name our band. I've heard of a number of names they have used. One which I thought was illuminating was "Bob and The Hip Replacements" Read that slowly and take it apart. There is a lot going on inside of that moniker. The more generic name or maybe I should say geriatric, was, "The Old Man Band." Lately, we seemed to have settled on,"The Expansion Band." Now, The Expansion Band sounds cute but it also is descriptive. The group gathers on Wednesday evening and plays for about two hours. The makeup of the group depends on who can show up. I've played with a few as six and as many as fourteen. So, as you see, it will like the watch band expanding or contracting in size. It would be silly to call it the Expansion and Contraction Band. Or would it? I'll ask. The group has been meeting ...

There are two groups I belong to that actually have a name. If there ever is a group photo, I am courtesy of my height always in the back row. The Royal Order of Toads has the unfortunate acronym of ROT.  I'm told this occurred without an intention. Not planning anything is a trait of toads.   Follow us, if you dare . The groups' creation myth is that three or four like-minded fellows were sitting at a bar in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin when one of their wives came in with her gal pals. She looked at their rearview profile and remarked that they looked like a bunch of toads sitting on a log. Now forgetting that frogs not toads would be more likely to be sitting on a swamp log. The men decided to form a loose organization that would be home to individual men who would not be welcome in the Rotary Club, Lions Club, The Chamber of Commerce...etc. Giving the group a false air of dignity by calling it Royal, required title...

Overheard, at the gathering of people for a 6:00 am meeting. "I've been up this late before, but I've never gotten up this early. " I've always told my friends ( a bit of wisdom from an old white man.), "Pay attention, you never know when you're a witness to significant history." I often recall my Dad taking me to a minor league baseball game in Minneapolis to see a young kid named Willie Mays. Actually, the attraction was some major leaguer who was playing his way back into shape before being called up. Mays was playing to earn his way up to the big leagues. The next time I saw him play in person was in the 1954 World Series in Cleveland. This week I think I witnessed one of those historic, "I was there when it started"moments. My friends Janet and John Brownson and I were having our traditional after gym breakfast. We were finished eating, enjoying our conversation and coffee when the waitress came up to the table with two coffee p...