okjimm's eggroll emporium

Oh.... the thrill of weather proofing & trimming one's beard

2012-01-28T12:15:00.000-06:00

Well.... the weather of late has been wet, snowy,slushy, puddly, and well, gosh... it was time to oil up the old boots.

So I got out the saddle soap, cleaned up well, brushed them out, dry them and rubbed in some mink oil. Should be good for a bit.

Been getting into reading old books. Found a copy of Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land".... the author's edition, not what was edited for publication in the 60's. Still a good read.

Listening to old music too. Dylan's "John Wesley Harding" old 'Return to Forever'.
It is kinda like taking and old soul, mine, and adding some TLC ... and mink oil, just to keep everying pliable and water repellent.

Had a few drinks with the friday afternoon crowd at Oblio's yesterday. Nick was back from his trip to Florida, on the job, working on boat motors. Had a bit of sun color on his forehead. Said it was in the 80's. Al & Katie stopped. I still want to steal his South Side Ice Yacht club jacket. I think he is starting to take me serious and will not remove it in my presence. Katie said she will bring nut bread next week. Joe is walking more... said he has twenty lbs he would like to lose now that he is retired. Cool said he could lose 180 if he could lose me. Cool is a funny guy.

Went to the Moon this morning for coffee. Aaron's wife was entertaining her two year old. She played peek-a-boo with me for a bite. The laughter of children is the fresh air that streams serene from tall mountains. It was good.

The Jambalaya art collective was having a rummage/art sale to raise some money to pay the heat bill. Got a couple of neat framed prints, some candles and a funky ceramic clown. All of it for under $30. A deal.

And now the day goes on. Must trim the beard. It gets thick and wolly in neglect, as do all things.

I remember when it was all black. Or maybe I remember. Perhaps I should use mink oil instead of Hair Color for Men.

.... and then again.....

Obama Sings ! & Republicans are poetic!

2012-01-23T13:52:00.001-06:00

Yupperz..... Obama CAN sing.... course ... so can I ! Well, mostly in the shower, see, and since the divorce (well, even a bit before the dovice, dorice, deeforce... whatever) I mostly showered alone, so my eloquent vocal renditions were mostly lost on a general public. Now, I could rectify that, maybe, ya know, put a video on you-tube or something... but then it would not be a genial public to say nothing of a general public.

Anyways... I still do that and it does get the cockroaches out of the apartment for awhile and so I will keep it up.

I also was once of a mind to compose poetry in the shower.... OH, but the paper got really wet and the pen didn't work well and if I got stuck on a line or whatever and stayed in the shower overly long... why gosh& stuff, my toes would get all wrinkly and gees, I would often run out of hot water, cause see, it would sometimes take me awhile to find rhyming words... ( hey, go ahead,,, YOU find a rhyme for Zucchini real quick, huh.. and I don't just mean eenie-meanie, ok!!)
Well....anyways... this got me to thinking... I mean about Obama singing and poetry and whatever-ish.... that there was once a prominent Republican that was well noted for his..............

Yessirre bob.... I mean it! Now this may be old stuff... but it is still GOOD stuff... so with out further adios or adoos or whatever.... I bring you.... some select poety, poetry of former Defense Secretary Donal Rumsfeld..... (and hey, with a name like Rumsfeld, youse gotzta be GOOD!

The Unknown

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Glass Box

You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.
—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

A Confession

Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.

—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times

Happenings

You're going to be told lots of things.
You get told things every day that don't happen.

It doesn't seem to bother people, they don't—
It's printed in the press.
The world thinks all these things happen.
They never happened.

Everyone's so eager to get the story
Before in fact the story's there
That the world is constantly being fed
Things that haven't happened.

All I can tell you is,
It hasn't happened.
It's going to happen.

The Digital RevolutionOh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!

A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!

—June 9, 2001, following European trip

The Situation

Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.

—Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

Clarity

I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.

And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
But it will be known.

—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing

...... next... the collected meatloaf recipes of Mitt Romney

A Throng of thousands (give or take the invisible snowmen)

2012-01-22T11:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I try to watch the news on Sunday mornings. Try. It is tough. Today I watched a clip of Rick saying, and this may not be totally accurate, "that we need a candidate that will fight the junk science of global warming."

Last year, the former Pennsylvania senator earned $142,500 for his work as a consultant for Consol Energy, according to FactCheck.org.

.

Sheesh.... mostly he was just ranting and raving . So I turned the channel. Caught another show that had about four people talking over each other and spewing some shit about Newt being ahead.... I guess they meant he was ahead of Rick. Kinda makes me think of a race where a banana is ahead of the grapefruit.

So I checked another channel. Just missed a 'Golden Girl' rerun. At that point I thought I would mosey on out and get a coffee at the Moon and read some news. Newspapers do not scream at you.

Throngs of hundreds supporting Walker

There was a nifty ARTICLE about 'over a thousand' rallying to support neo-Fascist ~~Fuehrer~~ GOVERNOR Scott Walker. I guess that was a good crowd after the Recall supporters turned in petitions of over 1.2 million asking for his removal from office.

I guess it must have been a good rally, probably made more entertaining because..... the governor was not there!

The guy breaks me up.

Walker reminds me alot of Santorum...with one notable exception.... Santorum is not afraid to say stupid shit..... where as Walker IS a stupid shit who doesn't say anything.

Still have a couple of hours until the football games start. Maybe I can find a 'Golden Girls' rerun yet. Or I do have Bob Newhart on DVD. Bob always helped me get in touch with my feelings.

49'ers over the Giants by ten.

home made commie pinko socialist music that I ripped off from the internet

2012-01-21T10:07:00.000-06:00

.

... old video from the New Moon coffee house... just to show I go other places than bars

So..... how cold is it?

2012-01-20T12:06:00.000-06:00

well it is colder than I care for. A deep freeze has set in here in my part of the world. Below zero stuff with stupidly cold wind chills. O course, if I want to be really chilled I need to do more than listen to a politician, local or otherwise.
There is a chill to the rhetoric that smacks me up side the head.... as ... cold. Stark raving cold... and mean... unnecessarily so.

But that is not the story.
The Deal is I walked outside the coffee house this morning. The Moon is a such a cool place that it is warm.... nicely so. I did not notice her coming up behind me... and I could barely hear her when she said, "Excuse me. You know this address?" ... and showed me a piecce of paper. It was funeral home stationery with a church address handwritten on it. The lady was about 4' 8" if she was an inch, Hmong, all bundled up. She appeared to be in her 70's and was bundled up so you could barely see her face. "Friend funeral. I must go." You could tell English was not her first language. I looked at the address and knew the church was about two miles away. The bus station was two blocks. I told her that the bus would take her within a block of the church. " No money. How far? I walk." It was 3 below zero. "C'mon," I said...." I'll get you the bus."
" No money! no bus."
Well I guess I got it through to her that she didn't need money. I also got enough out of her that she would know family at the church and could get a ride home. We got to the bus station, I found the right bus, told the driver where she needed to go and put the buck in the collection box. He said he would make sure she got off at the right block and he would show her the church. She sat in the front and looked straight ahead. Didn't say thank you. Old Asian women usually do not go out by themselves. She was a bit scared, I think, and was going to the funeral of a friend.

Now, it wasn't a big deal and I am no goddam hero or stuff.... it was only a two block walk and a buck.

It really can be done. Just saying.

LESS Government regulation?

2012-01-18T11:27:00.001-06:00

... just a first step to stop the dissemination of information.... buy "US THE PEOPLE"

... another example of how RepubliCorporates want 'LESS' government regulation.

OK.... first off.... I am not the smartest person in the world. Never said so. Never will.
But to me this just smacks of again fixing something that is not really broke. Will it increase corporate profits?

Corporate$

of course.... in the future I may not be able to post that link.... in the future... you may not be able to even find information on the NET about SOPA or PIPA.... so ... do it now while you can.

in other news....

WTF ! Packers !

2012-01-16T11:51:00.001-06:00

That was the poorest performance by a 15-1 team that I have ever seen. Pathetic. Truly the better team..... at least yesterday... did win.

I will get over it. See, I like football... but I am mostly a Packer Fan... and from there I go to NFC North Division, then the NFC in general. I cannot and will not watch football all day.... nope.

But I grew up here...amongst the cows and cheese and beer... and the low rolling hills and the jack-pine forests and the little lakes and streams and rivers and the Packers just kind of grow on you like anything else. The only team in the NFL that is owned by the public. The smallest town in the NFL. One of the most storied stadiums in the nation.

OK...... I was hoping for two more games. Ain't happening. I'll live. And, OH.... there is plenty else going on... Recall elections and.......... hmmmmm lemmmee see.... what else goes on in Wisconsin in the winter?

I will get back to you on that. Once I get over the goddam Packers blowing it.

WHAT A STORY !!!!!

2012-01-15T10:55:00.000-06:00

Some times there are stories that are almost impossible to believe. This is one of them.

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across

a young bull elephant standing with one leg

raised in the air. The elephant seemed

distressed, so Peter approached it very

carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the

elephants foot, and found a large piece of

wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully

and as gently as he could, Peter worked the

wood out with his knife, after which the

elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and

with a rather curious look on its face, stared

at him for several tense moments. Peter

stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but

being trampled. Eventually the elephant

trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of

that day. Twenty years later, Peter was walking

through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one

of the creatures turned and walked over to near

where Peter and his son Cameron were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its

front foot off the ground, then put it down. The

elephant did that several times then trumpeted

loudly, all the while staring at the

man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter

could not help wondering if this was the same

elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed

over the railing, and made his way into the

enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant

and stared back in wonder. The elephant

trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of

Peter legs and slammed him against the railing,

killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

via email from my buddy Dimly Lit who loves a bad joke as much as I do

My Daughter, partially college educated.

2012-01-14T15:37:00.001-06:00

OK.... you are going to do what?
Jump in the Lake.
What?
Jump in the Lake.
Does your mother know?
Maybe... not sure if I told her.
Best tell her.
Dad, it's for charity... Special Olympics.
Ya, you freeze off some parts and you will BE in Special Olympics.
So how much will you give to sponsor me?
What?
I raise $75 and I get a T-shirt.
A $75 T-shirt? I can get you a Oblio's shirt for ten bucks!
Dad !!! it's not the same!
Damn straight it ain't!
Everyone's doing it!
Ya, Like who?
Kelsey and Lauren and Morgan and Emile and Dorrie... and ...
Whoa,,,, I didn't know you had so many dumb friends!
Dad !!!!!

miriam and kelsey

So it turns out that The Kid's friend, Kelsey, came up with the idea. Or so The Kid says. Kelsey and Miriam and a small group of students spent a semester in Europe about a year or so ago. They became close friends. Yadda, Yadda..... Kelsey, in search of scholarship money, entered the 'Miss Oshkosh' pageant...and to cut to the chase, is NOW Miss Oshkosh.

So the event is to raise money for Special Olympics.... they cut a hole in the ice...we have a big frozen lake that is handy. and you jump in to raise money. Fun, huh? Well to make it more FUNNER... they are going to go to a thrift store, buy old prom dresses, call it the Miss IceKosh pageant and jump in the frozen water. See, a college education is very thought enhancing!

yup, Dad, we are going to make sashes... and tiara's and wear high heels and....
Sounds like a lot of work.
Dad!
Why don't you just put ice cubes in the bathtub?
Dad!

So I miss this element of 'fun'. Frankly, my idea of Winter fun would be to sitting in front of a fire, a football game on TV, some chili on the stove...

oh, we will have a party later.
Really?
Sure, after we dry off.
Will that involve booze?
Of course!
Hot Apple Schnaaps!
Is there such a thing?
There will be!!!

..... see.... girls just wanna have fun...... whadda I know?????

Snowfall

2012-01-13T13:29:00.001-06:00

Web photo

It was enough, the snow. I haven't heard 'the official' count, but I'm guessing about eight inches in the last 24 hours. Last night there was enough wind to create a few white-out conditions but all in all, not that bad. We have had much worse and will again, I'm sure. Me? This stuff sucks and I don't mind saying so, but who pays attention to me?

Max called last night.... about a friend of his... had I heardabout Charlotte? Do you know what happened? Can you find out? You know her, right?

Charley and the Cynics

Charlotte was 22. She will never be 23. She was a waitress at a pizza joint where Max and I used to watch the Packer Games. She was a local girl and, like Max, went to the local University. They knew a lot of the same people.... a smallish clique of film/art/music students. I knew a bunch of them.... really good kids. Charlotte, mostly from the Pizza joint. I certainly was not up late enough to catch the band she fronted, "Charley and the Cynics", nor do I longer hang out in loud rock&roll bars. Max, other folks said that thy were good.

No one knows, right now, what happened. She talked with a friend in the morning and when she didn't show up at the Pizza joint they went looking for her and ....... So far, drugs or alcohol do not seem to be an issue .... Max is a little stunned. " How can you talk with someone and two weeks later, they're dead?" Death to him is still something that happens old people. Certainly not to gifted and talented young people

We talked.... or rather I listened.

I didn't have any answers. And he really wasn't asking questions.
This stuff sucks and I don't mind saying so, but who pays attention to me?

Lost Winter

2012-01-12T13:12:00.000-06:00

So far it has been the winter that wasn't... no snow... no cold. Yesterday it was ab out 50 degrees... with bare ground. Today we are in the middle of one of those day long snows. So far, not so bad. But weather forecasters are like newsmen..... they want to say as much as possible in as short a time as possible....Which means we are in for anywhere from 6 inches of snow... to a foot.

So instead of searching for a Winter that is plainly evident ... when it arrives... I have decided to search for truth, honesty, goodwill, peaceful hearts, manners, decorum, plain doughnuts and strong beer. NOW... I will know winter when I SEE it and I know where to find the beer and doughnuts..... but my heart aches, sometimes, see, for all the other things that seem to be in such short supply.

Zappa defines "Fascist Theocracy"

2012-01-11T10:43:00.001-06:00

w

Oh... I so wish Frank was with us still.

I Wanna BE Pretzeldint!!!!!!!

2012-01-07T12:07:00.001-06:00

I am running for Pretzeldint

you betcha! my hat is in the ring! I mean, why not? I can say stupid shit as well as the next candydate and probably make more sense saying it, too!

Like, I gotz this grate idea....I will make Macaroni and Cheese the official state meal! What a concept! In fact... I think I will make Macaroni and Cheese the 51st State! Oh, oh....this is gonna be fun!!!

Lesseee here.... I gotz my political primer.... everything I need to know to understand politicks and how to balance the budget.

and I have some GREAT ideas.... like..... I will outlaw the word "Gay"... it will now be know as 'heterosexually challenged'...

and broccoli will be officially banned at any meal that also features potatoes.... oh oh oh... I will get rid of the Army all together and replace it with the Green Bay Packers!

boy, am I cooking now! I will outlaw Christianity.... it was getting stale anyway. Maybe I will replace it with....hmmmmm.... Idle Worship..... which is what most religion is anyways... or at least that's what I get out of some of the clowns on the TV, see.

Oh Stuff... this could be fun. Anybodyz gotz some other ideas... lemmee know.... I have to go find a running mate...

... and pick out a cabinet....

OK

2012-01-06T12:21:00.000-06:00

Ok..... the holidays is over.... good deal. And I did my first screw up of 2012... or at least the first one I noticed... I deleted my blog roll. Which I can attribute to nothing more than being stupd en notz being a good speler. Whatever. And I am suffering from writers block... which is better than having writer's cramps which is not like menstrual cramps which I don't know about, see, cause I am of the male persuasion... which if you had to persuade me to do anything it would be to go to Oblio's for a beer which really doesn't take much persuasion cause I get a cramp in my left hand if I do not do the 16 ounce curl for exercise at least a few times a week and seeing as this is friday I think I should head down there and exercise a little bit which is my New Beers resolution, see, to get a little exercise so I don't get cramps, is what.

Now it was vaguely rumored that Oblios is just a figment of my imagination.... which would save me a ton of money were it only true.... but it ain't..... though some of the people who go there would be better off if they were fictional.... and that would probably save them tons of money too, but nope, they are mostly real, too, except for Joe Cool.... who is mostly unreal... especially when he invites you to do a shot of Sambuca....

Well, anyways..... My friend Lee wrote a nice history of the bar which, with much witticism called History of Oblios pt 1 and then, not to be outdone.... he followed that up with History of Oblios pt 2
which just goes to show that Lee really can think up clever stuff.

anyways, see, as I was restoring my blog roll I noticed that the folks at Riding the Beer Trail did a little post about Ob's on their blog featuring the new T's that Mark and Todd ordered up

Add caption

...... which may or may not be available for mail order. Beats me..... you could go to FB and ask Nikki.... FB Oblio's .... but I know I already bought a couple... and gees... you could be the first one in your neighborhood/city/state/province/mental institution to own one.

The Shirt has it's genesis from an old beer brand they used to make in my section of Beautiful Downtown Wisconsin.

..... now if that doesn't sound like a commie pinko socialist liberal beer......

Burger-mockery

2012-01-05T13:54:00.000-06:00

Used to be a cigar was a smoke and a burger beat anything. A hamburger. On a bun. With ketchup. Maybe cheese...but that was it! It was plain, basic... and gosh darn good. Nowadays it seems like you just amble out for a walk, ..see, and you're thinking, "Goddam, I sure could go for a burger!" but but but...what you want, see, is a date with the Parson's daughter and when you stroll into a burger joint they flip you a menu that resembles a Las Vegas whore house full of aged and ugly hiding in lettuce tomato and plastic cheese.

Oh, and the stuff they put on them! Cucumbers, teriyaki sauce, guacamole, pineapples,fried eggs, jalapenos, blu cheese, bacon, mushrooms,onions.... oh gees! Now, none of the above is particularly 'bad' on a burger.... but mostly they mush as much of that shit on one burger that the first thing I think of is, "I'm gonna wrap my lips around..THAT?????" Now don't be getting me wrong,see, cause I like to play with my meat as well as the next cook, and adding a little extra is ok....but what about the plain and simple iconic sandwich that means more to America than Hot Dogs ever did.

So I am thinking... what happened to hamburgers? I used to stop at this cafe just off Hwy 51 just outside of Montello, a real Mom&Pop... Grandma is in the kitchen and the Daughter-in=law runs the counter. Must have stopped there most every monday for 15 years. Gees, by the time I would spit a little gravel in the parking lot and amble on in, why see, my coffee was on the counter and maybe a newspaper and I knew my burger was on the grill. We worked that all out long time before... if it was monday it was a hamburger with fries. On a homemade bun, lightly buttered. Honest as all get out. Add a little ketchup. Done. See.. that's not much to ask.

So why is this so hard for the news peoples to figure out? Just News. Just give me a simple who -what -when -where -why and how serve it up to me on a homemade bun and then shut up. Well, maybe a little ketchup,see. Now take this Iowa Caucus thingee....whiich is gonna turn into a Vermont thingee and a South Carolina thingee and ad nauseum.... see, all the news tells me is 'who is ahead'...... and not a single reason why they are ahead or what....

..who's on first? Not a decent burger in the bunch. Nope. N0W... IF I WAS A REPUBLICAN... why I would be down right embarrassed. It's bad enough it's just a bunch of whores... but this batch is like a forty year old whore wearing a bikini... and it sure ain't pretty, see. And it is gonna get worse, cause soon, them whores is really gonna dance.

Reruns of Petticoat Junction will start to seem like intelligent entertainment. I kid you not.

call me when the burgers done.

Stout Hearted Men

2011-12-26T11:38:00.000-06:00

Well so far the best part of the holiday has been the tapping of the Stout at Oblio's..... CENTRAL WATERS Bourbon Barrel Stout.

this stuff is GREAT.... a review from a Madison Beer Review:

Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout

Appearance: deep dark brown with a thick, foamy beige head; the head falls away somewhat quickly leaving some alcohol, but no lacing, on the sides
Aroma: sweet and bourbonish with a dense aroma of chocolate and malt – almost of bitter chocolate, with a long, lingering brightness
Flavor: chocolates and bourbon with a long, lingering bitter dark chocolate finish
Body: deep and thick; like drinking chocolate out of bottle with a slight cordial flavor, without the cherry
Drinkability: perfect for an aperitif, a six pack would be nice to supplement and sustain throughout the winter
Summary: a great beer that is rapidly becoming the hallmark and calling card of Central Waters – a reputation maker and a business sustainer; a damn fine beer.

Well,,, I could not say it better. Also it runs close to %10 .... and it runs a nice $5.25 a pint ... so it is not a quick drink.... it is absolutely excellent with a aged Swiss...

I normally do not do beer reviews... but this stuff is so good... I have never 'saved' beer... but I plan on trying to buy a six pack of this and store it... word is it is even better after a year.

Oh, in other news... Christmas is over!!!! I have watched "It's A Wonderful Life" "Christmas Story" " Lampoon's Christmas" and my fav, " Bad Santa". All went well... I got some socks and underwear... got gifted at the Moon coffee house and some music. Black Keys new album. There is NO SNOW.. and it feels like 40 outside... anywaays.... I felt burnt out.....
But I should be a stout hearted man by 5!

I can Handle It
Just say "Cheese" a new year approaches!

Sing sing song sing a song

2011-12-22T12:04:00.000-06:00

My favorite elf was about 5 years old that year. We were watching "The Grinch" and she came sliding across the couch to snuggle in next to me. Crossed her arms and looked at me seriously.

"You know, Daddy, they have this stuff now that you just brush into your beard and then you take a shower and all that grey will go away." They beard was the first to succumb to age color variation, you see.

She was seriously serious. So I bought a box of that stuff, wrapped it up and put it under the tree for Christmas morning. From Santa.
And boy did she get excited that morning. Not another present did she open, my hand was grabbed and off to the bathroom we went. She applied it with studious care, if not with a concern for 'neatness'. It was all over the place. I still have that t-shirt I wore all flecked with brown.
I don't much believe in Santa Claus.... but the love of elves is very very real.

My friend David Barber has posted a couple of his favorite Christmas type songs

and..

So, golllllllleee gee, I thought I would add a couple of my favorites..... so let's all go Caroling&stuff!

and one more....

HO HO HO dee ho

2011-12-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

Twas the week before Xmas
Ana all through the Burg
Not a sound was heard...
Nope, not a Word.

So I have been struggling to write a post about Christmas past and all that.... for almost a week... and all I ended up with is junk.

But that never stopped me before......
Anyways... things seem to be happening quicker than I CARE FOR...

Boy Wonder with the hoodie

Boy Wonder gotz home from Portland.... and then went to the UP with some buddies.... his Momma not all that happy with that, but he'll be around for another ten days.

..... he always makes things interesting.
My daughter and I are looking forward to traveling to western Wisconsin's traditional Christmas eve 'flying of the cows'.

... and that's it. I have spent all my money .... none left to buy even a scrap of snark.

So... for the holidays

if you can't be where
your heart is
be calm
be peaceful
enjoy all those whoz is here
and have a good beer.

Love to all who visit my page. thanks&stuff

jimm

SEX

2011-12-17T16:35:00.000-06:00

What was her name???

2011-12-07T13:22:00.002-06:00

OK... once again... it is Pearl Harbor Day.... 70 years ago,,,, and I remember this really well... cause, see, I was there strolling that beach when the planes came over... I was only 23 or so at the time and me and Judy, or at least I think her name was Judy, maybe it was Alice, or Millie... but gees, we had just had a great night and gosh, see, she WAS built like a battleship and all, and gosh, could she make a torpedo run and you have not seen the rockets red glare till you spent a night with what-ever-her-name was and anyway it was a day I will always remember and boy& howdy did old Franklin give a good speech and in no time at all there where all these jobs in the Navy and Army......

Well, I digress. But speaking of Bombs... Boy .... that Aaron Rodgers of the Packers can sure throw some

... and he is a nice enough guy, but he likes to sneak into everybody else's photos and stuff and so the last time I talked with him I told him I was not gonna invite him to my next wedding.... and gees when he got done laughing he said, " but you don't have a girl friend."
"Well, if I did, and I did get married, I am not inviting you if you don't stop that." Which just made him laugh a whole bunch more.. and then he showed me a picture of HIS girlfriend... and gosh

Rodger's girlfriend.. with spicy meatballs

......
When I was done crying I remembered Pearl Harbor and Judy-Alice-Millie or whatever and I didn't feel so bad.

But the Packers have made football interesting in my part of the world and I am grateful for that.

Anyways... where was I... OH OH OH... Remembering Pearl Harbor...see, right after the attack I was helping clean up the harbor and stuff, cause, listen, the Japanese may be neat and tidy at home, but boy, when the come visit they sure leave a mess... well Franklin called, said he was gonna go on the radio, which is the thing we had before TV and the Internet, and he was going to give a speech to America and all, "Jimm," he said, " We are going to punish those Evil-Doers and I am going to tell America all about it."
"FD, " I said... see, FD is what I called him... that Franklin thing just didn't work for me on a personal level," Drop that Evil-Doer thing. Sounds like something some idiot from Texas would say. Work 'Infamy' into the speech; much more memorable, see, and you want to have folks remember."

Well, he thanked me for that.
Anywaz wazza I talking about... Oh yeah, Remember the Alamo... no...ah, that was my brother.... Remember the Maine.... no... that was Teddy, oh and was he a nice guy, too, just like his cousin..neat mustache..I meet him in South Dakota... him and me wrangled horses together. Boy, was he a rough rider! I helped him with that and he got lots better.... Gees, once him and I got into a big fight in a bar with some cowboys, see, and they thrashed us good and threw us out. Teddy wanted to just rush back in and I said, "No, let's find a big stick and walk quietly back in there and give 'em what for."
"So, what you're saying, Jimm, is that I should walk softly and carry a big stick?" No flies on that Teddy!
"Now you'r talking like a Bull Moose," is what I replied.

Anyways, Pearl Harbor.... see back in the early 70's, when I was 23 or something, I met these VietNam vets who always who would always have a party on Pearl Day, Buffton and Mad Dog and Hoople. Now they always got bombed and talked stupid shit, like, go to the U and find some Japanese Foreign students and beat them up. Well, that wasn't a nice idea... so I mixed up a drink to get there minds off of it... I mixed up

1 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 oz lime juice

... and fed those guys a whole bunch of them to calm them down... I remember telling Hoople it was a Kamikaze,,, and they thought that was funny... now you can buy 'em everywhere.

where was I... oh oh oh... Pearl Harbor.... oh oh oh... it wasn't Judy-Alice-Millie.... IT WAS SHIRLEY /!!!!!!

Shirley, I remember!

short and brief... have a good day

2011-12-05T12:48:00.000-06:00

I gotz nothing but a song. The days are progressively moving to the dark dark dark .... time to reflect on stuff.... like how it is much more difficult to put on boots than sandals....stuff like that....

well, anyways... have a good day

Compost and Shit... just saying

2011-12-02T11:31:00.001-06:00

OK... see I really like compost. No shit! Truly. Well, to be honest, in the old days... it did have shit... used to run the old truck out to a farm and scarf up a couple of washtubs of good old horse shit from a buddy who had a couple of them there creatures. Oh, it would really make the pile cook up! Best recycling ever!

The bin on the left is pretty much what the old bin looked like, only not so spiffy cause I made it out of old doors I had found, and old screening... I mean..if you are gonna recycle shit... well gees, don't be buying new stuff just to throw shit in it. Makes sense, right! And everything from the kitchen went in it... bad lettuce, coffee grounds, tea bags, veggie peelings, eggshells, left over bits of malt-o-meal...all the fall leaves were bagged for next year.. all the dead veggie plants from the garden, hedge trimmings.... everything went in there. blessed were the moments I would go out back there and turn the heap. Boy, nothing like the smell of rotting shit&stuff. Yessirree, Bob, Iffen when I die I could be shredded and composted, why gosh I would think that would be a good deal...

But anyways,,,, there is a story here..and here it is.

When the Ex moved out of her apartment and bought a house... I went over and the first thing we did is build a bin. And now it is getting run down, cause I built it with throw away scraps and stuff....see we were talking about it and I said I would... mostly because in the course of the divorce I gotz all the WEAPONS of MASS CONSTRUCTION...love me them saws and hammers and golly I don't know how I could get along without my chain saw... why gees, I can carve pumpkins wit dat thing. Well, ok, see, what happened, what the story is, is that about ten years ago Wonder Girl calls me at the bar, cause Mom had found a opossum in the bin and was freaking out. The Ex had Bill-the-Neighbor over and he was poking it with a stick and then Bertie from across the street came over to see what the fuss was, and then Jack &Karen were there and so was the Wara boy, the one with the runny nose...andMiriam said that her Mom was going to call animal control, or golly, "Dad, can you come over and take care of this?" Well, by the time I got there, it was a small convention and the possum looked dead.
So I said to Wonder Girl to go get me a beer. See, Bill-the-Neighbor was ready to get his ten gauge out and shoot it and Bertie is almost having fits about the possibilities of rabies and fleas and Armageddon and what not because possums sure are ugly &stuff. I figgered another beer would help me think this through. Well, it sure enough did! I chugged that sucker down... asked everyone to step back, asked the ladies to turn the other way, calculated the distance between me and the critter and well golly beer is only rented, so I unzipped and let that possum have a little extra rent.

You know what? With a little extra room and a dose of left-over Leinenkugels that ugly sucker just woke up and took off. Course, the Ex thought I was vulgar, which she already knew and why she would tell me again is a good head scratcher, but it ain't no deal.

The deal is that the Boys down at Oblio's been giving me a good rubbing lately cause I still get along with the Ex... but the way I figger it... you can compost almost everything, including a marriage and piss on every thing else if you don't believe that, and if that is what it takes, but golly, iffen you do it right, you can still grow things with a goodly composted marriage.... including children... and they are doing just fine, thank you very much.

2011-11-30T16:07:00.000-06:00

Well, ok... it has been a somewhat-sorta-kinda busy week here in beautiful downtown Wisconsington.

Mostly the weather... but no one wants to hear about the weather..it's bad enough being in it when it is not to your liking. Talking about the weather always reminds me of when my mother would talk about her second cousin, who I never met, and all the illness that woman had...and, oh, there were plenty!! I think she was the only woman, that cousin, who managed to have three hysterectomies....a really medical case study. I think she was also born without a tailbone... whatever.

Anywayz... headed to Madison this coming Saturday for my nephew Eliott's Wedding. Gees, he has been a couple with Sarah so long it seems like they were married along time ago. I think they just ran out of excuses to have a party, is what I am thinking. I still really don't know where the WEDDING is...I mean, where in Madison.

Not that it really matters. I checked around... looking for a cheap room for Saturday night and did not find one. And it didn't help that I had no idea where the wedding WAS going to be..other than 'some place just off the Capital Square...so the Ex said that my sister said that most of the family said they were staying at some Ruby Marie Hotel.... and I broke down and booked a room.

Now it was a little pricy for me.... cause I can be cheap...specially when all I want is a bed and a shower.... but after checking the place out it seems like a nifty little place built back in 1873 or such and the Happy Hour in the bar is free for guests and so is breakfast. HA! They may not break even on my stay!! &&& after talking with my sister it seems that between Sarah's family and my sister's we have booked all the rooms.... it could be fun. Especially..... with.... my nephews...

.... and it should be a good party....Elliott and his brothers are a gas.... Adam has been in Asia for the last few months...just quit his job in Sand Diego and split with his girlfriend/fiancee... I guess they saved up some money, whatever... he always tells good stories. Middle Bro, Jonas... is an out and out gas.... He was late for his teaching job one morning...so he got a speeding ticket...which really made him late.... so he gets a second ticket ... fifteen minutes later... for speeding in a school zone...the one in front of where he teaches. Elliott worked his way through college as a sous chef.... I know he will have some good stuff ... he made the dinner menu.

I am really looking forward to this... it just got to be a reflective moment.... I was a good kid... the cousins are all good kids.... not a Republican in the bunch! Max will not make it, the only cousin absent... but he can't fly home from Portland twice in a month... and Christmas is already set....

Grandma and her grandchildren.....

...... kinda wish Grandma was still around...... she sure liked the kids. See, you can only complain about the weather... you can't change it..... and you can't change your family either.... so you may as well love them....

Herbie Hancock doggone it

2011-11-28T12:22:00.000-06:00

....

well, OK... it;s a Herbie kinda day, ha.... and it ani't even close to over. Good old Oliver-Dog got away from me. Or to be honest, he just decided to take his walk without me or the leash. Nope, I could see him thinking, see, as he looked back at me, "I knows the way, Jimm, just be seeing you in a bit." And off he went . Hit the corner at Sterling and Powers and just started trucking down Powers headed south with me yelling behind him. Course, he can do two blocks to my one and I am getting pissed, and, gosh I barely covered that block when he comes running back north up THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET chasing a guy on a bicycle. Now I have no ideas about what he would do iffen he would catch that bike and it ain't no never mind, cause now I am a block behind him heading the other way... and getting a little chilly in my thinking. Well, someone at Melvin and Powers said he stopped at the fire hydrant for a quickie leakie and and was headed east. So I am trucking east on Baldwin hollering out his name when a door pops open.... "Oliver? Is he short, black&white?" Well, some lady opened the door to get her newspaper and he just sauntered in and sat on their couch. Dogs can be assholes.

No soup for you, Dog.

But nothing is nothing that can't be fixed with a little Herbie on the stereo and maybe a little herbie in the pipe. finished off with a little cookies and milk. No cookies for you, either, goddam dog.

TURKEY

2011-11-23T12:00:00.002-06:00

OOOPS.....wrong turkey.... lemmee see

nope nope nope............... dat be a Turdkey

well, getting closer..

AW....... dat's da one.... !!!!!!!

So, I could wax eloquent on what's i like about turkey and thanksgiving and such.... and what I am thankful for and how cool left-overs are....and how wonderful it is they Put the Packer game on just for me on the holiday....yupperz... I could do all that, and more....

but I won't. But I will leave youse all wit a peace of pie

see.... I'm just a guy that ain't got much.... but I sure do have plenty

!!!!!!!!!! Stuff !!!!!

THE COPS WERE SURROUNDED.. and just wanted to get out

2011-11-21T10:31:00.001-06:00

"Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters.
"When you start picking up human bodies, you risk hurting them," Kelly said. "Bodies don't have handles on them."

... course the cops had no choice.... bodies do not have handles...

"After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of "active resistance" from protesters. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques."

of course.... see, those cops were in grave danger.... oh gosh&stuff... they were surrounded !!!!!!

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene.
"The students had encircled the officers," she said Saturday. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

Maybe we should raise our voices,

ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag,

besides we're much too high
And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends

phil ochs

Brother, can you spare some change....

2011-11-18T10:37:00.001-06:00

Heard the cranes flying south this morning. A neat trilling sound, less raucous than geese. Course, can't see them... but you know that they are up there. It is a nice sound on cold days... and it gives the promise, too, that they will be back. Seems that they are easier to see in the spring sky, but maybe that is just me.
It reminded me of stuff in the fall.... though, the crispness of the air, glasses fogging as you enter a warm house, the smell of my grandmother's apple pie, helping my mother grind the fixings for her turkey dressing. The days are increasing shorter... the darkness now comes in late afternoon, the bare trees shake in a cold wind... and I am sad that another season is at an end.... and that I am older now... and that there will be a set amount of seasons left for me. I shrug off the thought, cause it really is no never mind and there is nothing to do about it anyways. Best to think of all the sounds, and smells, and foggy glasses in the past and be happy for them.

So....there are sounds... that fill a heart, a soul and even when they are sad, they are good, because whether I am here or not... the cranes will return. It's all just changes... and changes will be good, if we want them to be.

I was born by the river
In a little tent
And just like the river
I've been running ever since

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh, yes it will

It's been too hard living
But I'm afraid to die
I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change gonna come
Oh yes it will

I go to the movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin me "don't hang around"
It's been a long, a long time coming,
But i know a change gonna come
Oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

There's been times that I thought
I wouldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come
Oh, yes it will

Tis' the SEASON

2011-11-15T11:09:00.000-06:00

Yessirree Bob... Whizconsin is a seasonal place. Lots of them. Just forget the regular Spring,Summer,Fall, Winter routine, cause mostly we only have two weeks of Spring, four weeks of Summer, two weeks of Fall and ten months of Winter.... or depending on the barstool wag youse is talking to...two seasons.. Winter & Mosquito. But that is all wrong. I know...because I am plenty smart and iffen youse all gotz a moment or two I will tell you about some of them, mostly because I can.

Now, Wisconsin is a mystery to most folks east of Lake Michigan and a myth to those west of the Mississippi, so this will be very clarifying to most of you. Especially about the seasons. We have bunches... and I know most people down there in Illinois think that the only seasons we gotz is pepper and ketchup but the truth of the matter is we have more that you can shakea maple stick at.... but for brevity's sake and not to overly tax my TAXED ENOUGH ATTENTION SPAN....which by the way is something RICK PERRY suffers from as well as me....but I don't care about RICK PERRY, cause he is an asshole and I am not, but if I have to bring him and me up in the same conversation I would say that I am a lot cuter, but not near as cute as Herm Cain, and my boobs are not as big as Michelle Whats-her-name and, what was I talking about?

Oh, yea, seasons. Well, see, the first big season is PACKER SEASON

.. which runs from early August to the Super Bowl. Now some around the country call it 'FOOTBALL SEASON' which is just plain wrong. It is truly Packer Season,just to get that straight. It kinda runs concurrent with summer, fall, winter, but that ain't quite right. See, Packer Season is when we celebrate the life of St. Vincent the Lombardi and oh gosh is there ever a lot of events &stuff, see, like the Blessing of the Bock beer, the consecration of the Cheddar Bras and the weekly feast of the Holy Tailgate.

Now, I am not making this up... and iffen you call be a liar, why gosh I may just whack you over the head with a bratwurst and some pickled eggs or such. Anywayz, it is THE MOST MAJOR season there is and I have a bunch of green and gold T-shirts to prove it. Just saying is all.

Now the next really big season is Deer Hunting. Which kinda happens in fall and is a minor additive to the PACKER SEASON and if you are a good Packer fan and a good hunter, why golly, you get to wear your blaze Orange clothing to Lambeau field, which the goddam TV commentaters getz a big kick out of... but everyone knows most commentaters wouldn't know a Mitt Romney from a Jim DeMint or a Mint patty...which I kind of like myself, especially when I have had too much sauerkraut on my brat and I need to freshen my breath...which is mostly what I need to do after watching Republicans de-hate on TV.... well... where was I?

Hunting, oh yea... well, I am not a hunter.

I heard DeNiro once came to Wisconsin and they made a whole movie about Deer Hunting... but I aint seen it, cause I don't hunt... heck, I don't even own a gun;;;;;;
Those guns are really noisy and if you are not careful with them, whygees, you could kill something!! Another thing about hunting season that most tourists doan know about is they have a special part of the state, which I am bound by law not to reveal, where they let the deer hide behind trees and then run out in front cars and kill unsuspecting Polacks who are up from Milwaukee. Nowthatmostlykillsthedeertoo....but I don't mind, cause it helps control the Polack population which gets out of hand from time to time. But anyways I did go to deer camp once, cause I was told that Jimmy Frank kept a big porn collection at his cabin and we would mostly just drink beer and whiskey and play cards.... and indulge in another well respected season here in Wisconsin....

STRIP CLUB SEASON !!!!! which is really only two saturday nights a year and run concurrent with PACKER SEASON and DEAR HUNTING SEASON...... now it was explained to me that you can only truly participate in Strip Club season if you are a happily married faithful male.... now the boy's let me go with them that time cause they said I was happily divorced and it is almost the same thing and I was a good sport about doing the dishes while they were out tramping in the woods. So we are at the club, see, and there was this girl painted JUST like that swinging around on a pole.... well gosh,.. I asked her later...."How much is that there paint job cost?" and she said, "$500".... but I had to provide the soap which I really didn't understand and Tim Lee just laughed when I asked what she meant. See, it must be a secret thing that only guys who go regular to Deer Camp knows about.

So, as you can see already there is lots of seasons here in beautiful DownTown Wisconsin...and we just keep coming up with more. The newest one, which is pretty interesting and has brought some attention to my part of the World.... is the RECALL SEASON... which I am told started two days after the 2010 election and is celebrated mostly by Democrats and disgruntled Liberals.... but even Republicans can participate..... why golly, see, the RECALL of GOVNER WALKER part of the season just started and the Head Republican declared...

“The Republican Party of Wisconsin has launched the Recall Integrity Center; a website designed to protect the integrity of the signature gathering process and be a valuable resource for Wisconsin voters who have witnessed any wrong-do...ing or suspect foul play by Wisconsin Democrats or big government union bosses. Voters can submit videos, recordings, photos and incident reports, which will be investigated by RPW staff and retired law enforcement and FBI agents, to ensure that any Democrats who attempt to use any type of fraud in order to meet the required number of signatures by law will be held accountable for their actions."

So The REPUBS are going to wear blaze orange and combine Recall Season with Hunting Season.... hey and I really liked, "Big Government Union Bosses" which though I gotzta say, I hardly understand, cause the Republicans ARE the Controling Government and they are small minded... or maybe if the Union Boss is under 5'5" it's ok... course it also sounds like iffen it is Republican Fraud, it's OK...... and I really like "Recall Integrity" which, iffen I recall correctly hasn't been Center for awhile in the Republican Party. Course, if you have a whole bunch of Hundred Dollar Bills, you can combine Stripper Season with the Recall Season and just slip some money into a Pole Dancing Conservative is how I thinking it would work.... but I'm also guessing they wouldn't look cute like those painted girls up dere in Hurley and thinking too that the Porn at Jimmy Frank's cabin would be more informative... and he left some Wild Turkey up there, which, get this, is also a whiskey as well as a bird, see, if I recall.

Anywayz.... The Packer Season, Recall Season, Hunting Season and Stripper season all coincide this Thanksgiving... Wowzers! Kinda like Haley's Comet only shows up rarely and all. And speaking of Stripper Season.... I want to take the paint off that old table in the garage, all I can do this year... the Republicans have left me short of dollar bills.

9999

2011-11-12T10:03:00.000-06:00

Well golly gee, time sure flies when you are having fun.... course it would fly faster if I had more money to have more fun..... but it is what it is and so that is no never mind..... but the thing of it is....see, is I put one of those cluster maps thingees on the blog last may... just for grins and giggles well anyways... to day when I looked at the update thingee, it said that I had had 9,999 visitors since May 6th.

I thought it was a Ermin Caine dudget plan. 9-9-9-9 now that would be a Dudget I could really refuse to believe in. Yea, dat Harmen Dain is a guy that really breaks me up. I can just hear his pick-up line, "Hey, Babe, wanna see my flat tax?"
Anyways.... see, I am looking at that Cluster Map.... and A) I truly do not believe that many folks read this crap.... so B) there must be that many folks who are looking for eggroll recipes. It is the only way to explain it as far as I am concerned.

So, iffen that information is anywheres correct... I have deduced that because
22 folks from Pakistan have checked in... the Taliban is watching me
448 people from Canada explored here... proving that Canadians are easily enticed to boring sites
40 from Poland have showed up... proving Polacks doan know what an eggroll is
5 people in North Dakota may have found the wallet I lost in '77
22 from Armed Forces Americas.... waz that?
133 in Germany visited here... could be wurst.

Hey, even someone from Maldives was here... and I have no idea where that is....

but the real thing of it is....as much as I do not care about stats and such.... it is a grin to see the 9999% who have occupied this space, if for only a second or two....

I never had a plan when I started blogging, I still don't. I still do not make eggrolls, I still do not deliver, except for the snarky ones, and I will be back here..... cause it has been/is fun.. meeting folks&stuff. Do you like mustard wit dem eggrolls, or sweet sour?

The Ideal Republican Candidate!

2011-11-10T12:12:00.000-06:00

It would be a SURE THING! A woman, a minority, good boob size, a thoughtfully smirky smile, Arty Sensibilities, good Renaissance Personality great recognition factor.... and shit, listen, I am not being racist.... but they already have, what, eight, ten monkeys up on that stage, what's one more? Yup, I heard that they are gonna line those fucking clowns up saturday night and let them jubble up some nouns and verbs and pick some noses, maybe suffle their feet a bit....shit&whiskers.... lemmee tell you about ONE home town boy who will not be watching that shit.... Nope... I think I will rent me some Brady Bunch DVDs and delve into a deeper, more sincere consciousness than anything those fucking idiots will talk about. But ask me how I really feel about it.... sometime when I am a little more apathetic, please, and after the prozac kicks in.

Nope, see, I have other things on my mind..... like the dope-shit crazy fucks that are running My Beautiful DownTown Wisconsky.... running it run into the fucking ground hog... speaking of which, it goddam snowed here yesterday and I guarantee youse all that I am not gonna see a shadow of a doubt or any other shadow until the goddam grass is green again and the trees sprout those little leafy things... oh, where was I? Yupperz... Wiscovilleson..... well, see, what happened is that in order to CREATE JOBS.... the Republicz Fuckz passed gas and a new law that let's anyone over the age of five carry a concealed weapon..almost any fucky weapon other than a nucklar bomb...... and originally you had to take FOUR hours of training to be able to do that.... well they scraped that.... nope.... no training needed now....
Shit... you need four hours of traing to BE A BARTENDER! Over 300 hours of training to be a fucking manicurist....gotza take a written and road test to drive a car, but nopez, I can just walk into a gun shop and say "Hey, gimmee a big ass gun with some big fucking bullets"... and all the guy has to do is say.... "you can pick it up in 7 days, would you like Ketchup with that?" Well the first thing wrong with all that is it is spelled CATSUP and I prefer tartar sauce with my hollow point bullets, thank you very much.

Alright, I know that was a little radical... hehehe

Anywayz.... see, it is Veterans Day... and as much as I hate war, I have the utmost respect for veterans. I don't care if they enlisted, were drafted, came home in one piece... or missing pieces, or came home in ... bags.
They are ours, and they are us.

So... I just want to say.....to all those.."support our troops" folks.... who just forget about them... when they do come home.
So let me set the record straight.... Vietnam... I did not serve. I was drafted...had a shitty lottery number. I also did not pick up a student deferment. I did have, though, a phone number in Toronto, and a girlfriend who was two months late. All that is a different story. I spent the Nam years protesting...

Yessirree Bob, I certainly did. And that is where I got to know most of the veterans I knew. In college, at rallys. Guys without arms, legs, eird scars... in wheel chairs... some were a little nuts... and some had hearts so big..so big.

Cause America took them... abused them, changed them...shucked them and chucked them.... and they saw the worst.... cause they were in the real shit storm.... not folks like me. So this guy on FB asks what kind of parents those OWS protesters had... to let their children hit the streets in a mob. Even some of the 'newspapers' are hawking up that same old spittle. Fuck that crap... wrong is wrong.
And don't tell me otherwise, see! I remember what was wrong... forty some years ago. So, if the Vets hit the streets.... they are just part of the mob, right? If they ask for a new leg, or arm.... or a little cash to finish college, well gee, that's just entitlements, right?

Oh, those guys saw.... lived.....what we can only imagine....... or do not want to.

The folks coming back from Afghan, Iraq.... what they must feel, now....

now, that the clowns who will prance and swing and sing.... and not say a word about ending al the wars and bringing all of our vets home...even Obama.... no one is talking about what is in store for them.... now. Benenfits? Oh... that would just be entitlements....

Nope....it is just one of those days.... the sun rises much too late these days, sets too early. My feet are cold.... and there are just clowns and monkeys on a stage, and the organ grinder is calling the tune.

I gotzta go.

Neature Walk

2011-11-07T10:31:00.000-06:00

'

hat tip to
Wonder Girl.... this is great! Have a good monday

No Banker Left Behind..Song for the new generation

2011-11-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

Just like a woman

2011-11-03T18:59:00.003-05:00

.

so... a couple of mechanical engineers...from Minnesota...Sven and Ole... are sent to measure a flagpole. but they didn't bring a ladder. So, Sven says " whatta we do nowz?"
Just then a women comes by.... understands their dilema... gets a wrench out of her purse, loosens a nut, lowers the pole, gets a tape measure and says. " eighteen feet 6 inches." and walks away.

Sven says, "ain't it just like a woman.... you ask for height and they give you length!"

sexist comment of the year;;;; live with it.

Dear John

2011-11-01T12:34:00.001-05:00

Oh.... it is amazing the information you can get just sitting on a barstool.... Like my hairdresser's personal phone number.... who has the best happy hour... and one of the founding members of the JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY was all so the father of Koch Industries.... and our beloved Koch Brothers.

Now the Birchers have a long history of kookism..... and an According to Rober Welch, the prime founder of the Society

"both the U.S. and Soviet governments are controlled by the same furtive conspiratorial cabal of internationalists, greedy bankers, and corrupt politicians. If left unexposed, the traitors inside the U.S. government would betray the country's sovereignty to the United Nations for a collectivist New World Order, managed by a 'one-world socialist government.'" Welch saw collectivism as the main threat to Western Civilization, and liberals as "secret communist traitors" who provided cover for the gradual process of collectivism, with the ultimate goal of replacing the nations of western civilization with a one-world socialist government. "There are many stages of welfarism, socialism, and collectivism in general," he wrote, "but Communism is the ultimate state of them all, and they all lead inevitably in that direction."

Now, I am not going to do homework for anyone.... but the John birch Society is one of the most paramoid groups to ever exist. Eisenhower was considered a Commie Stooge, OSHA, the Federal Reserve, China fluoridated water.... boy and howdy, all plots.... there was a Socialist/Commie under every Bush!!!

TEA ANYONE?

Here's another funny link to the JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY

hippy ZOMBIE WEEN

2011-10-31T15:46:00.001-05:00

One good woody deserves another..... whew!

2011-10-30T12:43:00.000-05:00

this land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley,
This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and I rambled, and I followed my footsteps
To the sparking sands of her diamond deserts,
All around me a voice was sounding,
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, then I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling,
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting,
This land was made for you and me.

One bright sunny morning, in the shadow of the steeple,
By the relief office I saw my people,
As they stood there hungry, I stood there wondering if,
This land was made for you and me.

Was a big high wall there that tried to stop me,
Was a great big sign that said, "Private Property,"
But on the other side, it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking my freedom highway,
Nobody living can make me turn back,
This land was made for you and me.

[Additional verses by Pete Seeger:]

Maybe you've been working as hard as you're able,
But you've just got crumbs from the rich man's table,
And maybe you're thinking, was it truth or fable,
That this land was made for you and me.

Woodland and grassland and river shoreline,
To everything living, even little microbes,
Fin, fur, and feather, we're all here together,
This land was made for you and me.

It's friday and I woke up with a Woody

2011-10-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

I am at two with nature.: Woody Allen
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.: Woody Allen
I tended to place my wife under a pedestal.: Woody Allen
I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.: Woody Allen
How is it possible to find meaning in a finite world, given my waist and shirt size?: Woody Allen
His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy.
Woody Allen















Interestingly, according to modern astronomers, space is finite. This is a very comforting thought-- particularly for people who can never remember where they have left things.: Woody Allen; "Holy Shit, Jimmy, can you believe how many dumb fuck Republicans are running for Preisent???"; Joe Cool

some day he may get a real job....

2011-10-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

This time of year.... I look back and think of Boy Wonder and his first 'job'... not a paper route or mowing lawns... but what he called his first job.

He was a professional spook. Not the CIA type, but a really really spook ...

See, just north of town, about nine miles, there was a business that specialized in carriage rides, for weddings and whatnot. Every Halloween they would decorate their woods with haunted houses, lanterns, graveyards.... have headless horsemen and ghosts... then they would have 'haunted hayrides'. The kid got hired on as a spook. It was his job to jump out of the bushes and stuff and try to scare folks on the hayride. The owner would give the kids who worked as spooks a flat stipend and a pizza party at the end of the gig. Boy Wonder took this serious. He was in seventh grade, his grades were good, he would finish his school work right after he would get home and a HS kid would pick him and a few buddies up to do the thing. It was rather nice. After the Hayride there would be a bonfire and hot cider and cocoa for the patrons.

Well, times have changed. He is now in Portland working in a warehouse, as a private garbage collector, making some internet commercials and some wedding videos. He takes it all as serious as he did his first real job. His mother and I hope that someday..... he will have a good job.... if if if if The Teaparty goes away..... if if if the economy turns around.... if if if

but he is still a scary dude.

...... just like his dad was....

so long ago. Some day, I want a real job, too. Maybe the CIA IS hiring spooks!!!!!!

I gotta go, but my friends can stick around....

2011-10-26T12:02:00.002-05:00

Well as anyone who knows anything knows .... I don't know much about much of anything that anyone would really be interested in.... including me. Of course, that is an interesting thought.

And some of my friends are interesting... really. Like take for example... my friend DC Martin who in her shy and demure way points out that not all Polls are created equal... some are much more funniery than others like this one.... which really breaks me up... really

DC is a very talented writeress.... or maybe waiteress.... cause she sure enough dishes up tasty ideas... do check her out. Seriously..... see, another friend made a point... to check out the neighborhoods...and hers is a place to catch the latest on stupid politics, insane haters, HS Marching bands, Family, kindness, &stuff... and she wraps it all up with inventive language.

you can't miss it..... third blog on the left... and straight on til morning. Please enjoy

About Wisco's new concealed Gum law....

2011-10-25T10:11:00.001-05:00

In just a few days it will be legal for any citizen of Wisconsin to carry concealed gum. Provided they have the proper training. Providing they have a special permit for 'sugar-free' varieties. Carrying concealed gum in a bar while drunk will be specifically prohibited. Concealing gum under chairs, desks, bar rails will still be..... oh shit,,,,, just plain ran outa humor here.

Ok. I am a strong supporter of gun control. I am also a strong supporter of the right to own guns.

I do not think that those views are incompatible. I have never owned a gun.... because I don't hunt. I don't hunt because I have no taste for cutting heads off things, pulling guts out, ripping off skins... etc. But I support hunting. I really do. And I support the right of hunter's to own guns.

Most of the hunters that I know are strong conservationists, care for habitat, are against polluting environment, support preservation of species.... and don't go banging around in the woods. They are very 'gun safety' conscious. Of course, then there are the few others.

Now, I am not... not... not... going to go into a big discussion on my views on gun control... and to be honest.... I do not carry gum either, but, and here is what really gets me..... passing this new law created NO NEW jobs... did not help the economy....and will not improve the quality of life for anyone. So why was it needed??? Still beats the hell outa me. Ok.... the bill also has a clause....

“A business owner or person in his or her own home may prohibit a licensee from carrying a concealed weapon into the business or home, an employer generally may prohibit an employee from carrying a concealed weapon in the course of the employee's employment, and the state or a local governmental unit may prohibit a licensee from carrying a firearm into a building that is owned, occupied, or controlled by the state or the local governmental unit.”

Drinking while carrying a gun is also illegal. It is a misdemeanor. Anywayz.... here's what I am going to do.... next month, wherever I go, wherever I shop... I will be looking for signs like this...

or this....

and if I do not see one... I will ask the manager why one is not posted. See, I do not want to get accidentally shot over a dispute about the last box of corn flakes, or the especially fuckingly cheaply priced TV... or whether or not I looked at someone's girlfriend 'funny'. If I do not see that sign... I will not shop there and will make my view known to ownership. Might not do any good, but so what.

Hey, and it's a well known fact.... Jesus didn't carry a gun.

just saying.

And I wonder what I'm doing here....

2011-10-21T11:21:00.001-05:00

.

Ok... this is part of a post I din't post... cause I didn't know where I was going with it..... I guess I still don't... but AnyWayz....

Ok. A picture of the 'new' dog.... who is at least a year and a half old. And it is really not my dog... in the classic sense. I never owned the last one, either, to be honest. 'Mommy' bought that one for the kids as a 'separation'-guilt present... "see, what a nice white fluffy dog Momma got you." But that ain't no never mind, see, cause it was a really great dog... and for a few years it was at my house more that hers, but that is no never mind, too. The real deal is that I trained the first one, and now I am training this one, Oliver. (please sir, can I have some more!) Now, I am not like that guy on TV.... whatz his name?>>> Ceasear Romero, Sid Cesaear, Ceasar Salad..... ya know, that guy. First off, I am not Hispanic... second off.... I really don't know how to train dogs.... but I did a great job with the first one.... I could take it for walks without a leash ( which the ex could never do) I just used a lotta common sense.... kept it simple.... and gave it a little beer at bed time. It really became a shared dog... whether I liked it or not. And all in all, I did. So, with the old dog gone.... rest in peace and stuff.... and Wonder Girl moving out of Mom's.... the Ex decides she would like..... get this... another dog. Oliver. She got him from the shelter. I guess the previous owner did not take care of it and it ran loose too many times. It's some kind of schnauzer-poodle-something-something mix.... with a lot of energy. More than the Ex can handle... and the next thing you know.... I am training a dog.... again. Now, the first thing I noticed about Oliver is that he has a GREAT vertical leap.... kinda like Tigger in the cartoons... but virtually no horizontal propulsion. Getting up into a chair is a challenge, but it can leap four feet straight up into the air, land on the counter, make itself a baloney sandwich, drink my coffee and then carry the loaf of bread off into the living room and bury it in the sofa. Took me a long time to find that bread. Oliver will eat anything and I figured it was just stashing for later.

Well.... that is as far as I gotz... and that ain't no never mind.... see cause where I was going...was about the Ex.. and this will be short.

We split a long time ago.... no problems with sex or drugs or alcohol.... things just weren't working out enough. But we had two kids... and after a bit...decided we could really raise them together.... apart.

It has worked pretty well. And... it still is.

So... again, about the Ex... she has a bit of OCD... and the way it worked is she can't stop taking classes.... She now has a BA ,a BS, a Masters Degree and more goddam certifications than you can shake a stick at. Seriously. Currently teaches in a program for emotionally fucked up kids. Majorly fucked up. The students are all court mandated to be there. Cheaper than juvenile facilities and the idea is.... see if you can stop them from getting more fucked up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't . Two former students murdered someone in a drug deal over a year ago. Failures are much more apparent than success in her line of work....

Well, Anyways.... she asks me for a small favor the other day. Can I help her haul a bed over to a student's apartment. Mom & Dad are out of prison.... inter-racial marriage... lotta problems... and now the family is back together and they are working on stuff.... but the kid doesn't have a bed. The Ex's Dad, Grandpa, had one. We hauled it over there. The kid is seventeen, had been sleeping on the couch.... and never had a bed... ever.

The apartment was small, cluttered, but clean. There was a small room to set it up in, the kid was happier than all get out. " I have never had my own room," she said, "or my own bed." My heart bled a little.

So, the next day I asked the Ex for a favor.... I needed a new State of Wisconsin ID. My eyes are getting worse... I can't drive... and I wanted to make goddam sure I could vote ... to get rid of the fucking Republicans who are trying to cut teaching jobs like hers. And I am not going to go on about shit, state employees or politics or goddam entitlements or stuff.... but she is the kind of teacher that puts in 60 to 70 hours a week, and gives kids beds.

Well, it is what it is and again, it ain't no never mind......

I was at the Ex's having tea after we got my ID. Wonder Girl stopped by. She saves all her compostible kitchen shit from her apartment and brings it back over to her Mom's bin.

Life has not turned out exactly the way I wanted. But that ain't no deal, either.

Things can be ok, if you want them to. And walking the dog is fun.

Anyone need a Stalker? I need a job, see....

2011-10-18T13:06:00.001-05:00

Senator, oh my Senator!!

2011-10-17T12:25:00.001-05:00

Randy Hopper mug shot

BUSTED !!!!

Ha! My former State Senator, Randy Hopper, age 45, was pulled over and arrested yesterday for OWI. Blood Alcohol levels were not released.

Randy was one of Scott Walker's henchmen. He was recalled in a special election in August. Good old Randy had been under special scrutiny for leaving his wife and shacking up with a 25 year old chick-a-roo, who is suspected of getting a great State job....for allegedly giving good blow jobs. Randy is a millionaire who also drew some attention for supposedly living out of the district he represented.

I love America! I guess the Democrats drove him to drink....... but he insisted on driving home.

So.... how cold was it?

2011-10-15T18:53:00.001-05:00

Well..... to be honest it wasn't that cold when I FIRST WENT OUT.... maybe 43 or something, but shit and whiskers.... the wind was out of the west at about 35 mph and it felt COLD. AND... I was going to get on my bike and cycle...due WEST. Well, gees&cheese... I gotz about a two steps away from da door and my nipples told me to go back and put on a warmer sweatshirt...... and cold nipples never lie. So I did that,see, and it was still pretty cold. Now, see, just monday it was up into the 80's &stuff.... so I was totally unprepared, like I ever prepare for anything....hey, that kills me, how people 'prepare'[ for things... my favorite is 'prepare for bed' .. aw, c'mon.. like your Beauty Rest is not gonna let you lay down unless you're PREPARED... gimmee a break or gimmee a beer!!! Anyways...it was,well, chilly. Sosa I go back inta the house and calm the nipples down with the electric Remington Razor... not that they are really hairy or anything, but the threat seems to calm them down. Ok... and then I goes back out and sit my cheeks down on the bicycle seat.... and... get this... it had a whole layer of frost!!! AH! So then.... well gosh..... now it feels like a Sarah Palin Blow Job....and now cold fish lips are not gonna touch my Male Unit, see, so I GO BACK again and put on some underwear. Summer's over I guess and there is no way I am gonna try the Remington.....so I re fit the outfit and I am off.

.....to the Farmer's Market.

I want some cheese. Smoked Cheddar. Absolutely great on baked potatoes. Plus the da Church Ladies sell some really really nice pumpkin bread. Well.... I run into Dirty Hands Randy, see, and it is cold, see, so it doesn't take him long to talk me into an inside venue... to watch the Badgers beat the loving bejesus outa Indiana... (and have a couple of Bloody Marys)which should not be allowed to field a football team, if you ask me or my nipples, but whose asking anyways, see.

AH, but rambling on is a wonderful thing. Randy and I discussed the Republican candidates, the merits of fresh lime when you make Mojitos, checking out Fritz down in Denver, whether beets cause cancer,what time the Packers SHOULD play on a Sunday, which country Obama was really born in, what ants do all winter, AND what is the point of preparing for bed when you just have to get up and take a leak in a few hours anyways.

Ok.... I didn't have anything to say in the first place. It is time to go home, set the tea kettle on, toast some pumpkin bread.... bring out some marmalade..... count the stars in the sky.....and contemplate how the bears have it correct... just hibernate for the winter. That is how cold it felt. I am a whoos.

Yessirree Bob!

2011-10-07T12:56:00.000-05:00

It sure is one of them kinda days..... why, golly&stuff!.... it must be almost 80! And the leaves are crisp and blowing and making this neato-keen kinda sound shuffling across the sidewalks. So.... I have to be brief here... cause it is just one of those days that is just all together just too nice to sit in front of a puter screen.

Boy Wonder called me from Portland late in the afternoon yesterday.... he was in the downtown at the occupy Portland protest/rally. He was filming with Johnny B and said that he would send me a copy later. Mostly..... he just held up his phone for about five minutes so I could listen to the chanting and the marching and the songs and stuff. "Hey, Dad, does it bring back the good old days for you?" Yes it did Bub. Thanks.

Haven't heard much from his sister lately. Last semester of college and she has a lot of artsy-fartsy stuff to finish. She's a good kid. Has never once asked me for bail money,

any ways.....

it just is just a beeeeuuutiiiifulllll day..... way too nice to sit inside looking at a computer screen...... and besides.......

it must be happy hour somewhere.

Sugar Sugar and the Niagara Escarpment

2011-10-05T10:20:00.001-05:00

They have hidden the sugar jar at the New Moon coffee house. Peggy was getting into it. Not that they really minded, but at about fifty years old, Peggy is functioning at about a second grade level and tends to put way too much sugar in her coffee. Not good for Peggy. Not that they really mind. Peggy is pretty good at hanging out at the Moon, picking up toys, newspapers, wiping the tables.... and saying "Hello, my name is Peggy". Aaron thinks she also has some other health issues that make ingesting vast amounts of sugar .... ah, not a good thing. So, I need to ask for the sugar now when I get a coffee.

Anyways..... So I was sitting in Oblio's monday afternoon when, gosh almighty, in strolls Ed. Hadn't seen him much since he retired, fell in love and moved to Canada. Whoa... so there is a lotta catch-up talk. He is back in town to try to sell his condo.... or figure out what to do with the over four thousand books he has stashed there. Ed has a thing for books. We're just chatting and catching up when he mentions that on tuesday he was going to do a day trip to Door County.... do I want to come along.

Door County is the long thin little peninsula in Eastern Wisconsin that separates Green Bay from Lake Michigan. It's nice up there. Lotta little villages sitting on little harbors.... Bailey's Harbor, Egg Harbor, Rowley's Bay, Sister Bay, Ellison Bay..... yadda, yadda....it's very pretty and a great place to buy Wisconsin Souvenir Mugs,,,,,,, genuinely made in China. Lot of the travel mags call it the "Cape Cod" of the midwest.... which sounds a hokey as all get out, but probably better than being called other things, say, the Siberia of the Midwest (which is in Minnesota) or the Tehran of the Midwest(which is somewhere in North Dakota) or the Guantanamo Bay of the Midwest (another name for Chicago). Door County is also part of what they call the Niagara Escarpment, which is the America equivalent to a mix of the White Cliffs of Dover and some red beans and rice..... which makes no sense what so ever, but Ed told me all about it.....this Escarpment thing... (Hey, if you read that much stuff and you have a captive audience... why gosh, you have to talk about it).... I also learned that Ontario is the only Canadian Province that touches all the Great Lakes, except for Lake Michigan. Bottled up knowledge is a terrible thing to waste. So is bottled beer and boy and howdy I sure was glad we had a twelve pack of Sam Adam's Oktoberfest. Helps the information digest. We stopped at a couple of cemeteries on the way up there. Ed's family goes way back to the 1860's and most of them are buried up on the peninsula.... and gosh, did I hear a lotta family history, too. Kind of a genealogical escarpment rather than a geological one. I also learned that when a Dane marries a Norwegian.... half the family will spell the name Christianson and the other half Christiansen... which accounts for all the mis-spellings on the graves, see. So I was working on bottle two while I learned which Grandfather came from where and which was a logger, farmer or which uncle jumped into Sicily during WWII and which one accidentally shot himself during deer hunting season in 1958.

Another reason I went with him was to see my sister and her husband. They were at his family's cottage in Ephraim cleaning up after a storm that hit the county last thursday.

Well the storm left a bunch of down trees on the property, but thankfully none fell on the cottage.....which dates back to the 1880's or something, which My brother in law's grandfather bought back in the early 1920's or so... from somebody name Erickson... or Eriksen... which Ed and my brother-in-law discussed to no end.... see, the proper spelling, if you ancestors were English-Norwegian, or Danish-Norwegian.
And I was into my third beer by then. So we then went to a bookstore up in Ellison's Bay that Ed knew about..... over TWENTY THOUSAND used books. We had to stop. Ed wanted to see if he had anything about the Niagara escarpment. You really can never have to much information about escarpments, it seems.
Now, we hit Gills Rock... looked at the old ferry docks, and then headed south along the Lake Michigan shore. Ed wanted to visit Cana Island, which is only about 8 acres, accessible by a small spit of land walk.... and still has the old 1869 lighthouse.

Ed gazed out on the water and started talking about what it must have been like, back then, to be way out on the lake and what a relief it must have been for the sailors to see the lighthouse, to know that they had rounded the last shoals and that the sailing would be pretty clear, then, most of the way down the lake.

And then.... he started talking about.... being 69 and retired, and in love with someone fourteen years younger.... and moving to a foreign country... "Which is not all that foreign, " he said, " because they do watch football, see, and the language is mostly English," he laughed, "but I don't know anyone there! And I don't know where to get a haircut... where to buy a beer.... I don't know the land....the cities.... thank God we share the same escarpment!!!!"

....... So.... I had another beer as we sat on the rocks... and gave him a good listening... and Ed can talk. And he did. About all sorts of stuff. And then more.

And I realized why he wanted to come up here. And I said nothing.
On the ride back south..... I realized why it is sometimes necessary to hide the sugar bowl from folks like Peggy...... and why we should always preserve our lighthouses for people like Ed. There are rocks in them waters, see.

oops the clip before this clip was the wrong clip...nevermind

2011-10-03T11:21:00.000-05:00

So I made a mistake......

So I made a mistake.....

We Dont Need No Stinkin Badges!

2011-10-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

..... and I don't need no stinking republicans...... but some beans and rice would be good.

Once upon a Story......

2011-09-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

" And that is how the Brave Warriors of the GOP defeated that evil Pinko-Commie-Socialist-Liberal-Left Wing-Fag Loving-Anti Business-Dope Smoking-Foreign Born-ACLU Radical-Islamic-Freedom Hating-Marlboro Smoking- Big Eared Negro in the White House who wanted to tax us to death and steal our guns."

I'll write something...soon... maybeez

2011-09-28T11:04:00.000-05:00

Bubba's Back!

2011-09-22T08:26:00.023-05:00

The Kid got into Milwaukee last night about 5.... course they had to wait around until Steve's flight got in from NY at 7. I think they were waiting for someone else at the airport, too... but who and from where escapes me now. I said I would not wait up.

See, Travis is getting married. The rehearsal thing is tonight, the wedding tomorrow. I find it hard to believe that my son's friends are doing that stuff, getting married. You would thunk that they would have learned better from their parents. Oh, well.

Max is doing the video.... I'm sure Steve is doing some music thingee. Mark is writing a speech.

...... Bubba said that Travis related that the Ex and I should stop in at the reception and have a drink ( we are not FORMALLY invited) but it is nice to be thought of. We probably will.
So this is the second wedding of one of my 'kids'... Bubba's friend Mike got married last month. I was a 'coach' for both of those guys when they were little.... basketball and football. Mikey breaks me up... cause way back in the day, fifth grade I think, he said he was going to grow up and be a Jewish lawyer and sue rich people. Well he passed the Wisconsin Bar just before he got married. Good thing I am not rich.

Word is.... the kids are having beers at Oblio's on Saturday... I should come.

I wouldn't miss it for the world

Last

well.... I thought it was funny...

2011-09-20T17:04:00.001-05:00

honesty in childrens lit

.... I cannot tell you how many children s books I have read ... out loud... at book fests... at story times... and especially at bed time.

have a good day and stuff

2011-09-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

no time for blogging...... kick off in 30 minutes.....

it's a Friday.... Let's all go for dinner~!!!!

2011-09-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

Drugs, risks, and strawberries

2011-09-15T12:04:00.001-05:00

Yessirree, Bob. When you really really cannot find a opening sentence for something you want to write.... just type "yessirre, Bob". No don't think I will explain that. It truly is not worth the effort.... but hey, it works for me. I guess starting with nothing is better than not starting at all. And that is not worth explaining either. So let's start with drugs.

After starting college as a, all in all, pretty straight kid, I delved in to what they called "the counter culture"..... hey, when you do not make the local college football team, ya gotz to do something, right?
So this guy, I think he was the field goal kicker on the team I didn't make, comes back from Christmas break in 1970 with some Black Afghan opiated hashish. Ha! Put a little Santana on the stereo, pop the head phones one....and the next thing I knew, I was trying to throw my stereo out the window.... and I lived in a basement apartment. The next week I bought 4 grams of some blond Lebanese shit that was a lot more mellow. And made my class in Eastern Religions a lot more palatable. That class was weird. Some German dude with a thick accent in a lecture pit for three hours a week talking about Krishna and shit or sitting on a mountain contemplating belly button lint like that was the secret of the universe or something. Well, it wasn't like I was 'hooked' or anything like that, but sometimes I would be buzzed for days.... and then just forget about it for weeks, or months. but I discovered that certain events or activities really really made more sense, or were at least a lot more fun when paired with certain mind altering substances. Like, see, going to a circus with mescaline. Or Easter Sunday services with psilocybin. I think I went to three in a row. The music was great. And river rafting with a half ounce of some really good Panama Red. So for awhile I was kind of pairing things with drugs. Never liked downers, like Qualudes or uppers.... but anyways.... that went on for a few years... and then it just stopped. Oh, don't get me wrong... something nice in a pipe once in awhile is nice.

ok.... where was I going with this? Yessirre Bob. Oh, yeah, Ron Paul.... see how this links?

"That's what freedom is all about: taking your own risks. This whole idea that you have to take care of everybody—"

see how seamless that transition was? Now I could give a shit about Ron Paul... really.... but the way he pretty much said that if you do not have insurance... for whatever reason... too bad... not my problem... not America's problem. So... we take our own risks. I have certainly took some... of all sorts, and I can embrace the idea of taking risks, but there was something very cavalier about the way he said... "not my problem" as if that is all there is to it. So...........

If some rich fucker takes his yacht out in the ocean and it capsizes... "taking your own risks" The Coast Guard should not rescue them.

If some hikers get stuck up in a mountain, and one of them breaks a leg.... no rescue.... "your own risks". If you are going to Grandma's house and you have an accident.... well, gosh, going to Grandma's is risky, see. If some bank goes under because of mismanagement, lies, and deceit and you lose all your money.... well, too bad for you, saving money is risky...... but we need to save the bank, cause, well, there are jobs at stake....and we cannot risk jobs.

Maybe Wolf should have asked him about bank bailouts.

ok... where was I? Oh, Yessireee Bob..... drugs. Well, those lazy hazy crazy days of summer are over.....I am older now.... these days it's just some daily prozac, that shit they give me to fight insomnia... alot of caffeine in the morning and a couple of beers at night to cut the caffeine buzz.... but I swear to god (iffen there is one) the next time I watch a group of eight Republicans spit and froth and foam and fart and quiggle and squirm ..... I am thinking of some orange sunshine acid, with a few shots of tequila, a few tokes of good BC Bud, a couple of bottles of Alaskan IPA....... cause I take my own risks, see, and yessirree bob.... what I really don't like is having eight fucking clowns like those folks making life in America risky for me..... life is tough enough. And those guys are fucking scary risky.

Fuck you Ron Paul.... and I mean that in the most civil way I can. Really.

ok... that said and stuff..... where was I..... hmmm Ron Paul.... Drugs.... yessirre Bob.... see, way back when I still had aspirations to play football, and was still a pretty straight kind of kid.... I read a book called "The Strawberry Statement"

they made a movie of it, too, back in 1970, which I did particularly like and I am not going to give a synopsis of the book.... hey, take your own risks, but the gist of the book, or what meant most to me, was the title statement made at Columbia University in 1968 by Herbert Deane, a Columbia administrator, who deprecated student opinions about university administrative decisions as having no more importance than if the students had said they liked the taste of strawberries.

I get that feeling today.... mostly from Republicans and conservatives..... that pretty much says.... "if you do not think my way...... Fuck You.... I do not care what YOU think." America, they tell me... is not about all of the people.... just some... and fuck the rest.

well........ I do like strawberries. So there.

is it Happy Hour yet?

2011-09-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

And now for something really important

2011-09-13T11:29:00.000-05:00

People wearing pretzels !!

I bet he was a Union Guy

2011-09-11T10:35:00.000-05:00

Cluster Maps and other WTF's

2011-09-09T10:03:00.000-05:00

Okee Dokee... it's another beautiful day in beautiful Downtown Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers beat the New Orleans Saints in a game that had a little bit of something for everyone.....they had Kid Rock singing, dancing girls , snake oil salesmen, clowns and jokers.... and Obama gave a speech just before kick off. I had a notion, that quickly went away, to go watch the game at a bar or some such place but the feeling went away real quick, see, cause the game wouldn't be over til late and late usually finds me on my very own little couch close to my very own little bathroom and bed. Anyways... it was a good game despite all the hoopola and stuff.

And speaking of Hoopolla and stuff.... I just got this email from Blogger... seems like I posted something or a photo or something, that violated some copyright or something.... back in 2009. And they said, "Don't do it again." Now, there was a link that I could go see what little boo-boo I did.... and I might check it out.... someday. ain't no never mind, see, based on how much money I make doing this. hehehe. But I thought it was funny. Gees, "Bad jimm, Bad boy'" I didn't know how important I was.

Anyways.... then I started looking at that map thingee that I put up on the blog... that cluster map thingee, as long as I was looking at the blog. See, I thought it would be fun to see where in the world the folks were coming from... the folks that read this stuff from a copy right infringing bad dude like me. Well I put it up there because it was free and I surely do like that free word. Then I noticed that it didn't change much, the Numbers, and every once in a while I would think of taking it off cause it didn't seem to change and I kinda lost interest anyways and iffen I would try to take it off, see, then I would have to think and figure out how to do it and it was a whole lokt of work, for a guy like me, see, to put it up there in the first place, so mostly I just don't do anything at all about it because wsriting long run on sentence is more funny anyways and if I found out somebody in Pakistan was reading this, why, gosh.... OK and stuff.

nope. Some days I just can't handle much fuss or stuff..... just concentrate on what is good.

Hope is a Laxative

2011-09-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well, hey and howdy, I haven't been here much!

Cause, see, I have been on Ebay!

I used to be a antique/collectible dealer in a former live... not as cool as the bald dude on Pawn Stars, more like those guys on American Pickers. And I had boxes and boxes of stuff....mostly what I collected was medicine tins, straight razors and stuff like that. After reisting buying anything on line for years.... I gave in and set up an Ebay account. Whoop dee Doo!

So anyways.... I have fumbled around and think AI got the hang of it... got out the camera, took some pictures, did all the stuff I am supposed to do to list this crap.... and Dammmmmn... if I haven't sold $25 worth of stuff already... and it hasn't been 24 hours!

So... anyways.... that's what I have been up to.... and if anyone really really needs a 1930's Barbasol razor or some old Anacin tins... lemmee know.

2011-09-02T10:34:00.000-05:00

?The early morning sounds of seagulls outside my bedroom window are gone. They were replaced by crows, for awhile, but those are gone too and now it is just the neighbors wind chimes.

They are not the coppery gong type, or the tinny cheap tourist shop variety. Not wood bamboo ones either. Frankly, I do not know what they look like nor do I have a great interest is checking them out. I am not a big fan of wind chimes. To be honest the sound of the wind is enough for me and I love the way it moves through the trees. Leaf chimes as it were.
But these are nice, the sounds they make, more of an orchestral sound which is better than all that I hear about me.... it all seems like noise.
The TV is certainly noise... reminds me most of the seagulls as they would shriek in the morning, skittering about looking for any trash worth eating. The weather reports are noise, too, announcing disasters before they occur and they reporting as much devastating news about the weather as they can squeak out. Weather is not weather, it seems, unless it is hot and nasty. I used to loook forward to the football season, the only sport I really follow, but that has lost me this year, too.,...lock out, hype, dudes getting hundred million dollar salaries..... shit... I was offered a preseason game ticket... for $50 ... and I turned it down... way too much hype at the stadium, too.

Noise... I am so tired of noise. So I do not ask for whom the wind chimes....I know it is not for me.

just a old thought

2011-09-01T13:10:00.001-05:00

When A Republican was someone to trust

2011-08-31T13:21:00.000-05:00

Been immersed in history lately. You know, stuff gone by, the past, mistakes that, if we study them, we will not make again. Now, I like history. Always fascinated me. Of course, belly button lint fascinates me, too. Anyways... the Civil War has always been a subject of deep interest... it's causes, it's politcal appl,ications, the social change, the deep seated regionalism of the times. So that is what I have been reading lately..... and that is not what I am thinking about now... but a few words grabbed my attention to day.....

a new birth of freedom --
and that government of the people,
by the people,
for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.

....we need a new birth of freedom.... for people....
our government needs to realize, again...that it serves the people

we need to rededicate ourselves to the words of that President..... and not the corporation that carried his name.

... but what do I know

nope, not today

2011-08-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Profundity escapes me today. Humor, too..... the words are there.... but there are elusive birds... all the vowels, and nouns and chirping punctuation marks.

a good day to take a book to the river.

Aw, just stuff....

2011-08-24T09:43:00.001-05:00

Snickers. The Family Dog.... even though she showed up right after my wife and I separated, but before we became Ex's. That ain't no never mind, and it isn't of particular note, but the kids were ten and seven when Cheryl bought her. Pure bred Bishon. So we shared custody of two kids.... and a dog. For almost fifteen years.

Two weeks ago we had to put her down. She was almost totally blind, had arthritis in her hips, couldn't eat much ...kidneys were failing. Cheryl called me and said it was time. Snickers had a seizure, was shaking, convulsing...did not seem to recognize who we were .... where she was...just pain. So Cheryl and Wonder Girl and I took her on her last ride. The Girl held her at the end... and wept. Cheryl cried. Me too. I took her collar off and we went back to Cheryl's house. Pretty quiet, all of us. She had given us so much, and it was the last favor we could do. The Kid went to her room to cry... Cheryl and I sat in the kitchen....we talked... she cried a bit... then she went to her freezer and pulled out a small ziplock bag that had..... a frozen potato dumpling in it....... and then we laughed right on through the tears.

See, the deal was... it was the last dumpling that my Aunt Helen, my father's older sister, had made, something that she was famous for making. Legends are told of those dumplings...seriously... they were that good.

Helen never married, had been a career woman with the phone company, bac when it was called the Bell System. Forty-two years she worked for them. My sister and I were her main 'kids'... our children were her 'grandchildren'... that was how it was... she would spend days at our house sitting with the kids, and the dog, while Cheryl finished Grad School. Her opinions were open, unguarded and some what officious. Sometimes we became employees instead of relatives, but that is no never mind. Once a month, at least, we went to her apartment for a dinner of pot roast... and those awesome dumplings. There is more to say about all that, but it would go on forever and there just isn't much point in that. She was Helen and Aunt was her title and she wore it as if it were Queen, or President, or Pope.. or whatever. Aunt Helen. One word.

She developed Pancreatic Cancer. The doctor said about six months. She made it another sixteen. We took care of her as much as we could.... but she continued to lose weight, got feebler in body... never her mind, but finally I had to get her a room at a hospice where she would be as comfortable as possible. I was there at least three times a day, more if my schedule would allow... and some days I could get her to eat a little.

On December 28th, 1998... I was at my house with the kids when I had a premonition that I really still cannot describe. It was late and I called Cheryl and asked to come and watch the kids... I was going back to the hospice......

Helen was down to about 80 pounds by then and really couldn't speak anymore. When I got there I kissed her on the forehead, she woke and mouthed, "Hi, Jim." I told her Christmas was over... I mentioned who had been up to see her, the memory was slipping away on her. I told her what the kids were doing, that Cheryl was with them..... and then I told her..... it was ok... to go home...

See, it had dawned on me that she would not die until after the Holiday, that she would not ruin a celebration by dying ... she was that kind of person. Well, her eyes went wide... she motioned me to get her rosary beads... and she slowly mouthed prayers... and slept,.. and prayed. I fell asleep in a chair. They woke me about six am. She was gone.

Well, I thought of all that two weeks ago, that potato dumpling in the freezer bag on the counter between me and my Ex. We told a few Snicker stories... and Helen ones. We got teary and laughed. And teary and laughed. It is what it is. Before I left I slipped the dog collar in the bag with the dumpling and put it back in the freezer.

have a song... take a drink...call me in the morning

2011-08-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

New Year Resolutions....

2011-08-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

ok... why wait for Yew Nears to make a resolution... nobody ever keeps them anywayz!
I prefer to make them on my birthday... and I like to keep them REAL, I mean, see, things I truly mean to do... so, here goes!!!!

........ never drink cheap beer

..... never...ever... get a crewcut....

never buy, much less wear... plaid shorts.

.... never buy, eat, or even think about wearing beef liver

AND.... I will never, ever, noways, nohow,uh-uh, nope , ain't happening..... wear socks with flip-flops.... ESPECIALLY while not wearing plaid shorts and beef liver!!!!

Where the heart is... and ain't

2011-08-19T10:01:00.000-05:00

Norwalk Tunnel- Sparta_Elroy Bike Trail

It was a quick trip, less than 24 hours, back home, which is a funny way to describe it as I lived there only twelve years as opposed to the almost forty I have lived here, but it is where I grew up. Western Wisconsin with it's hills and valleys and small running creeks and foggy bottoms and farms always will seem like home. It is where my parents lived.... and I guess, in some sense, it was where my home was.

We sold my mother's house. There were items I had left there, stored there, that needed to be moved and this was the time it had to be done.
I didn't get about on this trip... spent time with my sister and brother-in-law, cleaned out the last little bit out of the house and came back..... home. But it got me thinking about where home really is.

I went to grade school there, High School, played football there, went to prom, had my first girlfriend, got laid for the first time, first beer party, swimming in the lakes, doing the bike trail, it always felt like home, and yet, when it came time to leave yesterday... I felt relieved... to be coming home. Here. Where I went to college... joined the debate team when I could not make the football team... had multiple girlfriends, smoked my first joint.... and made friends that are still with me. Here. I got married, had children, bought a house, got a divorce, watched my children go to the same college I did... I guess here.... is home. Oshkosh. It is where my parents got married, where all my relatives lived. Well they are mostly all dead, my son has moved to Oregon, my daughter graduates in December and I do not expect her to hang around.... here... home... for very long after that. So, will this, here, still be home?
I think of moving elsewhere....no where in particular, just elsewhere, and extinguish this notion of home altogether. But then I know it will never be possible... as long as I have a memory and a heart.

Back... home.... there is a nice thirty some mile bike trail that was made of a old railroad bed, a neat level grade through the hills. I used to ride it frequently... made special trips just to ride it. Years ago, when home for holidays I would gather my kids, their cousins, and take them on a hike on the trail, through the longest tunnel, nearly a mile long. They would hoot in the darkness, collect bugs and leaves that would strike their fancy, look for frogs in the creek and generally have a great time being kids. Now they are gone; Portland, Minneapolis, San Diego, Madison, Milwaukee. I miss those hikes...and their laughter.
In their lives, so far, they have gone places I never have and never will... Korea, Australia, Germany, France, Peru, Vietnam, Italy,......... It was like they walked through a tunnel... and went home. Where ever that is.

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me
Silently for me

Mid August and How I Count My Richs and Get Stimulated...

2011-08-17T09:17:00.001-05:00

I broke into my Savings..... thought I would go out and buy one a dem HD LCD PCP LSD HIFI STP 40050 inch flat screen TV thingees... do my part to try to stimulate the economy of Japan....

...... maybe put it over by the fireplace......
but when all the counting was done... I only had enough to stimulate a bit of the local economy...

This little piggie.....

2011-08-16T09:45:00.001-05:00

SPAM is the undisputed king of mystery meat. Made of pig parts and secret spices, cooked in its own cans right on the assembly line

...hmmmmmm....lemmmee see, lotza Pork in Iowa..... hmmmmm.... The Spam museum is in Minnesota..... hmmmm are there dots to connect...

a shared room is forever

2011-08-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

Uncle John on his porch

I call my younger brother John most Sunday mornings. I need to wait until almost 10:30 CDT because he lives just a few miles south of British Columbia and a scant few just east of Puget Sound. He rises early enough, but prefers to talk after he has had time to fully wake up.

He is just two and a half years behind me in age but, at 6'8", a full eight inches taller. His voice has the tone of a bear in springtime asking for a fresh cup of coffee. When he was in HS we called him Lurch. He had that kind of presence. Generally, he is a kind soul, but when angry he is like a bear in springtime without a cup of coffee.

As kid's we shared a bedroom. He would steal my comics. Sometimes I would get them back. Other time's he would hide them in the attic and disavow any knowledge of how the got there... except we all knew he was the only one who went into the attic. It was his cave when we were kids.

Now he lives on six or so acres in northern Washington. His wife is a Canadian. They have apples and pears and cherries and kiwi that they grow and press into juice or make jams and jellies, depending on how plentiful the harvest was; when it is a good harvest he mails me a box of jam at Christmas. His wife cans salmon and halibut and fixes the plumbing. He tends to the chickens and geese, which they give names to, but subsequently eat. He once told of having to buy a slingshot to shoot at the eagles that would perch in an old dead tree on the property and prey on his chickens. Finally he just cut down the tree. His chickens are truly free range and he rounds them up at night. I think he buys them comic books, too, just so he can steal them.

I remember driving with him from Wisconsin to Idaho back in '77 when he first moved west, but before he moved to Washington. His old Pinto station wagon would not make it up a mountain in Montana, four-cylinder cars need more air than mountains will give, and I had to push it up the last few feet. Then he scared the shit out of me driving down. He likes mountains. I visited once and we went camping in the Olympic mountains. His idea of camping is just a sleeping bag, some granola bars... and a pint of whiskey. Maybe a flashlight. I think I preferred sharing a bedroom with him rather than a mountain, but he taught me then that reading stars can be more entertaining that comic books.

They are having a party next week, always the last week in August, when their Canadian friends come down from Vancouver and they harvest blackberries and drink wine and sit around grilling Salmon, playing music, smoking dope and eating fresh veggies. I hope to go next year.

It is almost time to give him a call. I hope he has had his coffee, see, I wouldn't want to talk to him when he is grouchy. He may steal my comics....but that would be ok, cause once you share a bedroom with a brother..... it is almost better than sharing parents.

IT's two o'crock on a friday... have you had your Prozac yet?

2011-08-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

Hmmmmm... looks a little glassy eyed to me.... makes me think I need a beer ( I NEVER REALLY NEED ONE...... ), it's cheaper than buying a Newsweek

Oh Well

2011-08-11T09:49:00.000-05:00

Well, the first round of recall elections in Wisco are over. The Dems picked up two State Senate seats. There are still two Dems up for recall, elections next week. Stuff. Most telling... in my senate district, Jess King defeated the incumbent Repub.... significant primarily because a Democrat has not represented the district in about thirty years... and no woman has ever before won in the District. Hmmmm.

In other news.... I haven't shaved since Sunday... and no one has noticed, or they are too kind to say something.

The price of gas has gone down.... now let's work on the price of beer.

I have discovered 1001 variations in the making of Ramen Noodles.... poverty can spur the imagination.

Still wondering WHY "Ice Road Truckers" is on the HISTORY CHANNEL .... like, gee whiz, have we run out of history this quickly?

The penguin is an endangered bird in Wisconsin.... so if you see one crossing the road... don't run it over.

Don't tell secrets in farm fields... the corn has ears.

....... and... lastly.... every man woman and child in the State of North Dakota (plus two folks in Manitoba) has decided to run as the Republican Candidate for President in 2012

Pissed off Badgers go to Polls

2011-08-09T11:15:00.000-05:00

WISCONSIN RECALL STARTS TODAY... I got to the polls about 7:30 and was #26. I will be so relieved when it is all over, hopefully with an outcome that will stop the Radical Republicans.... but ast least the grotesque attacks ads will be off TV.

I still can't put a finger on what will happen.... but I have hopes

I hope the Run Amok Republicans are stopped
I hope Civil discourse is restored in the State
I hope that sanity is restored to legislature..
I hope this movement spreads
I hope this is the beginning of the end to irrational idiots like Michelle Bachmann and her ilk
.... but mostly......

I hope..

...that by 3:30 the news is good enough for me to finally ... truly... enjoy a beer again.

Ok... so I haven't written anything for awhile....

2011-08-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

See... it was a busy week...... they kept calling me from Washington DC to get my opinion on the budget. I don't think they liked my suggestion..... 'Let Congress eat Ramen noodles for a week and see how they like it'..... but at least they had the sense to call an astute thinker like me. 'Course they didn't like my second suggestion much either..... "Let Congress eat Shit"..... well anyways... with some other time in my hands I delved into some research and discovered that, yes in-deedy-do, the Pope is Catholic and, with some exceptions for the ones in zoos, Bears do shit in the woods. So there you have it.

Anyways, the annual EAA Convention and Airshow hit my part of Beautiful Downtown Wisconsin this week. Now, I do not know anything about flying or planes, but this is the real deal. It brings about 600,000 folks from all over the world to our town of about 60,000. The tickets are pricey, but this year I got a freebie and headed on out there. Saw some pretty nifty stuff. Got to talk with one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. Verrrrry cool. The guys was old and chatty... and incredibly interesting. If you need to know more, and you should, check them out on the web. Just saying.

I also got to see the last flying B-29 bomber ... the same type that dropped the A Bomb. (hey, sorry about the shitty pictures, but stupid me left the camera at home and I had to use my phone.)

Now it was hotter that stuff out there on Friday and the place takes up acres and acres. Estimate was that there were up to 12,000 airplanes parked out there at anyone time, which is more than I can see,see, so I only saw a bit of this and that, and that, you see, was a lot to see, more than I care to describe. I did get a chance to drop in to a booth for Cirrus aircraft... real nifty stuff... a brand new plane starting at $350K.... course I would hold out for their new jet...

... they are taking orders right now... starting at $1.5MM. Maybe with next years tax break I can order one.

So for a week you could see and hear airplanes and jets all over the place. Kinda helps you remember that it is a big wide world out there and no matter who you are, individuals only take up a very very small spot of it all..... which is probably a good thing, see, cause lately, when you turn on the TV, why, gosh, there seems to be a whole bunch of individuals that think they take up more space and importance than any one person really should. And that is a shame. Walking the grounds at the EAA show you realixe that, though some of them have a ton of money, the folks there, the big thing is everyone there had a common interest. It is not unusual to run into someone who has been building their own plane, and spending ten years to do it.

So it was all fun and interesting.
Saturday I biked the four miles or so to another gathering... at the Yacht Club... The Oshkosh South Side Ice Yacht Club.

Now, this was a gathering of quite different folks. We live on a big lake and it has been an ice boaters Mecca for a long time. Back in 1937 a Speed record was set on some good black ice... 147mph.

The club is over 70 years old and consists of a modest old building that was moved to the spot in about the early 60's. The public is always welcome... great view of the lake and a nice little harbor to pull a boat into. No liquor at the bar... only bottle beer... and only a few varieties... and only $1.50 a bottle. They serve fish on Fridays... a deep fried catfish plate can be had for $5.95.. with fries, Cole slaw and rye bread. Saturday was a nice, modest gathering... must have been a hundred or so folks... talking fishing, boating and the Green Bay Packers. Brats and Burgers and corn on the cob. Local rock band playing oldies. I checked into some ice boat prices on the net.... oh, say, from $700 to $4000 used, depending on how fancy you want to get. I am sure there are new ones that might cost more. I truly doubt if any would cost $1.5 MM.

But I guess it is not whether you fly through the air, or across the ice... but who you hang out with, what your interest is. The air show was nice... I really liked it... but there was something about the Yacht club that was even better.... cheap beer bought for you by men that know your name and smile as they hand you the bottle. As the commercial says.... priceless.

No time for nuttin'

2011-07-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

.

So have a listen, sit outside with a cup of tea, I am out of peanut butter and gotzta go to the store.... something's ARE important!!

Now This Is Wixconsin!! More Cows than Politicians!!!!

2011-07-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

OK....so I cropped the photo a bit, big deal, but this is what was on the front page of my local newspaper today! Udderly ridiculous! NOW... I could milk this for all it's worth...see, and I just might. The story was about big factory dairy farms, places with over 2,000 cows. Turns out there a bunches of them, and that's no bullshit, but I figured they could have found a better photo. Times are what they are, though, and I am sure the paper doesn't hire the cream of the crop anymore. Well before anyone tries to butter me up for posting such a cool photo, and one of you out there might, I have to say that it is just so hot lately that all my thoughts just curdle. But listen, see, the photographer could have taken a FRONTAL view, asked the cow to say, "CHEESE", BUT no no no...

Anyway.... at least it wasn't a picture of a politician.....

...... then.... it would have been

Just another.....

Once, I thought of being young forever....

2011-07-20T12:52:00.081-05:00

It is hot. And muggy. And down right uncomfortable. And it is lasting, for days now. Our local newspaper made the astute observation that 'energy use' is up during the heat wave. And it is no never mind exactly how high the temperature is, or the dew point for that matter, and we really don't care what this 'heat index' thing is, it is just plain hot, muggy and uncomfortable. The last time, if I remember correctly, that it was this hot was the summer my daughter was born, twenty-two years ago, and we lived in one air-conditioned bedroom. It was almost two weeks of temperatures over ninety and a woman who is nine months pregnant, and two weeks beyond her due date, does like a cool room. It was impossible to cool the downstairs and cooking in the kitchen was impossible. I remember getting carry-out a lot and cooking on the grill outside. Making jello and macaroni salads late at night when the kitchen did cool a bit. I remember the heat spell broke the day my daughter was born, on July 15th. It is what I remember.... the three of us, my wife and I, our three year old son... sitting on the old iron bed upstairs in that one air conditioned room, eating up there, watching TV, playing cards, waiting four the fourth family member to show up. I forget how old I was, though I could calculate it, and that is not important. What it is... is that heat wave left me with an indelible remembrance of things felt. I remember that correctly. Weather will do that for you.

Extreme cold will do the same. I think it was January of '77 and we hit a stretch of about 34 days where the temperature only rose ABOVE zero once. Mind numbing cold. Days of minus 20 degrees, or -30 and exorbitantly gusty wind chills, even once, they sadi, if I remember correctly, of -75. But again, it is not so much the weather that you remember as much as what occurred during that weather. We were young yet, my friends and I, and mostly just out of college or still in grad school. Cars would not start well, or at least the vintage of cars that we owned. I remember mine did, a '88 Rambler with a tank heater. And that I lived alone in a decent sized little one story bungalow with a fair sized dining room with a big table, the consequence being that I would pick up folks and my house became a nights and weekend hang- out. No one wanting to walk out in the cold or venture too far where your car could freeze up. And we would play Risk and backgammon and cribbage and Sheepshead... and cook community meals and pool money for beer. The cold created a family of sorts then. And I will never forget those people, ever.

The heat wave that I really remember is the one that happened when I was twelve, right before my birthday and the start of eighth grade. Now that is a strange time in any boy's life and I was not an exception. I still had to complete a grade at the Catholic School, I prospect I abhorred beyond measure. Most of my friends were already at the Junior High and getting ready for football in the fall, something that did not exist at St. Patrick's, Nuns being unusually inept in the sport. To add to my discomfort that summer was the 'tweener' thing. Too old for all the amusements that used to work and too young for the ones you hoped lay just on the horizon. There was no cable TV, no video, no internet....you had nothing but your friends to hang out with, and that was good, good friends who were all in the same shape you were. Girls were an interest, but that was something else we were too young for, or at least for more than talking about. You felt that you wanted to stay young forever, and could not wait to grow up. Whatever that meant.

And so it was that summer as a heat wave enclose the hills of Western Wisconsin. The days would swelter and we would swim in the lake. Nights we would hang at someone's house and talk. Or go down to one of the creeks and drink soda... and talk. Fog would come cruising in along those creek banks after sunset and give you the only air-conditioning available. It was that kind of summer. Teen angst just heating it up a little more. I remember that summer well, for many reasons. A prime one was that my brother, older by three and a half years and a very big guy, had taken up the habit of antagonizing some of the 'bad' boys in town who in turn, not able to touch him, had taken up the habit of unleashing their frustrations on me. It was just the way it was in small towns. It sure didn't lessen the anxiety, though, and after a few scuffles which found me on the short end, I was starting to work out on a speed bag thinking that a good left jab is a nice thing to possess. But I digress.

The thing I remember most that summer, during that heat wave, was that I discovered what love is and how discovering it in the way that I did made me think I would never really know what love was, or at least not with the intensity that I wanted. That is a perilous ledge for a twelve year old to peer off of, but I will tell you about it. I was there. It was a hot summer.

So the word was, that day in early August 1960 something, was Hugo Mueller was looking for me. Not a good thing, see, cause Hugo was mostly known by his nickname, Huge, and that he was. Well over six feet and possessed of a wardrobe that consisted mostly of black t-shirts that never quite covered his enormous middle girth, Huge Mueller was definitely a person to avoid. My Big Brother had obviously pissed him off and he was going to settle it by finding me. I would avoid that at all costs. Spent the day at the public swimming pool, where he couldn't touch me, rather than going to the lake. Spent most of the early evening at home. Hugo was also noted for not being extremely brigh as well as for being big. he would forget me soon enough, I thought.

That evening I got a call from a friend, Mike, explaining we were going to Greg's house, just hang out, Ross, too. I meet Mike and Ross downtown by the small bridge that spanned Beaver Creek.

So that is how it was, that night, the three of us walking to Greg's house at duck, the elm trees, all lost just years later, were a nice shady canopy and it was cool in there shade. It helped, the breeze through the leaves...to forget all that was bothering you. I remember I felt relaxed and had a feeling that what ever the trouble in my mind was, it could wait.

Mike spotted him first, and at first I thought he had seen Hugo, but instead he pointed to what looked like a heap of rags on the sidewalk. Ross identified it better, as an old man on the ground. The three of us rushed over, and sure enough, it was an old man wearing a sport coat and tie in the heat, a gasping sound coming up deep from his throat. Now, we didn't have cell phones and none of us thought of the obvious thing, to knock on the nearest door and use a phone. Mike said he would run to the hospital and get help; Ross would run to the Police Station... both were just blocks away. " YOU stay with him," Mike said, " you're the Boy Scout!" Which I had been, and not much of one, if the truth were known. But that is how it was, if I remember correctly and so began ten minutes that would stay with me forever.

I did what I remembered to do from what I had read for one stupid merit badge. I loosened his tie, tilted his head back and opened his mouth and checked that he wasn't choking on his tongue. He wqsn't breathing, or did not appear to be. There really wasn't much thinking on my part. I pinched his nose and, taking a deep gulp of air, started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Or at least as much as I remembered from that merit badge pamphlet. I was still doing it when the cops came. The first cop did whqat I never thought to do... check for a pulse. "He's gone," he said, just about the same way you would say the Braves had beaten the Dodgers. The old guy's wife then showed up. I guess she had run to their house to use a phone. "Henry," she was crying, over and over. I remember another cop telling her that 'sorry' there isn't much more to do, ma'am. I was still kneeling by the now dead old guy, had his head cradled in one hand. She knelt on the other side, and put her hands on his cheeks. "Oh Henry, Henry, " she cried, "What will I do now?" Then, and I will never forget this, she looked directly at me and said, "Where will I be now?" I looked directly into her eyes and knew.....
that I wanted to stay young forever, and could wait to grow up. Whatever that meant, and that love might just be a stroll through breezy elms.... on a hot summer night, and that I may never know where I will be now, or ever.

Now that is a depressing thought

2011-07-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

;

There are some folks who are not happy making money unless others are losing theirs.

SO... what's all this World Cup stuff?

2011-07-14T09:58:00.000-05:00

About 40 years ago they took a hunk of mostly marshy land a couple of miles north of town, leveled a bit, filled a bit, added a few trees, some baseball diamonds and soccer fields and with an elan peculiar to my part of the world gave the place the singularly notable name, County Park.
They are good with names here.

This Saturday, for the 33rd year in a row, they will fill the place with kids, about 1,700 of them, and hold the annual soccer tournament. In another impressive display of innovative thinking they call the event, Soccer Saturday.
They are good with names here.

Forget apple pie, baseball hasn't got a chance.... this is America. It happens all over.... cities and towns holding soccer tournaments. And listen, if you need a good grin for your heart, there is nothing like watching a bunch of 7yr old boys or girls kicking a a ball up and down the field.

Twenty years ago I was a soccer coach for a U6 team, my son's. The primary goal in the job was to instruct them on which way to run and that after the half, we would run in the opposite direction. Mostly I was successful. Two years later I assisted coaching my daughters U6 team. There the primary goal was to teach the defenders that it was not OK to sit and pick dandelions with the other teams goalie. I was only marginally successful, but the fun factor, for me.... was even greater.

Our local private organization that runs the deal, with another bit of naming panache, is called.... the Oshkosh Youth Soccer Club.

The OYSC is a recreational program. The youth and their enjoyment of playing, as they are learning the game, is the primary objective of the program. The OYSC strives to put an emphasis on learning and having fun vs. winning or losing. It has been a consistent policy of the OYSC Board of Directors to provide a soccer experience to as wide a range of youth as possible. Every player has a right to play regardless of their skill level.

Well that is a concept I can get my head around. So for a few years I would get up early on Soccer Saturday, pitch a shade shelter, haul out tubs of ice full of of watermelon, make sure there were orange slices and pretend I was a coach. That took a lot, trust me.

But the real deal.... see, and I don't mind telling you..... I was being selfish. Truly. It was a day I renewed, cause, just like that old song said...

"Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart"

... and I do. You cannot watch kid's playing soccer for a whole afternoon with screaming Grannies and Dad's and Mom's... you can never get over a girl who will NOT take her uniform off after the day is over....who falls asleep clutching her trophy instead of her blankie, who looked like, even at such a tender age, like a World Killer.
A Dad cannot get through a day like that without thinking that Life is OK

Now, some of those girls have long since given up playing the game.... and some haven't....but that isn't why they played in the first place.....

...... they just know magic when the see it......

and so do I.

Bodacious Booters!!

2011-07-11T10:51:00.001-05:00

Ok, Sports Fan's, this is the stuff!
Now, maybe you were in church or weeding the daisies or picking strawberries or grocery shopping.... well, if you were, too bad, cause, direct from Dresden you missed one of the best moments in SPORTS, BAR NONE!

The USA Womens World Cup team beat Brazil.... in one of the most dramatic finishes ever. Down a goal, 2-1, with less than a minute left in extended play.... playing short a player for 56 minutes, running their asses off for TWO HOURS..!!!!!! .... and then a beautiful cross from Megan Rapinoe headed in by Abby Wambach....

... and Hope Solo, brilliant in goal all game... did what she does best in the penalty shoot out and USA gets a win over one of the premier teams in soccer.

well, anyways.... it is going to be a difficult week..... last week was difficult.... but tomorrow I get to vote in the 'primary' to get rid of a 'fake' Democrat so we CAN FINALLY get a true recall election on the asshole state Senator in my district.

At least the USA Women gave me a lift. Good on them.

Beer, Blues and Illegal immigrants..... yowza!

2011-07-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

OK. It;s the 16th annual Beerfest in Beautiful downtown Wixconsin. I think I have gone to about thirteen of them. It is a real simple concept... thirty or 40 small breweries and distributors bring in about 100 different kinds of beer..... Ales and Lagers and Stouts, oh my..... one ticket gets you all the beer you can drink. AND... I live within ~~walking~~ staggering distance from the even grounds down by the river.

It is also a great way to meet drunken fools, sample styles of beer and ale only available in limited quantities. This is not for Coors Light drinkers. It is also a charitable event; proceeds are donated to the local Domestic Abuse Shelter.
So.... that is what I am doing tomorrow from 3-7. Every SOB in town will be there (Society of Oshkosh Brewers) a group dedicated to make strange, exotic and wonderful tasting home brews.

Al and Katy

And another really really good thing about the beerfest is that old SOB, Al, will be bringing Katy and she whips up a fantastic Mango Salsa and some beer bread... yummerz.

So that covers Saturday... and Sunday, if my memory serves me correctly about recovery time.

I have been dealing with illegal immigrants... of a sort. I handle them with a chainsaw. Basically... there were plants, trees introduced into America for a wide variety of reasons that have taken over or threaten native vegetation. I am cutting down a couple of Russian Olive, Asian buckthorn and a European Black Alder on a friends property. All of them tend to be very invasive spreading faster than the common cold in a day care. The real trouble is that if they spread too much yu end up with a monoculture of one species with no diversification. The fruit is not good for native birds, the wood is too soft to use and all the species are short lived. Unlike humans, where diversity is good and enriches our culture.... whatever that is.

Lost Bayou Ramblers

2011-07-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

'
OK... I have to tell the truth.... I am not a real big 4th of July fan. You either stay in town.... with everyone who cannot afford to get out of town.... or you end up in a crowded resort area.... with everyone woho could. These days I fall into the former category.

I avoided going to the lake front, where our little 'festival is going on. The odors of midway diesel fuel, fried grease, and unwashed armpits rather, ah, turn me off. Plus, all the beer is Budweiser and I hate Bud. I relented a bit and road my bike down on Saturday, to listen to a little Zydeco. One hour is all I could handle. Much to my distress, when I arrived home, I discovered I had lost my checkbook down there, somewhere, in the great unwashed horde. Needless to say, it threw me into a bit of a funk. So Sunday I avoided it all and went for and extended bike ride. When I got back there was a note stuck on my apartment door, "the check is in the mail".... and sure enough... that is where the checkbook was.... nothing missing. Someone found it, tracked me down from the address and returned it. Maybe there is a clean conscience int he unwashed horde.

I relented on going to the lake front yesterday.... stopped at Lee and Denise's to see what they were up to. "Tuba Dan, at 12:45," is what Lee said. "Main Stage, be there!" Now, Tuba Dan is a Polka Band, I think they have been around since 1874 or such. But Lee gets a bit obsessed with things and the latest is Polka Music, so there I was at 12:45 soaking up a sound that well, I would rather not.

So.... have a limited 'om-pah-pah' tolerance we rotated between the polka band and the Cajun music on the other side of the park lagoon. Now, there are some similarities between Cajun and Polka... but they are best not talked about. Cajun is much more fun, and as far as I know, there are no polka bands with fiddles, so right away the advantage is to Cajun. And the Cajun food is better.... really... ever try Red Beans and Cabbage? No no no no.

But that was it. Small times, small towns. Trust me... it is not all that bad... and the check is in the mail.

have to hurry.... there is a parade to watch!!

2011-07-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

....... and I have to go salute the flags!!

Dirty Hands, Supremes, and a damn good burger

2011-06-30T09:12:00.001-05:00

OK... it's been a beautiful week in Downtown Wixconsin. Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, who barely won his seat in a contentious election and recount saga, has been accused of arguing and choking fellow Justice Ann Bradley. Of course, he said it was in self defense. Last year he got into into it with Chief Justice Shirley Abramson, calling her a 'bitch' and threatening to 'destroy' her. Back then he said the woman 'goaded him into inopportune statements. Whoa! You can read a bit more HERE.
Anyways...
last week I ran into Dirty Hands Randy...I hadn't seen him for about a year...and, gosh, there he was again!! Now, two things about Randy...one, he always seemed to have a job that left his hands permanently, ah, soiled, no matter how much he would scrub them. He was a roofer, and asphalt spreader, dyed cabinets in a factory, hence the name. Secondly, he is the most benign alcoholic I have ever known. When some get too drunk, there is the possibility for violence, rude behavior... when Randy is drunk, which is more often than not, there is more than a remote chance of Shakespeare ,Keats or Nietzsche...with perhaps quotes from Casey Stengel thrown in for color.
So there I was, ensconced on a cafe table at the Farmer's Market enjoying a fresh egg sandwich and lo and behold, he graced me with his presence, and grace is all it can be, for despite his pock-marked face, his tight, taut girth, his resplendent wardrobe that varies in only the shades of gray or black t-shirts he favors, there is a quality about him and to his voice that can only be described as a belch, conducted by Bach, breezing through canyon walls. "Jim," says he,"you look well and fit!" This, as if he had just seen me a week previous. "All things considered," I replied, "things are ok. I thought you were in Rehab?" Which is the last I had heard. "Ah, it did not take. Some things are not meant to be. ' Adversity tests us from time to time and it is inevitable that this testing continues during life.' I read that somewhere," he said... "I don't remember where." He grinned a grin, said, 'hold on' left for a minute and returned with two Bloody Mary's. The next hour was an explanation of his time trying to dry out at the VA Hospital in Chicago... his escape from there, his stint at working in a Group Home in Gary, his return to Wisconsin, a brief job at a meat packing plant in Madison and his return to Oshkosh for the roofing season. There were queries about my kids, our mutual friend Fritz. All in all, it was a good conversation.... and before he left I gave him my phone number and the promise of a few beers some afternoon. Now, that may happen, or it may not... he did say something about the fishing being rather good up around Eagle River. To quote Casey, there is something about Randy..."He could fall into a sewer and come up with a gold watch."

Lastly, a friend has given me a great tip about the bar down the street, a place I would never frequent, the music being too loud and the patrons too prone to slamming dice on the bar, that serves excellent burgers. Indeed, he was correct... a mushroom swiss third pounder with home made chips for only $4.50. Thank goodness for carryout. Now if I could just get Randy to run for the Supreme Court......

i REALLY WISH i WAS A BLOW HARD...

2011-06-29T19:35:00.000-05:00

mo time for blogging... blew out the rear tire on my bike... AND i WAS miles from the nearest air... and when I filled it.it went flat... after six years I think it might be time for a new tire/tube../.. there goes the beer budget. oh well

Oshkosh City Cab, or the Wild Bunch revisited

2011-06-27T11:09:00.001-05:00

You don't have to watch the whole video... it's just a bunch of old guys getting together for a birthday jam. Someone said it was on YouTube and I found it. I knew some of them pretty well, back in the day, the early -mid seventies... when I worked with some of them at the old Oshkosh City Cab. Now that is too many stories to fit into one story, so there really is no point in trying, but the deal was is that you could get by being a hack back then, and it had great flexibility if you were a student or... a musician. I was one of the former. Anyways, and it turned into a real interesting few years, the way it worked, see.... is just about everyone who drove DAYS was a musician, (Big City Bob is in the video) and all the night drivers were students, or mostly student-types. We kept the city rolling.

For a while, all the night drivers, the students-student types, well, we were all Buds and lived in three different houses. I lived with KCR and Shoe...over on Franklin St. there was Tall Dave and Wheels and Dolt and Smut-Man. Down on Vine St resided Bruiser, Dimly Lit, LT and .... Kid Curry.

my cab photo

Kid was a work of art... a little Picasso, some Van Gough, a dash of Dali..... but mostly Dr. Seuss. You had to know him. His hair was long and prematurely white, not grey. He had worked various jobs, when I knew him, and sadly, I cannot know him any more in the present cause he died about 18 years ago, but he had been a guitar player, a bartender, a artificial inseminator of cows, a busboy, a cook.... but when I knew him... a cab driver.
And today, I have a little Kid story.
Now, when I was driving, we got along with the cops pretty well. They would stop in the station and tell us about the REALLY bad guys they were looking for, maybe run-a-ways from the State Hospital.. that stuff. No big deal. They usually, especially the night beat cops, give us some slack on speeding and other such... in fact even roll in once in a while to warn us of a particular Boy in Blue who did not fancy cab drivers and where that guy would be cruising on any particular night.
Well one day they rolled in, asked for a little help finding a Transvestite hooker up from Milwaukee who was practicing the trade, and unfortunately, also ripping off clients wallets and credit cards. Now, I had seen the guy/gal, and frankly he did a very very good 'she' and had been asked if I would accept a favor in exchange for the fare,which I declined, cause I had a girl friend and needed the money more than a blow job. Now, over all, we, the drivers, had a pretty good relationship with the 'working' girls who worked the strip clubs. It is what it is, see, and a few of them were also out of state college students who could make a lot more stripping for a summer than they could waiting tables. Anyways, a thief is a thief and we told the cops we would be on the look out for the transvestite rip-off artist.

But the Kid didn't hear the message and one night we see him pull up to the front of the station.... and pick up the said 'girl', and he calls in on the radio, says, "I'm taking a break for awhile". Now, I believe it was the Mole Man, Dimly and I that were in the station when he called in and we cannot just wait for him to come back and break him the news. It was the Kid, after all, and he had priorities different than the rest of us, if he had any at all, see. So, times goes by, I run a few fares and so does Dimly, and we are there about forty five minutes later when the Kid comes back in. Now, he has a grin on his face that could cut the lid off a can of beans and he's got a little swagger in his walk. "Guys," he says," you are not gonna believe what just happened to me!" He tells us the whole story and Dimly and I are starting to laugh, especially about the un-zip part and how good it was. I think the Kid thought we were laughing because he was telling a good story.
Finally,we could not take it anymore, told him all about the cops, the he/she and all of it. Now, he looked a bit crest fallen for a bit, then breaks back out into a grin. "Well," he said, " if you close your eyes..... it's all the same!"
You could never take the wind out of the Kid's sail..... I swear, if you had put horse-shit in his Christmas stocking he would just run out looking for the pony that got away. I kinda miss the Kid.

I best go now...... I think my ponygot away and I best be looking for it.

Just a Retiring Joe

2011-06-26T12:08:00.003-05:00

view from the oblio's patio

ok... it was the week that was... mostly gloomy, mostly raining. or mostly threatening to be gloomy and raining.

Weather finally broke yesterday and was nice enough to get out for a good bike ride.

The strawberries are coming in pretty good now at the Farmeer's market after a cool, wet spring. Scarfed down a bunch of them as well as a buffalo burger. Went to Lee's and watched him brew beer. Fun, fun,fun.

Then I stopped and chatted with my buddy Joe. He is retiring this thursday after 30 years with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the academic support/tests and evaluation dept. Planning a small little gathering down at the bar for him thursday night. Retiring... sounds funny, for a guy like Joe... cause the last thing he is, is shy and retiring.

Inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997, Joe Franklin was a first-team All-Big Ten choice in 1967-68 ... UW's career rebounding average leader (11.9 per game) and the school's No. 2 rebounder overall ... led team in rebounding in each of his three seasons ... owns 47 career double-doubles, the most in Wisconsin history ... set the UW single-season scoring record with 544 in 1967-68 ... team MVP in 1966-67 and 1967-68 ... team captain in 1967-68 ... his 27 rebounds vs. Purdue (3/2/68) rank second in UW single-game annals ... chosen in fifth round (63rd overall) of 1968 NBA Draft by Milwaukee.

Well, he didn't make the NBA, but he played Pro Basketball in Italy for a few years before coming back to Wisconsin and finishing his Master's.

I am not really sure where I first ran into him... must have been about five or six years ago, it ain't no never mind. But he is in the crew of 'old' men who meet down at the tavern a few times a week. I don't think he jumps much anymore.... but he can still shoot.., barbs, quips, insults, witticisms.... and that is what we do. If Billa Lang is there, too, it gets going pretty good... and it is pretty funny.

He takes off in a week to do his annual golfing trip.... he flies out to Missoula, meets with some other folks, rents a motor home... and they spend three weeks golfing through upper Montana, Alberta and British Columbia. I once mentioned that he must be the tallest Black Golfer in that part of Canada and he just rolled his eyes and said, "I am the ONLY Black golfer in that part of Canada!..... but it makes it easy to play through!"

So I said I would watch his house and mow his lawn when he was gone. Ain't no deal.

The deal is..... and this is what I like about Joe, to be a really interesting person, you do not talk about what you have done.... but what you are going to do.

I hope Montana is ready for him.... cause his bags are packed .. and, like he once said..." Life is just another Fairway I have not been on yet."

Fore.

I'll see your three mice, and raise you two

2011-06-23T15:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, when you feel that you really have nothing to say, that you can't see the darkness for all the sunlight, when you really are so lost that you cannot remember where it was you were and where it is that you were trying to get to...maybe it's the truth but the truth is a brutal lonely place full of tigers and scarlet whores and vicious pimps. It is why we lie.

Oh, and we lie... we all do. To others for all sorts of reasons, gain, vanity,guilt,venality. We lie to the ones we love... sometimes to protect, or preserve or from shame. The worst is why we lie to ourselves.... the truth is .... that that is the greatest sin of all... for we really can't stand thinking of why we do it and we wake up almost daily and do it again.

So I'm telling myself some truth here and I do not like it one little bit but if I don't I will drown deep and cold.
I am not young... though it has taken me most of my life to realize that. Young is merely a state of mind... and now, with all the creeping grey in the hair line and beard.... young is a distortion of what I see in the mirror. And with not being young... comes other problems..... please try to see what I mean.... because... it is getting harder and harder for me to see. Truly. They are called cataracts.

..and the kicker is... I am unemployed... with no insurance... and I am scared shitless... because how do you get a job... when you cannot see.

22... catch it?

so... I deal daily with vast amounts of depression, anxiety. five hours of sleep a night is a good thing... if I can manage that much.
Not being able to see who is standing smack dab in front of me, more than four feet away, is impossible.

So.. I have gone to Social Services... trying to find a way to get some help with this... it may work out....but it just adds to the depression....
Aw, fuck it anyways!!!
Went to the University today and talked with Joe. He works in Tests &Evaluations... has been at school for thiry years. He knows everybody. Took me to lunch... at one of the Commons... chockfull of all sorts of HS kids on campus for some HS thingee or another. He introduces me to Gary who works in Academic advisement and continuing adult education. See, way back in the day, I dropped out of college with about a semester to go. Different story. Gary said there is a program, just for people like me....whip my old transcripts out of cold storage and find out what I need. Could be just a class or two... I was in School of Education... maybe can get a 'non licenses-able degree'.... meaning I will never be able to teach, but still retain the degree.
Just more anxiety, fuck, but anwayz... what the fuck. Get it while I can still read...
So... that is why I haven't done a few posts. I have to get about six inches from the goddam screen to read this shit, type this shit. But in the grand scheme....

See, when the onset started, I just thought I needed new glasses. And I put it off....shit... I gottzta stop here... this is just turning to mush... I didn't want mush... I wanted naked angst... cause angst don't wear no clothers and angst don't think and angst don't give no never mind... all angst does is sit down to eat .....and you are the supper.
So I haven't a clue... I busy myslef all day,,, and hope to sleep at night. I saw a free counselor the other day..he thinks he can get me to a free shrink... get some free meds... thinks there may be a cheap program to fix the eyes....
ya know.... just when you think your life is shit... you discover it can be shittier.
see, even when you are no longer young, you can still learn.
I was always adverse to writing this kind a personal shit.... but then thaought, what the fuck... I think there are some folks out there that think they know me a bit.... now you know a little more.
and it ain't no deal.... this is all just saying and stuff....

ok... I have to go. My friend, Jackie, is having a birthday party at 4. Meeting Joe and we are both going ... Jackie was on the debate team at the U. She has been the City Manager's secretary for 35 years.... knows where all the bones are in this town... it should be a good party.

SEE... cause you don't have to read your beer before drinking.

still out to lunch....

2011-06-23T09:43:00.000-05:00

stuff.... just can't wrap my head around writing.... or at least posting what I am writing...still deciding if it is blog appropriate.

have a coffee and doughnut on me.

Out to Lunch

2011-06-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

... self service today..... drop a howdy... leave a tip

My old man

2011-06-19T10:10:00.001-05:00

.... loved his family very much smoked
Raleigh cigarettes
had polio so he had a left shoe that was enormous
could get really mad and yell... then go bake cupcakes and cookies to say he was sorry
ate pickled pigs feet while watching Star Trek
Love Mitch Miller and bagpipes
ran a paint store and then sold advertising
would futz around making stuff in the basement until he cut off parts of two fingers and mom sold his table saw
loved telling corny jokes, the cornier the better
loved watching his sons play HS sports
went to church on a weekly basis and was very active in church, but never argued when all his kids stopped
won WWII (drafted despite the polio.he was an artillery gunner cause he couldn't march) all by himself
thought Walter Cronkite was the most honest man in America
raised, at turns, pigeons, pheasants, parakeets,finches...always was a birdbrain
loved classical music...though he didn't know much about it.... played it constantly
was a generous even when he had little
when I was little told me that Jews were people that went to a different church, "no different than Methodists"
Was in total control of Christmas.....the more lights, ribbons, bows,packages,carols... the better
would get a little tipsy on New Year's Eve and call his old army buddy... every year
called most sundays to tell me it was hotter,colder,rainier, snowier,sunnier,gustier, where he was than where I was
Liked Brandy Old Fashioneds
read my comic books, but not my Mad magazines
Shared my passion for Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs,but thought Buck Rodgers was greater than Flash Gordon
had broken his left leg about 18 times in ten different places (polio again)
couldn't throw a football for shit
got really pissed off at me once when I came home from school early and found him and mom having a 'nooner'
used to give me a silver dollar on my birthday
thought gardening was the most manly thing you could do...loved flowers
told me once my pot plant needed a bigger pot
positively could not get enough time to spend with his grandchildren... and the only time I saw him cry was when Nick died at only two years old
was embarrassed to no end when he walked in on me,at my college apartment,and caught me and a girlfriend having a 'nooner'
gave me passion for gummy candy
loved Western movies
told me his appendectomy scar was a 'bayonet' wound... and I believed him
thought Viet Nam was a 'just' war... and would argue it with me... and when I got drafted found all the documentation on my rheumatic fever, fucked up ankles... and everything else he could think of to flunk the physical ( I did..but that is another story)
Almost died from Pride when I brought the college debate team to his house after a tournament in LaCrosse
also liked pickled herring, pickled beets,pickled eggs,pickled turkey gizzards.... but did not like pickels
he....... was........ STUFF
and
I
Miss HIM tremendously......
have a great day, Eugeneio

Just a cultured guy..... Friday Ballett!!!

2011-06-17T11:59:00.000-05:00

I think.... therefore I am tired.

2011-06-16T08:33:00.001-05:00

Deep upper middle central North USA

ok.... if Wisxonsin is in the Midwest....

why is Iraq in the Mid East?

Clevelandistan

.... and if Florida is in the Deep South.....
why isn't Finland in the Deep North?
And this Pacific Northwest stuff.....? Well, Duh!!!! There is no Atlantic Northwest.... fact is... there is No Atlantic North East.... we just call that Maine...
Ya know.... some days it is not good to look at a map.... but see, there is a place I am trying to get to.... heard the employment opportunities are good.....

........ I'll give you a ring when I get there.

Traveling Light

Wisconsin Interrnet Troll.... in the budget

2011-06-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

The shit that ~~The Trolls~~, ah, Wisconsin Republicans have added to the ~~State Budget~~, ah, corporate give-away.... is godddam mind boggling and insane.

So.... here is the deal.... right now Wisconsin has a non-profit WiscNet, cooperative established in 1990,that provides Internet access at a low rate to most public and private schools, local governments and libraries. That way, see, even poor students, poor people... can find places to access the internet.... free.

Of course.... that is considered, "unfair competition" by for profit internet providers, like say AT&T.... who have contributed a SHITLOAD of campaign money to the REPUBLICANS!

A small example... Here, in my corner of beautiful DownTown Wisconsin... therre is this itsy bitsy Library Co-op that provides interlibrary loan and internet services to small county libraries, among other services. That combination speeds book sharing, which saves those small libraries a ton of money and allows rural library patrons access to a ton of material that would not be financially feasible otherwise. Right now, through WiscNet the library co-op is able to do this for about $9,000. If WiscNet is dissolved.... the cost rises anywhere from $29,000 to $59,000. HMMMMMMM Shit&Bisquits! So... instead of taking tax dollars and providing a public service... the Republicans want to take tax dollars and increase the cost of providing that same public service!
Now, remember, those are just stats for ONE LIBRARY CO-OP! Toss in all the other libraries, the UW System Universities, public government offices..... Holy Shit.... the ~~Republicans~~ Trolls want to GIVE AWAY tax dollars.....but of course, the private internet providers, who have a substantial market already, just say that it is unfair that they should compete with tax provided services, that that is not a 'level playing field'!!!! Well, no shit you dumb goddam money suckers! Tax money should provide efficient services, not added expenses.
And, get this........

"According to UW System Spokesperson David Giroux, the language used in the legislation would also require UW-Extension and UW-Madison to return roughly $37 million in federal grant money intended for rural broadband development. In addition, UW-Madison would be forced to withdraw from online research partnerships that are dependent on the program." The Daily Cardinal

So, first you cut the budget for schools, libraries, colleges..... then you force their costs up.... and then puke up $37million.

Now.... there is no going back to 'non'internet' days..... but I guess greed is now popular and we can take tax money and turn it over to private enterprise and pay five times as much.... boy and howdy... that is a great way to balance the budget.

I hope so folks.... get.... pissed.... off. New budget talks begin again today in Madison. I think there will be some folks around the Capital protesting..... and I think I know the message...

Diamonds And Rust

2011-06-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

/

So... about twelve years ago.... she sat next to me on the Bridge... and said, "Hello, mister." ... and it's the people you don't see coming that you expect the most.... when you least expect them. And that is how it was.... just walking through the art fair, taking a break, and there she was, again.

...... just like the time, ten years before that time.... and the time so may times ago... so young ago... so goddam young ago, that time, when she broke my glasses and I had to sleep with her because I couldn't see to drive home... or at least that is the reason she gave then.... so goddam young ago. Well, it didn't work out some thirty five years ago... or twenty five, or twelve. So it went. It never did seem to work. I remember it was always interesting trying, though, and she never broke my glasses again. but there are other things to break.

I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

So, they have that stupid goddam art fair in the same stupid goddam park every goddam year... and the same goddam bridge is still goddam there.... and now ..
... I saw her there last year. We didn't talk, and when I looked around, she was gone
I still had her number. I had a couple of drinks.. I called. Didn't leave a message. She called me back.
"how's the husband?"....... "how's the kids?" .."How you doing".... "Fine.And you?" and that was that. But I always think of that bridge. And what it is like to have a ghost sit next to you and call you 'Mister'.
Now, my daughter and I go to the Art Fair and she picks out my Father's Day present. ... and goes back to her Mom's.

.... one year it rained so hard, they canceled the art fair. I went anyway. Stood under an oak tree and sipped whiskey from a half-pint. It is what it is, and it ain't no never mind.

Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

It gets to the point where you do not want diamonds anymore... cause you really believe there are none.... but if you try, see, you can get pretty good at polishing rust.

Used to be this blog, see...and a Dude called Fairlane

2011-06-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

*old mast head, Jonestown

Jonestown was one of the first blogs I stumbled onto, into and around. It kinda blew me away, see, cause I had never read or heard about blogs much until then, however long ago that was. See, the deal was.... truth&stuff... I was looking for a recipe for Cajun Meatloaf... and I skittered here, bounced off there..straight on to someewhere else.... I was careening through the clouds... and it ain't no neveermind...see, but I landed in Jonestown.... and there was a guy named Fairlane.... and a cast of Clowns, Wizards, Bitches and Balderdash that well, it was stuff... and if you said you understood all of what was on the pages you would be lying.... and if you said you didn't get it, the point.... you really were a dumbass.... he would write like this... and this is mild... but but but

When Fascism comes to America they say it will come wrapped in a Flag waving a Cross.
I say-
Fuck that.
Wrap that bitch up tight in a Jimmy Hat (like a Dog).
Keep it from getting on anyone.
Christine O’Donnell has a Plan.
But it’s not Plan B.
In her world being Mastur of your own Destiny is a BIG No.No.No!
Can’t trust us with such details- Leave it to (Beaver) Me.
She says.
I know what’s best-
As Director of the Ministry of Love, she promises an Iron Fist in every Pussy.
Of course, She meant “Pot.”
Wink, wink, nod, nod.
You betcha

it was like someone took the shark's teeth out of the glass on granny's night stand, gave it to the old beagle on the porch and then chased the pooch around........

When Fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in Lipstick, and High Heels waving to us on Fox News.
Everyone in Position-
Ready
Set
Snarl

ok. like I said... that was mild... and those are just some clips from before he went MIA... not that he is really gone, he just went gone somewhere else, and that ain't no big deal, see.......

Yesiree, Billy Fuckin’ Bob, they be A lot of Old Ass Mother Fuckers Sporting Solecistic Sign-ery whilst exposing Paper Skin to Scorching Sun.
All in the Name of Liberty.

(Take that You Statist Whipper Snappers!)

And what has these Concerned Not Too Distant Future Nursing Home Residents up in Flabby Arms?
Well, they Wants tuh Know-
When is Adolf Niggler™ going to get his Big Gummint, Slimy, Commie Colored Hands out of Medicare, and Social Security, and into the pockets of those Lazy, Good for Nothing Trickster, Crack Smoking Swindler, Big Butt Having, Wide Nosed-Breathin’ All the White Man’s Air Negroes running around like they Own the Place?
*And don’t fergit them Mexicans, too*

...that is just part of one post... now I have been writing since, well, since Sister Mary Saving Grace threw a poem of mine up on the bulletin board back in first gradeee and I thought, "Shit, I have been published!" So I started chiming in with comments on the commentable section... and damn, after awhile folks started comment back,, mostly telling me to shut up (kidding) and get my own bloggy.
which, huh! here it is.... but the thing was the stuff he would write on those pages....

And the Summer of Our Discontent is fading into the Fall from a really High Building w/out a Mixed Metaphorical Paddle.
Fuck.
Figures.
~5493459043=.9
Glenn Beck is a Smug Cunt. Let’s get that out in the OPEN for the White Eyed and Bush-y tailed.
Cunt³
Tell him to his face, but Grifters only have Eyes for the Jaundiced. He ain’t interested in-
One…Two…Rat-a-TAT-TAT!
Speaking of Failing Livers-
Old people really suck.
Once you get to the point you no longer recognize you smell like Cat Litter, it’s time to Die or at the very least, Move out of the Goddamn Way.
Too late for “Restorations,” or “Refudiating Cackles of Rads.”
Not right for the Old to Decide for the Young-
Let us get on with Living.
I know.
Because nothing says-
Welcome, Pair of Mormon dudes riding Mountain Bikes wearing white short sleeve shirts, long pants, and ties in 97° weather, better than Nineteen Full Metal Jacket Cap Peelers.
Sure, I’d love to Convert…
Seriously, Mormonism is Scientology with an even less believable Story Line. (Yeah, you heard me, Fuck L. Ron Ron).
Thetans or Lamanites?
Wow, tough choice.
I’ll get back to you after I self-Lobotomize.
God Almighty.
What are people to do these days?

Tosspots abound, War, Greed, Reverse Racism, Art is being Murdered faster than the Rain Forests, AND there Ain’t Shit on TV except a couple Toffee Nosed Mardies queefing out dialogue obviously written by a Quasi-Retarded Wannabe Poof going through an Artificially Inseminated After School Specialized Tragedy.
What the fuck they Expect people to think, Feel, Say?
I’m here, to tell you-
But Exactly what
I haven’t the faintest Fucking Idea.
Bullshit.
I’m merely cuing you to the Farce right there in front of your Fucking Whatever-

ok.... Fairlane is done gone somewhere else, and it ain't no business of mine, and I really don't care all that much, see, but the deal is....that I realized I didn't have to think of what I was going to write some mornings.... just let it roll... so, kiddos, when you read my pages.... it ain't always me writing....
sometimes it's the candy wrapper on the sidewalk, or the stones rattling in an old cold tin can....or the dust smell that comes from old rotten wood.... or just the idea of what you can find when you go to look up a meatloaf recipe.

.... and remember, ketchup sucks... make your own sauce.

Hard times and funky weather

2011-06-09T09:09:00.002-05:00

The word... is
yesterday morning when I woke at 5:30 it was already 80 degrees... this morning, same time, it was only 57. Go figure. We had two bits of storms come through yesterday.... the second was rather severe, bringing strong parallel winds, torrential rains and just a dash of thunder. I had been out biking but had stopped at Oblio's for a pint just before the storm. Now, if you need be stuck in a storm there isn't a argument about the best place to be is in a sturdy brick building with an ample supply of good pale ale. Karl had also ducked in.... it is nice to talk to a real newsman.... he usually has more info than what can be put in the paper.. and it sure beats talking baseball. He had a few comments on the Wiscon recall elections, Anthony Weiner's weiner, and stuff. When the storm let up we went out the back for a smoke and the sky was a almost brilliant yellow color, with neat wisps of clean cotton clouds. Made me wish that I had a camera with me, and equally pleased that I didn't.

Hard times are continuing....and it has dawned on me that America is in the middle of a Un-Civil War. On tv, on the internet, on street corners, in the papers, at the polls. And I realize, that I am on a side of it. Sometimes it is hard to tell what side. Sometimes I don't care......

..... and other times..... I wish it would all go away.... and leave a beautiful lemon sky.

MY UNDERWEAR.... JUNK WILL COST YOU EXTRA

2011-06-08T09:17:00.000-05:00

ok.... I don't have a tweeter, twitter... whatever account... so this will have to do.

Vote, damminit all anyways

2011-06-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

NOW READ THIS

.... there is a growing trend, to destroy Democracy.... as we know it...... Vote it every election you are eligible to.