Since I last really posted.........1

Lots have happened since I last really posted. We've had our fair, Christmas, New Year's and a host of other holidays have past, and I went fishing again.

This year I took two weeks off to go fishing. I have not taken a two week vacation in a very long time. This year my friend Chuck and I took our wives along for the first week. It was a wonderful time and I would take Quilter along again in a heartbeat. In fact, she is making plans for next year. The weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny and warm. Chuck and I fished almost every day. We also spent time with the gals doing some shopping and such. More later.

Way too long again

It's been way too long since I've posted. I have a lot to say. This is going to be short though as I want to collect my thoughts first. So stay tuned...........there will be more.

I saw it on the net, got an email so it must be true

I saw an email for my wife from one of her friends. It was one of those Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: things everyone likes to pass along. This one was titled: Don't take Presidental Dollars for Your Change.
I was curious, wondering if it had anything to do with them not working in vending machines or what. I was surprised to see that one was to reject them because "In God We Trust" is not on the coin. I was even more surprised because I knew for certain it most certainly is on the new Presidental coins. I got one out and sure enough, there it was right along with E Pluribus Unun and the date minted. You see, it's a law that these phrases be put on our currency. Some people just don't understand that. Now here is the catch. These phrases are on the EDGE of the coin. One has to know where to look for them. The above mentioned email had a statement that the person refused the coin and asked for a dollar bill. The employee smiled and said "way to go" meaning that that person had read the email also. I guess it means that more people believe these stupid emails than not.

At work our safety director sent one around the company net that has real value. Never Never talk on your cell phone while it is plugged in to an outlet for charging. The pictures were very graphic.

I guess what I want to say is..........know your facts before you pass on bogus emails.

When they fix it...............it gets worse

I remember when every year there was this clamor about the National College Football Championship. It used to be done by a poll at the end of the year. Of course there was plenty of talk about why School A should be champion instead of School B, or even School D or F. Plenty of disagreement and good break room and water cooler discussion.
Then along came a group of gentlemen, I don't even know why we even listened to them who called themselves the Bowl Championship Committee and they decreed a Bowl Championship Selection. Now at this time there were some pretty big bowl games played on New Years Day that got kinda nervous. Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and the Sun Bowl are the ones that come to mind. There may be others, but believe me, not as many as we have now.
Not to worry came the word........the championship game will be rotated among them. Hold on here, don't some of these Bowl games have contracts between conferences? I mean for years the winner of the Big Ten played the winner of the Pac Ten in the Rose Bowl. I'm sure other Bowls had the same agreement. Okay, so now these great and very wise men but their system into working order. Oh guess what? It's still some kind of poll, aided by a computer point system I guess that selects the two teams who play for the championship. So you have teams that have one or two losses playing for the national title while some undefeated teams are not given the chance. "Schedule not tough enough" is the reason most given. When asked why not have a play off system like Basketball, the answer is "Season gets too long, and too many games for the kids." Well guess what...........this year the championship game was played a full week after the other Bowl games, so it could be the focus and viewers didn't have to make a choice. That made the game played almost SIX weeks after the regular season. Ohio State hadn't played a game since before Thanksgiving. If the idiots at BCS want to do it right..........look at the NCAA Division 2 and 3 system. There is an actual playoff. It can be done, they prove it. The playoffs don't have to start with 64 teams, although there are 64 teams playing Bowl games now. I suggest the BCS listen more to the fans than their wallets and do it right.

On family,cousins and such

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call I was not prepared for. "Jack, this is Susan, Louie and Verna's daughter. My brother Joe died this afternoon from complications of pneumonia". Uncle Louie was my mom's younger brother. To hear that my cousin Joe had died, at the age of 54, which is 5 years younger than me was a shock. I passed the word along to my 4 sisters, and some other cousins from that side of the family. We were very close on that side, most of the holidays were spent with them. I had lost a cousin (Carol) to cancer about 20 years ago, but this...........
As I said the cousins on my mom's side were close. Marge, my oldest sister, then Shirley, then Charlotte, my next two older sisters, then Carol, her brother John, myself, Paul, (Carol and John's brother), Dick (my brother who died in an accident at the age of 12), Joe, his sister Susan, his brother Jim, and sister Peggy. We were like stepping stones in ages. My mom had and older brother, but he moved to Australia, and we never really knew his kids until we got older and they moved to Minnesota. I really couldn't tell you all their names. But the Meyman, Powell, Fitzgerald bunch...........close. We saw each other regularly. Then of course we all grew up, went to college or the service, got married and moved to parts across the US. But we are working on getting the closeness back. Joe's death was a wake up call for all of us. I call John about once a month, I think I'll call Paul more often too. Marge, my oldest sister is not only the matriarch, but the family historian. Now we don't always remember the things the same way.........Dad did not drive school bus.........but there are memories to cherish, to share. I hope to do this. My New Year's resolution this year is to maintain better contact with my cousins. In fact there are some on Dad's side I got to get hold of too. Gotta go, there is a list of people for me to call, I better get busy.

Woodshop fun

For the last month or so, Chuck and I have been busy in the wood shop. This project kind of started in the summer, when Chuck got an outdoor nativity scene from a friend. It is a simple scene, made of plywood, painted white and it comes together rather easily. It consists of a manger with a star, the silhouettes of Mary and Joseph and the crib, a couple of lambs and two fences that act as the support. At night a spotlight is shone on it. Very simple. Well, Chuck wanted to make one for himself, and I wanted to make on also. Then Chuck's wife decided that they would make great Christmas gifts for their 3 married children. Then she decided that two of her sisters, and Chuck's younger brother Tom would like them too. So Chuck and I started out making 8 of these. I can tell you it takes quite a bit of cutting with sabre saws and band saw to cut these out. Then, one has to paint all of them. Thankfully, Chuck is retired so he was able to spend many hours in his shop during the week to get them done. I took some pictures, and when I find them I'll edit this to show the end result.

Fishing trip

I know I haven't posted in weeks, but there has been very little that was worth sharing. I have recently returned from a fishing trip with my friend Chuck, two of his brothers, one of his sons, and two of his nephews. Seven men, six with the same last name. I'm going to post some pics and I'll tell you about my "adopted family".

Chuck--- What can I say about Chuck. He's taught me everything I know about woodworking. He's a very close friend. Woodworking, fishing, and sports are his hobbies. He is very good at organizing the fishing trip. In fact, he organizes two a year, spring and fall. Chuck recently retired from work. Makes me long for the day that I can do the same.



Tom--Chuck's younger brother. He is also retired, lives with his wife and son in the Twin Cities. Tom and Chuck provided the boats. Tom also enjoys woodworking, and is an avid Minnesota sports fan.

Roger--Roger is Tom and Chuck's older brother. He lives with his wife and son Robert (see below) in Sheboygan WI. Roger is a retired school principal, loves his family, fishing, reading, sports, and playing solitaire.

Robert--Robert is special and I mean that in the most respectful way. Robert is Roger's youngest son,works at McDonald's in Sheboygan. He loves fishing, Wisconsin with a passion, and WWE 'rasslin. He is a delight, willing to help out where he can, and always has a smile.

Todd--The right reverend, High Holy Father, His excellency. Todd lives in North Carolina where he pastors a church. He is Roger's oldest son. He has made the trek to Minnesota 3 times now for the fall trip. His humor is terrific, and when he is around his sibling the banter is continuous.

Tad--Chuck's oldest son, lives in a town nearby. He works for a company that makes cans. He enjoys sports, is a hockey referee, was the cook for the outfit, and one of the boat drivers.

There you have it. My fishing companions. The week was relaxing and enjoyable. On Thursday we did two firsts: 1--we rented the resorts pontoon for half a day and all seven of us went out together, and 2--Tom caught the first walleye we ever saw out of this lake.