It is about time we ….
It is about time we join the weather people and start counting our seasons by the month instead of the present system. The calendar is telling us at least ten days to winter, but just look out the window, and then at the thermometer. Both are telling me it is winter already.
Christmas is coming. I got my first Christmas cards yesterday, which means I’d better get busy at sending some on their way.
Remembering back to my days in the post office, we always knew when the last ones were sending their cards out. Other people bought stamps by the sheet, or at least knew the amount they needed. The late comers always came in with a handful of cards and counting them out before buying any stamps.
Talk about remembering, how many of you remember that if you didn’t write in the cards you could mail them for a penny less? That would only cost you two cents instead of three. But, those were the good old days.
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I had a clinic appointment the other day. Just a check up with a nurse in the Congestive Heart Department. First I had to have a blood draw in the lab. For the first time ever, I had a man nurse. He remarked that I didn’t look as old as my chart said I was. I suggested the clinic was to blame as they have been taking care of me for the past 50 years.
When I got down to the department for my check up, I was relating what happened up in the lab. She suggested if they ever needed a “poster child” they would probably look me up.
The check up went fine, except she had no answer when I asked her why I was feeling so much better than I had for most of the summer or fall. If it was any indication, my next appointment won’t be until March.
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After a nice Thanksgiving, I ended up with computer problems. Maybe it was my own fault. I was trying to get some old files open to use. No luck. They either wouldn’t open, or if they did, wouldn’t respond to any changes.
I thought best to have my computer doctor Jason take a look. Well, I had gone in early Friday and when I asked about when to come back he didn’t have an answer except to say, “It’s Black Friday you know”.
When I called on Saturday morning, whoever answered the phone said they were working on it, but probably Monday. That made me a bit nervous as I hadn’t written my column yet and by that time in a normal week I would have been all done.
With the snowy roads I managed to tell myself to wait until Monday. Then I alerted Karie to my problem and she offered a TRG computer as a last resort.
Then, instead of sending an e-mail to the kids to tell them I was up, I called. Both Sue and Jackie were a bit chatty that morning and by the time I got the mail and had lunch I decided to check the caller ID. Northside Computer had called and I checked it out. Next I was on my way to Marshfield and came home with my friendly computer. Only it wasn’t too friendly as I still couldn’t get some files open. But, I could write my column and was going to run out a copy to proof. The printer was out of ink. Thankfully I had a spare cartridge on hand and got it printed.
By that time the Viking/Seahawk game was on and I couldn’t miss that. Poor Charlie. That’s Florence’s nephew who lives in Minnesota. Not only did the Vikings lose, he was still suffering from the Gophers losing to the Badgers on Saturday.
Then I discovered, on Tuesday morning, that he had tried to escape to Florida but thanks to the computer, I found him somewhere in Illinois. This morning I let him know how he could order a plaque for his front yard promoting the Badgers and the Packers. He called me a “sick puppy”.
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Driving home from Jackie and Bob’s tonight, I discovered a need to get out and check out all the Christmas lights that are up. Just that short distance told me it is going to be worth it.
On the subject of night driving, I had read the editorial about working a compromise between motorists and the Amish buggies. I don’t do much night driving, so can’t tell if there is a difference or not.
I can tell you a story about night driving that involved not only darkness, but a light rain, a black top highway and some black Angus cattle. It was a sad story, but a hard lesson.
One of our neighbors, up in the Pipe Lake neighborhood where we lived, had switched from raising dairy cattle to beef. They just happened to be black Angus and loved to get out of their fence and wander on the highway. The talk of the neighborhood all summer was that some poor devil was going to hit one some time. It just happened to be me.
The insurance company had hopes of recovering their loss and, since I had also lost money with my deductible, sent me to one of our local attorneys. I might say a pretty good one with a good reputation of generally winning.
First thing he wanted to know is what happened. I explained the situation, then added I was meeting two cars, which really made it difficult to see much standing on the road in front of me.
His only reply was to say, “If you knew they were out there, you should have been driving slower”.
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A few evenings ago I was looking forward to an evening of television watching. There was no football or basketball games scheduled so I began to wonder what to watch. Then I clicked on Public Television and found a tribute to Mike Lackrone, the University of Wisconsin’s band director who had just retired after 50 years. Anyone who has ever attended a Wisconsin football game knows what a great job the band does.
They showed some pictures of Mike as a kid and noted his dad had been a teacher. Needless to say, he came from a very humble beginning but has sure left a story to remember him by and his efforts to lead the band. I not only got to witness a number of Badgers games and their “Fifth Quarter” music but a number of their earlier spring concerts.
One of the guests on the program was Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin’s Athletic Director and former football coach. He was telling that one time he was on a tour around the state to bring attention to the football team and someone suggested they hoped the team would get as good as the band.
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On Wednesday, before going to the clinic, I was watching television. My usual show, “The Price is Right”, had been taken off so the network could carry the impeachment hearing in Washington. It was a great history lesson by four college history professors talking about the writing of the constitution. I doubt we ever had that much information presented to us in school. They made it sound like they were there.
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In history this week, Father Edward Flanagan opened Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska on Dec. 12, 1917. On Dec. 14, 1799, George Washington died at Mount Vernon.
