Northern Wisconsin - One of God's Miracles

We just returned from four days in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  If you have ever been north of Minocqua, you know the feeling of relaxation and peace that settles in as you drive up the state.  If you have never been north, it is way past time.  This trip we stayed at the Carlin Club Lodge in Presque Isle, overlooking Carlin Lake.  We visited friends who live on Rainbow Lake and enjoyed the approaching dusk looking over the mirror-glass water, and then as if on cue, we heard the call of the resident loon.  Each lake is said to have its own loon pair and we managed to see the red-eyed couple for this lake.  Deer and bear, and sometimes even wolves cross the back highways and come to the houses looking for food.  You just have to make sure you have some!

Beyond the pine forests and abundance of waterways, the next best thing is the dining experience in the northwoods.  Classic supper clubs abound as do the more frequent pub food bars.  Some are better than others, but the northern crowd is discriminating, so bad food will shutter the place faster than the mortgage company.

Friday fish frys vary as well, but most withstand the taste test and you should always leave full.  Battered cod or haddock, pan-fried walleye, and lake perch are the mainstays.  Even those who are not fish fans will partake, at least for a bite.  The standard drink, the Old Fashioned, is crafted by good bartenders who muddle the cherry, orange, sugar and bitters, before splashing in the brandy (or if you prefer, whiskey), and top it with 7-up.   That is the experience that makes the trip worthwhile.  Sure, you can boat, ski, tube, camp, golf, and many other things, but finding a quiet spot on the lakeshore, seeing a loon dive for food, with a cool drink in hand is, indeed, heaven.  Thank you Lord for the exquisite beauty of the Wisconsin Northwoods.

Happy 236th Birthday, America!

It took about 677 years for the Roman Empire to rise and fall.  Let's hope America can withstand the pressures to pursue mediocrity, and last for at least that long.  It is good to be proud to be an American, where we are free, but it is best if we all contributed to our community by helping others, and letting Washington know what we need to make this experiment in democracy an even better place.




Now go enjoy the fireworks, have a brat, and hum America the Beautiful.

Praise the Congress? Well, maybe...a little

I suppose we should be happy that the Congress somehow came together and passed the Transportation bill.  The bill also included allowing student loans to remain at the lower interest rate, rather than the automatic doubling that would have happened.

It is interesting to read that some compromises were made to get this all passed.  Can you believe that some on the right had to give up their “wish list” as did those on the left? This is called working together for the good of the country, or as it used to be known -- COMPROMISE.

So while I continue to berate my Congresspeople to get to work on the budget, deficit, the wars, and so much more, I should at least give them some props for getting the road bill done.  This will not only help to update our country’s infrastructure, it will provide many good jobs for some time to come.  So I have to admit, I sent an email to my representatives in Washington praising them for their actions.

Just like with a little child who is prone to misbehavior, we must use incremental “praisings” when they do something good.

I probably should have left it at that, but I could not resist prodding with a hot stick, my reps who are so recalcitrant on the weightier issues.  I included a few lines, oh heck a paragraph, on how they could do more for the country if they weren’t so partisan and worried about being painted with the Letter C on their frocks.  Compromise is really the only way for a nearly evenly divided Congress to move forward.

Maybe this was a first step.  See!  You can do it!  Just one more step….

The "B" Word - Is This Just a Phase?

It seems that lately - well, the past couple of years – that I have been hearing the “B” word more and more. First, I heard it among groups of women referring to themselves, as in “How ya doin’ b*itches?” Then, as a real epithet from others trying to put women down. “You bleeping b*tch!” or “Don’t be such a b*tch!” Today it is gender-neutral, but I’d have a hard time calling a dude a “b*tch.”


There was some attempt initially to soften the word by the bizarre pronunciation, something like “Bee-Otch.” Lame. Then it became a word in the casual vernacular of the young and the restless. And now it even comes in title of movies, books, TV shows (“Good Christian B*tches). What a slap to Christians everywhere. Or would that be a “b*tch slap” to Christians? Seems offensive to me.

As kids, as we became more worldly (and could cross the street on our own), we snickered as we used bawdy language. I, myself, started with hell and damn, righteously defending their use by saying, “It’s in the Bible, so how bad can it be?” Same with ass. Let’s see, something like, “Mary was riding Joseph’s ass as they entered Bethlehem.” I am not sure which Bible version that is from – you get the picture.

Then when we really wanted to be bad, (not in today’s sense of “good”) we might call someone a “b*itch” as a gross putdown. If an adult happened to hear us, we would meekly say we were talking about female dogs. Likely story.

So even though it has been present for some time, that word still slams into my eardrums and is not pleasant. There are so many better words to use when using “b*tch” in a nice way, like “How ya doin’ guys?” Of course, (can you believe it), there are women who are offended by being called “guys” but not by being called “b*tches.”

I continue to hope it is a phase. Like cursing your mother when you were really mad, just to get a reaction. We grew up and out of that (if we lived). Maybe we need to find a replacement, something a little softer and less hard on the ears. Let’s keep to the dog theme, so “How ya doin’ puppies?”

Striving For Mediocrity?

I once wrote about the “Rise and Fall of the American Empire,” at the time more tongue-in-cheek, but as we slog through campaigns and elections I begin to worry that something in the American Enterprise isn’t working.

Some like to say that America is “exceptional” and while that may be true, it is certainly not demonstrated in our seats of government. Despite the pleas from the citizens, the pundits, and even the media, politicians seem willing to ignore the pitfalls of doing nothing.

Doing nothing with the budget, doing nothing about the deficit, doing nothing about serious healthcare issues, and doing nothing about the unsustainable growth of Social Security and Medicare, all seems to be OK. Just push it down the road. Instead the Congress and the President try to one-up each other with cute sayings and epithets that add nothing to the solution. The old adage, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem” is even more true today.

I have written to my senators and representatives begging them to propose some compromise, to be true statesman, and not just partisans who tear asunder our American fabric. Discussion is good, lively discussion is better, but in the end it probably takes a compromise, a bargain, a deal. We used to denounce such back room dealings where senators would make an agreement to vote for one of the opposition’s pet projects in return for support for another on the other side. Oh, I long for those days of “sausage making.” At least there was a product, a movement forward. Today we are stuck; no, we are in reverse, and if something doesn’t happen soon, it will be irreversible.

The Shooting in Tucson

Although not as timely as some of my posts, the wanton killing of six people along with the wounding of 13 others still merits coverage. The act was so heinous it may be one of the events I will remember where I was at the time I heard of it. And that was about 100 miles away in Mesa at our winter home.

I got a text message from my old boss and current friend, Chief Sue Riseling, of the University of Wisconsin Police Department. My wife and I were watching something on our TIVO when the text said that a Congresswoman had been shot in Tucson. We turned on CNN and the story played out as most are now aware.

After seeing nearly back-to-back coverage, we became enmeshed in the stories of the people involved, even the shooter's. Learning that he may be mentally ill was of little consequence to those who lost so much, but it provided a "reason" of sorts for those looking for the "why" of it all. No reason is sufficient or ever justified, but there was at least something to grab onto.

Last Friday, January 21, we took a drive to Tucson to see for ourselves the ever-growing memorials at various sites in the city. My wife had received her first ICU nursing experience at the very same University of Arizona Hospital (now Medical Center) where the victims, including Congresswoman Giffords, were taken.

It was apparent as we drove up to the Medical Center that the idea to visit was not ours alone. Even 13 days later, there were large groups of people wending their ways through the flowers, posters, candles, and other tributes to those killed and injured. We spent time walking the grassy front lawn, taking some pictures, and saying silent prayers as we read as much as we could.

I noticed a young woman who seemed to be organizing some sort of display and I quietly asked her if the Safeway Store, where the massacre took place, was close. It was not, but she offered to sketch a quick map. I found a piece of cardboard and a pen for her. She asked if we wanted to see all of the "Migils." I said, "pardon me?", not sure what she had said.

"Do you want to see all of the 'migils'?" Again, I looked puzzled and she then explained that some of the displays were memorials to those who lost their lives, and some were vigils for the wounded; both words now truncated, apparently, into "migils."

With the aid of her map we made our way to Representative Giffords' Tucson office, and then to the Safeway store on Oracle Road. Both were moving memorials, uh, "migils" as we spent time again reading, thinking, and praying as we walked.

The Safeway Store, now open for business, had condensed the migil area to one that was on the exact spot of the congresswoman's neighborhood meeting, hence the site of the horrendous killings. Being in this spot just 13 days post tragedy was unsettling at worst, but at the same time, comforting at best. The cop in me scanned the people around the area, looking for who knows what, but looking still. It is not always obvious who may be there to hurt people. It likely was not obvious on January 8.

Visiting the area was helpful in a way. The word "closure" is maybe too heavy for someone who had not suffered a personal loss. But we felt better somehow as we drove back to Mesa.

Maybe closure is the right word, because in the greater family we are all a part of, it was personal.

Tucson: Let It Be a Catalyst, Not More Fodder for Blame

Living in Arizona for the winter, only 100+ miles from Tucson, brings home to me the devastation of the senseless murders and wounding done by one sick individual. His time will come to be dealt with fairly and justly. The time for something else may have already come.

The noise from this tragedy has included the "blame game," both from the left and the right. Some would lay this man's rampage on the steps of the political scene over the past few years, which has been undeniably vitriolic. Yet to keep up this blaming is really fruitless, and actually may be non-productive. Instead of working to tamp down the rhetoric, the sides instead ramp it up by saying it was not their fault.

Let's take the Tucson Tragedy out of the mix and just admit that the political atmosphere has been poisonous of late, and not state as fact who may have been poisoned, so to speak. If this massacre is the catalyst for productive discourse in the political arena, then let it be one where we can move positively toward increased civility.

No one expects the left and the right to now come together holding hands around the campfire. There are deep policy differences and there still should be rigorous and occasionaly loud debate on the issues. Let's urge our politicos to just tone down the personal attacks and rank sarcasm that has become de rigueur over the past few campaigns.

Unless you really believe your colleague is a traitor to the USA, thus possibly deserving the death penalty, then don't toss out those bombs hoping to get something positive from the attacks. Unless you truly believe your colleague does not love America or does not want to do what is best for Americans, then tone it down a bit and make your best case for your side using cold, hard facts.

Eschew the hyperbole, the sarcastic vitriol, and baseless personal attacks. Most intelligent Americans see through that babble anyway, so it does little to promote the cause.

I finally have some hope that maybe the vituperative remarks may lessen, perhaps helped by the shocking attack in Tucson. Whatever the impetus, let's contact our Senators and Representatives and tell them to work hard for us in a civil way. And when they do that, as evidenced in the news or press releases, let's write them to just say, "Good work!" They like to get the good comments too. Maybe there is still hope for America.