Gas Pains

This arrived in the mailbag today.

Just trying to keep everyone's spirits-up.

Tom

Happy Monday.

Here's a three-part trivia question.

Colonel Hart's on State Street is a popular watering hole. The Colonel also serves terrific food.

What is the significance of the name to Wauwatosa?

What was the name of the establishment before it was Colonel Hart's?

What was the name of the establishment before that?

I'll publish any responses along with the correct answers in a  couple of days.

Tom

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la, la... 

What?  You ask.  Kris Kringle?  Already? 

Heck no.  The answer would be - Hunting Season.

The whole country is chugging Pepto-Bismol while suffering from a humongous national hangover following our orgy of lending.  The worried whispering at Starbucks includes a gnawing fear of depression-era breadlines.  Financial markets have plunged so low on Wall Street that the only thing that can leave a deposit on a shiny new BMW is a pigeon.  

I am beginning to think that I may just possibly be reduced to subsistence living.  So I'm going hunting.  (Note to self - expand the garden next year)

Don't laugh.  It might be a good time for some of you to brush-up on your hunter-gatherer shtick.  If things get any worse try buttering a slice of this and eating it.  Come to think of it, if you had enough of those signs you might be able to construct a pretty respectable Hooverville. 

Speaking of bread and circuses - isn't Sarah Palin fetching when she struts and rages about the elitist media?  I got to thinking - what if she carried a whip to complement those stiletto heels?  That would really get the crowds all sweaty and lathered-up.  Rallying the base as they say.  Alas, the McCain Campaign doesn't listen to me.  Another good idea down the drain.

Of which I am reminded that the media elite told me that popular Joe Plumber guy was well-off.  I am envious. 

Now, a plumber couldn't possibly be an elitist.  After all, they come home from work every day covered in, well, you know, the stuff that travels downhill through pipes.  I cringe whenever I get a bill from a plumber.   Therefore, a plumber could factually be well-off. 

Just watch - if Joe lands a lucrative contract to do plumbing supply endorsements for Home Depot he will become wealthier than the Kohlers and his taxes will grow to the sky.  That will teach him a lesson.  He won't be so quick to open his mouth next time.

Since my 401(k) couldn't purchase a pipe wrench I wonder if I'm going to get a redistribution of his vast wealth? 

For this election I can only hope.

I digress.  Don't you just hate it when politics creeps into the discussion? 

Only thirteen more days folks.

Back to the topics at hand - hunting and the creepy apparition. 

I've been regularly relocating a trail camera to see what is out there.

I'm getting all kinds of pictures of deer.

It would seem the territory is crawling with deer.  

The recent appearance of different male deer is significant.

That would indicate they have begun to expand their home range.

They have romance on their mind.

That's a good sign.  

Very soon they're going to stop thinking so clearly - kind of like frat boys on the prowl - and they'll become more vulnerable to the stealthy bow hunter.  

The problem is that whenever I climb into a tree with my bow all I see are song birds.

Sigh.

Actually, that's not so bad.  If you can get a chickadee to alight on your shoulder that would be pretty cool. 

Seems like a long-winded path to get to what I captured, eh?

I fetched the memory chip from a game camera, replaced it with a clean one, went back to the house, and uploaded the pictures.  

Get a load of this-

I captured a picture of a what appears to be a shaggy or hairy creature.

Unlike the other creatures in the woods this one appears to be bipedal.

It also looks like it has a hunch back and shuffles along with a stoop.

It gives me the creeps.

How would you like to bump into this while walking in the woods after dark - alone?

Especially around Halloween?

Shriek!

What do you think it is?

Tom

Fall has arrived.

You're probably thinking - Doesn't this guy own a calendar to remind himself of when fall begins?

Let me explain.

It is more than just a date - it is a state of mind - a state of being. 

The colors in the tree canopy are spectacular - neon red for the maples, fluorescent yellow of the aspen, the brilliant gold of the tamaracks and deep maroon of the white oaks.

Skeins of migrating waterfowl have been filling the sky for weeks.

The cold evening heavens are alive with stars. 

You can see your breath when you go out at first light. 

Firewood has been stacked and the wood burner is getting daily use.

Today I had the game on the radio, a refreshing malt beverage on the work bench and I spent my Sunday afternoon in the machine shed cutting-up a deer.

In a man's world could it possibly get any better than that?

This weekend I learned that it can.

There is Man B Que.

Originating in Chicago - Man B Cue is a bar-b-cue for men only.  Rules are specific - meat eating and beer drinking are recommended.

For example there is Rule #6 - You must bring enough meat to share with MBQ attendees.  (Unless you killed it, then you can bring the one piece for yourself).

Don't take my word  for it - check it out.

Did you notice the Chicago MBQ Chapter's traveling trophy in the video clip?  Did you also notice that it doubles as a vessel for drinking shots?  Egad! 

Seems a member of our very own deer camp is now in possession of that sacred relic.

I am not making this up.

He's also our camp's youngest member and an accomplished marksman.

Seems he hosted a Chicago MBQ featuring grilled Wisconsin venison. 

I must admit that is quite a feather in his cap and a recognition deserving of mention - I would be talking about the trophy that you can apparently do shooters with - the marksmanship is a minimum requirement for deer camp admission.

Keep on grilling.

Tom

By the way - check out this pair of fellas that have been hanging around lately-

Yeah. I'll bet you're thinking someone swiped my Obama yard sign.  

Nope. 

Unrepentant capitalist - no Barack sign for me.

Okey-dokey. Maybe my McCain yard sign?

Nope. 

The choice of VP has left me exceedingly disappointed.  My friends, all of this recent lurching-about not only troubles me; it causes me to wonder who's in-charge anymore.

Alright - the Joeythelovesponge for Mayor sign?

I wouldn't dream of putting it out.  No way would I risk it getting appropriated by the Bidenites or the Palinistas.  It's already a pricey collectible - probably worth more on Ebay than my entire stock portfolio.

Call me hard to please but there will be no yard signs this election cycle.

I digress.

I want to tell you about a different sort of theft.

Something you won't read about in the weekly crime report. 

Prior to retiring on a recent Sunday evening I cleaned the cat box. 

I meticulously double-bagged the stuff and placed the collection of clumped litter and cat marbles on the front porch for deposit in the garbage on Monday morning.

At the crack of dawn on Monday I arose to fetch the newspapers from the porch. 

Looking about, something didn't appear quite right.   My bag of cat droppings was nowhere to be found. 

I look for the missing bag in the yard. 

Nothing.  

My logical wife said - Look beneath the porch, Tom. 

Nope.  Not there either. 

It had vanished. 

Some of you have probably hauled an old cracked porcelain commode, a busted storm door or ratty piece of furniture out to the curb only to have it miraculously vanish by morning.  This happens to me all the time.  I never have to haul my junk to the city dump.

But used cat litter? 

Right off the porch?  

That is bold.

I have two theories. 

The first is a varmint like a raccoon dragged it away.  Better yet - someone's Labrador retriever was the culprit. 

My second guess is that someone saw the carefully knotted plastic grocery bag sitting outside the door and thought there was something valuable inside it. 

Maybe they thought - Hey, someone baked some yummy scones for the nice people that live here and left them outside their door as a house-warming gift. 

With his stomach growling the hooligan tip-toes up on the porch, filches the bag and slips stealthily into the night. 

Drooling, he anticipates his illicit midnight snack. 

He thinks - Hey, these are heavier than scones.  These must be bran muffins.  Big ones, too.

Critter or person - I hope they enjoyed it.

Blech.

Tom

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Post Script -

It has occurred to me that you have not met the cat.  

She recently celebrated her twentieth birthday. 

I am informed that this is the equivalent of 96 human years.

She is the household's grand dame.

...pull down your pants and slide on the ice.

With all due respect to the sage advice of Dr. Sidney Freedman from the television series M*A*S*H* - please keep your pants on.

You might want to check out the ice at the Muellner Building located at Tosa's Hart Park.

Tosa curling is just around the corner.

The Wauwatosa Curling Club (WCC) has been a fixture in Wauwatosa since 1921.

I believe that would qualify the club as a significant part of Tosa's historical, cultural and social fabric.

Curling has been a part of Hart Park's Muellner Building since the early 1940s when the structure was built - specifically as a curling venue.  Tosa curlers contributed to the cost of construction.

Nowadays the building is enjoyed by multiple users yet the WCC remains the city's longest-term tenant as occupant of the basement - and during the winter months - the large hall.

There are a couple of open houses scheduled for this month.

Check-out the sport that's sweeping the nation.

Questions?  Call 414.453.CURL 

Email info@wauwatosacurlingclub.com

Good curling!

Tom

By the way - who can tell me how the Muellner Building got its name? 

I'll post any responses in a couple of days.

My wife spied this adorable little fella on the garden hose.

I spied this eating machine on the machine shed.

Both are fun to have around.

Who are they?

I'll publish your submissions in a couple of days.

Tom

The Tosa East Red Raiders hosted Brookfield East at Hart Park last Saturday - defeating the Spartans (37-35) in the Raider's homecoming with a fourth quarter rally.

The class of 1968 was there to cheer them on.

Not my class but my lovely wife's.  They were celebrating their 40th class reunion.  Yikes!  

How many of you remember what your were up to in 1968? 

How about the war in Vietnam?  

There was the battle of Khe Sanh, massacre at My Lai and Tet Offensive.

Future Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain was a guest at the Hanoi Hilton.

US ground forces reached their peak at about 550,000. 

By year-end total US deaths surpassed the 30,000 mark.

As ugly as that was it gets worse.

The Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia.

Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated.

North Korea seized the USS Pueblo and imprisoned its crew.

Saddam Hussein became Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council in Iraq after a coup d’état.

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago hosted a full-scale riot - replete with the Illinois National Guard in a staring role.

Sounds to me like a helluva year, eh? 

And you figured the little events of this year were exciting.

On a brighter note - 

Green Bay defeated Oakland in Super Bowl II.

Stanley Kubrick's - 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered.

The price of a gallon of gasoline was around 27 to 34 cents and you could go to a movie for $1.50.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed above 100 for the first time and oil was discovered in Alaska.

Apollo 8 orbited the moon and after an investment of $5 million (1960s dollars) the first ATM made its debut.

Music of that year was generally awesome.  

Raquel Welch (and my future wife) were hot.

So last weekend I got to hang-out with a bunch of people I didn't know really very well - initially anyway.  After a couple of days of visiting  - my conclusion?

I was impressed.

Impressed at how many Raider alumni attended.

Impressed at how many make Tosa their home.

The notion I got to move here almost two and a half decades-ago has been reinforced.  

Tosa is a great place to grow-up, come of age, raise a family and indulge your grandchildren. 

Our Wauwatosa, to thee we sing,

Thy glorious victories, ever will bring

Pride to our beating hearts, loyal and free,

Our Alma Mater, praise to thee!

U! Rah! Rah! Wau-wa-tosa!

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Update

For any of you who have been following the comments made to this post by Tosa's Ray Py - here are pictures of the East High School tower:

This is the picture I was looking for.  It was taken by a photog who followed a fire truck to this scene where there was a small welding fire in some debris.  He shot the tower being taken down on a June afternoon in 1974.  Actually most people in the city were unaware that the tower was to be demolished until this picture appeared.  I have never been able to find the single person in authority who approved the work.  It was estimated at the time that it would have cost $25,000 to maintain the tower. Estimates today of its replacement are in the millions.

I learned something new this week when a colleague introduced me to the term word salad.

If you go to the all-knowing internet you will learn that this is defined as a string of words that vaguely resembles language, and may or may not be grammatically correct, but is utterly meaningless. 

The friend suggested the following as an example-

Couric:  What other Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?

Palin:  Well, let's see.  There's, of course in the great history of America there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American.  And there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there.  So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but...

Couric:  Can you think of any?

Palin:  Well, I could think of...any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level.  Maybe I would take issue with.  But, you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a vice president, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today.

One word - vacuous.

Maybe I'm just a long-suffering McCain fan that had high expectations and got smacked between the eyes with a running mate this is - well - disappointing.

How about Exxon v. Baker?  It happened under your watch as governor.  Remember?  It cost your fellow Alaskans a big chunk of change. 

Am I the only one that cringes in pain every time this candidate opens her mouth? 

Sheesh. 

For the sake of John McCain she better hit one out of the park tonight. 

Stay tuned.

Tom

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10/02/08  9:55 PM - Some post debate observations:

Good Job!.  Not an out of the park slam - but several good base-hits.

Style points for being folksy.  Hey - Joe Six Pack - you're darn right you betcha - we wantcha to support those soccer moms, eh.  I love it!

Ample use of Reaganisms - There you go again - doggone it.  Beacon of hope.  You get the drift.

Hey Sarah - some unsolicited advice from someone who was on a high school debate squad. 

Rule #1 - Never let the moderator redirect you back to the original question when you fail to answer it the first time.

Rule #2 - Give-up the freaking sound bites.

Rule #3 - Stop looking at your notes and STOP using the word also.  You are making me nuts.

Rule #4 - Being perky is no substitute for command of the language and facts.  You need to practice more.  Oh, wait, there aren't any more debates.  I guess you're off the hook.

Thanks for alleviating 4 weeks of growing doubts.

Bottom line -

Lost no votes, gained some, appeared confident.

Stay tuned.

Tom

Here are the key match-ups in this year's great economic tournament.

The weak (and the unlucky) are already beginning to be weeded-out.

Strap-on your seatbelts and enjoy the ride.

Tom