This arrived in the mailbag today.

Just trying to keep everyone's spirits-up.

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!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

Back in the good-old-days medical treatments were simple and straight-forward.  Opiates and alcohol were the pharmaceuticals of choice - sometimes concocted in interesting combinations.  The practice of bloodletting - a procedure to relieve the body of the ill humors - was immensely popular.

Intended to heal the sick it probably killed quite a few people as well.  It maybe killed George Washington. 

Maybe not.

Anyway my barber no longer pulls teeth, amputates limbs or administers leeches.  Given his shaky hands he no longer uses a straight razor.  This is a good thing.

To be fair - leeches have enjoyed a remarkable comeback and occupy a useful niche in modern medicine - although I am of the opinion that they are better suited as walleye bait.

I have a good feeling today having had a really good bleeding.

This was donation number 140. 

Visualize seventeen and a half gallons of blood.  Blech. 

The nice people at the Blood Center of Wisconsin always give me a call as soon as I'm eligible to donate.  They tell me that is because I belong to the seven percent of the population sharing the O-negative blood type - meaning I am a universal donor. 

In the world of blood products this is the equivalent of always being the guy that has to buy a round of drinks.

The blood people also tell me I am CMV negative - apparently making my blood particularly suited for use with infants or patients with compromised immune systems. 

Yep.  I buy another round.

Since the blood people have apparently screened, studied and analyzed my blood down to the last corpuscle they've gone out of their way to point out that I also happen to have (what they characterize as) Robust T-Cells.  The resulting consequence of which is they've roped me into participating as a lab rat in Dr. Jack Gorski's NIH study on how to improve vaccines.

With all that going for me you'd think I could sell the stuff, get rich and retire. 

Nope.  Only voluntary donations allowed.

I'm still buying.

On the flip side I take perverse satisfaction in knowing that there's a growing population of kids out there who have some of my hemoglobin coursing through their veins.

Consider the possibility that - having been transfused with my blood - all of the those youngsters will grow-up, manifest my personality traits and move to Tosa.

Gives you the creeps - eh?

If you're looking to do a good turn and earn a warm and fuzzy feeling I recommend a good bleeding - at the Blood Center.

There's a convenient Tosa location over on Watertown Plank Road. 

Call 1-877-BE-A-HERO and schedule an appointment.

As of Wednesday afternoon they tell me that in the past couple of weeks they've periodically been down to a one day supply.

You never know - you might need a unit or two someday.

There is no substitute.

Tom

Now that the flood has crested the city has decided to give away free sand - ostensibly so we can build a bunker or dike around our homes and businesses.

Too little too late?

To prepare for the next flood event you can purchase sand bags here.

For any of you who haven't recently constructed a bunker from scratch - it's back-breaking work.

Since these hundred year floods happen so frequently I propose that the city let us build our sand bag levees and leave them in place - permanently.

Tosa would look more like Beirut.

On a serious note here's a simple tip that I've used in the past to keep that nasty back-up out of the basement:

A standpipe for the floor drain.

For less than $20 you can purchase a length of PVC pipe and a rubber donut gasket to afix around the end.

Jam the thing into the floor drain.

When the sewer backs up, the water stays in the pipe. The system works unless the backup is so deep that it goes over the top of the pipe. 

Trust me - this really works. 

I suppose things could get so bad that the pipe could blow -but it's never happened to me.

Tom

Today, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced a change in signage for all I-94 east-bound traffic...

That's it. 

Vacation has come to an abrupt end. 

Back to the routine of work and workouts. 

Lunch time is workout time and I typically spend my noon hour at the gym.  Even-numbered days are treadmill and odd days are for resistance training. 

A half hour on the treadmill necessitates some reading material to pass the time.

Today I forgot a newspaper and had to improvise by drawing upon the eclectic selection of magazines off the gym's rack.

A copy of Boating - World's Largest Powerboat Magazine caught my eye.  Hmm... who doesn't like to look at and read about big boats?

As it turns out it was a decent read.  There was an in-depth review of the towing capabilities of my new GMC and lots and lots stories with pictures of big boats populated with curvaceous babes that obviously require boat loads of money to maintain.

One article in particular caught my eye.

I'm not making this up.  The readers of Boating know that they can "leave their inhibitions on shore".  

Apparently the latest trend to hit the big power boat scene is something last viewed in a strip club. 

According to the editor, dance poles are literally popping-up in boats across the United States.  As irrefutable proof of this he cited no less than authoritative celebrity clientèle like Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba and Carmen Electra. 

The company behind the craze believes that the poles are so popular on board because women can "get in a good off-shore workout while simultaneously unleashing their inner sex kitten". 

Poles can be custom colored to match your boat.

Imagine that.

I wonder how soon it will be before Cabelas adds this to their product line?

Tom

See update at botton of post 

Looking for a new challenge?

Something fun to do on your way to or from work?

A diversion for your recently licensed teenage driver over the Christmas holiday?

I recommend the Bluemound Road Slalom.

This isn't about racing on downhill skis to negotiate a course defined by flags.

This is about racing down Bluemound Road and dodging the ever-increasing number of pot holes that have sprouted like mushrooms over the past month.

The stretch of Bluemound west of Mayfair Road to the western boundary of Tosa is losing its surface - one hole at a time.

More nasty weather on tap and the prospect for continuing freeze-thaw cycles = more holes!  

The slalom's level of difficulty is being magnified.

I'm still trying to figure out if the high speed run during daylight is more thrilling than a low speed, heavy traffic run after dark.

Check it out.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Updated -  5:20 PM 

So, I made the high-speed, cannonball run on the pot hole slalom traveling to and from lunch with my pop today.

I was looking forward to the night-time, heavy traffic challenge on the drive home from work.

Guess what. 

Sometime this afternoon someone patched the holes.

Do you suppose someone is using their city hall computer to read this blog?

If the totally scientific research is to be believed... 

You Are 40% Republican

Specifically:  You're a bit Republican, and probably more conservative than you realize.  If you're still voting Democrat, maybe it's time that you stop.

Interested in learning how Republican you are?

You can also take the quiz to determine how much Democrat blood you have running through  your veins.

For the record - I'm apparently 16% Democrat.

I wonder what the remaining 44% is?

Fellow Community Voice - Family Guy (Peter Hart) has broached a topic rather near and dear to my heart. 

I would like to thank those Tosans that opened his eyes to see the light.

While the typical Christmas tree is grown and harvested for one single purpose - namely the celebration of Jesus' birth; I am inclined to believe that the second member of the Holy Trinity would actually have spoken highly-of and possibly blessed the practice of TSI - timber stand improvement.

Euphemistically known as clear cutting.

I'm not talking about clear cutting rain forests for the grazing of beef cattle to feed America's fast-food appetite.  I'm suggesting clear-cutting to mimic the impacts of nature (namely fire) that we have chosen to suppress, so that certain tree species have an opportunity to regenerate with human (in the absence of nature's) intervention.

In case any of you don't know this (or even care to know) my wife and I are tree farmers.

Yep, just like the farmer that grows corn, beans or hay.

We grow trees. 

Like most farmers we deal with blights, diseases, insects, critters, poor weather and other unlikely and unpredictable events. 

Unlike most farmers - the growing and harvest cycles for a tree farmer extend beyond one year to the next.  They last decades, lifetimes and beyond. 

Think: patient farmer.

We do not grow Christmas trees or nursery stock. 

All of our trees are destined for the mill - either as pulp or saw boards.

A couple of months ago my wife and I attended the National Tree Farm Convention - hosted in Madison, Wisconsin.  Almost 700 individuals from 38 states made a point of attending some or all of the event. It was the largest gathering yet.

Forests and forestry are a big deal in Wisconsin. 

To get your arms around how big consider the following:

It is estimated that the forest industry in Wisconsin contributes more than $30 billion annually to the state's economy and supports over 100,000 jobs in the forest products and processing industries with more than $3.5 billion in payroll.  Additionally, more than 125,000 jobs are indirectly supported in other sectors of the state's economy.

In 28 counties (out of 72 total) the forest industry is the largest employer.  In 14 additional counties the forest products industry is among the top three employers.

Forests are the backbone of more that 1900 companies. Capital investment in the forest industry exceeds $811 million annually - second in the nation - and one-fifth of all investment in Wisconsin manufacturing.

Wisconsin is the number one paper making state in the nation and has been for more than 50 years.  Wisconsin produces more than 5.3 million tons of paper and over 1.1 million tons of paperboard annually.

The combined value of paper, lumber and wood products shipped from Wisconsin in a single year is around $17 billion.

Forest-based recreation adds an additional $5.5 billion annually to the Wisconsin economy.

Most kids today don't have a clue about the role that trees play in their lives.

I think that stinks.

The planned State Forestry Education Center that is going to be built in Tosa on the County Grounds may begin to turn that around.

About that Christmas tree? 

Do yourself, the Wisconsin economy, and the world a favor and guiltlessly purchase a real tree - a genuine renewable resource.

Jesus loves you for doing so.

I received an email from the Mothership recently with an elaboration of policy for MyCommunityNOW.com Blogs.

While it has not been a problem with commentary to any of my posts it is probably worth noting that all of us Community Voices have to be mindful of personal attacks, insults, threats; ethnic, racial, religious or sexual slurs; or other hateful conversation.  Any comments falling under that category, or otherwise crosses the line, will be deleted.

I have been reminded that both posters and commentators must not knowingly give out personal information about other individuals or participants of these blogs.  I can respect that.  We all know that candidates, elected officials and folks in the public eye are fair-game.

It is noteworthy for you readers to know that unlike many bloggers who are somewhat obsessive about the identity or IP addresses of visitors to their blog; I have only a casual (if any) interest in who you are.  JSOnline.com respects your privacy as well.  It is their policy that I'll never know your identity or IP address.  

I won't moderate comments unless I have to.

There, I am now in full compliance. 

The rather animated discussion about global warming being held on the TTS took-off on a weird tangent this afternoon. 

The subject turned to my tomatoes 

Well folks I regret to inform you that the end of the tomato season has arrived.  Sigh...

I can remember the drooling anticipation for the first couple of ripe fruits which were promptly converted into BLTs.  Now the season has drawn to a close.

I planted some Roma tomato plants this year and have been blessed with an unprecedented quantity of these delightful fruits.  Truthfully, too many of them.  So when inundated with Roma tomatoes you do what the Romans do - you make sauce.

I have processed and canned (what I believe to be) some marvelous pasta sauce.  I have a vision of lasagna, pizzas and other Italian delights this winter dancing in my head.  In my quest for good sauce I should remind the readers of this post that inspiration can be found in the consumption of good Italian wine.  However, imbibing in a robust Chianti can also lead to visions of grandeur and greatness.  In my steamy kitchen, contemplating my sauce and my Chianti, I reflected upon who else has achieved greatness my means of exploiting the humble tomato.

One name stands out - Heinz.

Yeah, you know, the same Heinz that married that Senator from Massachusetts with a face like a horse.

Have your ever wondered what makes Heinz Ketchup so rich and thick?

The answer is Methyl Ethyl Cellulose.  Yep, that is science-speak for wood pulp.

So, Tosa moms and dads, make sure that you slather an extra-generous helping of this tomato-based condiment on your child's hot dog or bologna sandwich.

This message of better living through chemistry has been brought to you by Wisconsin's forest products industry and Certified Family Forest owners - all doing their level best to enhance your ketchup experience and sequester those naughty carbon emissions.