Bingo with YaYa!

Friday night YaYa joined us for bingo, where I ran into Cheri, my old boss from Job Prior, who I probably haven't seen since 2005. She was there with her Mom Melissa, who used to work in our cafe, but alas Melissa didn't remember me. 

YaYa was admirably into the action, paying careful attention to her sheets and coming close to victory on a few occasions. 

"Close", of course, betrays the fact that we never did reach a successful outcome that evening. Well, we won $4.50 on pull tabs but spent more on those than we took home. Cherri and her Mom, however, both won different games. 

You'll have to forgive me for staring into space in this last picture. There are other versions where I look a little smarter, but in those my lovely companions weren't facing the camera, and I think you'd rather see their faces anyway :)

It was a fun, relaxing evening with the 2001-2003 version of Team Slap!

A Mysterious Package

So this arrived in the mail Saturday. No return address. No invoice. No documentation. No one claims to have ordered it for me. 

I can only assume it's the equivalent of a Hogwarts letter and I've been drafted. 

Deus Vult folks, I'm off to Jerusalem. I hope they stock size 4x armor. 

Tik Tok is Gone

Shortly before 9 pm, a full two hours shy of legal shutdown date, even if you went by Eastern time, Tiktok logged off its users and closed its doors. 

I'm not an idiot. I know that in two days President Trump will probably enact the 90 day extension for the app that is allowed within the bill; in fact, he's already said he is thinking of doing so Monday. 

But for some reason this closure hit me in the gut. 

I don't use TikTok a lot. I'm one of the old guys that waits for a TikTok trend to filter down to Facebook Reels before I give it a view. But YaYa posted heavily on the site, Junie too to some extent, and Lisa and all the kids spent many an hour scrolling through the app. 

And yes, I understand that the data exploitation on Tiktok was a genuine concern of two opposing Presidential administrations. It just seems an awfully specific ban when our country seems so wide open to digital manipulation.  

Today, I literally spent hours trying to download and preserve every video I could from the kids accounts. I'm ticked that each starts with a noticeable, if brief, watermark, but I worked with what I had available on short notice. I had downloaded only one of six years worth of Junie's vids when the app went dark. Theoretically, if the site never comes back, that means her Musically account, which chronicled her life at 7 or 8, is gone forever. 

I should have known better, and preserved it long ago you say. Sure. I'm a data hoarder, and spending the day documenting their posts was right up my alley. But today was *also* the first day the kids allowed me access to see, and download, the videos they'd made private (which numbered in the hundreds) and so I was forced to scramble at the last minute. 

The day the app comes back online, I'll spend the evening grabbing the rest of Junie's posts. 

I pray I get the chance. 

Blubbering to a Lee Ann Womack Song

 After a miserable appointment we had in the late afternoon, Lisa and I set out to the eastern edge of Oak Creek to pick up a work suit for LuLu. 

One the way there the radio played "I Hope You Dance," a song by Lee Ann Womack that Lisa first heard when pregnant with YaYa. It quickly became the theme song of the pregnancy, and of her hopes for our firstborn daughter. 

Listening to it, I had an idea. "YaYa and I should dance to this for the father-daughter dance at her wedding." I said. 

Or rather, that's what I tried to say. 

I got so far as the word "dance" before turning into a blubbering mess, incapable of speech, with tears streaming down my face. 

Lisa soon joined in the waterworks. 

Two blubbering parents getting emotional at the thought of their baby girl now all grown up and engaged. 

But I do hope, I really do, that I get the chance to dance with her to that song on her wedding day. 

Bob Uecker

 

Milwaukee native Bob Uecker, the voice of the Brewers, died today only a short while before his 91st birthday. 

Uecker was ubiquitous here in Milwaukee throughout my life. A former weak-hitting MLB catcher, he began calling games for the Brewers 3 years before I was born, and continued through 2024. He starred in a successful sitcom, Mr. Belevedere, in the '80's, was a standout in Miller Lite commercials, and brought his humor to the silver screen in the Major League movies.

He was genuinely, instinctively funny, and his love for Milwaukee, and the Brewers, knew no limits.. I'm sorry we didn't give him the chance to call a championship for the Crew.  

RIP

Ollie-Ver

 Some pics of Oliver, taken January 9th. 

1st Place - Forensics

Last Saturday, the 11th, Junie finished first in a city wide forensics tournament in her category, "Special Occasion Speaking."

Well done, and congratulations!

Gentle Family Dentistry in Kenosha

Last Tuesday, the 7th, I worked from home - or actually, from a study room in a local library. I had a Zoom hearing at 11, and during that I noticed that a toothache that had greeted me when I woke up, then subsided, was back. No problem, I finished the hearing and headed out for lunch at KFC. I bit into one fry - a french fry - and you'd have thought I bit into a live electrical line. 

Ouch. 

I'm pretty familar with tooth pain and thought I could tough it out until I could see my normal dentist. 

That . . . was an overestimate of my chutzpah. 

By late afternoon I began calling every dentist Google listed in or near our zip code, without luck, and then expanded my search. I finally found an "urgent dental clinic" that was willing to see me, and my insurance, as long as I also kicked in $165. Given the pain, I said yes. 

Then, when I got there, they told me that was just to be seen. To have it extracted? That was another $1500 even after my two (not one!) dental insurances. To pay for this, they offered me the chance to sign up for their financing. They were, and are, the dental equivalent of a payday loan place. Morally, not a good look guys. 

So it's almost 8pm and I'm just about out of hope. I stopped at Walgreens and bought some oral pain killer to rub on the tooth, but it didn't make a dent in the pain. I went back to Google, and on a whim pulled up dentists in Kenosha, where I work. In retrospect, my first call was the best choice I'd made all day. 

That call was to Dr. Robert Salituro at Gentle Family Dentistry. 

Keep in mind I was calling him from Milwaukee, That's 45 minutes away from his office, minimum. It was 8pm. He had never met me, didn't know me from Adam, and had every reason to tell me no thanks. 

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked, and I kinda think he was hoping I would say "no" and he could go home. 

I told him it did. 

"If you can get here in the next hour, I'll help you," he said. 

But first, he asked me some medical questions, then told me he wanted to research a side effect of one of my medications before he would proceed. As promised, he looked into it, then called me back and gave me the go ahead to drive down. 

I arrived at almost 9pm, but to his credit Dr. Salituro didn't rush the process. He took a more compressive history, took x-rays, and properly numbed the area (I've had a dentist pull a tooth when I wasn't fully numb, telling me "I'll be quick"). 

Whenever he caused me pain or discomfort, he apologized, and he made a strong effort to keep those apologies to a minimum. He prescribed me antibiotics, and looked for a 24 hr pharmacy near me in Milwaukee that could acccomodate the request. 

Me? I tried to focus on the TV in the room, and the horrendous news coming out of LA and the fires tearing up the city there. 

Here's what the offending tooth looked like: 

This dentist rocked. If you have work you need done, look him up. You won't be sorry!

Magnifique

This was the great breakfast Lisa made for each us today. 

A perfectly done over-medium egg, sprinkled with red pepper, placed atop a bed of spicy guacamole spread over toasted sourdough. 

:Chef's kiss" 

Pals

 

Me and Kahuna, Dec 27th of last year

New Glasses and a Trip to Chicago

 On December 28th, the morning after Seth's birthday get-together, Lisa woke me up, on very little sleep, to go with her to pick out new glasses. 

Afterwards we had breakfast at La Crema. Lisa ordered chilaquiles, which were a bust, and I had some  so-so bisquits and gravy. 

 We like the place, the location, the atmosphere, but the food continues to miss. I'm not sure we'll be back anytime soon. 

Afterwards, although I was completely exhausted, I accepted Seth's invitation to go down and spend the day in Chicago. His wife was going with, and he told me that instead of his normal ride, he'd be taking her Suburu. He sent a text saying he was on his way. 

So a few minutes later, when a Suburu pulled up in front of the house with a woman in the passenger seat, I walked over, opened the rear passenger door - 

aaaaaand it wasn't Seth and his wife. 

That's not the first time I've made those types of mistaks. Once, a few years back, I got into a  silverMazda CX-9 at Dollar Tree, and got upset when my key didn't start it. You guessed it. My car was parked a few spots down. 

It's a good way to get shot, to be honest. 

Anyway, we drove down to Chicago, scooped our friend Eladio from his north side home, and traveled to the south side of Chicago, to Ricobene's.

Eladio seconded the propaganda the restaurant puts out: that they serve the best sandwhich in the world. This "masterpiece" is breaded steak on a hoagie bun, toppped with marinara sauce and, if you pay extra, peppers and shredded mozzarella. 

It was fine. 

Was it worth a ride to Chicago when I was that tired? No

Was it worth a ride to Chicago had I been fully rested? No

Was it worth a ride across Milwaukee if there was a location there? No

Was it worth stopping in if you're in the neighborhood? Yes. 

Afterwards, after driving past Seth's alma matter of Loyola, we stopped in Lincoln Square. 

First stop, an upscale meat market called Gene's Sausage Shop, on the site of a famous defunct Chicago deli called Meyer's. 

Then it was down a few doors to a bookstore, The Book Cellar. I guess the identically named store in the Central Milwaukee Library isn't as uniquely named as I thought. 

Lastly, to a tourist shop, where I saw the Taylor Swift ornaments below, and then an apothecary. 

Our departure from Lincoln Square was delayed by a heavy police and fire presence. that boxed in the car. At first I  thought they were there to treat a man I saw trip and bust his nose on the sidewalk, but it appears they were there to prevent any trouble at a televised interview at the large menorah in Lincoln Square. 

From there we dropped off Eladio and then headed back to Milwaukee. 

Suprisingly, sometime after the meal, I broke through my wall of exhaustion and felt pretty darn good, so in the end I greatly enjoyed the Chciago trip. 

A good day start to finish. 

Some Of The Christmas Gifts I Received

 A Dwight Schrute inspired t-shirt by Lisa 

A bird throw pillow, also from Lisa

A Keurgig cup tray for my machine from Junie

A "Cool Dad" mug from YaYa

Homestyle Bakes

 

We had this for dinner Saturday night. 

No, it isn't fine dining, but we used to have this, and the other varieties, all the time when the kids were growing up. As a family of six, we usually made two boxes at a time, adding frozen vegetables to it before baking. 

Nowadays, with everyone's crazy schedules, one box sufficed, although once it again it was supplemented with frozen veggies and some brown and serve rolls.

Yum. 

We WILL be having it again. 

I'm So Ready to be Done with MPS

 I got this email from Junie about forty minutes ago. It was sent from her school Chromebook because they ridiculously don't allow phones in school, even though they live in an age when violence happens and phones are a lifeline. But, you know, let's not inconvenience the faculty.

My only current knowledge that something was amiss when this email rolled in? The school sent out a mass text saying that after school tutoring was canceled, and apologized without explanation. 

The sooner the last of my kids is out of there, the better. 

The picture by the way, is of her media crush, Finn Wolfhard. 

Oliver - One Week In

 A week ago we adopted 17 year old Oliver. He was curious and unafraid the first day, exploring the house under our supervision, but chose to make a bed for himself in the bathroom closet. That became his go-to for several days, venturing out only for water and to use the litter box. 

By New Years Day, around the time I went in the lake, the slight respiratory issues he'd displayed when we met him had gotten much worse; his face was caked with dried snot, and his breathing had become a constant "snoring" sound. 

On Jan 2nd, I called MAADC, and they gave me a weeks worth of liquid, oral medicine to give him. The first day, LuLu administered it and Oliver was so scared he peed on her. I've handled the subsequent doses, with dissimilar results.  But for Day 2, in anticipation of pee that never came, I put him in the tub to give him his meds. Unfortunately, he managed to find a puddle of spilled shampoo, getting it all over his bely. That's on me yo. 

So my sick kitty needed a bath to wash it off - as well as the pee, and the dirt, and the general detritus that seems to accumulate at the pound. 

I will grant you he doesn't look thrilled in the photos. There are better ones, but those show my flappy upper arms, and we aint having that on this page, no sir. 

Get this: he enjoyed the bath. 

I'm not kidding. Not only did he not fight it, which you could chalk up to illness fatigue, he seemed to like it so much you'd have thought he booked a day at the spa. I've never had a cat that tolerated a bath like that, at all, much less got a kick out of it. 

Afterwards, looking much more respectable, he ventured out for water 

The next day we tried to introduce him to our bedroom, with great success. He stayed with Lisa on the bed, ventured out for litter and drink, then returned on his own to his place on the bed. After that, our bedroom became his go-to hangout. 

The medicine seemed to be working by then. He was now dripping snot, rather than congested, and the constant snoring sound had faded. 

Now, on day 5 of the meds the snoring/congestion sounds are gone, replaced, if you pet him with long, slow strokes of your hand, with a low but audible purr. There is no more snot, although his eyes occasionally water, and knock on wood knock on wood, knock on wood, he seems to be bouncing  back to full health.

 

Visually, he seems to much closer resemble the cat that was brought into the pound after his owner's death, rather than the cat I adopted who was looking a little rag-tag. How do I know? I stumbled, long after his adoption, onto a Facebook post promoting him. 

This evening he was walking around, checking out the house again, ignoring the dogs like they weren't there, before retreating back to the bedroom. 

update: Then, at this late writing (it is almost 2am Tuesday morning) Oliver ventured out again, exchanged a few looks at Sawyer, used the litter box, and calmly walked back into the bedroom. I don't see him eat very often, which worries me, but maybe I'm just looking at the wrong times. I hope so. He certainly doesn't LOOK any lighter; fur makes a difference, but he feels hefty when you lift him. 

Bingo

Last Friday night Lisa and I took my mother-in-law to bingo at the Lions Club. Not a dime was won by any of us (well, $4 was won on 7 bucks worth of pull tabs) but it was three hours of fun. 

The Ghost of Christmas Future

"Daddy, how did Grampy die back in 2025?"

"He was killed driving to work in a snowstorm."

"Was it important work Daddy?"

"Oh yes, young Ebenezer,yes it was.  He had a misdemeanor sentencing AND intake that day!"

Congratulations Aaron!

Today the great Aaron Rodgers became only the 5th NFL quarterback to pass for 500 career touchdowns! To those bitter naysayers who claim he limped to the record, and thus "degraded it" - yes,  I just encountered one such dupa online - even in the midst of an otherwise miserable season, at age 41,  he threw for 3,643 yards and 24 touchdowns. 

To me,  he's second only to Joe Montana among QB greats.

If this was his final game,  thank you for everything Aaron.