White Charger

No, no, not that white Charger. I am talking about the white horse the hero rides when off to save the damsel in distress. You remember the fairy tale.

I don't often get the opportunity to be the person riding in to save the day, but last week, I got the chance to do it twice. I want to tell you about one of those. For all of my adult life, and most of the years I was learning to drive, one thing I was told again and again was not to pick up hitchhikers. It was an unsafe decision. So, I've stopped to give someone a ride twice, one of them last week.

I'd been in the Twin Cities and was heading back mid-morning on Wednesday. The temperature was four degrees there, and the wind was blowing. As I drove, I saw a car on the side of the road with its flashers blinking. No one was in the car and there were no other cars around it. Someone was having a bad day. About a quarter of a mile down the road, two people, wrapped in blankets were walking along the side of the interstate. Interestingly, all the training and all the words from the past were nowhere to be heard. I pulled over as quickly as I could, rolled down the windows on the passenger side of the truck and waited for the two to catch up to me.

Now comes the interesting part. Two young women approached my truck as though it was the “portal to hell.” Obviously, they'd received the same training and conversation about taking a ride from a stranger. Now, looking back on it, the whole thing was hilarious. I had already made the leap to this being okay, but they just weren't sure getting in a truck with a stranger was the safe, smart thing to do. So, I decided to break the ice. I told them I would be happy to take them the couple of miles to the truck stop to where they would be warm and safe. I also looked at them, smiled, and told them I was safe, adding there were two of them and only one of me.

Somewhere in the middle of the short conversation, I won them over. One of them jumped in the front seat and the other in the back. We started moving and I recognized how cold they already were. One could barely speak through shivering teeth. I asked about their situation and they had literally run out of gas about two miles sooner than needed. They'd already talked to family who lived about thirty minutes south and who were headed toward them to help. In less than five minutes, I had them snug in a warm truck stop, waiting for family to come and bail them out.

As I drove away, I found myself smiling and thinking, as my sister would have said when we were younger, “all at the same once.” The reason for the smile was obvious. I helped someone who was in a jam. The thinking takes a little more to get processed. I found myself taking a look at all the things we take for granted. The things we have learned, either intentionally, or unintentionally over a lifetime. One of mine was to never pick up hitchhikers. I could argue I didn't break that rule as these girls weren't hitchhiking, but were in trouble. But the other thing is that nobody else stopped to help them. Many of us have the same rule set. But, for the three of us involved in the five minutes where I gave them a ride, we will probably think differently about similar situations in the future. Heck, at the end of it, I don't even know their names. They were just people who needed help.

So, in this time of holiday cheer, thinking of friends and family, it again points out to me the need to think about ways we can help each other. This can be those we know intimately, or those barely known to us. I know for me this year, I am thinking more about how I can help others than I typically do, and it will be interesting to see where this leads.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Jim

Skinnin' Fish

Sometimes a family story comes to the top of your head, and until you get it told, it will not go away.

Grandma and Grandpa lived on the hill heading out of town going east for as long as I can remember. Throughout those years, the same family lived across the road. Our families were always friendly, but not what anyone would call friends. Over the years of sitting on the front steps and living in close proximity, there was a tendency to watch each other.

As the story goes, one afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa sat in front of their house and something was going on across the way. Grandma watched with rapt interest for some amount of time and then announced her thoughts.

They were skinnin’ fish over there.

As the story goes, this struck Grandpa in as  funny , and laughter erupted. At the end of all of the laughing and conversation, they both decided it didn't matter what was going on across the road. But that was the only the beginning of the story. From the moment that exchange happened until today, if the situation is similar - something is happening but you can’t tell what - a family member will say, "Well, I think they’re skinnin’ fish.” The rest of us still laugh.

I believe one reason this came to mind today is the current state of communication in the United States. I watch it happen with friends and family. There is so much intensity on everything being said it is impossible to recognize the important from the inane. Social media platforms feed into this. I remember a friend telling me the purpose of Twitter. He told me is was to let all of his friends know he ate a doughnut this morning. Although I think this may be a little overstated, I feel as though it is more right than wrong. People can get wound up about the most unimportant things, and honestly, they may be just skinnin’ fish.

Two members of my family work around moving traffic. One of them work in road maintenance and repair, and one worked as a police officer. Both told stories of the bad things that happen when people aren't paying attention to the right things. In fact, for the police officer ,it was sometimes referred to as “gore gawkers.” For both family members, because people didn't pay attention to the responsibilities they had as drivers, they were not as safe.

These two things go together. If we did a better job of staying focused on what was truly important, and find a way to laugh at ourselves when what we are focused on is not really important, we might well be in a better place. This is something I've been working on. I will tell you that without exception, if you let the unimportant things roll of your back, it makes life easier to deal with.

Stop skinnin' fish ... unless of course, you just reeled in a fifteen-pound walleye. Have a great week and a very good Thanksgiving.

Nor'easter - Iowa style

There are times when people believe all Iowans talk about is the weather. We talk about it during planting time, during harvest and any day in between. Sit and listen in any small coffee shop in the state and you will hear weather as a conversation point. Oh, by the way, my first few sentences might indicate we don't talk about weather between fall and spring, and there is no truth to that. We talk about it then, too. We are an agricultural state and the weather is a good indicator of the health of the crop.

On top of this is the way that many Iowans deal with severe weather. When the National Weather Service tells you to take shelter, if you go outside to look at how bad the weather really is, chances are you'll be able to wave at neighbors who are doing the same thing. After all, how can you know how bad a storm is unless you look at it?

That is all preface for my story. This week, I've had the opportunity and delight to travel with my daughter to see my sister, who lives in Maine. As my daughter was planning this trip, one issue was a curling event on Cape Cod that Jaye had already scheduled. We decided (easily enough) that Meg and I would go to the curling event.

By the way, a complete aside, if you've never watched curling, you really should. I find the physics and the strategy of the game fascinating. Maybe you should watch it with someone who knows what's going on the first time to help you to develop a basic understanding. Or, of course you could always watch hours and hours on YouTube.

There are times when people believe all Iowans talk about is the weather. We talk about it during planting time, during harvest and any day in between. Sit and listen in any small coffee shop in the state and you will hear weather as a conversation point. Oh, by the way, my earlier conversation might indicate we don't talk about weather between fall and spring, and there is no truth to that. We talk about it then, too. We are an agricultural state and the weather is a good indicator of the health of the crop.

On top of this is the way that many Iowans deal with severe weather. When the National Weather Service tells you to take shelter, if you go outside to look at how bad the weather really is, chances are you'll be able to wave at your neighbors who are outside checking on the same thing. After all, how can you know how bad a storm is unless you go out and look at it?

That is all preface for my story. This week, I've had the opportunity and delight to travel with my daughter to see my sister, who lives in Maine. As my daughter was planning this trip, one issue was a curling event on Cape Cod that Jaye had already scheduled. We decided (easily enough) that Meg and I would go to the curling event.

By the way, a complete aside, if you've never watched curling, you really should. I find the physics and the strategy of the game fascinating. Maybe you should watch it with someone who knows what's going on the first time to help you to develop a basic understanding. Or, of course you could always watch hours and hours on YouTube.

When our flight landed in Maine, we were told a Nor'easter was hitting the Cape, but you know, probably not a big deal. So we decided to head that way, take our time, and everything would probably be fine by the time we arrived. During the drive down, we decided to take a side trip and tour the USS Albacore on the way and then stop and have a little snack.

While we were driving, we read an alert that the Cape had been hit with a "bomb" cyclone and travel wasn't recommended. We also received word that electricity at the curling club was out. Curling math - Ice without electricity plus time equals water. So, what was our decision? Hold up and find a place and wait for the next day? Hell no. We were meeting people for dinner, and Jaye's team had a curling match that evening if the electricity came back. FORWARD!

By the way, given my history, I agreed completely with every one of these decisions.

As we got closer, we all noted the wind was somewhat severe and when it rain, it was pretty significant. Did we stop or turn back? Of course not. We watched the sky, and it didn't look that bad. In the middle of this, Then we got the message that power was restored at the curling club, so obviously things were getting better.

As we drove into Falmouth, MA, where the club was, we came across a gas station that had been pretty well destroyed by the storm. Several bucket trucks were out and about. We got to our rental and to our surprise; we had no electricity. Who could have possibly foreseen this? The sky hadn't looked bad at all. We gathered with the people we were to have dinner with, and then headed to the curling match that started a few hours late, finishing shortly after midnight. Fortunately, our power back the next morning in time for coffee, and the rest of the trip was very smooth. I'll tell you, it makes me wonder if my approach to weather has been flawed all of these years. The next time we have severe weather I will still say hello to my neighbors, as we stand outside watching storms roll in.

On a final note, my sister and her team won the final. This is a big deal and I am so proud of them.  When your copy of the United States Curling News comes in the mail next month, look for their picture for winning the Cape Cod Bog Spiel.

Okay, back to work next week.

Bucket List - Revisited

 If you are like me, there are several conversations which happen periodically, yet have very little real consequence. One is what you would do if you won a lottery, a big lottery. The second of these is often sandwiched right in with the first - what is on your bucket list? 

I'd never thought much about a bucket list before the 2007 movie by the same name, but since then I've been in several conversations about it. I have a group I eat breakfast with most Fridays and it came up even there in the last couple of weeks.

According to one source on the Internet, here are the top 10 in the United States:
1. Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston
2. Compare Philly cheesesteaks at Geno's and Pat's in Philly
3. Catch a Broadway Show
4. Drive Cape Cod to Provincetown in the summer
5. Eat Buffalo wings in the Anchor Bar in Buffalo
6. Bike the National Mall in DC
7. Feel the mist of Niagara Falls
8. Eat blue crabs on the water in Maryland
9. See the fall foliage in New England
10. See a show at the Grand Ole Opry

Interestingly, none of these have ever been on my bucket list, but I can certainly see why they would be. As I've thought about it over the years, mine have been much more mundane and involve a lot less travel. But you just never know when something will pop up at you and let you know you missed something and your list needs to be revised.

I had the opportunity to travel to the Detroit area earlier this month. Although there were several very interesting things and opportunities which will probably never be repeated in my life, I feel driven to tell you about a couple and recommend you consider these as possible target locations to add to your list.

The Henry Ford Museum

Although I was under the impression this museum was all about the history of Ford, I was amazed to discover it was about a much broader piece of the USA. In discussion with a docent, I found the goal of the museum has been to acquire and preserve pieces of the American experience, particularly those there was fear of losing, or having them used in less than appropriate, respectful manner. Of course there are many Ford vehicles displayed, but I also saw everything from pop culture icons (original Holiday Inn and restaurant signs) to trains and planes.

I saw wonderful things, such as:

Rocking chair used by Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. This artifact was purchased by Henry Ford in 1929 and it has been on display in the museum since then. This, and the next couple of items fill the same bill, making you stop and think about how different the country would have been if that event wouldn't have happened. It also makes you consider all that Lincoln did for the country and the way we have had to take two steps forward and one back since then.

One of the surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence. I did not expect find this to be in Dearborn, Michigan.

The bus on which Rosa Parks took a stand for civil rights in 1955. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Pearl Harbor and tour the harbor and the USS Arizona. It is amazing how similar the feeling was at the Rosa Parks bus. This was a place and a moment in time when things changed. Thanks to the museum for finding the bus in a pasture and restoring it to the look as it had in the day.

The limousine John F Kennedy was assassinated in. Not only was this limo on display but so were vehicles tasked to transport our Presidents clear back to the time of Roosevelt. Kennedy's car served another 13 years after the shooting, going through several iterations of itself. I can't tell you strongly enough how much you should go to the museum. I am a museum lover, so I am sure that is part of the enjoyment I had there, but when you can see so much in one place, you just have to consider it. https://www.thehenryford.org/

The other thing we did was take the public tour of the Ford River Rouge plant. This plant builds F-150 trucks in Dearborn. It is incredibly well set up for a tour with the walkways well above the factory floor so there is no inadvertent contact between guests and process. The plant builds 1250 trucks a day, rolling off the line once every 53 seconds. It is amazing to see how much automation is used, but honestly it is also amazing to see the amount of handwork still being done. The other interesting thing is how the trucks are built. I had assumed the line would build trucks in batches, based on color and accessory packages. The way it is really done is one truck at a time, sequenced by when the order hit the system. So, they may be building a green truck and will go to Alabama followed by the beautiful gunmetal grey fully loaded truck going to Jim Martin in Iowa ... someday.

I hope you consider updating your bucket list and adding these places to the list.

Have a great week..

Dumb Animals

There is a resident in my home who seems to be much more in charge than I would ever be willing to acknowledge. Her name is J.C. Sara adopted this toy poodle a number of years ago. She'd been found in a grader ditch in Lucas County, more than likely discarded from a puppy mill after her productive years were over. She came to the house in horrible shape. She didn't know how to take a walk, or have a toy of her own, and medically was a mess. Slowly, but surely, Sara worked with her and on her to take care of all her needs. J. C. had to have all but five teeth removed and takes daily medication for seizures. It was a lot of work and commitment but Sara did it all. 

In the middle of the whole thing a very interesting thing happened. J.C. took charge. Not in an evil overpowering way, she just has a subtle way of letting us all know exactly what her expectations are. I initially thought she was just not very smart, but now I recognize it for the true stubborn, committed behavior it was. She had things she wanted to accomplish and set about doing it.

Somewhere along the line, I was struck by a very powerful thought. I remember thinking about people referring to animals as "dumb animals." What struck me was the realization about the people, not the animals. The only people who thought that had never been around animals. The rest of us know with certainty they aren't dumb. 

I thought back to some of the personalities we had in horses when we were growing up. A perfect example was Big Red. He was a quarter horse we all showed at horse shows. The thing that made him stand out was his behavior if we didn't get back to Grandpa and Grandma's place until after dark. Typically he would be left out in the corral next to the barn. If we were late getting home, he unlatched the gate to the upper paddock and then to make sure we knew, he turned on the yard light at the top of the hill. If we drove in and the yard light was on, we knew Red had decided we were late and needed light to get home.

Then there was Tillie. Tillie was part of my grandfather's chariot team. Yes, I said chariot. The full team was Millie and Tillie and Art. Just for clarification, Art was my Grandfather. Anyway, Millie had a quiet temperament and would do about anything you asked of her. Tillie, on the other hand, although not mean at all, had no intention of ever being fully controlled. This was pointed out the day one of my cousins decided it was time to ride her. Although a good horseman, maybe better called a cowboy, he had no chance of making this happen. He got bucked off a bunch of times. Even after he thought Tillie was getting used to being ridden, she waited for her moment and then bucked him off again. He finally gave up.

The other thing I have been hearing over and over again lately is how helpful animals are with people with a myriad of behavioral issues. I can not even begin to think of all of the newspaper articles in the last couple of years about animals helping humans. A lot of this seems to be around veterans coming home and working to move back into society here. It seems like time and again, the pivotal moment for people getting better involves an animal. Colleges and universities allow therapy animals. I think back to some of the students I watched fail at Drake and wonder if they would have done better and had a higher chance of success if they'd been allowed to have a pet.

So, tonight when I get home from the gym, and there is a small grey toy poodle sitting in the middle of the living room looking at me, I will know without question it is time for a treat. It's one of the things she trained me to accomplish in the time she has been in the house. Dumb animals ... right!

Blasts

Are you ever truly amazed by the way a thought will blast into your mind?

What made me think about this was a comment someone made about hot chocolate. I don't even remember what the comment was, but the instant it was made, the image of an old white enamel coffee pot invaded my every thought. I had to stop and ask why.

When I was a child, one of the treats we had as a family was hot chocolate. Typically, it was prepared on a Sunday evening, and again typically it was served with something like chili or chipped beef gravy on toast. Sometimes it was creamed eggs on toast, which I hated, but my sister loved. I guess it was a way to learn compromise, but with that I always felt I had lost. By the way, my sister didn't like the chipped beef gravy. No small amount of conflict, here. Anyway, hot chocolate softened the blow of not having exactly what we liked for dinner. Both my sister and I knew when the old coffee pot came out, it was going to be hot chocolate. This was before the days of heating water in a microwave, opening a pouch, and suddenly - hot chocolate. This involved heating milk, adding sugar and cocoa, and being careful to avoid scalding the whole thing while trying to get it hot. It was a process. Yes, and all of this came streaming back at me with a conversation about hot chocolate.

Fast forward to yesterday morning. As I started up the on-ramp to the interstate to go to work, I looked to my right and what should be sitting in the parking lot of the motel but the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. A whole new set of blasts from the past. I thought about the Weinermobile and all the times it was shown on television, advertising different events. I thought of the small plastic whistles they made to support the advertising plan that has now gone on since the first was created in 1936. Those have been around for eighty-three years now. Simply amazing. All of this came back in a flash. And, just by the way, there is now a Wienermobile app so you can keep track of where the Wienermobile fleet is and make sure you don't miss them in your town. Who knew?

The thing that really brought this all to the forefront for me is twofold. First, my hometown, Sigourney, celebrated their 175th birthday last week. From all I can see, the entire week was very successful. Although I wasn't able to get to the event, I appreciate the photos and updates coming out of the community and the event. It really made me remember, Sigourney is my hometown. I need to get there in the next few months. Great work, everyone. Thank you so much for everything you did.

Second, I hope you had fun with family and friends over the holiday. My kids and grand-kids were all home, and we celebrated Independence Day together. This seems to happen less and less as everyone gets more and more busy. Time goes by so quickly and before we know it another generation is grown. It just happens so quickly.

Finally, coming up this weekend is the 2019 Corndog Kickoff. This will happen Saturday evening, July 13, at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. This fun event raises a great deal of money for the State Fair. It began in 1997 and to date has raised $6.2 million which is used toward fairground renovations.

One item on the silent auction this year is "Nick" a palomino rocking horse I built at the Toybox. I would suggest if you have a child, or a grandchild in the age a rocking horse is something they would enjoy, get thyself to the fair Saturday night and buy yourself a rocking horse. And if that does not work, be patient as I intend to offer the horse out on my Etsy page as well. I just need to get it done. Of course, like all of us, I can say that about a lot of things.

I hope you are having a great week. Reach out and send me a note if I have talked about anything you enjoyed here.

10320

There are times I am amazed in two completely differing directions.

First, I am sometimes amazed by the things I can remember, and at the same time, shocked by the things I forget. The picture I have included is a number that will forever be in my mind. This is the address of the first location I worked as an adult - the Payless Cashways store on Hickman Road in Clive, Iowa. I believe I will remember this forever. It is right there with things like the PO Box number my mother had, the phone number for my grandparent's home, and the birthday for Denny Dreuhl, a friend from Drake. There are many more of these, but this list comes to the top this morning.

Then there are those items on the other side of the ledger. Ask me today what I had for supper last night, I may or may not remember. Tell me something very important this morning, and it may well be gone from my memory by the middle of the afternoon.

What in the world is this?  Does this happen to everyone, or am I the only one who struggles with this? The most infuriating thing is the harder I try to remember something, the more quickly it seems to slip through my mental "fingers." It reminds me of a game we played when we were young. We would cover a watermelon with Crisco, throw it into the pool and then two teams tried to get it to opposite sides of the pool. One second you had the perfect hold on the watermelon, and suddenly, you realized it was gone. That is exactly what some of this feels like. Just like trying to hang onto smoke.

Then comes the next bit of the story. Some items I haven't been able to bring to mind will come floating back in, days, weeks, or sometimes months later. I know the human brain is an amazing thing, but just where in the heck has this information been hiding?  It astounds me when the information shows itself. Many times it is in the middle of the night, or at a time when I am thinking nothing about the topic. Maybe there is a "partition" of the brain that just keeps working on hanging questions. It is out there, in the background, trying to come up with the information not readily available.

Do you suppose that theoretically, every piece of information we have ever processed is actually still in there?  If so, I really feel I let myself down on some of those high school and college tests. I can remember looking at questions and having absolutely no idea what the question was even about. Now, that could mean I had never seen the information. I wasn't the best student. I got good grades, but I can't say I studied the way I should have. But there were those frustrating times when I would leave the test, and on the way back to my room the answer presented itself. Ah yes, the brain had been working on it "off-line."

If any of you have a secret on how to get some of this long processed information to come out, share it with all of us. I know there are things we would all like to remember. Times and places, and things said. Secrets we were told, now really secrets as we can't remember them. All of those things. If you have found the way to release all of this, share it with us.

On the Toybox front, there has been a lot going on. I have all of the aluminum pieces on the trailer and am in the process of putting the final coat of finish on it. I must tell you, it looks beautiful. I hope my sister and Karen LOVE it. All I really have left is some final fitting and tweaking of various parts, and the electrical work. There is not a great deal of this, but I would like it to be right so all of the interior lights work, as well as the trailer driving lights. This is something a little out of my element, so I will go slow and read a lot, and watch a bunch of YouTube videos. This seems to be my preferred way to learn things like this lately.

I finished and delivered "Nick" to the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation this week. He'll be up for auction at this year's Corndog Kickoff. Bid early. Bid often. The State Fair has always been one of my family's favorite summertime activities. Keep an eye out on my Etsy store. Nick's brothers and sisters will be available to purchase later this summer.

Have a great week. Think good thoughts this weekend as I am installing an air conditioner for my daughter. Shouldn't be a big deal, but things can go wrong. We don't need that. Now if I can just remember where I put that tape measure.

Mosquitos

For the rest of you in the Midwest, and some of you in other areas, I am sure I am not alone when I talk about mosquitoes being the terror of the summer. For those of you further north, or in other cooler parts of the country, you can probably trade the word mosquitoes for black flies. Either way, I think we all are aware of pests that are so invasive at times during the summer they literally drive us back into the house. Here in Iowa, I knew with certainty we hit this point one night last week. I was leaving the house to go to the gym and one of my neighbors was out walking his dog. With a pained look on his face he told me I shouldn't be out any longer than necessary as the mosquitoes were terrible. As I was already slapping them off my arms, I agreed wholeheartedly.

Did you ever stop to wonder if the lowly mosquito provides any positives in the world?  Like so many things, with this question in mind, I went to Google. The first thing I found was a note that mosquitoes serve no purpose other than to annoy us. I had a moment when I gladly agreed with the answer. I decided to keep digging for more information. There was, in fact, much more. Apparently, the mosquito is a food source for many fish and birds and there is an argument the elimination of the mosquito could have serious ramifications up and down the food chain. On the other hand there is a belief the mosquito is the largest transmitter of disease in the world. So, like so many other things, I guess there is good with the bad.

I remember one summer we were in Maine to spend time with my sister. We had gone to camp for a couple of days. Camp is a nice little cabin on a lake in the more remote part of Maine. We had absolutely wonderful days there. The thing I remember the clearest however were the mosquitoes. Along one side of the cabin was a narrow screened porch with a counter built along the side to the screen/lake. It was a wonderful place to sit, have dinner, and talk or play a game. Just a wonderful place to be. But the thing I remember were the mosquitoes. It sounded almost like rain as they flew against the screen by the thousands, trying to get to us. I am glad none of them had tools to get through. It was still a bit disconcerting.

As I think about the mosquito hoards in the neighborhood last, I still find I can smile about all of it. It is all just part of the circle of living in this part of the world. We know we will have mosquitoes right now, but we also know when the weather gets hot, they will dry up and go away, being nothing more than the "flying drops of water" they are. And we know the summer heat will come, fall will be nice, and we will plunge back into winter. By the way, I don't know about you, but that whole cycle seems to go way too fast anymore.

Enough philosophy for the day. I talked to you in the last blog about CNC routing. I am enjoying the new challenge, but last weekend I had a little bout with breaking tooling. I've done some reading and it seems like I may have done two things wrong. First, I may have been running the router too fast which heat to build up in the bit, causing failures. The second thing is that I spent less on tooling than I should have. This is a recurring lesson for me. I start out by trying to save a little money and when I get all done, I discover (AGAIN) I should have just bought the good stuff in the beginning. With that said, I have some carbide tooling coming, rather than the high speed steel I have been using. I have high confidence this will make a difference. I will let you know what I find out.

If there are any of you involved in CNC operations and have thoughts for me on any of this, I would enjoy hearing what has worked for you. I know there are a lot of things I can use the CNC router to make, even if they are as silly as this reminder. I look forward to continued progress as I learn more about the machine and discover new and interesting projects to create.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I hope you have a great week.