The curtamous page
February 2006 Archived Notes
February
27, 2006 -
Jak se Maj! How's everyone doing. I hope all is well. Pretty quiet week here, so it should be a quick update. We'll see...
I'm trying to come up with the highlight of the week, and I don't have one... Well, my beautiful bride and I went out with the in-laws Saturday night. Some high scale type cowboy place. At least that's how I took it. Good beer, fair food, high prices. I can't imaging this place lasting in Green Bay. There are so many great places with great beer, great food, and fair prices that I can't see how they're make it expect for a few yuppies in town that think its cool... Not for me... Give me Suster's
any day...
The freshmen boys had their last round ball game on Friday and fell (again) to their only
competition in conference. Good game. They had it in hand until mid way thru the 3rd quarter when they let Oconto go on a 17-2 run. I heard a lot about the reffing, which was poor, from fans and players, but when you let the other team on a 17-2 run, you're not going to win many games. Great season though. only 3 losses, so they have a lot to be proud of. We'll see what the FM has to say later today...
How 'bout an update from the other side of the planet? Here goes:
Hello all,
Welcome to Tuesday, New Zealand time! It is turning a bit cold here in the mornings, only to reach the mid- 80's by 10:00 am or so. Hope all is well there back home!
Our team is back in the championship for yet another competition. This weekend we rolled through two games that put us directly into the final. We won our first game, 7-0, I led the team with two home runs. That game ended when the opposing pitcher was line driven in the shin and was forced out of the game. They had no pitcher, hence the end of the game.
Our second win was by a tally of 7-4 over one of our arch rivals. It went back and forth for a couple of innings then we finally pulled way for the winning margin. The way we have been hitting, it looks like we are about to peak at just the right
time. With the pitching staff shaping up, we should be able to make a good run at the Nationals.
For the upcoming week, it looks the same as usual. Work, working out and more work. We are still hoping for rain. The drought is starting to take it's toll. The grass is green and the ball diamond is like playing on a gravel parking lot. A couple days of rain will
fix that, there just isn't any in the forecast!!
Well, that's me for now, everyone have a great week!
Cheers
Ric
Sounds like things are a bit plain over there too. I'm kinda wondering why we don't get more personal stats from the SEC-W/M. Is he riding the pines? At least he could make something up... Well, at least the weather there sounds nice, but we've had it pretty good here too. I'm not sure I'd like three summers in a row...
Here's one from a co-worker:
King Arthur and the Witch:
Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.
The question?....What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.
He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.
Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer.
But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.
The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first.
The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!
Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life.
He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden; but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.
He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table.
Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus:
What a woman really wants, she answered....is to be in charge of her own life.
Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.
And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.
The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened
The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.
Which would he prefer? Beautiful during the day....or night?
Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch? Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous intimate moments?
What would YOU do?
???
Noble Lancelot said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.
Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.
What is the moral of the story?
The moral is.....
If you don't let a woman have her own way....
Things are going to get ugly!
OK, I kinda buy into that, but believe me, sometimes its ugly NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!
What else is going on? Well, the SEC-HHS is (probably) moving out into his own apartment. I had to co-sign for his app last week, so I think its a done deal, but I'll believe it when I see it. I think it'll be a great move for him. He needs to get out on his own and figure life out a little bit.
Ash Wednesday is this week... time for Lenten penance... Its a good
thing to clean up once a year... can't wait...
The boss is in town today for reviews... He drives up from Chicago for the day. We'll meet and do lunch and send him on his way... But, I better clean up my desk a bit, so that's it for today...
But, before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"We must hang together, or surely we shall hang separately" -- Benjamin Franklin
I was watching a Ben Franklin show this weekend... he was quite a guy...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
February
21, 2006 -
Good morning everyone! Jak se Maj! We're a day late and a dollar short... Nothing new there! Had yesterday off and was a busy as a one armed paper hanger! Funny how that happens... It is going to be a short update today, so bear with me...
Spent President's Day morning out on Zumbo's ranch chasing bunnies. OK, we only spent a hour or two, but it was productive. We saw two bunnies and took one home. The little rascal we got ran in circles and took me three shots. One high, one low, and one right on... Typical shooting for me... Zumbo saw another that bolted under a junked chopper box and never got a shot. It was pretty darn nice out though. The wind was a little cold, but MUCH better than the freezing temps over the weekend. Thanks Zumbo for another great time!
Got an update from the other side of the planet...
Kia Oara all,
Hope that things are going better than the last time we talked. They are here. This weekend brought Tamatea up against two of the top five teams in New Zealand. We played each of them twice and upset one of them once. All in all, it was a good weekend. The hitting slump is over and we are playing well from top to bottom. We seem to be peaking at about the right pace to reach our full potential by the Club Nationals.
Other than the ball thing, nothing else here is really different. Haven't had much time for traveling. They now know me on a first name basis at the gym I work out at, that must mean I am spending enough time there.
I am eagerly awaiting the minutes from the Fish Camp meeting. I am sure that worldly matters along with the more important issues of Fish Camp '06 were discussed. I hope that Junior membership was represented well! I hope that they realize all of the wisdom that can be attained at such a function.
Just a weather update to finish off my update, the weather here has been hot and sunny with a lack of rain. The slight breeze has helped to keep it
bearable though. I see that the temps have been in the single digits with heat waves in the twenties, fahrenheit that is!!! If you make it Celsius, we have the same highs!!!! Enjoy the weather!!!
Cheers
Ric
Sounds like things continue to go well there. I haven't seen his name in the local paper for some time though, and I check the sports page AND the police report. Maybe that's good... I do feel VERY sorry for him and his weather woes... Here we're at a lovely -18 Saturday morning and he's got to deal with all that hot weather... Poor guy...
The big news of the weekend was our Fish Camp Meeting. The boys headed to my shop and we ate and drank like kings. It was even warm!!!
Actually, for my part, we ate to well, and it was difficult to drink properly after that. The President made venison sloppy joes, SEC-State made chicken wings, FDA Chair brought cheese spread and crackers, and The Sausage Stuffer cheese and sausage. I had some sardines for an appetizer. Food followed cocktail hour and beer after that. Had a really good time and more world problems were solved... Can't wait for our next meeting!
Oh yeah!!! We talked about fish camp! With everyone in attendance in agreement, we'll head to Fish Camp 2006 on opening weekend, May 6th. We'll head up Friday the 5th and stay until Monday. The FDA Chair plans on making his famous Beer Can Chicken Friday night followed by steak on Saturday. Not sure what we'll do Sunday night, but I'm sure we'll figure it out!
Here's a quick one for the Sausage Stuffer:
A couple of old fellers were fishing at their special pond off the beaten track when out of the bush's jumped the Game Warden !!
Immediately, one of the gents threw his rod down and started running through the woods, and hot on his heels came the Game Warden.
After about a half mile the fella stopped and stooped over with his hands on his thighs to catch his breath and the Game Warden finally caught up to him.
"Lets see yer fishin license!!" the Warden gasped.
With that, the fella pulled out his wallet and gave the Game Warden a valid fishing license.
"Well", said the Game Warden, " You must be about as dumb as a box of rocks !! You don't have to run from me if you have a valid license!"
"Yes Sir", replied the old feller," But my friend back there, well, he don't have one"...
Well, there's lots more to tell, but no time... gotta go...
Before I do, a few words of wisdom for our junior members...
"Most people learn by observation, and there are the few who learn by experimentation. And then there are those who actually TOUCH the fire to see if it's really hot." -Anonymous
Just makes you THINK of junior members, don't it?
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
Vivian Nelson
"Vivie" "Ma" "Gramma"
1924-2006
Jak
se máte! With Ma's passing, I wasn't going to do an update today, but then I read the SEC-W/M's email, and figured that for once, the boy had it right. A small tribute to her is fitting.
For those of you that don't know, Ma Nelson passed away Thursday afternoon. Despite her ever failing health, it was still a surprise. As the FM said, one tough little Bohemian... She went rather quickly, but gave us enough time at the end that most of our family could be with her. I can't think of a better way for her to go, and she went well.
Let's start out with the update from the SEC-W/M. He couldn't be with us for the funeral, but certainly was in spirit. Ma Nelson had a very special place in her heart for
Ric, as she did all her grandchildren:
Hello everybody!
First off, I would like to thank everybody that was there for my family this past weekend. It meant a lot to all of us, including myself. I am sure that it was the same amount of support as when my father died, which I am sure was a
tremendous help to all.
I thought that this week I would forego an update from New Zealand, I wasn't there to share the stories, the laughs and the tears, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my memories with. You all know how I like to get my share of talking in!
Grandma brought 27 years of happy memories to me, in fact I don't know where to start and which ones to choose, I could go on for ever. As I am sure all that knew her could.
I remember being younger, every Sunday after church, stopping at the farm for chips and dip. In the early days, that also included having grandma pick me up by my ears. It was amazing how a lady 5 feet tall could pick me up, at the age of 5 or 6 mind you. That didn't last for long though. Soon, it got to be Sunday thing that grandma would tell me that she wasn't a "PLP", personal leaning post. She just happened to be perfect height to lean an elbow on! She always said it with a laugh, as she would eat one of her favorite pretzel sticks.
Memorial Day garden planting was a favorite of grandma's. Mostly because it was a time that the whole family was together. The garden was her pride and joy. I don't think any of us grandchildren ever got sick of hearing her tell us something in relation to gardening and Chinamen! It was usually that if we dug too deep, we would find a chinamen, or, plant the potatoes with the eyes up. Otherwise, the potatoes would grow in China, not rural Glenmore for some reason.
The traditions that brought our family together were always favorites of Grandma's. The major holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, it always seemed like
the more the merrier. The most fun of those had to be her birthday. A time when the family got together, not for her birthday in her eyes, but for crabbing. She was never afraid to dig in and help clean, and we never had too many either. She would cook them all, and made sure we had enough.
It is traditions like these that made her the happiest and proudest of her family. They have kept us strong and close for many years. What other family invites over 70 people to Thanksgiving??? And there was never too many people to feed or invite into her house.
Grandma was truly an amazing person to all that new her. For many years she has put smiles on our faces and values in our family that we will never forget. I was told by my mother that the last thing at her funeral, at the grave site, was singing the grasshopper song led by Aunt Dee. I couldn't think of a bet way to send her off!! She will be greatly missed by all!
From New Zealand
Ric, her favorite eldest grandson (just another one of her witty little sayings, we all know we were all her favorites!)
"Captain Chuck" (Gramma's nickname for Charlie) couldn't be with us either as he was steaming across the oceans blue.
Aunt Darlene and Uncle Lloyd and the Texas Gutzmans couldn't be with us either
as Aunt Darlene continues with her health struggles. I feel very bad for both boys
and Aunt Darlene and Uncle Lloyd that they couldn't be with us, but I know that Ma Nelson was and is with them, and I guess that's all that really matters.
There are so many great memories. Until I read Ric's update, I hadn't thought of all the fun we had with Ma in her garden, both the huge one on the farm and the little one at her house in town. I imagine we'll have a lot of those kind of recollections over the next few days, weeks, months and even years. That is only fitting, as she had such a huge impact on our lives. We who knew her were truly blessed to have been a part of her life. I wonder if at times we didn't take that for granted. I think that over time, as we miss her, we will find we did.
Saturday
was an amazing celebration. We were all reminded of our blessings as we
gathered as friends, neighbors and family to say good bye. Where would we
meet but at our little church, one of Ma's favorite places in the world.
Mom's neighbor, Jim, presided over a beautiful prayer service, and our pastor,
Fr. Ron, said mass. His homily was truly beautiful, but granddaughter
Lynette's reading various quotes and memories from the grandkid's was unforgettable.
At the grave, after blessings, The Grasshopper Song...
On behalf of Pa Nelson and the whole Nelson family, I'd like to say thanks to everyone that could spend time with us this weekend,
to those who prayed or thought of us, and to everyone that touched Ma's life. She appreciated life and
everyone she met as well as a lot she never had the chance to meet...
Well, I have stuff to do, and people to see... and to be honest, if I write much more, I'm gonna get my keyboard wet...
Before I go, a few words of wisdom FROM our junior members... Something they knew very well...
"Take two. One for each hand..." - Ma Nelson
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
PS. If you have any good stories, feel free to email 'em or drop 'em in the guestbook...
February
06, 2006 - Guten Tag! And welcome to Monday... Hope everyone enjoyed the Superbowl! Not a bad game. Interesting, and if Seattle's tight end could catch, it might have been VERY interesting. I wonder how he likes eating goat
today with that big mouth of his... We went to the brother/sister-in-law's for the game and pizza. Aside from all the
arguing, it was a pretty good time. I ate WAY TOO much pizza, but the beer helped settle it very well. Good time and home early... Must be getting old...
Not much going on last week or this week... I do have to apologize for not recognizing one of our most important national holidays last week; Groundhog Day! That's probably why I wasn't invited out to the Woodchuck Ranch for the annual Groundhog Day Blowout... Sorry I missed it... Usually
that party's a little scary with all the farm animals involved and such, but I felt bad missing it... Maybe next year...
A few years ago, the (so called) Master of the Woodchuck Ranch had a similar experience:
Over breakfast one morning, a woman said to her husband, "I'll bet you don't know what day this is."
"Of course I do," he answered as if he was offended, and left for the office.
At 10:00 a.m., the doorbell rang and when the woman opened the door, she was handed a box of a dozen long stemmed red roses. At 1:00 p.m., a foil-wrapped, two-pound box of her favorite chocolates was delivered. Later, a boutique delivered a designer dress.
The woman couldn't wait for her husband to come home.
"First the flowers, then the chocolates and then the dress!" she exclaimed.
"I've never had a more wonderful Groundhog Day in my life!
We've all had those problems, huh?
The Chief got back on the hard court on Saturday night for the first time since his weight loss experience (appendectomy). Looked rusty... missed an easy bunny and
was 1 of 2 from the charity stripe. Other than that, he did fine. Had the pleasure of sitting between the FM and a rather disgruntled parent from the
opposing team. The quality of the reffing was quite tumultuous, but equally inconsistent
for both teams, which made it somewhat entertaining. The hometown boys held on to the one point win despite not scoring for the final 5 minutes or so. I didn't make the
varsity game, but I'm sure the FM will send me an update on that later today...
Strangely, no update from the other side of the planet today... Wonder what's up with that... Speaking of the other side of the planet, word is The
Captain plans on wedding that pretty girl he's been chasing sometime next month. Zumbo's beautiful bride confirmed the rumors yesterday, but details are still sketchy... Either way, huge CONGRATS to them!
Update on the medical front... Ma Nelson continues to do well and seems to be bouncing back... Maybe not back to where she was, but good enough to get thru the day... Not a lot of news from Texas on my aunt, but in that case no news is good news. Keep them both in your thoughts and prayers...
This week would have been my brother birthdays... Chris (49) on Monday and Chuck (55) on Saturday... Sunday we'll have mass for them in Denmark and The Mayor will have a brunch following... Don't be afraid to stop by...
Wednesday will be a big day... 21 years ago, February 8th, was a day that will long live in infamy...
A couple goes out to dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary. On the way home, she notices a tear in his eye and asks if he's getting sentimental because they're celebrating all the wonderful years together. He replies, "No, I was thinking about the time before we got married. Your father threatened me with a shotgun and said he'd have me thrown in jail for if I didn't marry you. Tomorrow I would've been a free man!"
A few last notes... no update on the newsletter... this year its going to be REALLY late... We're looking at a little Fish Camp
meeting soon... Some Saturday night... Maybe in two weeks... watch you mail box for invites...
Well, that's all I got. Before I go, a few words of wisdom for our junior members:
Topic: Marriage
"It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." ~Rita Rudner
Ain't that a fact...
Until next time, take care...
As Red would say, “Keep your stick on the ice!”
curtamous
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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