Halloween Party

I attended a Halloween party at a friend’s house Saturday night.  I worked with this friend for many years.  She became reconnected with a college era boyfriend more than a year ago.  Shortly afterwards, he was diagnosed with cancer, had surgery and began treatments.  Everything went well for both the cancer treatment and their relationship.  I moved to Taiwan and was unable to meet this guy until this past weekend.  He is a nice man and my friend seems to be doing well too.  She also invited some other friends, including old friends of mine from my previous work life.

I ordered a mask online that didn’t arrive in time.  So I did the next best thing and bought a Mitt Romney mask; both masks have the same meaning.  Everyone at the party put more effort into their costume than I did.  Below are several pictures.  I also included a picture of a friend’s son and daughter-in-law’s costumes.  They are expecting a child and I thought the skeleton fetus was clever.  I took their picture off of Facebook; I hope they don’t mind.

The party had various drinking games including beer pong and Jell-O shot relay races.  My teams won every time and I felt like a successful, competitive frat guy.  Good food and interesting cream pumpkin liquor was served.  I had my first moonshine, which wasn’t bad.  Actually it was good.

It has been a few years since I wore a costume to a Halloween party, but I’m glad I did.  I enjoyed myself and got home at 1:30 a.m.

 

 

 

 

The Grouse Hunt 2012

A year ago I wrote about our annual grouse hunt and the near tragedy that occurred.  The hunt has been an annual tradition since the 1970s and includes old high school friends, family members, our grown children and many others.  Almost 100 people have camped and enjoyed our outing in Northwestern Wisconsin over the years, and the core group had always remained intact.  This year we held our hunt and camping outing, with a different mix of participants.  Last year I was leaving to move to Taiwan and announced to the group that the hunt would be my last.  Others also suggested it was probably their last time as well, for a variety of reasons.  I am back in the U.S. after living in Taiwan for seven months, and my son organized this year’s hunt.  The older participants didn’t return, but the new group was very enjoyable.  We actually barely hunt, but rather cook food, drink beer, fish a little, tell stories and enjoy a long weekend in the woods, before winter begins.  The site is a beautiful cliff situated above a waterfall, on a scenic river.

The old group had a legacy breakfast maker.  He didn’t want to be known as Mr. Breakfast, but he served us well over the years.   This year one of the young guys made his hangover burgers, which in addition to a burger, included jack cheese, an egg, bacon, corn beef hash and Korean chili sauce on a roll, served with hash browns.  Mr. Breakfast we would love to have you return next year, but you can relax and enjoy the great food these young guys are making.  My son made a fantastic gumbo made with shelled crawfish tails and Andouille sausage.  There were midnight bratwurst served, which makes so much sense; I’m surprised we never thought of that before.

My son pitched one of the largest tents you will find, affectionately known as tent city.  You can see about one third of the tent in a picture below.One of the highlights was the frequent flybys of eagles, up and down the river, just yards away from our campsite.  We saw numerous Bald Eagles and another eagle we couldn’t identify.  We debated whether they were Golden Eagles, but concluded there were no longer any Golden Eagles in Wisconsin.  Actually after research and some picture comparisons, I can say they were indeed Golden Eagles and there are at least 100 located in Wisconsin.

I hope some of the old participants return next year, however regardless of their involvement, the new group was fun and they seem eager to continue this long tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

Catalonia

I recently traveled to join my wife in Catalonia, the autonomous region of Northeastern Spain.  Most of the original Catalan region lies in Spain, with a small portion in France.  Present day Catalonia was settled by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and occupied by the North African Moors, and many other groups of people throughout history.  Catalonia emerged in the 12^th century as France relinquished control of the region to the King of Aragon.

I love traveling to Europe.   There is so much diversity of history, geography, culture and language, within close proximity.  I always thought it would be great to be a European and spend every weekend in a different location, all within several hours of home.  Additionally, how cool would it be to wear a mustard colored shirt with red pants and be considered fashionable?

Catalonia is known for its artists, architects, great food and geographic beauty.  The language of Catalan is similar to Spanish, French and ancient Latin, but it is a distinctly different language. The people we met were incredibly friendly.  The only unfriendly person I ran across was at the airport in Mallorca and due to some confusion, I had security called on me.  This was not the first time and it won’t be the last time that security officials have helped to clear misunderstandings.   But the people were great.

Catalonia has been autonomous, yet part of Spain.  Following the Spanish Civil war, Franco suppressed the Catalonians and attempted to eliminate their culture.  After Franco’s death in 1975, Catalonia re-emerged as an autonomous political region.  Today the Catalonians are debating separation from Spain.  Their region has contributed more to the past economic success of Spain and they feel they haven’t received an appropriate level of benefit.  Now with Spain in economic peril, some people prefer to leave the nation and their less prosperous regions.

It is common to see graffiti that debates the question of national separation.  People fly the Catalonian or Spanish flag in support of their position of separation or continued unity.  My wife and I walked through the large plaza called Placa Catalunya and found a full scale separation rally, with thousands of participants,and unfortunately violence.  This issue is highly important to the people of Catalonia and will play out over the next few years.

Catalonia is a wonderful place and I will write more about it.

 

 

 

Autumn Colors

Every year I am amazed by the changing of tree colors and every year I remind myself that it is just a normal physical process and it will repeat again next year.  This year I live part time in Richland Center, Wisconsin and the difference from my past is the makeup of the local terrain.  RC has high hills and low valleys, with incredible beauty.  I could live in this peaceful area full time, however my wife loves big cities and would prefer I live in a more urban area.

The weather of 2012 has been warm with drought conditions.  This resulted in an early change of leave color and a short total color season.  Within 30 seconds of leaving my office, I found these pictures.  The area doesn’t have the bright red colors of Sugar Maples, like New England, but the colors are still amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth Football

My Grandson plays youth football in Oak Creek.  OC has a good football tradition, with perennial high school championship caliber teams.  He plays defensive back, which was my favorite position as a kid.  I watched his team play on a recent Saturday.  

The size and skills of the kids vary greatly and instruction is the primary focus of the coaches.  Some kids have played organized football before and know what they are doing.  Others haven’t played and were less confident on the field.

Player’s parents were enthused supporters and some parents were enthusiastic about the nearby bar.  They said game morning bloody Marys and bar lunches were the highlight of the game days.  I was less enthusiastic than them.

Last year the OC Youth Football treasurer was found guilty of embezzling $35,000 from the program to support a vacation to Mexico.  I have been to Mexico many times and found it interesting to hear that people would commit crimes to get there.  Many people also commit crimes to leave Mexico too.  The treasurer’s crime has me confused.

I enjoyed watching the game and the intensity of the coaches, and the effort of the kids.  It reminded me of the old school vibrating toy football games, where the players quickly are moving in many directions and confusion takes over.