Common Ground

Last heard from Mama Celeste, there is an abundance of things since the rain! Around the Bukosky home it is mosquitos and maple seedlings.

I've spend a few dollars in trying to have a nice lawn and pretty much got the weeds under control and the grass lush and dark green. The maple seeds, helicopters to some, were also in abundance and practically paved the driveway. I've been amazed how many maple tree saplings are growing and how easily they sprout and root. It seems that the seeds need only be about an inch from the soil and it sprouts and takes a root hold.

I'm sure everyone is busy swatting mosquitos too. My grass was two days late in getting it's twice weekly mowing and was a bit tall. As I navigated the back lawn with the mower, the critters flew up in small clouds! I soon went to the car and got my can of Deep Woods Off and sprayed on a film of protection.  I bought this can just last week while on the way to Minooka Park with Kanook. Walmart was on the way and as I passed a couple check-out isles, there was a large display of OFF prepared for people like me. It made for one of the quickest Walmart trips that I ever had.

We also finally have some of the warm and slightly humid weather of the summer. Guys in my business have bee anxously waiting for it. Many air conditioning technicians have not been getting a full week of work in until now. So, remember to keep those air filters clean and if you haven't had your air conditioner checked over for a while, call you local heating and air conditioning company and schedule a checkover.

 It was a time we all dread. The letter in the mail said that I not only had to pay for my driver's license renewal, but I had to visit in person to have my picture taken. Mistake number one was riding my motorcycle to the  DMV on West Avenue. Whether you wear a helmet or let your hair blow in the wind, your hair will be not be it's best afterward.

Things started out well. There were only a couple people to wait behind. Once called to the next available person, I was greeted by a cheery worker. The eye exam and paperwork went well. I was told to wait to be called at the sign for photos. An ominous sign of things to come was when I heard someone call Steve. No last name.  As I work with several Steves at work, I tell guys to call me by the nickname Grandfathers give all their grandsons, Butch. Thinking that someone that works there was calling to a coworker named Steve, I thought that my last name would be used or at least called out again. What if there were two Steve's waiting for a picture? I soon realized that we all were on a first name basis and my name must have been put to the bottom of the list for being slow to respond.

Certain to not miss my next call to glory, I trotted up to the desk when I heard Steve called again. I was ungraciously ordered to stand on the footprints and look at the stop sign. A nanosecond later the light flashed and the photographer decided that the picture met their standards. If I'm ever pulled over for drunk driving, I'll look exactly like my picture on the license. It will also may my airline travels more interesting when the TSA's do a doubletake while checking my ID..

It would seem that in this digital photograph age, a succession of pictures could be taken and the best selected by the taxpayer. Till that time, the DMV continues to deserve the barbs and jokes directed it's way.

I'm a motorcyclist and own two. Motorcycles get pretty good fuel economy, but many people are intimidated by them for one reason or another.  My biggest motorcycle is a Honda Goldwing which is a handful at times. It weighs, literally, half a ton and is the largest motorcycle out there and that includes the biggest Harleys. As some Goldwing riders age, the hugeness of the machine gets intimidating and they have looked at the Honda Helix scooter in the past, as a way to keep riding with the shiny side up and the greasy side down. A comfortable and adequately powered scooter, not to be confused with the tiny scooters that ride on the side of the road or hold up traffic.

This demand has made some motorcycle makers expand their line of scooters and Suzuki has the "Gold Wing" of scooters, the Burgman. I rode my 'Wing over to Waukesha's Action Power Sports on the south side of town and rode a used 2006 Suzuki Burgman. This is not your stereotypical scooter. It is easily mistaken for a regular motorcycle yet has a step-through frame to make getting on and off easier for us aging motorcyclists. The seat is huge and plenty cushy for rider and passenger. A feature of scooters is legroom.  Unlike motorcycle foot-pegs, you have large floor boards which allow your legs to keep from stiffening up in one position.

If you've never rode a motorcycle, I think you could jump on this and ride away because of one great feature. It has an automatic transmission. There are a number of very high tech features which make it a great machine. The engine is huge for a scooter. It is a 650cc twin that is fuel injected. Rare for a motorcycle and unheard of for a scooter. The fuel injection makes starting the engine as easy as a new car. Turn the key, push a button and the engine is running. The transmission is what is called a continuously variable transmission (CVT). That means no gears. Rather the transmission is like having dozens of  gears which allows the engine to operate at the most efficient rpm for any situation. To get going just twist the throttle grip and it smoothly takes off. This transmission type is starting to be used by some SUV's by Saturn and Ford. Subaru had the first production CVT years ago in it's Justy, but huge improvements have been made in recent years.

Acceleration is great. Faster than many cars, you will not have to worry about keeping up with the traffic. I got it up to well over 70mph and it still had plenty of acceleration power. Handling was very good too. The wheels are larger than smaller scooters which gives it motorcycle-like stability.

Brakes are like a bicycle in that they are hand grips.  The front is like any motorcycle, on the throttle side and the rear brake lever is where the clutch usually is. I quickly felt comfortable with the braking system and nothing for my feet to do other than steady the scooter when stopped. For added safety, there is a Suzuki Burgman model with ABS, anti-lock braking. A feature some motorcycles have. The gas tank is accessed by flipping open a very car-like cover for the gas cap.

The "dashboard" is a modern digital set of gages. It has an unusual feature in that you can mimic a six speed transmission with a push of a button. I don't know why one would use it other than if you get bored of the fine CVT. It also has a "power" button which apparently runs the engine more in the maximum torque rpm range upon acceleration. I didn't try it as the regular setting was plenty powerful. That being said by a guy who likes to rush through the gears and get ahead of the traffic.

Why consider a scooter? 65 miles per gallon is one reason. It has fair storage and claims to be able to hold two full face helmets under the seat. This used model even had a trailer hitch and wiring harness on it. I can see it capable of pulling a very small motorcycle trailer for additional storage space for the longer touring trips it is very capable of.

I'm giving serious consideration to adding one to my two wheeled fleet.

I've long been bothered by just who "they" are who put up the stumbling blocks to withdrawing the oil reserves that are rightfully that of the people. I also wonder about how "they" wield so much power. Congress operates in fear of them such that our so called representatives do not change the laws so that exploration and drilling can take place. It would eliminating much if not all of the need to be concerned about the politics of the middle east or Venezuela.

While enjoying a wonderful morning, weather wise, on the patio and reading the Sunday newspaper, Several articles, all in the first section, began to make me feel uncomfortably warm. The heat was turned up higher when I read about "they", a so called environmental group, going to court because the government has leased land to some oil companies for exploration. There are some polar bears in the region and what amounts to wording that the human beings making up the oil companies can protect themselves from the bears without fear of legal repercussions, seems to be the call to court for "they". In this case we know the "they" are an environmental group but just who are the individuals that make up the "they" and how do they get the money to cause the people of the country such trouble and who is it that provides the money?

The oil companies are not the villain in all of this. I'm happy that the gasoline is there when I need to fill my tank. In that they are doing a superb job. The real villains are the nut groups that have hijacked the name "environmentalist" and turned it into something for their own misguided purposes and the politicians that fail to work for the benefit of the constituency.

It's been established that wildlife and the environment in the northern regions continues to thrive with oil exploration and the shipping of it. We've proven it with the Trans-Alaskan pipeline.  We witness that adaptability of wildlife locally with the herons, crane, deer, turkey and even eagles which have had their habitat diminished.

Come on Washington! Stand up to them for US!

To some, being proactive about drunk driving is knowing that there are consequences if caught. The hot topic is toughening up those consequences.  While I am generally for that, I also like to see some assistance for people who do choose to drink, not become legally drunk if they intend to drive after doing so.

Pat and I had a rather lively discussion while having breakfast this morning at Christina's. We were talking about the Wednesday committee meeting in Madison regarding drunk driving proposals. There are a whole lot of ideas that are floating around both before and after the act of driving while intoxicated.  I'd like to start somewhere soon.

I've long thought that people really don't know how much they can drink and still be assured that they are within legal limits when driving after drinking. The simple solution is to not have any alcohol before driving.  That's a sure thing. But we know that people will often have one or two or more, thinking that they are fine. My point is how do they know when they cross the line into legal intoxication?

I've a whole bunch of ideas, but here is one that is simple, affordable and just might be subliminal in nature, planting a message into the mind for the future. Every drink that I've been served usually is either placed on a coaster or with a napkin.  Usually that item has some printing on it. Why not require each drink be served with a chart showing the maximum drinks a given weight of a person can consume before entering the gray zone before becoming legally drunk? That chart can be printed on the coaster, napkin or on a card that one could take along and put in their wallet or purse. A step further would be to require the same information printed on containers of alcoholic beverages. There are many more proactive steps that can be taken from there.

We need to act somehow in an effort to change our culture of drinking. Do you agree that this would be a reasonable initial step in that journey?

Next Wednesday will be a committee meeting in Madison regarding some proposed changes in the drunk driving laws.  To be discussed are proposals to require ignition interlock devices on all repeat offenders and on first time offenders with a blood alcohol content of 1.6 or higher. The Bukosky family and friends will be present to participate in the discussions.

In a related news item, Mark Benson, the person who crashed into and killed my daughter in law and two granddaughters is looking for a reduction of bail so he can be free after he serves the 72 days in jail that he was ordered to serve after his third drunk driving offense.  It is important to note that when he killed my family members, he had his license revoked and was ordered not to drive a motor vehicle. I can't imagine a judge letting him out and allowing him the opportunity to slide behind the wheel of another vehicle and thumb his nose at the law, again putting the people of Waukesha County in danger. His lawyer argues that he is innocent until proven guilty.

This man has repeatedly shown that he has no consideration for the law. Even though he has these violations and charges on his record, he still owns an apparently large collection of firearms. These were one of the few things that mattered to him when he made his phone call home from the police station right after the collision.

A man who has been repeatedly driving drunk and is apparently an abuser of drugs and driving cannot be let loose, able to access firearms and motor vehicles. Knowing that he is facing serious time in jail, who knows what he could do when free?

There is no shortage of articles about the flood. I didn't realize just how bad it was until I got out of the neighborhood, even though the intersection of Bel Ayr and Pine Street, just a few houses from me, had water that appeared as deep as four feed deep and many flooded basements in the vicinity. This is not the time to talk about it here. It'd get lost in the flow of things. Later.

Sunday I did decide to visit Mitchell Park and Minooka Park's Dog Parks. Kanook and I went to Mitchell first as I knew it would be flooded and that the flooding would be over the sod which would allow Kanook to splash around and not get muddy. It was more than I expected.

It is not unusual for River Road along side the railroad tracks to flood out just east of Mitchell Park Road. However, it was not only flooded between it and Barker road, Barker Road was also flooded with a good flow of water heading east into the park's marsh. A car could negotiate it so long as it wasn't going fifty miles per hour.

Once in the dog park, there were several dogs splashing and even swimming in the water. Kanook immediately joined them. While watching them splash in and out of the water, I noticed something splashing at various location near the new shore. Closer inspection showed them to be carp. The ones that broke water appeared to be ten to fifteen pounds to this seasoned fisherman. Once the waters recede, these fish will be trapped and die off leaving not only a smelly mess, but for whatever reason, many dogs love to roll in such stinking stuff. This is not the first time fish have wandered into the park.  Last spring someone was complaining about a dead carp near the end of the fence that their dog rolled in. Once again, I'd like to see them put up some snow fencing to block off the area.  Soon it will be a mud hole from the dogs running in and out.

Speaking of mud holes, out next visit was to Minooka. Two months of evaporation and seepage were erased and the "seasonal pond" was restored to near winter melt off conditions. Except there is a rim of mud surrounding it.  Even fewer visitors are seen at the large dog area because of it while the small dog area thrives and continues to have many users.

In closing, I do want to acknowledge the people of the city who suffered flooded basements.  I know what  it is like as I endured several floodings when In Milwaukee near the Lincoln Creek. So much destroyed and so much work to clean up. More about this when we've had time to finish the work, rest and think about what happened.

It's been a year now that I've been transfered from working in Pewaukee to West Allis. I'm in the middle of the action between State Fair Park and Miller Park. Last week it was interesting as I frequently heard the roar of the race cars qualifying for the big race. Not much different than the Harley's roaring up and down in front of my house.

I also suffer the effects of a clogged up freeway when the Brewers have a game where the traffic coincides with the evening rush hour. This is one of the concerns that I have about the proposal for Frame Park. The traffic patterns in the area are not designed well to handle traffic. I suspect that the roads are typical of older cities in that they started out as horse trails and didn't change much when Mr. Ford facilitated us from horse apples to carbon footprinting. 

It seems clear that most people don't think that it would be an attraction to Frame Park. Indeed it could spoil it. I do think that it would be good for the area. I might even consider attending a few games with family. But I don't want to get into a traffic snarl either. Nor do people living or passing through the area.  So it would seem to best be located close to the Hwy 59 bypass. Perhaps the old Nike missle site by 59 and Broadway. It's free from the Federal Government and is just sitting there gathering mulch. I think that there is plenty of room for both the stadium and parking. Has it been checked out and considered?