Paul's Falls

 What can divide a community more than loss of or intrusion upon personal freedom?

In the Falls the current issue is centered around who can or cannot burn combustible materials on their property.  Each side in the controversy has a valid argument.  One side says 'my health and pursuit of happiness is violated due to the smoke' , and the other says ' we enjoy the smell of burning leaves and barbecued meat'.

 Each side has reasonable points, and one or the other will win.

As a former member of the Menomonee Falls Fire Department, I have in the past ,stood with the Fire Chief and supported new changes to the fire code.  Twenty years ago, an updated sprinkler ordinance was a heavy topic. The high cost of installing sprinklers set off - and irritated a number of business people.  Actually, it happened to be money saving for them - sprinkler installation costs were more than offset by savings on insurance premiums. Plus one's whole enterprise could be saved from total destruction.  Worry wasted!

In this case of open burning, it seems to me that the proposed new laws are excessive.  Moving small outdoor fires from 50 to 100 feet from a building will gain little if any safety for the structure.  Existing laws are more than enough to provide that safety if  existing rules are followed.

I believe that special considerations must be addressed for those who have medical problems, but that should be handled on an individual basis rather than restricting the rights of the whole community.

Let your village board members know your opinions.  They will soon decide how these issues will be resolved. No matter your position, let your voice be heard.

 This weekend Meg and I helped one of our sons move his family into a new apartment near the high school.  We carried stuff up the stairs, down the stairs, up again, down again.  Repeat a couple of hundred times.  And that was just at the old apartment.  Similar actions also happened at the new place.
I learned a couple of things:

First:  While my brain tells me that I am in my early twenties, the rest of me tells me otherwise.  No matter which way I move today, some muscle or another is tweaked into the it's attention mode.  Attention comes in two ways: soreness or pain.  Sometimes both.

Second:  Aspirin, Aleve, and similar medications are not as effective for me as they used to be. 

Those who know me know that I'm kinda out of shape.  I haven't been to any gym for a year or two now. Had I paid more attention to my muscles and aerobic capacity the toll surely would have been less.

So, I'm turning over a new leaf  There's a lesson to be learned here. I've got to get into shape pronto.

In a week or two I'm going to sign up with a fitness center.

 Yes, I know the grammar is far from acceptable. But, that phrase was used over and over again many years ago by Roundy Coughlin.  Roundy - known as The Sage of Mendota was an elderly Madison sports reporter in the 60's. He used that phrase at least once in every broadcast sports report - often if there was a bit of irony associated with the story.

So after 42 years  of marriage, Meg and I often use that phrase - often totally out of context in our daily lives.

The rain of the past few days gave us the opportunity to stay home for a change, and to tend to household duties that have been severely neglected during several months of beautiful summer weekends. Housecleaning and organizing the piles of paperwork in my home office were the top two projects. Thank goodness for the rain. My sins of sloppiness are somewhat washed away.

What more could be fairer?

 We all bow our heads today in memory of those who lost their lives in that tragety - and later, for our troops unselfishly giving their lives on our behalf.

 I chuckled at first this morning when the first of many e-mails arrived at my desk.  Each one referenced  a particular well known member of the community who was "endorsing" the candidacy of Dan Knodl for State Assembly.

The problem is that each of these community leaders is disavowing that endorsement and claiming that no permission was given to Dan for using their name.

I now find that I am one of those supposed endorsers.  So, with this blog, I want to let the community know that it is my intention to endorse no candidate in this race.  Yes, I have a preference, and because of this breach of ethics, for sure it isn't Dan.

Should he win this election, I intend to pursue the issue with the State Elections Board.

Note: A follow-up
   I received a voice mail apology message this afternoon from the Knodl people.  The explanation is that it is all a mistake caused by errors by a marketing firm. Thanks for the apology, but somehow this shows me a lack of control.

I'm done with this thread and am not going to publish any other comments on the subject.

Lets start over again after the election. 

 ...stole a pig and away he ran.

Shame on some of our citizens. It seems that some people are out to ruin everyone's fun.  Stealing pigs meant for people to visit on a scavenger hunt is about as poor citizenship as a malcontent always stirring up issues to divide the peace and quiet of a community.

I recently spoke with a local businessman who could only shake his head in wonderment why somebody would actually stoop so low.  He has had to chain his ceramic pig to his property to try to deter thievery.  He is not so sure that even that will prevent the theft.

So, the scavenger hunt starts early.  All you good citizens, keep your eyes open for the missing artwork and keep an eye on the pigs remaining.  The authorities will me most receptive to any reports.