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The Rambling Insomniac
Tom is a 25+ year resident of Germantown and the surrounding community. He currently lives in Hubertus with his wife and two small kids on a hobby farm near Bark Lake. Tom's blog will likely not save the world, but hopefully, you'll get some enjoyment from his ramblings.
February 2008 - Posts
By Tom White
Thursday, Feb 28 2008, 05:33 PM
Catching a whiff of your neighbors barbeque and saying to your spouse “Honey, let’s grill out tonight”.
Eating a fresh picked tomato ripe off of the vine.
Hearing Bob Uecker shout, “This one could be out of here!” over the radio.
Feeling the soft grass on your bare feet as you walk across it.
Hearing the buzz of a cicada at 7am, assuring you it will be another scorcher today.
Going to the farmers market Saturday morning.
Standing in a crowded beer tent listening to a local band jamming out a great tune.
The buzz of lawnmowers all around, and the fragrant smell of freshly cut grass.
Butter dripping down your chin from the fresh corn-on-the-cob you are eating.
Hitting a perfect 7-iron, and looking at your buddy while the ball is still in the air and saying in your best Bill Murray voice, “It’s in the hole!”
Being outside with the kids at 9pm…..and it’s still light outside.
Feeling a cool night breeze coming in from the fan in your bedroom window.
Driving down the street in your car, windows open and the air-conditioning cranked, while the radio belts out Chicago singing “Saturday, in the park, I think it was the fourth of July”.
Hearing the rumble of a dozen Harley’s as they cruise past you.
Shorts, sandals, t-shirts, sunglasses and the smell of suntan lotion.
Staring at your bobber for hours and then realizing it just went under!
Hearing the wind blow through the leaves on the trees.
Feeling the excitement of an approaching thunderstorm as it quickly rolls in.
Lying back on the grass, without a care in the world, watching the clouds float by.
Softball and little-league games being played everywhere you look.
Feeling the splash of a cold beer hit the back of your throat on a hot and humid day.
Take a deep breath and hang in there Wisconsin, summer will be here soon.
G’Night G’Town
Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James
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By Tom White
Friday, Feb 22 2008, 12:28 AM
When I began blogging last year, I promised myself that I would stay away from discussing politics. There are plenty of other places on the web you can go and get political opinions, so why would you want mine? But with the Wisconsin primary now behind us, and a huge focus this election year on health care reform, I thought I would weigh in with my thoughts.
My thoughts are a simple form of deduction:
- America has Republican fatigue, so we will undoubtedly elect a Democrat into office.
- Every Democratic candidate wants to enact some form of health care reform.
- 40 million Americans don’t have health insurance, and 260 million Americans do.
- That means, that as one of the 260 million American’s who does have health insurance, I will be one of the ones that pays for this.
Well, I figure if I’m going to foot the bill, then I should have some say in how my money is going to be spent. Without getting into all the political hoo-rah-rah about the complexities and inequities of our health care system, I’d like my money to be spent on fixing a more practical health care problem. Have you ever noticed that every “walker” used by elderly or injured people has those raggedy, used tennis balls on the bottom of it’s legs? Well, that’s what I want my part of health care reform to look like. I mean c’mon, this is the 21st century! I would think we could come up with something better than used tennis balls for the bottoms of walkers.
I can see the campaign slogan now – “Walkers without balls for all!”.
My name is Tom White, and I approve this message.
G’Night G’Town
My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass. ~Leslie Grimutter
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By Tom White
Thursday, Feb 14 2008, 01:14 PM
Last week, we had the exciting privilege of taking our 4-year-old daughter, Lyndsy, to her new school and getting her registered for kindergarten. She will be going to Plat Elementary School next fall, and we were given a tour of the school when we registered. Plat is an awesome “country” school, complete with a playground with woods nearby, hardwood floors inside and REAL chalkboards (the green ones).
As we were filling out Lyndsy’s registration paperwork, we were somewhat thrown by one of the questions that was asked. It read, “Please list your child’s strengths”. My wife and I looked at each other and sort of chuckled. I guess we could have listed things like “She’s colors in the lines pretty well”, or “She can rip a pretty mean fart” or “She usually eats all of her waffles”. I mean honestly, she is only 4 years old, and we’re not really sure what her strengths are yet.
We did end up putting down that she is very organized, and that she shows a lot of empathy to others. We also listed a couple other qualities we see as her “strengths”. It’s interesting that it took this school registration form for us to consider what our daughter’s strengths were at her young age. I have to admit that it sort of made me feel like a bad parent since I hadn’t considered that before. Oh well, I guess that is what parenting is all about.
And I sure hope what we perceive as our daughters strengths today stick with her as she goes through the rest of her life. My guess is that they will, because in her Dad’s eyes, she is the world’s most perfect daughter.
G’Night G’Town!
We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher
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By Tom White
Thursday, Feb 7 2008, 05:29 PM
Well, once again, Mother Nature gave our local news media plenty of fodder this week to continue with their on-going mission of striking fear into all of Southeastern Wisconsin. If you didn’t notice by looking outside, it snowed on Wednesday. And in case you missed that, all you had to do is tune to a local TV station, and they would have been sure to tell you all about it, again, and again, and again.
Did it snow on Wednesday? Yes.
Should elementary schools and daycare centers be closed in such a snowstorm? Yes.
Should we be so fearful of snow that we practically shut down the entire State of Wisconsin? No!
Last time I checked, snow is slippery, and yes, we should be cautious when driving on it, shoveling it or walking on it. However, this is also the same snow that we go sledding on, make snowmen out of, have snowball fights with, make snow forts out of, go skiing on, go snowmobiling on, etc., etc. etc. But the local news media would try and make you believe that snow is somehow toxic, and that any and all contact with it will likely bring you certain death. Of course, their news reporters must have some sort of specialized skill, education or snowsuits that we don’t, because they have no apparent problems getting out and about to give us 24-hour, “live and breaking” news coverage of every snowflake that falls and how quickly it is or isn’t plowed. The whole time, they’ll also scare us into believing that “this situation is dangerous, and you should all stay at home unless you absolutely must go out”. Well, I drove from my home in Hubertus down to my office near Mitchell Field for work yesterday morning. I then cautiously drove home in the afternoon, and I’m here to say that I am still alive and well.
I don’t mean to sound like “Mr. Tough Guy” or anything, but I just think we have gotten too far out of hand when it comes to how we deal with snow around here. I think it’s time Wisconsinites put on their big-girl-panties, and deal with the snow as it comes. It’s not the first time we’ve had snow, and it won’t be the last. It’s not only unnecessary, but in my opinion, unprofessional for the news media to somehow suggest that we are all going to die each and every time we get more than a couple inches of snow.
G’Night G’Town!
Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while. ~Kin Hubbard
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