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That girl's kind of like the yound woman who was on Jeopardy shortly after Alex was diagnosed. It was nice to move her up in the schedule so she could make the show, and then become a champion yet. There are still some people with hearts.

As to our disintegrating physical prowess, you've stumbled on a scientific truism. I just read an article where docs and some science guys across three countries (including the US), and a half million plus subjects, figured out that the maximun a human could live is 150 years. Think of how many "Hogans Heros" reruns I could watch by then.

06/12/21 11:32 AM

#3091

The next 2 guest hosts of Jeopardy will be on for 2 weeks. The last 5 will be on for only 1 week, each. When you consider how far ahead of the actual show date, that the shows are taped, the new host has probably been picked. I've never watched America's Got Talent. There are a few network shows that we watch; but, most of the time, we watch Amazon Prime. I'd read that the girl on Jeopardy died 2 weeks after the show was shown or taped. The article didnt mention which. When watching Jeopardy, now, I still know at least half of the anewers/questions. But, I can't think of them. In the last 6 months or so, my memory has really gotten bad. It's frustrating, when you know the answer; but, can't think of it.

06/13/21 06:00 PM

#3092

#1 - I just realized that the body living to 150 years acutally has a bright side - it means that right now, we're middle aged.

#2 - Any cicada stories? We've been lucky around here and haven't had a brood explosion. On last week's golf torunement, their noise was so loud I thought my TV was in snap, crackle, pop mode. The noise from a swarm of cicadas can reach 100 decibels. For you vets, if you've been near a landing Huey, that noise is 108 decibels.

06/14/21 08:02 AM

#3093

If we had any cicadas, they would have to compete for airspace with the fish flies. The cicada infestation victims are lucky - they're home free for 16 more years. Here at the lake, we get to hose these pests off of the house/decks/docks every year. They rise from the lake in clouds, cover everything, breed, and die, leaving piles of the fallen all over everything. For about two weeks we avoid the lake side of the house, and don't swim, kayak, or garden there. Unfortunately, this year's abundant infestation managed to ruin enjoyment of the back gardens as well. One year we awoke to a horrendous shrieking and looked out to see the entire lakeside lawn covered with sea gulls in full feeding frenzy. That was a good year; sadly, the gulls dined elsewhere this year.

06/15/21 06:24 AM

#3094

Nancy,

We used to live near Lake Winnebago and they have a similar infestation, only they call them "lake flies." Sounds like the same thing. I knew people who packed their suitcases in early May, and at the first sign of a lake fly, they hauled off to someplace else for a couple of weeks. You could go even a half mile inland and there were no flies there. I thought that was a Winnebago phenomenom, but apparently not.

Florida though has the same thing with "love bugs," which are bigger and much worse. During mating season, the males attach to the females, and get stuck there. They fly around in swarms like that for a couple of weeks until they die off or end up on the windshield of your car or the front of a bus. You can tell a real Floridian because carry those squeegee things to clear their windshields. Even some of the rest areas have places where you can drive up under a shower head and use your wipers to clear it. And, if you don't wash your car after mashing through a few million of them, their squishness will mar the paint.

You're right, cicadas don't sound so bad after all.

06/16/21 08:41 PM

#3095

William Nelson

Jim,

Love bugs are all over the Gulf States. I met them the first time I had to drive down to South Louisiana. They've migrated north some since then and we see them around here, but not with the density they cover the southern part of the state. Two of our sons live in Katy, TX and they have them over there, too. They do dissolve the paint. My old pickup is very cosmetically challenged by those, tree sap, and paper mill emissions. The clear coat has been peeling off for years. We're not happy with it, but it beats the damage from salt on Wisconsin winter roads.

06/17/21 09:11 AM

#3096

For those never lucky to have been through love bugs, this is what they look like:

And ths is your windshield after just a couple miles through them,

and your wipers are useless.

06/17/21 10:48 AM

#3097

We have cicadas along the Colorado river, in Bullhead City. But, we live about 10 miles from the river; and, have never seen a cicada. They stay by the river. Every spring the state stocks the river with several thousand trout to help keep the cicadas down. The local fishermen like it, too. The first time that I saw lovebugs was the spring of 1972. We had driven to Florida with my Ex's cousin and her husband. He had relatives near Orlando. You can empty your windshield washer in about 10 miles. The first time that I got gas, the attendant, this was before self serve, came over to the car with a bucket of water, a scrub brush and a squeege. The locals told us to avoid daytime travel as much as possible. The bugs disappear after sunset. The bugs originated in the Louisana bayous and followed the Gulf coast to the Florida everglades.

06/18/21 10:23 AM

#3098

Being a Dad -

We make a living by what we get,

But we make a life by what we give.

~Winston Churchill

06/22/21 12:46 AM

#3099

Bonnie Buck (Walter)

Ken and I lived in Lakeland, Florida just long enough for our son, Chad, to be born there - then we were fired by Ken's company that moved us there to open a branch office. Turns out the two men owners decided they wanted to move to Florida and we became superflous! Although, that is what brought us to California - we bought a very small similar distributor whose owner passed away from a heart attack. The lovebugs were as awful and plentiful as described. We had some kind of special netting to put across the front of the car, but it did not help much.

06/22/21 11:49 AM

#3100

Let's celebrate the relatively short season for cicadas and fish flies while we remember the miserable onslaughts of no-see-ums in Florida which made us grateful for air-conditioning when at anchor, and the vigilance with which we scan our bodies for tick bites in fear of Lyme disease here at home. Or we could be pleased not to have mosquitos whose size in Minnesota have earned them the wise-crack title of State Bird. Oh, the less-than-edenic side of paradise!

06/23/21 01:39 PM

#3101

Garry Sellers

There's a couple of things bugging me! First, speaking of bugs, we're having a family reunion of sorts (not a lot of us left) in Eagle River in August. One of the things they want to do is go to a lumberjack show ... at night! That means they'll be able to throw their axes at the mosquitoes dive bombing the show. I didn't know mosquitoes where supposed to be the size of geese! I had to have a transfusion last time I visited.

Second, I'm sure you get as many weird emails from "friends" as I do. I got this one the other day that said it was useful information. Yeah, right. But guess what ... it was. Here's a couple of tidbits I'm not sure how many of you knew. (1) There are tabs on the ends of amuminum foil and plastic wrap boxes that you're supposed to push in to prevent the roll from coming out! Who knew??? I asked about 20 or 30 people if they knew, and none of them did. They were all amazed to run home and check and sure enough they're there!!! (2) You can use a staple remover gizmo to open key rings without destroying your fingernails! So NOW they tell me! How many nails have you sacrificed to the key ring gods? Thanks for the information but it makes me wonder how many other obvious things I should know but don't! I don't need any help to make me feel stupid!!!

06/25/21 09:12 AM

#3102

Hey,

Great advice Garry. Now I'll always carry a stape remover with me, just in case.

06/26/21 01:44 PM

#3103

Jim,

You always leave us with choice words, so I thought of you yesterday while tidying up the refrigerator door (endless font of wisdom and expired coupons) and came upon one of my favorite (it's from the Talmud):

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it

06/27/21 07:01 PM

#3104

Thank you Nancy, I like that.

We just had our grandgirls here for a week (6 & 3), so our fridge right now is a respository of local artworks. No room for such words of wisdom.

And, speaking of fridges, whose bright idea was it to make those "stainless" finished fridges whose doors wouldn't take magnets? He/she got sometihing against art, or kids, or memories? I think the AARP should put out a warrant for that person.

06/27/21 09:07 PM

#3105

Never mind the doors, Jim; they hold only fingerprints.

Use the sides.

06/28/21 03:01 PM

#3106

Understood Nancy, but if we turn the fridge sideways to display all that art, it's hard to open the door.

06/28/21 05:18 PM

#3107

Instant diet.

07/01/21 09:45 AM

#3108

Not if my wife is always baking cookies and thiings that aren't kept in the fridge.

07/01/21 12:53 PM

#3109

Barbara Blair (Brenzel)

Hey Garry,

I totally enjoy the "look backs" that you post. It also gets me a little teary eyed at times! What wonderful memories!

Barb Blair (Brenzel)

07/18/21 04:48 PM

#3110

Garry Sellers

I'm not saying we're in a terrible drought out here in California but this is a photo of me playing the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. I'm going to be in Eagle River for a family get-together in a couple of weeks. I wonder what restrictions the airlines have about carrying buckets of water back to California with me. Might get a little sloppy during the transfer in Denver (you can't get directly to or from Milwaukee from almost anywhere). But maybe I can top off the buckets while in Denver and give buckets to other passengers to carry back to SF for me. I wonder if a bucket of water has to go under the seat or the overhead compartment?

07/19/21 09:49 AM

#3111

Garry,

Look at the bright side of the CA drought - for golfers anyway - no more water hazards.

As for your trip to WI, my relatives that live up in that area assure me that there is still enough water to breed mosquitoes.

07/19/21 10:46 AM

#3112

Garry, I'm in Bullhead City, AZ For the last month, we have been the hottest city in Arizona. We took that title away from Yuma. We are right across the Colorado River from where Nevada comes to a point. I don't want to brag; but, a 110 degrees is freezing. We've had at least a dozen days above a 120 degrees. Yesterday, our cold water was a 108 degrees. There have been several nights where it never dropped below a 100 degrees. We've has 1.11 inches of rain for the year to date. Our normal rainfall to date is 3.6 inches. 2 weeks ago, we got 3/4 inch of rain in a half hour. It didn't do us any good. It ran off before it got a chance to soak in. With summers like ours; all that you can do is stay inside with the air on max cool and brag about it.

07/22/21 07:54 PM

#3113

Deer season came early in Milwaukee.

07/23/21 11:46 AM

#3114