WINDING DOWN

Well, we are into our final 2 weeks in Palm Desert. It has been outstanding. Even without DVR we filled every beautiful day with fun activities. Hiking, walking, golfing and eating out at happy hours are just some of the things we loved. Happily my sister and cousins will be coming out to finish the next 2 weeks and soften our departure. I look forward to getting home to Chicago, my birthplace and home for 67 (almost 68) years. We are already looking forward to next year's snowbird trip. Several candidates have popped up but we haven't decided yet. We sat through a thumb bending time share session the other day to be rewarded with 2 free rounds of golf. It wasn't really that bad compared to previous timeshare sessions we had been exposed to. Just not ready to commit to that type of lifestyle yet. My wrists are sore today after hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range. I have hit more golfballs in the past 2 months than I ever did in the previous 55 years of playing. Emil Lazar and I used to ride our bikes to Chick Evans Northwestern golf course when we were 12 and play all day. We would only stop to drink some water and eat mustard (it was free). I still like mustard and water but I couldn't play 54 holes in a day.

I'M NOT ALONE

I checked the stats today for the first time and found that I'm not just talking to a wall. Now I have to watch what I say. NAHHH.
How about a perfect world where everyone got along. It might be a little boring. Difference in opinion has always been around as far back as we can document. To a degree it has become more civilized replacing the club with a talk show host. I see the basis of confrontation stemming from mine and yours. If you don't covet mine, I don't covet yours and we each keep a safe distance we get along fine but when any of those boundaries are crossed it hits the fan. You see this while driving a car, waiting in line for a dinner table, watching your kid's or grandkid's ballgame, etc. We have come so far to be nowhere. Because we live in a free world that allows us to think we know what is best for that society. Unfortunately we don't know squat but allow our thought process to be influenced by TV idiots who claim to be experts when in reality they are only hate mongers looking for ratings. If you really want to know about a topic do some research and get several points of view and for gosh sakes don't forward on an e-mail until you have checked it's validity.

NOT AN EASY JOB

I have a great respect for all of our past and present presidents. Can you imagine if that was you having the position of keeping a large country going? Some were groomed to take that position, whether by family or political kingpins. Put yourself in their position. Being surrounded by a staff of advisers makes the job easier but with a fractured society you are wrong no matter what decision you make. If you have ever been a president or chairperson of any organization you must realize what a monumental job it is to just get 30 or 50 people to agree much less 275 million and then you have to factor in the rest of the world who depend on our country's decisions. In my lifetime I was aware of presidents Eisenhower through Obama and I salute every one of them and will always address them as President.

WHEN DID IT ALL CHANGE

We are visiting some friends in Las Vegas and last night we went to Bellagio Hotel. We watched a fantastic water display playing to beautiful music. As I looked at the crowd both outside and then inside The Bellagio I couldn't help but notice a slovenliness of dress. What happened to the crowd who enjoyed and felt obligated to dress up when attending a nice performance or staying at an elegant hotel. Now the outfit of the day was ripped bluejeans, shorts, T-shirts showing a general disrespect for their surroundings or fellow participants. Is it so difficult to put on a nice pair of slacks with a collared shirt and maybe a sweater? My grandfather was a toolmaker from Sweden who came to this country with that sense of formality and, even though he would go to work in a machine shop, he would dress in a suit every day and change at work. I can understand the idea of feeling comfortable but it doesn't have to be in a Bears football shirt.

IT'S A BIRD

My new friend Rich from Minnesota and I are both restarting our golfing activities after long layoffs. We are starting easy with many trips to the driving range and then rounds at par 3's. Yesterday we played a very small but interesting par 3 in La Quinta called Palm Royale. This course had plenty of water holes and strategically placed sandtraps making it a challenge. The greens were also very difficult with changing contours of hills and valleys. I put a few in the water and I also found the sand but I needed the practice (in the sand not in the water). Coming up to hole 17 I was a little discouraged by my play but when I hit my 8 iron on the 125 yard hole it landed 2 feet from the pin and I holed it for a birdie. I love this game. We will be back there tomorrow at 7:07 A.M. I hope to improve and then on to bigger courses setting up the match in Tucson with Lloyd Kuehn and Bob Rhodes.

I LOVE THIS GAME, I HATE THIS GAME

As you may have noticed in a recent entry I have taken up golf again. Bob Zender and I started at the same time of life but he went one way and I went the other. Now that I have more time on my hands I thought I'd give it another try. I didn't have any clubs so I went to Craigslist. $40.00 later I had a complete set with a bag. I've started at the driving range and then playing on a par 3 course in Indio. I found that playing with gym shoes doesn't work so i bought a pair of golf shoes. Now, after 6 trips to the range and 2 games at the par 3 I feel more comfortable and I know I'll be ready for The Ira Berger Invitational in September. I hope the course isn't too long. When I get home to Chicago I'm going to get a nice set of clubs and then find partners to play with.

GOOOOOOO BEARS

In the long rivalry between the Bears and Packers they have only played each other once in the playoffs and that was back in 1941 (Bears won 33-14). After watching the Bears at the start of the season I didn't think they had much of a chance to excel and with the variety of injuries on the Packers I didn't give them much of a chance either. Ironically it was the Bears loss to the Packers in the last game of the year that allowed the Packers to get into a wildcard position. The way I see this game the Bears have to control the ball with Forte running his a** off. They talk about the weather but I don't think either team enjoys playing in 19 degree temperatures.
Lovie was almost run out of town after, following a hot start, the team fell on hard times but something kicked in and they finished very strong. If there is a coaches factor ask any Packers fan about McCarthy. They think he isn't very good as a decision maker.
We are going to The BeerHunter in LaQuinta to watch the game and there will be hundreds of fans there watching on over 50 TV screens. If the Bears can't do it today I will be very disappointed and it will take me a few hours to adjust but then I can turn on The Bulls or Blackhawks and then it's the wait til next year Cubs who will go all the way this year. (Your heard it here).

WATCH OUT, ANOTHER HOOKER

Since we are going to be in Palm Desert for 3 months I thought this would the best time to take up golf again. I started playing when I was 12 and since I was living right across the alley from Bob Zender I was learning from the best. Bob's dad would take us to Maierhofer's back lot and show us how to hit the ball. Bob picked it up very easily but I picked up bad habits and never achieved more than a 95-100 range. Emil Lazar and I would ride our bikes with the clubs on the handlebars to Northwestern (Chick Evans) course and play from 8:00 in the morning until dusk only stopping for some water and mustard (only things that were free). Several years ago I fell away from golf, probably since Chuck Worthington passed away. Chuck, Emil and I would play up in Wisconsin a couple of times a year.
Last week I went on Craigslist and found a complete set of clubs and bag for $40.00. I had to buy a sand wedge and a 5 wood and after a couple of trips to the driving range I was ready for the Par 3 course in Indio. I lost 7 balls (several ended up on the driving range and I wasn't about to go out there to retrieve them), but nobody got hurt and I made it through all 18 holes. I can see I need more work but it was fun and I have to get into playing condition for our Ira Berger First Invitational Classic during our reunion in Sept.

PHILOSOPHY TO TRAGEDY

As we all have probably seen there was a terrible tragedy in Tucson yesterday. As I have been doing the nilehi website I have been exposed to all sides of our political views. Where do these viewpoints come from? First we are influenced by our parents. They were influenced by their lifetime of exposure to their parents, friends, teachers, religious leaders, etc. I would hope that the individual mind is developed enough to filter out the bad ideas and encourage the good ones. Now the question arises what is bad and what is good. My bad might be your good and if we can't discuss it rationally we become polarized. Mankind has evolved from the caveman to the present going from a simple mind who saw and reacted to todays more analytical approach where we evaluate a situation and decide the best course of action. We, unfortunately still have a part of society with a caveman mentality which knows only one way to solve a problem and that is to use the club.
If Tucson's tragedy has taught us anything, although I don't think it has, I hope it would be to open up more rational conversation and find that we all are trying to attain the same goals.

HELP, I CAN'T GET OUT

I know I'll get no sympathy from those of you suffering through yet another cold winter. We retired in August and decided to leave Chicago for the winter. This is the first time we have had the opportunity to escape for more than 2 weeks. We ended up in Palm Desert, CA and although it isn't warm it is in the 50's and 60's. we rented a condo and for the most part it is nice. Unfortunately it is in a gated community which needs a remote or keycard to get in. We didn't get a remote so when people come over I have to walk to the gate (about 2 blocks) to pass the keycard through the gate for them to get in. Going out, the gate opens automatically if you drive out but if you are walking you need a remote to open. The only way I can go walking is to drive our car out of the gate, park and walk from there. If this isn't rectified soon it will leave a bad taste in my mouth when the condo review comes up.

CHRISTMAS KARAOKE

Christmas Eve, in our family, is the Swedish side of our family's day of celebration. We have been travelling to my Aunt Myra's home for 30 years. This year we thought it would be fun to break out of the traditional mold and add Karaoke. There was a microphone and background music and lyric sheets aiding us and after several glasses of Glog I went to the mike and sang Silent Night. It had been quite a long time since I had been on the other side of the mike but I nailed it. Granted theses were my relatives in the audience making it much easier. I can remember standing in front of as many as 5000 people at The Aragon. There were four of us which helped and it was so loud that nobody could hear us anyway. Back to Christmas, I had to reflect on the recent passing of another aunt, Corky, who was my mother's sister and always fun to be around. My mother passed away at an early age and Corky was my connection to my mom since she knew her better than anyone. Bud Morten did an interview with his mother and documented her life for generations to follow. I wish I had done that but now I have to rely on my memory. I will work on it and put it in this blog next year. Have a good new year and help bring joy to others.

This past July we sold our house and moved downtown. We went from a big house to a 1 bedroom 1 bath loft. We had to shrink our possessions down by 75%. With garage sales, donations and trashing we pared our lot to fit into our little home. Now we have decided to remodel the loft so while we are snowbirding our loft will be torn apart and put back together in a completely new configuration. Right now we have to pack up our possessions and reduce them again. At this rate of progression we will soon be living on a coat hanger in a closet. This brings to mind the saying you come into this world with nothing and leave with nothing. What we do have is each other.

FIELD MUSEUM

Is it a sign of aging, or maturing as I like to call it, going to the Field Museum and actually enjoying the day. Recently we met Lloyd Kuehn and his wife, Joan, at The Field Museum. My museum of choice had always been Science and Industry but I was pleasantly surprised how interesting The Field has become. We took a guided tour of the Egyptian exhibit and we were amazed with the technology of that ancient culture. Cecil B. DeMille took liberties in his depictions of ancient Egypt and in reality the pyramids were not built using slaves but rather paid workers. Most pyramids were raided, some soon after being sealed, even though precautions were take to discourage that practice. The art of mummification was intriguing. It took 40 days and 40 nights, sound familiar, to extract the inner organs and soak the skin in natron for preservation.
We spent 6 hours and didn't see half of the free exhibits. 1000 years from now we will be in museums on the other side of the glass typing on our archaic computer keyboards.

INCENTIVE

This morning I got up and started to dress for a cold walk. Thermal underwear followed by a jogging suit followed by a rain resistant golf coverall. A towel around my neck, a warm pulldown hat and a pair of winter gloves. It was 24 deg. out and when I hit the outside I started to think what a foolish thing this was. as I walked under Lake Shore Drive and emerged at Grand Avenue Beach I see this guy coming OUT OF THE WATER in a swimsuit. He starts to towel off and all of a sudden I don't feel the cold. I couldn't believe this. That water has to be 40 degrees and the air 24. This made my walk much easier to endure.

CABARET

Dolores and I met her brother at Peterino's Restaurant last night for dinner and a musical treat. It was Open Mike Monday and a dozen entertainers each took the mike accompanied by Becky Menzie on the piano. Some had played here before but some were new and Becky played their music perfectly. They ranged in age from 30 to 84 and for the most part were very entertaining. The 84 year old had been in several movies early in her career and did herself proud belting out tunes. If you get a chance to see Becky Menzie I would encourage you to go.

PROSPECTUS OR CAMOUFLAGE

Why do I hate receiving those stock market prospectuses, I'll tell you why. They give me a headache by trying to confuse the investor trying to justify why their portfolio isn't growing in the proper direction. As an example here is the opening line from a recent prospectus sent to me today: "New normal long-term outlook---marked by a shift in global growth drivers, deleveraging and re-regulation---points to the possibility of a desynchronized global recovery. As such, the economic growth rate in developed economies will likely be lower than in previous recoveries, but higher for developing and emerging market economies. for investors it is important to adjust portfolios to meet the challenges of this changing and uncertain investment environment".
I would rather hear: "Since our last idea isn't working due to lousy foreign investments, we will switch our investing from England, France and Italy to India and China".
Where do these financial advisers come from? Are they schooled to invest properly or to sell the investor on their expertise. We are trapped into following their advice since banks and mattresses give you zero growth. Maybe I'll invest in a pawn shop.

CUBS, I'M BACK

In this busy world we live in there is only so much time to spend on any one activity. I started supporting the Cubs back in the late '50's to early '60's. I was an occasional fan and went to a few games every year. As I grew older and raised a family I found more of an allegiance to the Cubs and started to become the true definition of a fan (fanatic). I suffered through the highs and lows over the years and , although they never won the golden ring, the did offer an exciting product. When the Bartman incident happened, not really his fault, I was disappointed but stuck with them. Then they brought in LOU and we were convinced he would lead us to the promised land. I watched every evening and weekend games and listened to the rest on the radio. Now they have a big season and get to the playoff only to lose three straight before I could get comfortable on my easy chair. The following year we do well again and start with "the never can win the important games' Dodgers. Boom, Bang, Zip and the mighty Cubs are done. Well that was it. I got rid of all my Cubs memorabilia and clothes and vowed never to watch them again. I was true to myself and found so much extra time to do other things (much to Dolores's delight). Two seasons went by and I went to a game late in the 2010 season at the request of some friends. We sat up in the upper deck and I hardly recognized any players on the field. Late in the game this fellow was wandering the stands and plopped down next to us. This was Tom Ricketts (the new owner of the Cubs) and he was a regular guy. The 3 of us talked for 5 minutes and we told him he should hire Mike Quade as new manager. We shook hands and he went on to other eager hands to shake.
I will give it a trial run next year but only as an occasional fan. Now that we have retired there really isn't enough free time to waste on many ballgames.

DIRK PITT

Yesterday I went to the Union League club to hear Clive Cussler speak at a luncheon book review. Along with his son, Dirk Cussler, they wrote their recent book "Crescent Dawn". I know his books are formulaic but once you start it is difficult to put down. I will review the book in a future blog (since I haven't read it yet). The Union League Club is an old establishment that caters to the city's wealthier people. The food was very good and the room was beautiful. I would never join a club that would accept me as a member. They have a dress code there as they do at The Standard Club but it isn't what you might think. They only ask the men to wear a shirt with a collar and dress slacks (no shorts or blue jeans). Personally I like to dress up occasionally.It shows some respect for the history and tradition of an old organization and respect for your fellow attendees. Happy Thanksgiving to all and don't eat too much.

Hi. I'm Keith and I'm a walkaholic

Every day I walk since we got rid of our cars. Every other day I take a long walk (10-12 miles). Like running you get into a zone and the miles pass swiftly. Scenery is important and I couldn't ask for more than the Chicago lakefront or Lincoln Park. I have to take care of my feet so I treated them to some new walking shoes. Yesterday I used a groupon and had a 90 minute massage concentrating on my hands (slight arthritis) and feet. I don't use earphones or mp3 systems but instead listen to the sounds of the city. I try and greet all oncoming walkers/runners/bikers if they make eye contact. Amazing how a smile or hello can change your day. I have taken back some hellos from grouches but they won't spoil my day. If you read Jack Spatafora's blog about tabernacles you know where the grouches are coming from. The fringe benefits of walking are obvious. It is so difficult to keep a balance of calories in and calories out. I used to burn more calories thinking about a Big Mac than it produced, not now.

OH CAROL

Carol I hardly knew you but the news of your passing cut through me as if you were a close family member. You were one of the cheerleaders, the in crowd, popular and pretty. I, as a shy and introverted teen could only dream of dating any of you. In meeting you this past February in Florida I was impressed with how easy it was to talk to you and Karen and Diane. Life is so unpredictable and to allow any of it to just pass by without enjoying every minute is tragic. You and Les were a nice couple. Our class will miss you at the reunion but when we sing the NileHi fight song we will dedicate it to you. GOOOOOOOOO TROJANS