The Rambling Insomniac

….the Milwaukee Brewers made their last play-off appearance….UNTIL NOW!! It’s been a LONG, LONG time Brewer fans; go ahead and revel in the moment!

G’Night G’Town!

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.  ~Author Unknown

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you are undoubtedly aware of the recent financial crisis that has come about here in America. Long story short, several large investment and insurance firms, such as American International Group (AIG), have been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as a result of the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market. The crisis is serious enough that our government has stepped in and has now created an $85 billion “bail-out” plan for AIG. Under the plan, the government will basically take control of about 80% of AIG’s holdings.

Now I’m no Alan Greenspan, but this whole bail-out move is something I am really struggling with. Fact is, the American free enterprise system is one that runs on greed. As Americans, we want more money, so we are willing to take certain risks to get more money. In the case of large insurance firms such as AIG, they have capitalized on these risks, and when economic times are good, they make boatloads of money. But suddenly, when certain economic factors come about, there profits shrink down to nothing, and they end up in bankruptcy. Now here is the part I struggle with…why is it my responsibility as a taxpayer to bail them out? When times were good for AIG, I don’t remember ever seeing a credit on my paycheck that said something like “AIG Rebate”? Boy, that sort of sounds like socialism, doesn’t it? Scary stuff.

Again, I’m no Wall Street wizard, and I can’t say I have a better idea of how to solve this crisis. I do trust our government when they say that something needs to be done here, but I’m just concerned about the precedent we may be setting for the future.

G’Night G’Town!

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.  ~Robert F. Kennedy

The hills, dirt and Jesus. Just a few things I am feeling older than this week. You see, just the other day, I received an invitation for my 25-year high school reunion. I guess I was just sort of coasting through life really not paying attention to how old I’m getting, and WHAM!, I’ve been out of high school for 25 years!?!?

I’m sure many of you can relate with me when I say high school was not by any means a highlight in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I had tons of friends back then, partied hard and managed to graduate with a “3 point something” GPA, but for me, my life really began after high school. But that’s just me. I still have friends that can’t stop talking about “the good old days” of high school, and I guess that’s okay. Maybe for them, these were the years that shaped their lives, or maybe they were just the best years they ever had? It would be really sad to me if the latter were true on that one.

So anyway, I am feeling a bit old right now, but I’ll get over it. I have my own mathematical “philosophy” on the years we spend here on Earth, and it goes something like this:

Your first 15 years of life simply do not count. Face it, we were all too young and too stupid for these years to really matter. So, if I figure that my life started at the age of 15, that means I’ve really only lived for 28 years. When I balance my bad habits and vices with improvements in health care, I figure I am going to live until I’m at least 80 years old. With that being said, I still have 37 more years of life left, and given the fact that I’ve only lived for 28 so far, I’ve got a long way to go! And if I can pack as much life into my next 37 years as of I’ve packed into the first 28, things are looking even better.

If there are any other Class of 1983, Germantown High School Alumni out there that are feeling as old as dirt right about now, keep your chin up, we still have a long way to go!

G’Night G’Town!

Age is an issue of mind over matter.  If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.  ~Mark Twain

This past weekend, my wife and I took our kids down to the Indian Summer Festival held at Milwaukee’s Summerfest grounds. Thus far in life, the only exposure to Indians my kids have had has been what they see on Scooby-Doo, so we felt this would be a good educational opportunity for them. My son, Buck, told me he didn’t want to go see the Indians because “they’re scary” (they are usually ghosts on Scooby-Doo). So, we went onto YouTube the night before and pulled up some Pow Wow videos for him to watch. This set him at ease.

We got to Indian Summer early enough on Saturday to grab some food before the big Pow Wow began. We were eating some Indian flatbread, which I referred to as “Indian donuts” so I could get the kids to try it. Once they tried the deep-fried, buttery, sugar and cinnamon treat, they gobbled it up. As we were eating it, I did my best Indian chant saying, “I like donuts, I like donuts, I like donuts!” My wife quickly scoffed at me and reminded me that I may not be exactly politically correct chanting like that sitting at a table surrounded by true Native Americans! No disrespect intended though.

We then went to see the Pow Wow, which was really cool. Many nations of Indians were represented, all in traditional garb. As they entered the Pow Wow area as part of the “Grand Entry”, they danced and chanted to various traditional Indian tunes. Before that, one of the leaders of the festival gave an opening prayer that was quite moving. While I can’t quote him exactly, he said something to the effect of “We are here not as a race, not as a nation, and not as an ethnic group. We are all here as people, to celebrate our Earth, our skies and all those people we share it with”. It was quite a moving prayer when coupled with the passion these people displayed in their dance, song, attire and celebrations.

Afterwards, all of the Indian Nations broke off into areas throughout the grounds and began traditional celebrations specific to their tribes. All was done authentically, with emcee’s describing the dances and chants so observers got an education on what the significance of every move was.

All in all, it was a great festival, and one I would certainly recommend to anyone. It was a great way to learn more about the many Indian Nations that exist in our country, as well as a great way to enjoy the Summerfest grounds without having to fight the major crowds normally associated with other festivals. All this, and now my family has a greater respect for the many Indian cultures, and my kids don’t just think Indians are simply some scary ghosts on Scooby-Doo!

G’Night G’Town!

When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white man came, an Indian said simply, "Ours."  ~Vine Deloria, Jr.