Wake Up! Waukesha

Just back from a trip to San Francisco and Napa wine country. The Frisco charm and sightseeing provided a great backdrop to our catch-up time with friends from Kansas City. The easy relaxation of the Napa area (and winery tours) allowed ample time for the wives’ shopping forays.

How and why does Midwest Airlines enter this picture?

Midwest (our personal carrier of choice) was exemplary to the success of this vacation. We arrived on time to begin our vacation, and returned home on-time as expected (and hoped for). Luggage retrieval was prompt and convenient in both San Francisco and Milwaukee. But the real “back-story” was our pilot on Sunday’s Flight YX 921…

Boarding the plane in S.F., my wife lamented the passing of the 2-across wide leather seating now only available on “Signature Service” flights. A voice behind us announced, “Don’t give it a thought – you have the best flight crew in the business on-board today!” We turned to see our pilot grinning with the knowledge that he had been heard. We smiled and went to our seats…

The passing of the 3-hour flight was complemented by the tremendous storehouse of interesting knowledge imparted by the very same pilot as we flew eastward. We learned about rivers, dry basins, farming circles, irrigation, North Platte-NE, the Pony Express, even the Oregon Trail. His apologies were sincere when clouds obscured a fair portion of the route and he could not impart even more tidbits. On our layover in Kansas City, he even explained the Morton Salt desalination colored water retention areas visible on final approach to San Fran.

Easily half of the passengers stopped by the cockpit when deplaning to thank this tremendous goodwill ambassador for his efforts in making the time pass. And while we all admired his encyclopedic knowledge, I took a moment to reflect on what separated his comments from prior, typical …”On your left is the Grand Canyon…” flights. It struck me…

This pilot was an educator – not just another “teacher in the air”! This gentleman’s delivery was based on giving us information in a manner we could digest, enjoy, and remember later. He knew his targeted audience and he delivered magnificently! His delivery and content were spaced to avoid over-doing it. The facts he (pardon the pun…) “plucked from thin air” had depth, relevance, and color. One could sense he was getting as much from bringing geography and history to life as we were in enjoying the same.

Writers’ Note: My apologies to all the Catholic nuns at Pius HS who tried, mostly in vain, to force the same material down my throat years ago…

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what can set a local company apart from a multi-national firm. Midwest is fighting, right now, to retain its corporate identity as much as it’s fighting for its life against Trans-Air. This pilot was “proof-positive” of what created and enabled Midwest’s growth through the years – top-flight service! Truly, this was a standout flying experience.

Lastly – The pilot was correct: We did have the “best flight crew in the business.”

And the warm chocolate chip cookies never hurt…

I just can’t take the political “non-speak” coming from some of “our” local elected officials much more at this time…

State Representative Rich Zipperer comes to a Town of Brookfield Annual Meeting; addresses the attendees; extols his day of toils including “pushing” through legislation which is later found to have no chance of success in the Senate…Great – nice day’s work…And he seems like a nice guy. He then welcomes comments and questions.

When asked about the issue of education right here in Waukesha, he offers – “We’re perceived by the rest of the State as already getting more than our share…” When asked again for a direct answer on what he is doing for his Waukesha area, he replied “you needed everybody on board before the process could start!” HUH ?!? A consensus before you start?? That smacks of back-room deals at the State level! He never answered the question! …Period!

State Senator Mary Lazich recently produced a guest editorial in a local competing Waukesha paper which ran probably 800 words or so. She gave a compelling fact-filled recitation of how much money is given to education in Wisconsin and how much more funding schools get here than elsewhere.
And that was it!!! No plan of review; no desire to get further involved; no cognizance of the Waukesha District’s plight right now; not even a glimmer that other Districts are in trouble right behind Waukesha. I kid you not! Pull the article and you can almost hear her near-tears plight that the State is not responsible – “they give education a lot of money”!

Have some fun with this particular Senator – Go back a month or so ago when seniors were (ridiculously) barred from Bingo at Southridge…Follow her riding in on a white stallion to save her seniors while she pounced on the State Bureaucrats (her own…) to fix this ridiculous law!! And she was certainly not publicity-shy as she trumpeted her every move, effort, and comment to any and every available press outlet.
The results:
Bingo (a strong senior voting bloc) – She will move mountains to “right this misapplied miscarriage of common sense and justice”!
Education (students, our future, taxes) – She will adamantly hide behind “The State gives a ton of money to education – it’s not my problem…”

Enough – I will state my true beliefs: Taxes are high enough; there is a lot of money given to education funding; and there are other needs at both the local and State levels.” And I continue…”And our State leadership is desperately needed to revamp their own State mandates while getting together in a non-partisan effort to save the long-term quality of education!”

PSSSSTTT - Here’s a tip…Try getting all education shareholders together and start a dialogue towards problem-solving this issue right now.

…It’s really starting to resemble the Scott Jensen era of “non-involvement” for the Waukesha constituents again…

Watch a “Miracle” in the making!

The new Marcus Majestic Theatres on Springdale Rd. are to open the beginning of May. Many of us drive by without a sideways glance except to see if they are open yet. Others – tradespeople by the boatload – turn on-site early and leave late. The aggressive schedule set by the Marcus Corp. demands daily 110% efforts as the clock ticks down.

Will they finish on-time? Of course! Many of us have noticed the same frenetic activity around the Parade of Homes models just before opening, and they somehow find a way to make it happen!

Nonetheless…Watch the Majestic and follow how close to the wire this one is coming down to…And then go see movies in the most state-of-the-art theatre in America when it opens.


On another note Congratulations to Milwaukee County’s corporate counsel Mr. Bill Domina. Milwaukee’s gain was Waukesha’s loss when Bill left Waukesha to join Scott Walker’s cabinet. His Waukesha school Board leadership along with his countless charity works are even more appreciated in hindsight. Bill was, along with Sue Black, recognized by this paper as the type of quality people you build your leadership team on. Congratulations.

I agree.

Good luck Marcus, and we miss you Bill!

Ask yourself, right now, if you know how much the 2 recent State Supreme Court candidates spent on campaigning?

If you answered…”Possibly $6,000,000.00 ?”, you would be correct!

The priorities within this State are upside down! This election provided some of the ugliest, name-calling, back-stabbing, mud-slinging, and negatively-run tactics ever witnessed. Neither of these 2 “reputable” candidates deserved to win a position on the State’s most powerful court. If you believed either woman’s ads, the other was unsuitable to be a dog-catcher… much less a judge.

Are we, the voters to blame? The apologists and strategists for Ziegler and Clifford would have you believe it’s our fault that they have to “do the things they do”. After all, it’s all about winning. Upon reflection, it is amusing how quickly and how adept these people were (with their negative campaigning) at “crawling into the mud and wrestling with each other like happy hogs on a warm summer day.” They almost seemed at home there…

$6,000,000.00 for an election where most of us will truly never know how the outcome affects us personally! And for perspective, $6,000,000.00 would have staved off cuts for 2 years to the Waukesha School District: Home of 13,000 of our students…After swallowing hard on how much positive impact that could have had, two words come to mind – Absurd and disgusting…

I proudly voted in our local elections.

I did not vote for either State Supreme Court Justice. It is the only way I know to send a message to the people running for office that some of us common voters still care about personal integrity and reason.

Argue if you must, but “A Hard Day’s Night” is one of the tightest, most-energizing 2 minutes and 29 seconds of music ever produced.

From George Harrison’s opening powerchord (and the subliminal piano notes “D2, G2, and D3)…pause… to the surge of concise McCartney-Lennon lyrics, this song gives and has more energy than any 100 songs you might hear in a week. Extremely compact, the song just reaches out and grabs you with the simplistic lyrics:

It's been a hard day's night
And I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night
I should be sleeping like a log

But when I get home to you
I find the things that you do
Will make me feel all right

Face it, 43 years later, this song pulls us back to less complicated times. And yet (and this is the “magic”), a feeling of success, of completion, of relief, of expectation, even a feeling of exultation all accompany this song every time it hits the airwaves. …Writers, artists, and recording engineer all perfectly synched, and we now savor the results for decades…

Life is good…

Three years ago, I invited Mr. Bob Smickley, CEO of MetalTek in Waukesha, to be the keynote speaker for the Waukesha Education Foundation kick-off breakfast. Bob is incredibly smart, well-versed on an array of issues, one of Waukesha’s largest employers, and his kids went through the Waukesha School District. Bob’s stern “warning” prior to acceptance was to be careful what you ask for, because his message on education “could” ruffle some feathers.

Bob discussed positives about and within the Waukesha District. He then went on to relate his attempts to donate computers to the District, and the ensuing red tape experienced as a result of his attempted generosity. His message that day was prescient: education was not business-friendly, and change was needed.

Fast forward to “today’s” Waukesha School District: Staffing cuts (60+), increased class sizes, program cuts, and prospects for more of the same next year. Opinions from the Community range from supportive to inquiring to critical to detached. Armchair strategists are offering their “fixes” for others to execute. The School Administration and Board look to the Community and the State for help…and there is none. So how do we citizens, taxpayers, business people and parents react, and what does this have to do with Bob Smickley’s presentation of three years ago?

Local change is needed! The core values of everyone’s right to a quality public education cannot go by the wayside on our watch! Seniors surviving on social security have as much a responsibility to our kid’s futures as we do to their monthly sustenance. Parents of students have to respect the needs of more than their own kids and work for widespread change and improvement. Businesses have a social responsibility to their Community beyond writing checks. Employers have to take an active interest in learning how they can get involved to ensure the workforce coming out of local schools mirrors their needs.

Change at the State level is critically past due! Unfunded mandates, a decrepit funding formula 14 years old, hard-core political divisiveness that thwarts discussion or compromise, and a “Bury my Head” approach from our local State representatives are all factors which preclude reasonable discourse and problem-solving. …And seriously, do we really want just the politicians and educators working on a fix for a problem of this magnitude?

Taxes are acknowledged as high. The State provides a lot of money to education, yet there are additional needs in the State. Referendums are short-term fixes, and the process for approval rips Communities apart. Everyone seems to have a “pet peeve” about some aspect of public education. Please accept the preceding and move to the next paragraph…

Responsible change is needed, and all shareholders must be at the table! Legislators, educators, businesses, unions, and parents all share responsibility towards finding a long-term solution. The problems are real, local, and immediate. Every one of these groups must be an active participant in ‘blowing-up” the current education-funding model and starting fresh. The prospects of failure should be somewhat self-evident.

To Bob Smickley: I agreed with you three years ago, and I now carry your message one step further – “Education” today needs to be user-friendly to all.