What’s a Man To Do?

Two previously mentioned events deserve to be repeated; a reminder to those who may not have any plans yet for today (I write in the early AM). One is the Energy for Life Walkathon today right here in Milwaukee at Greenfield Park. The other is the Fall Color Festival, a family oriented MTB event, In the Southern Kettles at the John Muir trail head. Both take advantage of Wisconsin’s wonderful natural environment.

Harvesting is something that should come natural to all men. Partaking of the fruits of their labor and God’s good earth. The peaches were slow to ripen this year due to the unusual fluctuations in the weather this Summer. I picked all the ripe fruit and anything of significant size since it all seemed to be falling, ready or not. It appears the fruit will all drop the last week of September even if it is still green. Much was chomped upon by some creature, most likely of feathered nature but whose true identity has yet to be revealed. We had more rot than usual this year. But everyone  we have given fruit to loves the peaches. They can’t stop talking about how wonderful they are. Ours is a Resilient Peach Tree and this is the northern edge of its growing zone. It is in a protected area and we are near the lake. It gets something less than full sunlight as the surrounding houses shade it for some hours a day, though not much more than the trees along the street would.

But what’s a man to do? I do a good days work, hard to come by, and do what any man would do when stopping by a supermarket. I was looking to buy some bacon, if the price is right, and pick up some non-alcoholic beer.

So I am walking up to a local grocery and some lady approaches me and says, “Excuse me sir. I don’t know if you know this but you almost caused an accident back at the intersection.”

So what does a man do? “No.” I answered, “I didn’t.”

She went on to explain that how stopping after a left turn arrow went from yellow to red that I almost caused two cars, one hers, to hit me from behind.

I explained that I had to stop (I was not going fast either) and if anyone hit me from behind it would be their fault; they would be liable. After the fact I wish I had told her that she would also have gotten a ticket for un-attentive driving if she had hit me. And that’s the truth!

She said, “The light was not red it was gold.” …Gold? That told me everything I needed to know. Those must have been some powerful psychedelic mind altering illicit drugs she took in her formative years. Who calls a yellow light gold? Must be of the same liberal stock as those East-siders that drift into the lane to their right before they make a left turn.

I continued to try to explain why she was wrong. She just wouldn’t shut up. Finally she called me a derogatory term that I cannot mention here and stormed off. Some choice unmentionable terms I had not used in many years came to my mind also though I refrained from their use. But two words encapsulate any and all such terms could possibly come to mind; ‘woman driver’. There is power in being concise.

And when I say ‘woman driver’ I am not being figurative despite her looks. That would suggest that she could possibly be a man. On the other hand they changed the definition of literal to also mean figurative in the latest edition of “The Oxford English Dictionary”. So to say that she was literally a ‘woman driver’ would still not preclude her from being a man. Bringing us to the real problem with the world today. Men not being men (and I’m not talking non-alcoholic beer) and women not being women. Could it all trace back to when woman started driving?

And this is why you keep coming back.. Yes, I try to keep you informed of upcoming events. In some cases I lapse in that responsibility. I missed  mentioning the Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic. I have discovered a new race, after it was over, in the news feed in my side bar; The Red Earth Classic in the upper peninsula. But it is the cutting edge truth and common sense that was all too common in days gone by.

Another photo from the Coffee Bean Classic.

Now, for the $34 question. Back in High School my brother and I were going to go in together to buy a classic muscle car but the guy left town thinking it was a day later than it was before we could pick it up. What was the make, model, price and how much did we put down, which of our younger brothers redeemed the receipt for our deposit and was it days, weeks, months or years later? Check  the rules on the jackpot page.

Fall Colors

It will be a while before the fall colors blanket our beautiful countryside, but Autumn begins this weekend and the reds and yellows are covering our peach tree in the form of fruit. We may have it all picked this weekend though it is still a bit green. It was a strange year weather wise and the fruits vary greatly in size. We’ll see how they taste.

I have been away from writing all together for a few weeks. I had the opportunity to help some friends with projects of theirs. It has kept me busy. This time of year also appears to be a two month window in which I do 90% of major renovations on our own home. I failed to mention the Bike Fed/IMBA Day at The Rock two weeks past. Maybe they would have had a larger turnout if I had mentioned it on my blog. I am just too popular. Until we can rid ourselves of our weekend jobs I don’t see any opportunity to support weekend bicycle events and competitions.

Speaking of the Wisconsin Bicycle Federation, a fine cause, I doubt they had anything to do with posting this signage.

Tomorrow, very short notice, is the grand opening of the Pleasant Valley bike trails. They look quite inviting for the whole family and not too far out of the way for the Milwaukee area. 10:00am – 2:00pm in Cedarburg.

With plenty of time to plan a wonderful Saturday don’t forget about the Fall Color Festival in our wonderful Kettle Moraine on Saturday the 28th. Plenty of fun and activities (and prizes) for the whole family. On the same day is another event and very worthy of participation. It is the Energy for Life Walkathon for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, right here in Milwaukee at Greenfield Park.

On a darker note, the Odd Tuesday Rides are over. The Wednesday Night Races, also finished for the season, were a success with a total of 159 different competitors over twelve weeks. They averaged about 50 racers a week. Nearly half were in the over 40 category, and they were not all in the greatest of shape. Of course their were some true athletes competing but don’t be shy in taking the plunge. There will be plenty of beginners to commiserate with if you are overweight and out of shape. Metro Mountain Bikers have invested nearly 800 volunteer hours as of the Beginning of September in trail care and building. There will be many more before the end of the year. WORS Alterra attendance was down by 10% from the 1012 season.

Yes, the economy is hitting everyone hard which is why you are all waiting for the now $32 question (see rules on Charity Jackpot page). The question; How old was my wife and how old was I when we first met?