So it goes...

This past weekend was spent fishing for muskie with my friends Steve and John, a tradition that is ten years running now, as I mentioned last post. I'll be honest, I had a bad feeling going in. I figured since I got one last year, it was back to the drought.  It turns out I couldn't have been more wrong. Within the first hour of the first day, we boated a 40" fish that my buddy hauled in. Then within an hour and a half of that one, I caught a 30" fish while casting. There is nothing quite like catching a muskie casting (as opposed to trolling), so I was elated to not be skunked.  Then, while John was taking my fish off, the bobber started moving on one of the suckers in the water. It was what we call a "doubleheader" in the fishing world; two fish on at the same time. It's something that is almost unheard of in the muskie fishing world.  Because my fish was much tinier than the 40" fish caught earlier, they decided to let me catch t...

Memorial Day is always one to make me stop and ponder all the veterans that have willingly served and put their lives on the line for our great country over the past 225+ years. Today we watched the parade honoring them as it marched down Main Street in Waukesha. It was a short, but honoring parade, with the requisite color guards, marching bands and military vehicles. People clapped and waved to those that have earned it. The whole event made me reflect on the role the military has played in my own family. Note that none of them was killed in action, but all enlisted and served. My grandfather Oscar W. Swanson served in WWI in the Army. I'm not sure of how much action he saw, but I think he was largely involved in building air bases as part of it. I should know this, but don't. My father enlisted in the Air Force during WWII. Because of health issues he was honorably discharged early in his duty. It always bothered him that his twin brother was able to serve and he was...