Veterans Day 2019

    I have been sitting here a lot of the day watching all of the posts on Face Book, news commentaries, and many many other stories of veterans, both male and female alike, who have served in our Armed Forces. There are many of my friends and others who have been posting about their loved ones, both past and present who served in the United States Armed Forces, and it occured to me as I wondered, if those non-veterans, family and friends, really know the meaning of Veterans Day, why is it always on November 11th, and why is it so important to our citizens and our Country.

   November 11th is the date of the anniversary of the ending of WWI. They said the war to end all wars. For the young people of today it is hard to fathom actually knowing anyone who served in WWI. But I have and remember these men very well. I remember as a kid in the 1950s actually seeing at a parade in our small little town at a Veterans Day parade, an actual soldier who had served in the Civil war. He had to be about a hundred years old, and he also had to be very very young as he entered the Union Army as he was now 106 years old at that time. He was riding in a horse drawn wagon. Forward of the wagon were veterans of the Spanish American War, followed by WWI veterans and then WWII veterans, and bringing up the rear were the Korean War veterans.

    As each decade passed so did those old soldiers who represented and fought in those conflicts, No more Civil War Veterans, no more Spanish American War vets, and soon they'd be no more WWI veterans. But to this day I still know many WWII, Korean, and many Veterans who are now the oldest followed by Vietnam Vets. Granada Vets, Somalia Vets, Kosovo Vets, Iraq Vets, Afghanistan Vets, Syrian Vets and more. Hopefully you can see the pattern here. The US has been in many wars throughout the years. I am not going to get into the politics of should the US have entered in these conflicts, but my focus is on those military men and women who stepped up to the plate and signed the contract on the bottom line to give a portion of their life for a period of time, if not for eternity.

     But remember what day Veterans Day really represents. It is a day of celebration. November 11th represents the end of a war. A time to celebrate that the war is over. Unlike Memorial Day, which is a day of mourning for those soldiers we have lost, for whatever reason.

     Being in the military, the regimen, the commitment, the discipline, etc. is simply something that non-military honestly cannot understand, unless they lived it. Knowing that if you fall, your comrades will do whatever they can to pick you up, to help you out, to mend you, whether it be body, mind or soul. It is a closeness and a trust that no one will ever understand unless they served. Some may not express their gratitude outwardly, but for them who do not, they know it is in their heart. The ones who served, they fully know that they can count on their fellow vets even though their service commitment is over. Just say the word and we'll come running. Our love of country cannot be toppled, cannot be stopped, and surely cannot be understood by all.

So to ALL of my fellow Veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE on this 2019 Veterans Day!       

2019 Soldiers on Sleds Annual Appreciation Ride

Soldiers on Sleds 2019 Annual Appreciation Ride

The fourth annual Soldiers on Sleds Annual Appreciation Ride took place this past week-end, in Watersmeet Michigan. Soldiers on Sleds is a St. Germain 501c3 organization which takes active duty, combat veterans, for a week-end of snowmobiling and comaraderie.  The soldier participants come from all over the USA, and are both men and women who have served in a combat role during their time in the military. 

On Friday January 24^th the Soldiers started arriving at Camp Shed Horn, which is on snowmobile trail #2 in Watersmeet, Michigan. It is owned by Neal and Renee Anderson, also the owners of Northland Docks in Woodruff. The soldiers have been housed here for each of the last four annual rides.

Captain Roger Klein (US Army retired), and Soldiers on Sleds President Jack Bourgeois (US Navy retired) transported the eight snowmobiles from St Germain, Hazelhurst and Minocqua to the camp in Michigan. Other Soldiers on Sleds staff included combat medic SSGT Jennifer Driebel, and combat medic SFC Cara Butterfield, both currently serving in the Wisconsin National Guard. It was these two medics who ensured the safety of the novice soldier riders.

Wisconsin National Guard Members Cara Butterfieldand Jennifer Driebel Combat Medics

Camp Shed Horn is a barracks style cabin with bunks on the first floor that will accommodate up to ten individuals, and the second floor can accommodate an additional four more personnel. There is a kitchen/dining area that will seat ten or more. “We chose Camp Shed Horn when it was offered because of it’s design. It allows individuals to co-habitat in quarters that are not much different than when soldiers are in the field on maneuvers etc.” Bourgeois said.

Bourgeois further stated that one of our goals is to provide an environment where teamwork is of the essence. The participants load and unload sleds on the trailers, gas them up, share mess hall duties, survival in the bitter cold and more. “We make sure that each soldier is dressed appropriately. Soldiers on Sleds provides proper helmets, gloves, hand warmers, snowmobile suits, and more for each participant to enjoy and take with them when they go home.

“We have many sponsors and supporters who believe in our program. We can help to identify any unseen PTSD issues with the expertise of our staff. We do not treat these issues, but we do provide a path for the individual to follow should they need help” 

As far as snowmobile operation goes, Captain Roger Klein, a certified snowmobile instructor, will introduce each soldier to the machine they will be riding and goes over all of the buttons, gizmos and starting procedures in addition to hand signals, trail signage, and more when out on the trails. Roger also inspects each sled and soldier for proper gear, and sled safety.

This year’s ride was the most challenging. With air temperatures as low as -30 degrees below zero, warmth and comfort were of prime importance. On Friday evening Soldiers on Sleds took the group to the Casino in Watersmeet for a Friday evening all you can eat seafood buffet. Saturday morning breakfast was prepared by in house staff, while everyone got ready for the morning ride to Bauer’s Dam Resort, via the Cisco Chain of Lakes and wooded trails through Land o Lakes and Conover. Donna Bauer and her daughter Jessica greeted the soldiers with hot chocolate, topped with fresh whipped cream. After a short visit, it was back on the sleds, for the long trip to Stillwater’s Bar and Grill in Star Lake.

Chuck Altamore and his wife Karen greeted us with open arms. Chuck is a former US Navy Seal and welcomes us year after year. Former Stillwater’s waitress, Debbie Janowiak Buss, takes her apron off the hook at home, and comes in each year to serve the soldiers who have come in to dine. 

After lunch the group gathered for their annual photo in front of Stillwater’s prior to saddling up for the long ride home to Camp Shed Horn, with a nighttime arrival. Total miles for the day about 115. Dinner was in the cabin where everyone sat together, shared stories, talked about family and just had a good old family time. Brothers in arms.

But here it is Sunday already and the temperatures are dipping back into the negative 30s. However, no one was cold, and they all still wanted to venture to the infamous Bonn Falls. Another thirty-mile ride in frigid weather. Each one remarked how beautiful the falls were in the dead of winter.

But as good as things are, they must come to the end. The sleds were all loaded up, and the cabin put back into the same way we found it. Many friends were made this weekend. And we could not do this without our great sponsors and supporters. We thank each and everyone of them. We'll keep doing this as long as we are able. 

Look for us again in February 2020 for our fifth annual appreciation ride.

     

  

Snowmobiling for 2018 is almost here!

It looks like winter is finally here, even though officially, it is still a few weeks away!

     The temperatures have been hovering around the low twenties. There is frost in the air and snow on the ground. The gun deer season has just closed and now the deer can make themselves visible again. Meanwhile, most adventurers have their snowmobiles uncovered, polished, filled with fuel and are all ready to go.

     When one ventures out and about, the snowmobile grooming machines are out panning the trail beds in preparation of opening day in about a week or so. Those brave soles will be inspecting the swamps to see if they are frozen to allow for the safe travel across that crust of ice. The lakes will be measured and if the ice is thick enough they will be lined with orange barrels to make the safest way across the ice that connects the many different trails here in the "Northwoods of Wisconsin".

     The guns have been cleaned and put away, the freezers are full of fresh venison, and not it's time to make sure the snowmobile boots, jackets and bibs are all in good shape and readily accessible for  a ride could be at hand on a moments notice. Anything between zero degrees and thirty is game and ideal. 

     Many others are getting their sleds ready to race against each other. Those are the individuals who put a lot of money and effort into seeing who is the best racer. Whether is be on the oval track or the Snowcross track, their machines too are in tip top condition and raring to go. Do I race locally or do I travel to different events around the circuit. That's the question only deep pockets can answer. The luck racer has sponsorships. Whether that be financial sums, equipment, parts, fuel, it is all necessary to be successful. There is always a possibility that the next world class racer never got to compete because of poor finances, and not because of ability. 

     Which brings up an observation of mine. Whenever you see a racing sled, you will see all kinds of sponsor stickers on the side of the sled. But did you ever see one of those stickers from a snowmobile club? I haven't? What better way for a snowmobile club to support the sport they all love, than by sponsoring a rider or two. I am sure there are clubs around that do this, but it is not as common as it should. Most clubs are incorporated and as such have a set of by laws and a mission statement. I am sure that somewhere in those documents it says "To promote the sport of snowmobiling". 

     Yes building trails is important, buying equipment is also important to groom those trails, etc. But, then again so is supporting your business community, and that includes that local snowmobile racer. What folks do not realize is that it is that racer who pushes that machine to its limits. It is that rider who helps make the design changes that we all get to enjoy after his tireless efforts to win and become a champion. 

     It is their constant hours of wearing a snowmobile suit or jacket and helmet too, that puts this attire to the wear and tear that most of us amateur riders will never do. But we will benefit from the professional rider's likes and dislikes, the clothing failures and those helmet bangs and knocks. It is they who are the risk takers, and it is you the casual rider who benefits from the toils of their labor. 

     The local restaurants will see a boom to their winter business bottom line as the riders venture out and stop by for food, fuel and refreshment. Without the snowmobiling activity, these venues would be sitting idle in the winter had it not been for the growth of the snowmobile sport and the industry as a whole. 

     For lodging there are those resorts that provide winterized cabins for the visiting snowmobiling group. Those resorts who did not have the foresight to winterize their cabins will simply lose out on this industry. Hotels and motels who have large parking areas to allow the loading and unloading of a trailer containing that precious cargo of a snowmobile will have more business than a smaller establishment, with limited parking area. And the biggest loss is for those establishments that are inaccessible to a local trail. Riders need to be able to ride from the hotel to the trail head. 

Just can't wait to get out there and enjoy the ride. 

All in all, here it is in the beginning of the month of December. The tween season of waiting for the trails to open and for Mother Nature to do her thing. So in a few days, let the riding begin and make sure you all ride safe.  

          

Why Non-ATV Towns Are Just Plain Stupid!

Yup! There, I've finally said it!  I said what you are all thinking of, but are afraid to speak or say it out loud yourselves. And frankly, that's what gets me into trouble a lot. So just ask yourself this?

When it comes to the people who serve on your local town boards, a job nobody wants by the way, where training and expertise, in the areas they are charged with, is certainly lacking. I mean, what is the purpose of a town board anyway? To govern, to look after the folks and residents who live in the town? Or to provide safe and operational ingresses and egresses to the town people via good sustainable roads?

Some people who run for these town boards, and get elected through the apathy vote no doubt, are just there to move forward their own favorite project or do what is necessary to fit their own hidden agenda. While they are serving on the town board will they do what their constituents ask them to do? Perhaps, but only if they know what the constituent is talking about in the first place.

Take a look at who serves on these small town Boards of Supervisors. Are they made up of Politicians, or some old retired person who has nothing better to do and enjoys getting out of the house for a while? When it comes time for a vote on an issue, do they do the research on the subject to be better informed, or do they just vote for the item because they like the guy who brought it up, and do not want to offend him/her.  For example, let's take a look at road construction projects in a small town. Who is going to pay for the resurfacing of a road? Why the taxpayers of course! But did you ever ask yourself which taxpayers? Is it going to be paid by the taxpayers who own property in the town, or by visitors to the town or other? See, none of you reading this has a clue on how to answer that question.

So let's talk economics of a town. Where does the town get its money from? Well one source is certainly through real estates taxes, that's for sure. But other sources might be through gasoline taxes, telephone taxes,  road taxes, room taxes, sales taxes,federal and state grants, DNR grants, etc.

With those in mind, the more money that is spent in a town, the more sales tax that is generated. This means that the amount that the town will be sharing with the state will be much higher "IF" there are more sales revenue generated in the town.  This is also true of gas taxes, the more spent, the more shared. Road taxes, the WI Department of Transportation pays each town a share of those taxes based on a formula of how many miles of roads there are in a town. Usually you can tell which roads belong to which town by who maintains them. On the other hand you can simply go to the WI DOT website, and get a copy of the table that specifies it.

What about telephone taxes? Yes the town even gets a share of those taxes too. And now we come to room tax money. Each time a resort or motel rents a room, there is an additional tax that the renter must pay. This tax is turned over to the Town treasurer who shares the money between the Town and the Chamber of Commerce. So it would behoove the town to do everything in its power to keep those rooms occupied.  The more rooms that are rented the more tax money that is generated.

The local town's Chamber of Commerce is just that. It is a group of business people who pay dues to the Chamber and make sure the Chamber is doing everything in its power to bring people and their money to the town to help their businesses survive. The town is not necessarily a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but works closely with them to bring people into the town. Why? To get those people spending their money on rooms and other items so that those taxes, on the monies spent, can help pay down the funding needed to run the town. It's kind of like a big economic circle. The visitors come in, they spend their money, they pay taxes, the town builds or repairs a road, the now "good road" brings in more people, and so on and so on. Everybody wins.

However, remember where I said up above about the Town Board members? Most of them do not know or understand any of this. It's way above their heads. That's why they flounder when they have a major road repair or other. "Where are we going to get the money?"  they might ask. Well if you did not promote your town (remember the beginning of that circle, where you try to get the visitors into town to spend money?) then you are not going to have the funding to do it, and you will have to come up with decisions on which ones get fixed, and which ones get put off until next year.

Because there is a lacking of expertise on a Town Board, in many different areas, it causes them to seek outside help. This does not come free of course, and that outside help is dipping into their already low funds.  So where am I going with this?

What is written above might be read by some stupid town board member, and give them a short education on the economics of a town. Perhaps they will learn where their revenue stream really lies. Especially here in Vilas County, where the main revenue stream is tourism. Yes there are those real estate taxes. But, if people cannot get here, and enjoy the things they like to do, the town will falter and die. They will find elsewhere to go to. Then real estate properties will be assessed at lower values, and that will be the decline of that real estate tax revenue stream.

So when ATVs come knocking at your doorstep, where each rider that comes to town spends their money paying room taxes, gas taxes, sales taxes, phone taxes, etc. that revenue is here as a gift to your town. They won't come and spend their money, nor will the boaters, fisherman, nature lovers, etc. and your town will eventually falter and die.

Take any town in the Northwoods. Look at the successful ones, who allow ATVs on their roads, and those that do not, who are struggling to make ends meet. Look at the average age for the 2000 census and the 2010 census and I'll bet you will see the average age of a resident gets higher as time goes on. In the town of Plum Lake as an example, there are no ATVs allowed. The 2000 census states the average age was 63. In the  2010 census that age increased to 68. What will the 2020 census bring? It is predicted to be around 72. Pretty soon all of those folks will die off and the towns will start to merge. Young people do not move in, they move out. They graduate HS, go to college, and most never come back.

To the towns who fall into this category, you choose. You can continue to be stupid, or you can start getting smart and fix things while you still have time.  Be smart! It's a new revenue stream. Take advantage of it, don't shut the door. Sooner or later you will fail if you do.

Eerily Chilling!

Every once in a while I get an email from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR)letting me know of various things going on around the state pertaining to the outdoors, wild life, hunting and fishing. The articles are quite interesting and informative.

There is a report that they publish called "Wolf Depredation Report". This is a report on Wolf activity regarding attacks on domestic animals by Wolves. There was a time that Wolves were on the endangered species list and through good wildlife management practices their populations increased to the point that they now needed to be controlled so they did not deplete other populations, such as the states deer herd, and other game animals. So they were removed from this list and the State of Wisconsin for a few years recently held an annual Wolf hunt allowing hunters to pursue this fairly large animal predator.

Things seemed to be going well for a few years and the DNR controlled the numbers killed and thereby protected their populations from being disseminated entirely by limiting the number that were allowed to be taken each season.

But that management was not good enough for the tree huggers and the States found themselves in court and the judge had the Wolf put back on the endangered list and hunting was stopped. This left the population to now grow and be unchecked with heavy fines if one were to shoot and kill a Wolf, no matter what the reason.

Every once in a while the report mentioned above will tell of hunting dogs being used to track Bears, who happen to get involved with a wild Wolf Pack, being killed unmercifully by these vicious predators. I have seen pictures of a Bear hunter guide, holding up by the neck, his prized hunting dog who was attacked by a band of Wolves. The particular animal in question had nothing left to its body below the shoulders, and had been literally torn apart.

This brings me to my point. Last night when returning home around eight thirty PM, and as I exited my pick up truck to go into the house I hear a lot of barking coming from my neighbors place. Although he does have a dog, I am very familiar with that barking, and what I was listening too was not that.

My second thought was that my two dogs had somehow got out of the house and were running around in the woods barking and playing with each other as they had done from time to time in the past. But this was not that either. The barking sounded like a whole bunch of dogs, many more than two. As I stood there by the truck and listened more intently, I could hear intermixed with the barking and yelping, an occasional howl. I had never heard anything like this before and it was quite chilling to listen to.

Now the area that I live in is heavily wooded. I have five acres of woods, backed up by one hundred and twenty acres of some swampland and more woods. My closest neighbor also has five acres and the neighbor across the dirt road of ours has about six acres. So we are pretty remote and wooded. The area is heavily populated with Wisconsin's famous white tailed deer. In Vilas county where we live it is a buck only county when it comes to deer hunting, and the does are generally protected from hunting. Personally on my land, I have a doe and her fawn that come by the house daily and feed on the grasses and some occasional hard corn that we put out for them in a near by feeder. A neighbor down the road has a similar arrangement but in their case there are two bucks of about two years old that come by with about six other does and yearling fawns that they feed on a regular basis. So yes, we have a very large population of deer in the area, and this is what is attracting the wolves, and bringing them closer to the house, because the deer very seldom travel far away from the feeder.

In the mornings, my significant other will take one of our dogs on a long walk down the road and skirt along the woods which are on her left and right along the way. With what I heard last night, this can be a dangerous situation now and she'll either have to have me accompany her, or I am going to have to have her carry a bell and some mace. But I feel more comfortable walking with her.

As I stood there on the porch listening to the loudness of these animals last night, I could tell they were running behind my house, probably chasing one of those deer for their next meal. The barking and snarling I heard, and the howl that followed sounded like one of the Wolves was giving his victory scream after downing an animal. I went in the house and then back outside, which was now very quiet and still. Just as quickly as it started, it also stopped just as fast. The moral of this story, don;t feed the deer, you'll never know what will come next..........

How will Donald Trump make Mexico pay for a wall?

Recently, in the last few months, one of the things making news is the fact that Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Candidate, stated that if he were elected President he would build a wall across our southern border of the United States, to secure it from passage, and entry by illegal immigrants.

But how? How are you going to do that, the media asks; the other candidates ask; and the opposing parties ask? They ask as if they do not believe that he can do it. But how naive are they?

Now I am not a politician, or even a Trump supporter, but here is how I would do it, and I am surprised the others can't think of these simple things. So lets start:

1. The facts are that there are more Americans who visit Mexico than any other country in the world. So lets start by creating an "Exit Visa, and fee, that would be required to be paid to leave the US and go to Mexico. If you don't like it.....then visit somewhere else. A lot of Americans will refuse to pay the fee and WILL go somewhere else. This will definitely hurt the Mexican economy in their tourism pocketbook. What does this accomplish? Well think of all those reports on the Mexican Rivera, Cancun, Itaxpa, etc. I see a lot of lost Mexican revenue here. Seems like a lot of pressure on the Mexican government to me would be coming from those resort areas to do something.

2. If you have ever been to a border crossing location, such as Brownsville Texas, Tijuana, Warez, etc. you'd be surprised at how many Mexican citizens cross the boarder and enter the US, legally, each and every day to come to the US to work. Those jobs they have, they should be US jobs. However, when those Mexican citizens enter the US through the border, they do so for free. So, I propose that a daily fee of five dollars be placed on each crossing into the US and back into Mexico.

3. Vehicles manufactured in Mexico and imported back into the US, shall have imposed on them a $100 "Wall" Tax fee for each vehicle. Of course we all know the manufacturers will pass it on to their consumers. But sales on those vehicles will decline, and those vehicles will have to have on their window sticker, and clearly defined, that the vehicle had the extra tax added. Therefore customers could request another vehicle, one not made in Mexico. This would also apply to each and every item made in Mexico and shipped into the US, a Wall tax would be added.

4. Presently a passport is accepted, but is not required, to enter into Mexico from the US. You can enter with a passport card. A passport card will allow you to enter Mexico, Canada, and some other places. To get this card you still apply to the passport office, but there is a price difference. It is much cheaper. There should be instituted, a special Mexico passport card should be issued, but with a much higher rate to purchase one. Again this would discourage travel to Mexico, and put internal pressure on Mexico.

5. There are corporations who have plants in Mexico, where they manufacture their wares and goods but do not import them into the US. They make these products and send them to other parts of the world. Those revenues and profits they receive for these goods go back into their general fund. The main fund repository of the main company. It is clearly stated in their corporate financial reports and stockholders annual statements. There should be an accounting tax rule change where those profits, if earned in Mexico, would be taxed by the IRS with a 10% WALL surcharge.

These are just some of my thoughts on how to get Mexico to pay for the building of a wall. I just put this together to show you it is not that hard to do what Trump says, and I know I have not thought of everything.........

We'll see what the future holds. But whoever is elected, from what ever party, is going to have to do something.

Bronze Star Recipient Stan Spillar

Recently I was fortunate to have one of America's hero's come and speak to my Project Management class. This past spring semester, I have been teaching a Project Management class at Nicolet Technical College in Rhinelander Wisconsin. Nicolet is a beautiful campus with multiple buildings housing many different disciplines nestled in the middle of a huge acreage of the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

This friend of mine is a WWII veteran, past combat medic, and Bronze Star recipient. His name is Stan Spillar and he is 92 years old. Stan has given talks on his experience landing on Normandy on D-day +2 on Utah beach many times over. Stan was visiting his daughter up here in St. Germain, and I invited him to come and speak to my class. But this is a Project Management class and I was wrestling with how I could justify his presence in the class and how his talk would relate to the subject of Project Management, when it occurred to me, that he was a team member in the biggest project effort ever imagined. The invasion of France. Just think of how many countries were involved in that effort. Think about the difficulty of coordinating every group or individual. What an effort, what a success, and what tragedy ensued to make it successful.

Stan was a combat medic assigned to the 90th Division 357th Regiment. Not only was he a medic, but he was also a runner. A runner is a person who, because of the lack of adequate communications between the groups of men, would take messages back and forth at the request of upper management, i.e. senior officers.

Stan is not a large man, standing about 5'7, but he is lean and still in great physical shape, which he extols in any talks he gives, trying to instill in the minds of young people that the body is a machine, and needs to be greased and oiled frequently through a good diet, and regular exercise. He will tell and demonstrate how he does his squats in the morning, each and every day.

Prior to his speaking to the class, i.e. the night before, I researched the 357th Regiment and came up with some combat footage of this group as it entered into the town of Chambois, France, and low and behold, there is Stan, right there on the big screen with a bunch of his buddies, as they display a captured Nazi flag, while standing in front of a disabled Germain tank. So I put together a short video that contained a lot of this combat footage along with some photos I found on the internet of Stan and his comrades. You can view it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtTWjX9aSmE

The 357th was known as the Texas Oklahoma Regiment and was formed during WWI by the Texas National Guard. They were deactivated after the war and their colors cased. However when WWII broke out they were reactivated. But Stan will tell you that his group was so successful in accomplishing their missions during WWII, that General Patten himself renamed them from Texas Oklahoma to the "Tough Hombres".

When the war broke out Stan asked his father, who fought in WWI, if he could sign up, but his father had already seen the atrocities of war and would try to make sure his son would not be a part in any war. However, Stan was so adamant about joining up that he told his dad if he would not sign for him to join, then he would run away and find another way to do it. So reluctantly, his dad agreed to put his signature on the document that would send his son off to a foreign land and into battle. Something that many parents also did during this time of our countries need. Many, many sacrifices were made by ALL Americans, to make sure that freedom would endure.

I picked up Stan around eleven thirty and he was accompanied by his daughter Val. Stan brought along with him many, many articles and historical paraphernalia he had collected over the years. Among them was a medal he had recently received on his participation of the Honor Flight to Washington, something he was very very proud of.

We chatted along the way, arriving at the school at around 12:20 (class started at 12:30). Stan and Val sat in the back of the classroom, as I prepared the audio visual overhead projection system, so that I could show the class the video I put together. They had no idea who the visitors in the back of the room were.

When everyone was seated and the chatter calmed down I gave a short talk on the project of the Normandy invasion, and the difficulties it took to put it all together. Stan sat quietly in the back awaiting his turn. But first I started the video. The students watched intently with interest, there were about sixteen of them that day. Even the student who always shows up to class, but sits way in the back, with his laptop going, and his ear buds nestled in his ears and who never really pays any attention to the class lecture, was seen removing his ear buds, and watching with keen interest as the video unfolded.

The video is about nine minutes long, and when it ended, there was total silence in the room. I think it was then when the class realized who was in their presence and about to speak. So I broke the silence with an introduction, and Stan rose and came to the front of the class. I have seen many veterans who have received medals for valor under fire give many talks, and the one underlying this that is common among them all is their patriotism.

Stan talked about what it was like crossing the English Channel on a troop transport, and how the seas were very rough and most of the men had gotten sea sick. He related that once when he rushed to the railing of the ship's deck to throw up over the side he came to realize that he was throwing up on the men on the next deck below, but then again, the same was being done to him also from the men on the deck above. He then talked about his recollection of disembarking the ship by climbing over the side and descending to the landing craft below, via a rope ladder hung over the side. It was a difficult descent as the landing craft crashed into the side of the ship due to the rough seas.

When the boat was loaded, they headed into shore. He related how the sailor driving the boat told them, "Boy's I'm going to get you in as close as I can.", and he guided that boat into shore and dropped the front bow for the men to disembark. Stan said when he got off he was in knee deep water, which he was very thankful for, because he could see other men in other boats aside of them who were not so lucky. Men, who when they got off the ramp of the boat and stepped into the water, were up to their necks, or over their head in the deep abyss. The men were carrying hundred pound back packs on their backs, an a lot of the men drowned, right there in front of him. It was quite a shock and Stan's first taste of death. But Stan had a job to do and that was to get off that boat, and get into shore. So he did just that when he and his comrades jumped in and got to shore as fast as they could.

They moved in shore and proceeded inland. They were under enemy fire. But because of Stan's present age in relating this story. we cannot put into chronological order the exact order of events as they unfolded. So I will outline here some of the highlights of these stories. Among which is that while under fire and pinned down, the Lieutenant and leader of the squad, had to get a message back to another group, and Stan, while being a runner, was the man chosen and whose duty it was to deliver the message where it had to go. Stan took the message and put it into his pouch and headed from fox hole to fox hole as quickly as he could, all the while under constant artillery fire. He had to now go up and over a hill. As he climbed up this hill and went over the top of other side, he could hear voices, German voices. When he looked around he saw some German soldiers coming towards him. There were four of them to be exact. He was young very much afraid at the sight of them, and thought he was a surely about to be another certain casualty of war. He thought for a moment and stood up with rifle at the ready. He was not going to go down without a fight. When the Germans saw him standing there, poised with his rifle shouldered and aimed directly at the four Germans they immediately and without hesitation threw their weapons to the ground and quickly put their hands up in the air, surrendering themselves to him.

Stan marched his new prisoners in the direction of where he had to deliver his message. On the way he came upon some wounded Americans, he did what he could to stabilize them. He was in a quagmire though. He had to tend the wounded, while guarding his prisoners. So as he stopped to do what he could for the men, he ordered the German prisoners to make, make-shift stretchers, and ordered them to carry the wounded along with them to their final destination. However, as Stan emphasizes, the Germans were reluctant to do so, to go where they directed them, because they were afraid they would be targets from their German comrades who were in the area and still fighting. As they hesitated, Stan yelled at them "Achtung!!!" and quickly raised his rifle. Upon doing so, the Germans picked up the wounded and carried them to where they were going. For this single handed capture and rescue of his fellow soldiers, while under enemy fire, Stan was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor.

But Stan's stories did not end there. He talked about Bastogne, another part of France where General McCaulif was surrounded by hundreds of German troops, and also a part of the battle of the Bulge, and his participation in their liberation. He recalled how it was so cold, that he had to carry some of his treatment medications against his bare chest for warmth, because he was so afraid of them freezing, and becoming useless. He explained the difference between the American tank's firepower, and the way it fired and the way the German tank fired the 88 artillery tank round. He said the the American artillery would be shot up into the air and then fall to earth hopefully hitting the target and exploding, but the German 88s were so powerful that they shot their artillery shells in a straight line of sight. He said you could hear them coming as they whizzed by. One story he told was when in a fox hole, and he had to relieve himself, he held it as long as he could. Because he was not in the fox hole by himself, but with another buddy. He had a choice to make, he could drop his pants and go in the hole, which would be very unpleasant for the both of them, or he could risk leaving the hole and getting shot at or shelled. He decided the latter, and as he was in the middle of doing his business, when the 88 shells started whizzing by, and detonating all around him. Stan quickly dove for the safety of the fox hole, while his pants were still below his knees.

Stan said that General George S. Patton was so impressed with the success and bravery of the 90th division, that he moved them under his command, and from that point on, they became part of General Patton's Third Army. He recalled that during the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944, it was so cold that most of the wounded were frost bitten. He said their feet were very cold, and also very wet. But if you took off your wet socks, then your feet would swell, and you could not get your boots back on, so the order of the day was, no one was to remove their boots.

Another area he served in was Theresienstadt concentration camp, also referred to as Theresienstadt Ghetto, it was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín (German name Theresienstadt), located in what is now the Czech Republic. During World War II it served as a Nazi concentration camp staffed by German Nazi guards. Stan was one of the American troops to liberate that camp and told of what he saw and the atrocities that went on there. Stan had a complete distaste for the Nazi SS. He told the class that the SS had no heart or sole. He said their members were hand picked as children and how the children were told to bring their pets from home to school, where they were told to dissect them. He said the SS had no concern for the value of human life and how they were totally indifferent to life or death.

At one point in his talk he started to sing......God Bless America, land that I love.......I am sure the class was surprised, as he sang the entire song so proudly. He had a pretty good voice too! When he finished he took questions from members of the class. All good questions, showing they were certainly paying attention, and fascinated with the man and his adventures. During Stan's talk many of his artifacts and souvenirs were passed around the class. Afterwards students wanted to get their picture taken with Stan, and they also wanted to inspect in more detail some of his photo albums and medals. One student, a very young shy girl of about nineteen years old, came up to Stan, and waited patiently for him to finish talking with another student, and said to him Thank You! Thank you for your service, as she extended her hand for a hand shake with him. With that small gesture, Stan said "Oh honey come here," as he walked around the table separating them, and gave her a big hug.

It was quite a day for Stan. I wish I knew him when I was younger, because I am sure he has forgotten more stories than he remembers. But the students got the opportunity of a lifetime to hear first hand from someone who was there, and not reading about WWII in a text book written by some historian.

I take full responsibility?

Recently we have been hearing a lot of politicians, when they admit their errors, or something happens, you'll most certainly hear them utter the phrase "I take full responsibility". Well, what the heck does that really mean?

President Obama recently spoke these words when he was speaking of the US drone attack that inadvertently killed two hostages. President Obama said that he takes "full responsibility" for a U.S. government counter terrorism operation that killed two innocent hostages held by al Qaeda. There were also similar statements made by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she told CNN she takes “full responsibility” for the security failures at the U.S. consulate in Libya where a terrorist attack by radical Islamists killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.

To me this utterance also means that you have to suffer the consequences of these actions. When you take responsibility for something, if you do not make amends, then it just becomes idle chatter and meaningless, and that my friends is what's wrong with those words today, they mean nothing. By stating these words, the issue is still there, the problem is still present, and neither will be corrected, nor will the policies, or results of the action, change.

The Washington Post has published five things that President Obama has taken responsibility for. They include:

1. November 3, 2010 – Democrats lose control of the House in midterm elections. "I take responsibility for that."

2. October 16, 2012 – Attack on U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. "I'm the president. And I'm always responsible."

3. May 27, 2010 – BP oil spill. "In case you were wondering, in any of your reporting, who's responsible? I take responsibility."

4. October 30, 2013 – HealthCare.gov crashes. "I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP."

5. July 14, 2009 – Economy in freefall. "I love the folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, 'Well, this is Obama's economy.' That's fine. Give it to me. ... I want the responsibility."

And now a sixth one on taking responsibility for the killing of the hostages during a drone strike. As you can see the words without actions of consequences are quite meaningless. I have no solutions, nor do I suggest any. I'm just pointing out here, that when the words are idly uttered, they mean nothing.

Soldiers on Sleds 2015 Ride

Captains Log: February 20, 2015

The morning was brisk, with temperatures hovering just around zero, the trailer was sitting in the yard and the aluminum sides were so cold that bare skin would crystallize to the touch. It was quite a task lining up the truck to hook up the tongue and gently lower it on the ball of the receiver hitch. But the more challenging task was yet to come......

As I pulled the trailer forward and place the loading ramp, I started the first of three snowmobiles to be loaded on for the week-end ride. It took some doing to glide the sled up the ramp and make sure it was secured, but solely I got the job done.

Leaving the driveway and heading on to the next spot to pick up sled number two from the shop. Had the carburetors cleaned and made sure everything was in tip top shape for the week-end ride. Sled number two was now loaded and time to pick up the last sled. Scotty from PBR resort was kind enough to donate this last one, and once it was loaded I'd be heading to meet up with former Army Captain Roger Klein, who was also volunteering his time and another sled, for our trip to Camp Shed Horn in Watersmeet Michigan for the week-ends festivities.

After arriving around noon we met our hosts, Neal and Renee of Northland Docks and the owners of Camp Shed Horn who were gracious enough to donate their camp for our use for the week-end. They are the proud parents of a young lady who is presently serving in the US Army in Germany. Neal showed us around and also provided us the use of his two personal snowmobiles for the week-end. A very, very generous couple.

It was around one or two in the afternoon when we heard a knock on the door and a young man entered and identified him self as PFC Kyle Crowley from Appleton WI. He was kind of shy at first, but as soon as we loosened him up he was very comfortable in our presence. He helped us two old men unload our sleds and he could not wait to suit up in his bibs and coat and take one of them into the adjacent fields. Kyle was an experienced snowmobiler and this was quickly demonstrated as we watched from the cabin window as he surfed the virgin fresh powder in the open land.

A short while later A father and son team arrived. It was Sergent First Class Richard Helm from Medford, WI and his son Specialist (SPC) Tim Helm. SFC Helm served tours in Afghanistan's Paktika Province at a camp in Shirhana, while his son Tim is in training to be a drone operator. Both these men were novice snowmobilers and Richard had stated he had not been sledding since the 80s. They were all thrilled when we presented them brand new snowmobile suits, compliments of FXR Racing, and their representative Mr. Trevor Watson.

Last to arrive were SPC Bradley Winger from Wausau, WI and SGT Dillon Lang also from Wausau. They too were experienced sledders and brought their own sleds, which were quickly unloaded and ready for the night ride to dinner at Lac View Desert Casino for the seafood buffet. It was interesting watching all the men go through their gift bags I put together, nothing too fancy, but all donated from various local businesses, and even the local dentist, Dr. Liesen, provided the dental hygiene package for their week-end adventure. But the most exciting for them was donning their new snowmobile attire.

We spent the next hour or so chit chatting and swapping stories and getting comfortable in our surroundings and with each other. In no time at all we were on our short ride (14 miles) to the Casino for dinner. Roger made sure each rider was familiar with their sleds, and went over a few hand signals and what to look out for when riding on the trails. Then we were off, and into the woods we went. At first the speed was a bit slow, but these men quickly adapted and were were now traveling at a respectable pace. Dinner was provided through a grant from Wisconsin Public Services Foundation.

After dinner some of the men hit the tables and Sgt Dillon came back a hundred dollars richer.

We left the casino and headed to the gas station to gas up. Gas was provided through donation from benefactors through the Soldiers on Sleds www.GOFUNDME.com account. SFC Tim Klein looked smart in his new suit.

Rounding up the troops (sic) we headed back into the woods for the night ride back to the cabin. The air was clear and the sky was filled with the Northern Hemispheres various stars and constellations. A leisurely ride through the woods. A few games of pool at the cabin and they were off to bed for the night, as the next morning would be their most challenging ride.......

The next morning the men were early to rise. Coffee was on but it was interesting that these men were not like Roger and I, in that they preferred water and shunned the coffee for more healthy beverages like water and juice. But they had no trouble downing the Ham off the Bone, potatoes O'Brien, and fresh eggs I cooked up for them. They said they were not used to eating such a large breakfast in the morning. But I knew what was in store for them with today's ride and they would certainly appreciate it later......

It was time to suit up and head on out, next stop......Stillwaters Restaurant and Bar.

The experienced riding Soldiers left ahead of us, and ventured out to Lake Gogobec, on trails around the lake, while Roger, SFC Richard Helm, and SPC Tim Helm fell into sled formation and we headed south to our destination. It was about a forty or fifty mile ride. We headed south and then west, stopping off at the Bear Bar in Boulder Junction for a rest, recap and soft drink. I told the men, that we do not drink and drive on the trails, that's left for the cabin. But before I could even utter those words, they had ordered soft drinks from the waitress. From there we headed South and West for the trip to Stillwaters.

The Boulder Junction trails were a little choppy, however, it seems that Boulder Junction gets a heavy amount of snowmobile traffic. After a quick stop at the local Shell station for more fuel, we headed out. Once we hit the Sayner Barnstormer trails things got a lot more smoother and it was easy sailing. When we arrive at Stillwaters, our hosts Chuck and Karen, Chuck and old Navy man like myself, had set up a special table for us, complete with flags and great service provided by our waitress Debby. It was kind of crowded with many, many snowmobilers. Curiosity set in as to who we were and once word spread, many, many folks came up to the table and thanked these young men for their service. The food was excellent, the service was excellent and one could not ask for anything more.

After lunch it was time for our next leg of the trip.....but one of the "experienced" riders ran out of gas in the parking lot. So Chuck from Stilwaters came to the rescue and provided us with a siphon hose, where they quickly transferred gas from my sled to theirs. We put some gas in the first sled, and then the second one pulled up and we put some gas in that one too. I remarked "What am I, the Mother Ship?" to which everyone laughed. From there we headed onto Star Lake and then onto Plum Lake. Roger was quite the guide, and we ventured out from there to the Cisco Chain of lakes, were we were fortunate enough to come across a small herd of deer crossing the ice. As soon and they saw us, they high tailed it to shore and higher ground. When we crossed the last lake in the chain there were two more deer on the ice, but they just stood by and watched us as we passed. With a quick stop at Bents Camp to warm up a bit, and get some water and soda, we were off to head back to the camp for the night. We parked the sleds, entered the cabin and put another log into the wood stove in the main bunk room. The cabin was quickly heated up as the men removed their new clothing for the evening. I could tell they were beat, when we changed our dinner plans and decided to drive a short distance to Roger's Bar and Grill for sandwiches and pizza. The temperature was now dropping, -5, and then -10. The folks at the Bar were most gracious and helpful, and the food was good too, Pizza, burgers, and chilli, all what we needed to conclude the hard day of riding. When we got back to the cabin, a couple of the men took advantage of the available sauna, and soaked their weary bones in the dry heat. While out in the sauna, which was a separate building, the men could hear wolves howling off in the distance. When they returned and related the soundings, it wasn't too long before two of the younger guys could be heard on the front porch howling in the frigid cold air to see if they could get the wolves to respond. But it was late. and time to hit the hay as it was about 11:00 PM now.

The next morning, Sunday, there wasn't a peep to be heard as I arose at about seven. There was a slight snow covering the sleds, and the temperatures were at -17. Way too cold for the novice and avid sledder to venture out in.

So we spent some time looking out the window at the deer feeding on the hay that Neal had put out for them. You could tell by their winter coats they were cold and hungry.

Meanwhile I made breakfast for all, with buttermilk pan cakes and the rest of the ham. They ate hardily and decided not to venture out, as it was too cold. I told the men that the groomer had gone by numerous times during the night and prior to loading the sleds on the trailers they might want to take advantage with a quick ride, but I got no takers. So it was time to pack up, tidy up, and shut down the camp for the next party to come aboard on Wednesday, a party of twelve. This camp is an unknown secret that has now been exposed with some of the men already making plans for a trip there of their own in the future. So we took one last final photo op of the group.

Packing up:

Ready to leave:

'Till next year...........Soldiers on Sleds 2016!

Honesty and Let the Buyer Be Ware

We've all seen on network television expose's on auto repair shops, and their taking advantage of the unknowing consumer, by recommending repairs that are not necessary or even warranted. The latest one that I saw was where the investigators equipped an auto with hidden cameras in every location possible, and took the vehicle to various repair places only to have the repair facilities tell them they needed the transmission fluid changed, and they had a machine called a T-TEC machine which would remove the old fluid and replace it with new transmission fluid.

Unfortunately even though the customer's paid for the T-TEC service, the hidden cameras showed the machine was never even connected to the car and the service was never done. And so it goes, repair shops have a direct input to their impeccable reputations, by taking good care of their customers. However, not all repair shops are like that, and though it is hard to find the good ones they are out there, if you take the me to look for them.

Today consumers have many options to put a little knowledge in their pocket when they go in for auto repairs. With the advantage of the internet they can go to different web sites where there are forums that let one talk with people who have the same vehicle as themselves, and share symptoms and possible solutions to their problems. A lot of these web sites are run by the auto manufacturer themselves. Also, a lot of times a mechanic will be the one answering their questions, and making recommendations as to what they think the problem might be.

The consumer can get info on what the problem might be, how long to fix it, and how much they can expect to pay. They can then go to sites like YOUTUBE.COM enter this information into the search window and view a video addressing their issue or problem and even watch the repair being made.

Now remember, armed with all of this information at their disposal, the consumer is well equipped to talk intelligently with a repair shop to get the proper repairs. And today, this is what happened and how fast I left the repair facility.

All I wanted was a new set of all season radial tires for my truck. Just two for the back, as the ones I had on had a lot of miles on them and I noticed that they were not biting into the snow as I expected them to do. This was causing a lot of slippage that made me uncomfortable. The tires on the front were new in the last month or so, so all I needed were two on the back.

A few months ago when I was searching for tires, I stopped into a brand name repair shop, close to home, and was quoted 93.00 per tire for an All Season Radial tire. This price included installation, balancing but no old tire disposal or sales taxes. When I walked into the same shop today, the person behind the counter was waiting on someone else. As I listened to the conversation the employee told the customer that she was at 103,000 miles and needed her timing belt changed. She said OK but when she got her next check. I did not get the impression that she had a lot of money because she stated she'd have 160 hours on her next check and she'd be able to get it done then. It was stated that this would be the third time they changed the timing belt according to mfr. recommendations. She was there for an oil change and that fee was 41.00, which I suppose at todays rates is not unreasonable, and I am not sure whether this was synthetic or not. I was just listening.....

When she left and it was now my turn, I gave him the dimensions for the tire and he printed out a sheet with three choices. The least expensive was 143.00 per tire. This was certainly OK for the brand of tires on the sheet, all top brands, but conspicuously missing was the tire brand for the shop I was at. INTERESTING....Because in my investigation the brand of tire that was the name of the shop was much cheaper when looking on the internet for similar tires. I am sure the guy did not remember me from coming in before. So I asked him how much he would charge to change an actuator on my four wheel drive transfer case. I also asked him if they could check the voltages going to the actuator to make sure the wiring to it was OK. This is because I am having trouble getting my truck into four wheel drive. My research says it is a part called an "actuator" or the wiring leading up to the actuator.

Now an actuator costs about 67.00 as an after market part for my truck, but that is one made over seas and I want one made here in the US. An original equipment manufactured (OEM), one from the MFR that puts them into GM cars, is about $150.00 or so. The time it takes to replace one is about 1/2 hour. 15 minutes to change it and another 15 minutes to put the truck up and down on the rack.

So their response was "Which actuator? There are two on the General Motors transfer case?" "We change them quite frequently on GM Pick-ups" I told them there was only one on my vehicle, and it was made of plastic, and was operated by the dashboard switch, that's why the wiring and voltages neede to be checked first. So they looked it up in their service APP......"He's right, there is only one on that truck, and it takes a half hour to change it." "How much would that cost?" I said. "$330.00 with an General Motors Original Equipment Manufacturer part". (Now how would you check if you got the cheap one or the good one?) By my calculations for that repair their hourly rate is about three hundred dollars an hour......There is NO repair shop anywhere that can command that kind of hourly rate. I thanked them, said I'd think about it, and let them know on the actuator and the tires. But really, I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there.

Now I certainly can do this job myself. I have the volt meter to check the voltages, and I can change the actuator if need be, but I don't relish doing it on my back, in the winter, and on the cold garage floor. Lets face it, I am getting old. So I'll just have to have it done by someone else......but by someone whom I trust for sure. The moral here......do your homework, and work with someone whom you feel comfortable with and someone you can trust.

Intelectual Property, What Do You Really Own?

Recently in the news media was a story about the hacking incident of Sony Pictures. It seems their computers were hacked and at least five movies were stolen and distributed free of charge. On addition to that private emails we also stolen and the distributed to the media who has published and made comment on their contents. A few of these emails contained some pretty embarrassing comments from executives who made some pretty disparaging remarks about some well known celebrities.

With those disclosures this morning lawyers from Sony Pictures sent cease and desist letters to three major media outlets stating that they were prohibited from making comment, posting comment, etc. because the material in their possession is stolen. With that in mind, it is a very interesting argument for certain.

Just as it it illegal and against the law, and we would not allow a person to break into our home or business and take its contents and our personal property to then give the same to someone else, are the contents our our computers similar property? In my opinion, if it matters, is YES, most certainly. And here is my argument as to why.

If I take a concept from MY mind or a thought or idea, and put it down on paper and publish it, I most certainly own it and no one is allowed to profit from it with out my permission. So to, when I write an email to someone else, and send it to them, then I also own that too. The fact that I shared it with someone, does not relinquish ownership. Here is an example: I write an article to be sold and published in a magazine, there is no question as to ownership, until it is sold and ownership passes from me to the magazine. But the fact that I take the same article and send it to my editor for editorial correction or comment, does not pass the ownership from me to the editor. So true is the email I send to a recipient. The ownership is still mine, and does not pass from one to another.

So when the hacker comes into my computer system and steals my material or in the case in point, Sony Pictures, that hacker is in possession of STOLEN material and should be prosecuted for the theft. I am sure that in today's technological world there are many State and Federal laws that cover this. So what about when the hacker puts it out there on a website? Does that give anyone the legal write to take the information and re-publish it? Once they take the information are they in receipt of stolen goods? I would think so. I would also think that these media outlets would also understand that the same is true for them too. Should that hacker get into their computer systems and publish sensitive information, I am sure they would not be too happy about it.

The Sledders Bible a new book on snowmobiling.

Well another project bites the dust. I recently finished my latest literary work titled "The Sledders Bible. I have been snowmobiling for many years, all the way back to 1970 when I got my first snowmobile a 1968 Chapparel 440, a low to the ground and very fast sled. This was quickly followed by a 1969 Ski-Doo Nordic model, much less powerful, but it was a two up, and I had a family of four. So here I was with a wife and two kids and two snowmobiles to ride on, enjoying the winter.

In order that we could all go out together, I enlisted the help an old farmer that lived nearby. His name was Wally Marquedt. Wally was an old school craftsman. He built things by hand the old school way. Wally made for us a tow behind sled, kind of like a long dog sled, completely out of oak, so we could put the kids in it, cover them with blankets, and take them every where we went. The two of them were about three and four years old at the time.

The winters were very cold, and the old sleds did not have heated thumb grips or hand warmers on the handle bars like we have today. Snowmobile suits were one piece, and gloves were simply that, gloves. Snowmobile boots, not very well, as far as protection from the cold. I usually wore my Chippewa waterproof hunting boots. Helmets were usually motorcycle helmets equipped with a snap on full face clear plastic shield. If you were fancy, you could get one tinted yellow to help with the sun. Pocket warmers were filled with lighter fluid, lit, and carried around your kidneys in a belt contraption. But they were not reliable and the pouches we know of today were not invented yet. So riding out on the primitive trails for extended periods of time were almost non existent. Short rides, frequent stops usually at a local bar.

When I first hooked up that dog type sled to the back of the Nordic, and put the kids in it and covered them up with a mountain of blankets and took off down the frozen river, I could hear over the roar of the engine the two of them yelling and screaming for me to stop, which I immediately did. When I turned around and looked back at them I could see the entire sled completely filled with snow. They were covered from head to toe. Well, it seems that I did not have a snow flap on the snowmobile hanging over the back covering the track, and as the track picked up the snow it completely buried them.......I never heard the end of that one.....

My first ride on a snowmobile was in the winter of 1969 in Lynn Massachusetts, when we were snowed in after a terrific snowstorm. We got two feet of snow the first day and it was followed with another two feet the next. The power was out, and there was no heat. I had my car parked under a sort of lean too. It took me about four hours to shovel. I started at the road and shoveled back towards the car. Snow had entered into the edge of where the car was parked as there were no doors on the opening of the covering. So I had to shovel out around the car too.

Once I did that, I started the car up and tried to back up, but it would not budge. I got out to look at what the problem was, hindering its movement, only to discover I had two flat rear tires. We were not going anywhere......and to make matters worse, there was no heat, no electric, and my wife was seven months pregnant at the time. The tires were flattened because of the cold and the expansion and contraction of the wheel rims and the seals breaking.

We were living on Sluice Pond, in Lynn Massachusetts at the time. We were both cold and did not know what to do. The snow was so bad that Buffalo NY sent in crews with heavy front end loaders to help clear the streets. The General Electric company was hiring people at $4.00 per hour (good money for me at the time, as I was only making $1.80 an hour at my real job, working in a hardware store) to shovel off the roofs of their buildings. At about ten AM a neighbor came over to our house on his double track, one ski in the front, Ski-Doo Elan, and transported us over to his home to get some warmth. He was my wife's boss at the time, and his home had a fireplace and so we could get warm. He owned a construction company and hired me n the spot to work the GE roofs. It was during that first ride across the lake, that got me hooked on the sport, and except for a fifteen year hiatus, I have been snowmobiling ever since.

So with all that experience, both good and bad, and living up here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the snowmobile capital of the world, I got involved with two snowmobile clubs, got a new machine, quickly got a second one, and picked right up where I had left off. But one of the things I noticed, while volunteering at a snowmobile safety class, was that there was not any comprehensive snowmobiling guide for newcomers to the sport that would prepare them for what they were getting in to. There was a booklet the students got during the course, but it mostly covered safety and not experiences, or survival techniques. So I decided to write one of my own and make it available to the masses. It is called the Sledders Bible and it contains most everything I know about the sport of snowmobiling, and I am passing this valuable information along to the readers.

I wrote this book with the intent that anyone who reads it cover to cover would know all of the practical aspects of what can and will happen when they're out on the trails. It contains information on how to survive if stranded, what tools to take with you, the history of the sport and many many other valuable insights, lessons and anecdotes, that you can use to keep you safe and well when you are out there, which allows you to have more fun. Portions of the proceeds of the sale of each copy will be given to the Soldiers on Sleds project. The book is available through Amazon, Kindle, Barnes and Nobel Books, Google Books and from the publisher Lulu.com. The cost is 19.95. It is also available for downloading directly to your tablet, laptop or PC. So get your copy today. You will not be disappointed..... ISBN978-1-312-61248-8

Life in the Northwoods!

So here we are, with the last days of November quickly bringing the month to a close. The temperatures today were in the mid thirties, much warmer than it's been previously. With the warmth being generated on top of the snow it's causing a slight melt, and boy that melt makes it very slippery when you're walking in the yard or the driveway. But what makes matters even worse is that with the early snow we've received at the beginning of the month, totaling 16 inches, it was followed shortly there after with another eight inches of fresh powder. Now that means a total of twenty four inches on the ground. The yard has been plowed multiple times, but the tire tracks have now glossed over from frequent driving in and out. But the underneath the ground is still not frozen, and this makes for a slippery mess.

Now a while ago, in September, I took delivery of a new ODES 800 Pro Utility Vehicle. It also came equipped with a snow plow. So I thought I was all set for this winter, and last winter, the volume of snow was just too much for my small snow blower, rendering it totally ineffective and useless. Because of that, I got my four wheel drive pick up truck stuck in the driveway twice. I had to call in some favors from friends to dig it out, and then tow it out. Thank God for great fiends.

So this year I thought I was all set.......WRONG! Even though my driveway is plowed, it's not plowed down to the road gravel. There is still a couple of inches of snow that we leave purposely to cover it. The reason for this is to allow us a good foundation for when we take the snowmobiles out in and out of the yard. We need some snow to drive on, and that is where my problem started today. I couldn't get out of the driveway with my truck. I just kept sliding and sliding up the ever so slight hill to the road. Finally it happened, I was stuck and there was no getting it out. So now what?

ODES TO THE RESCUE! Now this is the second time I have had to do this this year, and it's and inconvenience, I know, but it's also a life saver. What is it? Well would you believe that little 800cc UTV is strong enough to pull out the truck when it's stuck. Yup! Just a 20 foot tow strap hooked onto the front tow hooks of the truck and the other end to the winch of the UTV on the back, and with one person behind the wheel, and me driving the UTV, ZOOM!. We were out in a flash.

So for all my retired friends who move South during the winter, you might be thinking, why in the world would you want to do this? Well, we'll never be stranded, with the truck, UTV and two snowmobiles we have at the ready, we're well equipped transportation wise, and money can't buy the beauty we have to enjoy, and the large group of good friends we have up here. Friends who enjoy the same things we do, and who are always there to lend a hand should you need one.