MY BLOG

"Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath bourne me on his back a thousand times: and now how abhorred in my imagination it is! Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs?"

Has Wisconsin Pride diminished slightly in the last twenty years. You still feel it. It is strong in many ways, but it has changed I think. There has been a slow death of the "OLD WORLD WAYS". Some will immidiately object, but there is a fair size culture change that your parents and grandparents would confirm. Many of you may refute me and say that it is just the normal culture change that effects each new generation and comes with progress. It's more than that dear brothers and sisters of cheese. I have now lived in some pretty fast paced areas of the country. As a "Marketing Guy", I have always understood the "climates of influence." I have read and own several copies of the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" (not related to Wisconsin, but rather, change) I get that we have to adapt to the times, but this change is creating a rift in our heritage and our image. I hate that we in Wisconsin have lost the leading role in the production of Milk and Beer. That sounds funny if you are not a Wisconsinite, but it makes some of us cringe. These are real stats, and we all celebrate the things that made Wisconsin what it is. Those things and others have helped to create our "brand". They are part of the equation that make us unique.

So am I holding on too tight? Do all things need to change and regions and their people adapt? I say no. For the sake of Old Wisconsin, let's start a revolution! By God, let us remain true to the heritage that made us and cling to the pride. Let us continue the warm feel we get when someone calls us "Cheesehead." That term was around before the hats my friends. Some used it as a degrading term, but it took a turn. We are a people who get humor and don't mind being funny or laughing. Even if it means we are the blunt of the joke, "we are all laughing and by golly, that's a good thing.". That's why we all love Ralph Bruno, (creator of the Cheesehead Hat and Foamation CO.) and celebrate that he has been able to carve a niche for himself and provide work and pride for his employees and everyone that wears and sees his product. He is a great example of how we support our loves and those that help feed us in our spirit and heritage. That said though, this site is not intended for profit, but rather to support itself and the promotion of the Great State of Wisconsin.

My experiences thus far in traveling throughout the country, is that most Wisconsinite's are loved and often seen as good and fun people. Trust me, I study people for a living. In the last 10 years I have lived in Texas, Florida, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, Colorado and spent time in 30 others. I observe, and note. People that have been to Wisconsin always quietly smile or get excited and say, "I was up there once!" or "I know a guy from Wisconsin!" It is the sparkle they get back in the reaches of their mind, behind their eyes. It's as if they have an understanding of our pride having observed it. It is like their brain says "I Get it!" I too want to help feed that fire and have an impact (regardless of how big or small) on all of us owning of our birth right as Cheeseheads, (be it by birth or baptism by relocation from another land.) I want Wisconsinite's to stop and really think about how different we are, and why that uniqueness makes us so damn cool.

If my dream is my own, then I shall stand in reverent pride alone, but I think my brothers and sisters.............you stand with me, no?

"Once more into the breech dear friends, once more. Hold hard the breath, and bend every spirit to his full height. On, on ye noblest! Dishonour not your Mothers; now attest that those whom you called Father's did not beget you."

Well, it has been two months since I conceptualized this, and Here we go! I have launched the site. Within 12 hours of uploading it, and before I even started spreading the word or launched my marketing, I got an email from a random Cheesehead in D.C. that noticed my logo had been spelled incorrectly. I spent about a day redoing all the images and the products in the store! How funny was that? A fumble on the snap. It also made me aware that this whole internet thing has deep reaches! He was searching the word "Cheesehead." So, Bill......thank you!

Like most of you, I am devestated by the news from Lousiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I am sure I am not the only one to shed tears and feel gut checked. I have added a page that links to a national food bank. I feel so useless watching it all on tv, and I keep wanting to jump in my truck and drive there. The thing stopping me is the logistical nightmare of getting gas within the region. I fear I would run out of gas while there and become part of the problem. I am donating and listening to hear where else I can help. These images are burning into my heart and I feel so much pain.

I am not sure why I am placing this here, maybe to decompress a bit, but probably more to convey what I saw.

As many of you knew, I offered to join up with a Search and Recovery operation that needed animal rescue volunteers. I went for a week. I towed the RV and we set up in a staging area near New Orleans with thousands of other groups. I did not know what I was in for, nor did I anticipate what I got. The SPCA was there but pretty ineffectual and several groups of law enforcement groups hooked up with the 101st and 82nd Airborne groups deployed there. They did not have authorization to enter homes, we did. Any time an animal was heard in a dwelling we made entry by whatever method we deemed appropriate. As most of the "housing projects" and poorer nighborhoods have gated yards and barred windows, we had to be fairly assertive.

The reason I send these photos is to drive home a few points. We found human bodies and many deceased animals. The homes would be marked in paint and the addresses were logged and turned in. On my last day there I drove back through to see if the human bodies had been recovered from our first day and they had not! (pictured below left) I will try not to be too graphic here, but the two worst causes of decomposition are water and heat. New Orleans has not had rain since and been under water. 80% of the homes in New Orleans were not inspected by physical entry but by knocking on the door! So when the Mayor says that people are going back in next week I am amazed that we are ignoring the multitudes of bio hazards in favor of public opinion and some early hype. The city is full of both human and animal remains, and lots of them! The toxic soup that covered this city for weeks is 25% more toxic than raw sewage, and it submerged at least a hundred thousand wooden homes. Many of these people will get very sick. Many will be convinced that a simple cleaning will insure use of their home again. It will not. Their sickness will cost tax payers a lot of money. I am simply saying I hope our goverment shows some forward thinking despite critisism it may take, or it will end up taking more later.

My partner and I set up on a sidewalk to triage a dying dog. We had been working for 10 minutes when we turned to see a human hand 5 feet from us. It had Mardi Gras beads under it and it was extremely surreal. (pictured below right) We saw much more in the way of graphic imagery, but I will say this. Nothing you are seeing on TV could help you gauge the level of destruction or the logistical nightmare it will be to return any normalcy to the area.

Many Vet clinics actually abandoned their hospitals and the animals in them. 30 facilities at last count yesterday. My partner and I found slews of animals that had died of dehydration, locked in homes. These people left their animals with enough food and water for a few days and then left them for 2, (now almost 3) weeks with no water in homes that were as hot as 120 degrees. It is the cruelest thing I have ever seen. We uncovered at least thirty Pitbull fighting houses, where 10-20 dogs were chained to the walls. Most dead, some not. I acquired a strong disdain for the people I was there to help.

Finally! We sold our home in Texas and I am going to Wisconsin to seek out a new nest. I am so happy. I will be there for a week and then we will be formally moving in a few weeks. Just in time for Packers Football Season and snow. I will be checking in on my email. Keep submitting Cheeseheads. And yes, I know the Pack is looking weak at the onset, but I would rather go to the worst Packers loss at home, than any other game in the league!

It is done. We are moving home in less than 3 weeks! Found a great lease house on a quiet lake in Oconomowoc. We will stay there for 8 months and shop for a great deal on a big house. We bid on one, but there just was not enough time to make all the things happen as our house here closes on the 18th! So for now we are forced to rent this terrible house on the lake! (sarcasm)

Well, I am shutting down the computer after this upload and the next time I boot it up I will be a Resident Cheesehead again after 21 years! I am so excited and pensive at the same time! I must say however that I am not too excited about loading the truck and moving all of our belongings across the country! In any event, the reward is worth the headaches. I will be out of commission here on the site from now until the 25th of October. By the way we are now generating an average of 325 hits a day. Nice job Cheeseheads! So be well all. What fate be mine?

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I am settled in and loving the cool autumn. The colors were surprisingly vivid this year, despite the drought. I take the dogs out and they run through the leaves down to the lake. I am very happy to be home. I have a buddy coming in this weekend from Dallas. He grew up in Pittsburgh and I got us tickets to the game Sunday at Lambeau! I am super psyched. I would rather be a losing Packer Fan than a Winning Steeler Fan! Plan on taking a bunch of pictures and getting there 4 hours early. If you are going to be there, shoot me an email! Be well for now.

Wow the diference a couple weeks makes. Compare this picture to the one above! I accidently lost my Avalanche in the lake....yeah.....I really did. The two wheel drive truck I loved, failed me in the sand while pulling a boat out of the water. Wrecker charged $85 to pull it out and I finally admitted that my beloved Av was not going to cut it here. I traded in the Avalanche for the security of a Ford F-150 Super Crew 4x4! I love it and took it out in a snow storm yesterday to see how it would fare. Wow.

I am just so happy to be back in Wisconsin. Words can not convey. I am fortunate to have found a church that seems to be a perfect fit for us. Our Christmas was spent at a Packer's Game, and next to actually witnessing the birth of Christ, I can think of nothing better! It is the fourth game I have been to this season. I keep running into friends from my childhood. It blows me away to see them all grown up with kids! Reading through the paper just a few weeks ago, I noted that a girl I dated in my youth lost her Father to a drunk driver. I feel terrible, and am reminded of how fragile life can be. Make the most of each day and take advantage of the time you have here. For me I have siezed my birth state as home again and am forever bleeding cheese. Happy New Year Friends.

Sure I have my ups and downs like everyone else, but man have things been great as of late! We closed on our home. We bought a turn of the century three story Victorian home and its adjoining lot. It was maticulously restored and although it was not cheap, it is perfect in every way. Kellie is working with her new company selling pharmaceuticals, and I started a new job as Regional Sales Manager for an Orthopedic Surgical company. Both of our jobs are overwhelming and stressful at the moment, but we know once we are settled in, our foundation will be in place. Does anyone else out there start fearing the proverbial axe will fall when things are just going to well? Why do we do that?

To quote Keanu Reeves: "Whoa." Neither of us can remember being so bogged down by work and life, but we are plugging along none the less. Spring is upon us and Wisconsin is about to become that state that drove me home. We built a Home Theater in the basement. It is so sweet. When we are not working, we try to enjoy it! Thus far we have seen 3 movies, but man it was cool. We love the house. (check out the 400lb. Lions!) Make sure you see the "Big News" link. We have been invited to compete for Wisconsin Pride! Email me if you have any interest!