Bare Shelves in Margaritaville - Life in the Late Covid Economy

It's been roughly 16 months since Covid started messing up the economy.  Here in Wisconsin we've mostly done OK.  Various items that people were tussling over in store aisles elsewhere stayed available.  Toilet Paper?  With all our paper mills the Badger State is basically the Saudi Arabia of TP.  Hand Sanitizer?  Our local breweries and distilleries converted over to making it rather quickly.  Ammunition?  I only keep track of what I'll be needing for deer hunting, and in recent weeks the shelves have started to have something other than dust bunnies on them.  

Everywhere there is a relative shortage of lumber and building materials.  Who knew that Americans would turn to home improvement projects?  I guess it makes sense, if you are stuck looking at four walls you naturally start thinking about building additions, adding new windows etc.  One of my kids is operations manager at a place that makes the machines that make the windows.  They are doing land office business.

But recently a few odd, late Covid shortages have come to my attention.  Canning jar lids.  Huh, did not see that coming.  It's probably a combination of things.  Another facet of the "stuck at home" mindset.  And we suspect that some of the cheaper ones come from China.  Getting product across the Pacific has been a challenge of late.

But I have no convincing explanation for another shortage that I've been working on today.  Frozen lime juice.  

This morning my better half asked that I swing by the local grocery store on my morning walk.  'Pick up a couple cans of Limeade.  Not lemonade.'  One can hardly make a decent Margarita with the latter.

Local grocery store: no Limeade.  Walmart: no Limeade.  Hey, what gives?

97% of the limes we consume in the US come from Mexico.  I was unaware of any problems with supply, although a brief Google search did come up with a lime shortage back in 2014.  The usual issues, and a few unusual ones, were mentioned.  Weather and disease.  Drug cartels were said to have gotten into the lime trade.  The first news article that pops up on said search is from the Huffington Post so presumably they blame Republicans for it somehow.

As to what is going on in 2021 it is hard to figure.  There seems to be something going on in Mexico that is impacting lime production but nothing specific turns up outside of paywalls.  

Well, cartels and plagues be damned, wife wants Margarita.

Eventually I was able to come through.  There is a huge mega grocery store in the next town over.  I shop their liquor store as they have a superior beer selection and good prices.  But for foodstuffs I try to support our local merchants.  Still, desperate times call for desperate measures.

I looked around carefully before grabbing four cans out of the freezer case and walking briskly to the checkout.  I did not expect cartel thugs but could quite believe in the possibility of hostile, parched lipped, middle aged hausfraus giving me the stinkeye for grabbing what looked like more than my fair share......

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Addendum.  I'm told that fresh limes are still to be found.  A scarcity of Limeade might reflect changing tastes or perhaps a shortage some time ago that has eased.  This does not help make the 'Margies' of course.

Manly Men and Fertile Women

A signpost on the road to Mason City Iowa.  I'm guessing when young people from these two communities go out on dates there's a bit of fun to be had.

And when you get there, could you resist posing with the sign?  I could not.

 

Strange Fish Challenge - Retrospective

The world of fisherfolk generally is an insular place.  People in it are solitary or intent on fishing in little family groups.  Within this world individuals looking to catch multiple species, or focusing on Weird Bottom Feeders are a tiny and bizarre sub-cult.  So I have few illusions that a "how to guide" on this will be of much interest.  Of course the same could be said of some of my other obsessions.  But for what it's worth, here you go.

1. Timing is (almost) everything.  Fish generally are more active in the Spring than other times of year.  They also have varying appetites based on weather, and in the case of river fishing water levels are very important.  You won't keep bait in place during floods.

2. As the old song says "Many Fish Bites if ya Got Good Bait"*.  Nightcrawlers are the universal bait.  Big ol' crawlers on the bottom for big ol' fish.  Teeny bits for teeny fish.  I did catch a few game fish with lures early on.

3. Multiply your odds.  In Wisconsin it is legal to fish three lines at once.  Using slightly different rigs and in different depths/current flows is useful.

4. Location, location, location...  No matter how good you are at fishing your "home lake" the number of species in it will be finite.  Some lakes have a near infinite number of tiny bluegill.  You will wear out your arm catching and releasing them and never catch anything else.  Another lake a few miles away will have the same scenario but with Green Sunfish.  Mix it up a bit and enjoy the diversity.  In general the further south you go the more types of fish you'll encounter.  Rivers have more diversity than lakes.  Bodies of water that connect to major waterways, especially big rivers, have more theoretical species.  

5. For river fishing, pack lots of tackle.  Especially when fishing a new site you don't know where all the snags and logs are.  You find out quickly.  I tend to use this type of sinker for bottom fishing. 

Hook one end to 20 pound test line and the other to either a hook/leader or if you want to keep the bait off the bottom a few inches a Lindy Rig.  

6. Microfishing is disappointing.  There are so many little minnows out there.  They are all hard to catch.  The tackle involved is small and hard to rig up.  The critters involved are smarter than prestige species such as trout.  To really make an effort on these would require a lot of wading up and down ins steams, ditches and swamps.  That's a level up, or perhaps down, on the Insanity Scale. 

7. Five of my seven days were entirely bank fishing.  I think a person could hit multi species more efficiently by putting a boat onto some bodies of water.  On the other hand the ability to switch spots easily is nice.  And given the places you end up fishing you'd likely ding the motor prop pretty often.

8. Bottom fishing is an art.  My trout fishing pals are a bit snobbish with regards to the artful presentation of just the right fly to just the right place.  But factoring in all the variables of three lines at once, and keeping an eye on them for subtle bites, it is quite engaging.  But I will admit that there is a downside.  The main targets of bottom fishing are pretty tolerant of being hooked.  Bullheads, Redhorse, etc come up with the hook stuck on their tough mouths.  When you are surprised by a gamefish that takes a bottom hook they usually are hooked pretty deep and this is not  good for the fish.  So I think bottom fishing should be limited to certain settings.  It can actually be a bit too efficient.

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The line is from a song called Fishin' Blues that dates back to 1911.  It's been recorded many times since.  Being in theory about catching Catfish is should be a sort of Bottom Fisherman's National Anthem.  But much of the wording seems freighted with double entendre.  It sure talks a lot about fishing poles.  Here's the best known version courtesy of Taj Mahal.

Minor League Baseball 2021 - Cedar Rapids brings the A Game

After our visit to the Twins Triple A club in St. Paul it was time for a drive down to Cedar Rapids Iowa to take in a game at the lower "A" level of ball.  This has become our favorite destination on these road trips.  

On the drive down the car thermometer hit 101 degrees.  Frivolous side trips should have been curtailed but were not, so we arrived parched and a bit loopy.  A thunderstorm brushed the edge of town cooling things off a bit and giving the sky a nice color as the sun finally stopped blasting UV for the day.

They must be used to this sort of thing.  Here's something I'd not seen before...a jumbo sunscreen dispenser!

We had not been to a ballgame in several years.  Heck, as the pandemic wanes I can look back and say I have not been anywhere really for 16 months.  So perhaps I was tuned in a bit more to how different it is being out in the world.  More things struck me as unusual.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels play at Veteran's Memorial Stadium.  It is a nice, well kept up stadium.  Parking is free.  And the lot is under the watchful security of a couple of decommissioned tanks.

The National Anthem was played by a high school brass ensemble called Heavy Metal Tubas.  It was appropriate.  Somber, majestic, respectful.  My only minor quibble is that I prefer to sing along and this was a rendition that made you stand a little straighter, think of traditions and just listen.

At the higher level AAA club the fans were into party mode.  That's fine, it has been a long lockdown and minor league ball had just gone from 40% capacity to full.  At Cedar Rapids people were also having a good time but these are serious fans.  When the umpire called a Kernels player out on a dubious 3rd strike there were howls of indignation and boos.  This for the first batter of the first inning!  

Having driven through triple digit heat we arrived plenty thirsty.  This is not what you want as your first view of the concessions....

A number of the food and drink outlets were not open for our Thursday night game.  Regards the latter they seem to have significant extra capacity.  I assume this is because every Friday night game is two for one beer night.  Plenty of options were available at the stands that were open.  I got a large, sprawling barbeque sandwich from a vendor with a pig tattooed on his arm.  And a beer from a wild looking character whose name tag simply had BEER GUY scribbled on in black Sharpie.

It was a good game.  The home team faltered early, steadied themselves and then rallied for 9 unanswered runs late.  

I would not be doing my job as a roving observer of the American scene if I did not check in on an old friend....Mr. Shucks.  Since we first met 8 years ago I assume that the person in the suit has changed.  But were they up to the high standards of Shucks?  Did they fill those gigantic red shoes well?

Yes.  Yes indeed.  The current Shucks was a worthy successor.  He or she was stuck inside a suit with minimal visibility and which must be a portable kiln even on temperate days.  But as ever, Shucks worked the crowd, hugged small children (or kept a distance from the frightened ones), participated with enthusiasm in various small between innings antics, stood atop the dugout to cheer on a Kernels rally....and so forth.

And even posed for fan pics with slightly deranged elderly patrons.

Cedar Rapids was a fun stop.  I suggest you take in a Kernels game if you find yourself within reasonable proximity.  The team is OK,  currently about .500.  But the food and drink are excellent.  And Mr. Shucks remains - unchallenged as I see it - the Best Mascot in Baseball.

Sizzle and Silly at Triple A ball.

My brother and I from time to time take a summer road trip visiting minor league ball parks.  Obviously the pandemic made that impossible last year.  And even in the rapidly improving conditions of 2021 there are challenges.  One of our favorite stops, Clinton Iowa, got booted from the system as the Lords of Baseball decided to reduce the number of lower level ball teams.  This makes no sense whatsoever.

But at least one stop is easier.  The Saint Paul Saints, formerly a scrappy Indie team, are now the official Triple A club of the Minnesota Twins.  Just across the river from the big club and one step away for the players.  Of course steps can be either forward or backward, and in a year when injuries and incompetence have plagued the Twins there is a regular shuttle going back and forth.

Some pictures and thoughts from a perfect Wednesday evening.

The Saints have a new ballpark on the edge of down town.  I got there early to have a look around.

I always plan on dinner at the ball park.  Consulting the older stadium staff I got a recommendation for a stand called Von Hanson's.  Interestingly they don't take cash, just plastic.  But behold, a Superior brat smothered with fried onions and peppers.

The Saints used to be an independent team and always aimed for a bit of fun.  So there are lots of odd things to see.  Here the grounds crew is dragging the infield.  In pink dresses, so literally in drag...

And a couple of innings later.....in Halloween dragon costumes.

Of course I had to have a picture taken with the mascot.  The Saints have a pig mascot.  There is an actual pig named Muddonna.  And also a human mascot.

A fun evening.  The Saints had just gone from 40% capacity games on up to full capacity.  That plus the weather had everyone in a good mood.  I did pay attention to the game.  After all, this is one step away from the Majors, and with the Twins having a horrendous season it would be reasonable to expect some of these players to get a promotion soon.  Pitching in particular has been a problem this season.  I was chatting with one of the ushers asking if any Saints pitchers would might be helping the Big Club soon.   Shaking his head he looked across the aisle at a fellow usher who had his arm in a sling.  "That guy would be an upgrade".

 

Baseball Fan Post 001

It has been a full generation since I sat down to watch a T-ball game.  If you are not familiar with this entre into the world of baseball it involves 5 year olds with jerseys that hang down to their knees and with the sponsors emblazoned across the shoulders extending down towards the elbows.  The kids hit off a T.  Then they run, or maybe they don't, while the fielders try to figure out what to do with a ball somewhere in their general vicinity.

It's fun, and even after a half century of baseball fandom I still get to see things I've never seen before.  One kid lunged after the ball.  He grabbed it then ran back to where his hat had fallen off, put it back on and then launched a throw somewhere towards first base!

A few pictures taken in early morning sunshine at the dawn of a new era.

Coaches getting their teams warmed up and generally paying attention.  That by the way is the T.  It took quite a pounding by players who swung with more enthusiasm than direction.

Some are watching the action intently.  Others are watching butterflies.

I'm now taking my photos from this side of the chain link fence.  I certainly spent enough time a generation ago on the other side.  Here an enthusiastic coach has his players running the bases after the game and getting high fives at home plate.

Father's Day 2021

When I was in Med School I recall a lecturer discussing genetics.  He mentioned in passing that.."It is a wise man who knows his father."  This was in the context of a discussion on actual versus presumed paternity, and in retrospect was a rather callous thing to say.

But it has a deeper truth to it.  When do we become wise enough to really know our fathers?  Or our children?

Here's my dad and I a couple of years before he passed.  His dementia was getting on a bit but it was not the pure evil that you'd think.  Things that had been eating at him for years were no longer concerns to him.  He thought a lot about his own childhood on the farm and that made him happy.  He got to spend time with his grandchildren and that made him happy as well.

My brother is a rather easy going fellow.  Oddly, when he interacted with our father the discussions were serious ones.  I'm frankly way more intense.  And dad and I had marvelous times in those later years just goofing around.  Here I've got my laptop and am showing him the latest grand kid pix.  Or maybe silly videos.  I imagine my visits made his day.  And maybe my dad also felt better after unburdening himself in discussions with my brother.  I'm sure there is significance in the fact that we both felt more natural interacting with him in the manner least like our own selves.  Each in our own way we got to know him better.  I doubt my dad remembered any of it the next day.

But he's gone now and anyway this is about Father's Day 2021.  

It's becoming an outmoded holiday in some respects.  Outmoded in that having a father around is becoming less common.  The last stats I've seen have about 23% of children living in mom only households.  In some subsections of our population it is much higher.  67% of black children are born into single parent families.  That is a statistic, not a judgement.  But its implications for the Black community and the nation as a whole are profound.  We should not shy away from pondering its causes and effects.

Father's Day is also a silly holiday from the perspective of many dads.  Being Dad is a job where you just do what you have to do and don't make a fuss over it.  

I think an understanding of who your dad is comes slowly.  Or tragically for some who have an absent father, never at all.  You need to live a certain number of years, see a certain amount of the good things in the world and of the bad to put things into perspective.  I think this is why when we become grandfathers we are almost all easy going.  That B on the report card, those muddy footprints on the kitchen floor, and all the other small to medium aggravations of day to day are seen in a different context.  They don't matter much.  "Hey, let's raid the fridge for snacks!"

I imagine my sons will check in today as is their custom.  The one in the process of moving cross country on a crazy implausible life adventure gets a pass this year.  They are doing well, all of them.  They are quite capable of speaking for themselves so I shan't speak for them.  But I hope they begin to understand.  

Dads are not perfect.  Never have been, never will be.  We do what we have to do.  Sometimes it is a thankless job but in its better moments it is simply a job where the thanks are long delayed.  I expect they are all bright enough to not be misled by the illusion of permanence. I'm getting older as they will themselves in their own turn.  I won't be around forever, that's not how things are nor how they should be.  It's been great raising them, even the difficult moments.  I hope we have no unresolved issues, if there are any I think we have time to set things right just as I did with my own dad.  

Perhaps it is actually the wise man who knows his children.  I claim no great wisdom but I can say that the small to medium aggravations of raising them no longer matter at all. 

"Hey, lets raid the fridge for beers!"