In Rememberance

In silent contemplation
And with love, I remember
The heroes of 9/11

My prayers today extend to all
Those who died for this country
And to those who survived

With pride, I pledge my allegiance
Secure in the knowledge that
We are AMERICA

Wisconsin Dairyland

This week I am making last minutes arrangements for a visit to my home state of Wisconsin. My last trip there was in March, 2010, to attend my mother's funeral. She had celebrated her 93rd birthday the previous June, still revelling in that eternal childhood pleasure of being "Queen For A Day."

A two-week trip to the mainland no longer involves the preparation it once required. With the prohibitive cost of checking luggage, I pack only the essentials and enough clothes to get me through to laundry day. My "essentials" consist mostly of electronics:

>cell phone,
>netbook, and
>Kindle e-reader.

Visiting with family and friends is the best part of a trip to my home state. The second best is the food.
To me, Wisconsin means:

-- Perch plates (fresh-caught lake perch ~ butterflied, breaded, then fried and served with German potato salad and cole slaw, foaming beer on the side.)
-- Cheese curds, those rubbery odd-shaped globs of dairy product that squeak against your teeth when you bite down.
-- Hard-packed ice cream from the town that invented the Ice Cream Sundae!

And I'll see lots of green and gold, the team colors of the NFL's Superbowl Champions, the Green Bay Packers. What more could I ask for?

My trip to Wisconsin is late this year, but that won't make it any less enjoyable. Where did you spend your most relaxing vacation?