Today I am publishing one of those blogs that I wish I never had to publish. Last night, my grandpa and good friend, Moe Rammel, passed away. I miss him already. He was one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever had the privilage of knowing and he taught me many thing which I will always carry with me.
Moe was raised on a farm, joined the military, worked in grain elevators, and also worked in the local Goodyear factor. He was your typical small town, midwest man, but he was so much more. A good way to describe him would be simple yet elegant. Which is ironic now that I think of it, because this is the description of how I wanted to live my life when I asked Amanda if she wanted to be a part of it for the next 50+ years. She and Grandma both agreed to marry us Moe, so we must have it a little bit right.
There are going to be a lot of people that miss Moe, but that just means that there will be a lot of people who can share their memories of Moe with others. I am lucky, I have a ton of memories of Moe. Mostly of our annual trips to Rice Lake, Ontario to fish, going to breakfast at the Lucky Steer, learning to play pinochle, euchre, and 31, gardening, those pesky rabbits, his appreciation of nature and history, woodworking in the garage, trying to eat the Dairy Queen out of ice cream, and especially of going to Grandma and Grandpa's to visit and seeing Moe sitting there at the table as you walk in the door.
Grandma and Grandpa gave me three very important things. Faith, family, and a work ethic like no other. They taught me that with these three things, I can do anything and go anywhere and people will respect me. I think I have done well so far Moe, but if I even have half as many people respect me as respected you I will be lucky. People loved Moe because he was kind, gentle, and patient. Always willing to lend a hand and take the time to teach those around him. I try every day to be just like you Moe.
Moe's life taught me that no one is perfect, but there are a few guys like him that get damn close, and Moe's death has taught me that life is a journey, not a destination. I hope my journey is as fun as yours was Moe and I hope you are proud of me.

Hey, I'm back! Sorry no blogs in a while, I seemed to have misplaced the cable that lets me download pictures from the camera to the laptop and I finally found a piece to replace it. They were going to make me special order the cable and I - well I don't have an address so I couldn't.
Anyway, todays blog comes from a coffee shop in Madison, WI. One of the greatest cities in America. The pictures, however, are of the farm in Platteville. What a great place! Ann and Roger invited us out for a little BBQ at the cabin. I'm telling you all, southwest Wisconsin is as close to heaven as I have ever been.
More on that later. We are in Madison today to visit Amanda's cousins. A few of them have moved into new homes recently so we came up for a tour and some pizza. On the way up, I realized how much I used to enjoy coming up to Madison to hang out, especially when Sticky was up here. We had some great times. The only bad part about this city is their sports teams, but keep on cheering Badger fans, who needs a National Title, when you have three Rose Bowls.
Back on the farm, we had some excellent burgers served up by Roger. Real, nonsteroidal, no chemical, just staright up organic, bail fed, old fashion beef raised by Ann. MMM Good.
Our walk around the farm was cut a bit short by the herd this time. I don't know if the momma cows were protecting their newborn calves, or if they were mad because we had just finished enjoying a (two) tasty burgers compliments of their next of kin, but we had to hop the gate quick. Not before I got some great snaps of the farm though.

The better twin of the Twin Cities.

Long time no blog, as Sticky says. We finally made it to see Minneapolis' better half. St. Paul. It is much smaller, but much nicer. The only downfall, is that there is no baseball in St. Paul, only Wild 'n' crazy hockey. Which is about as exciting as a day at the Mall of America.

We went up to St. Paul today to go to the famous and somewhat controversial BodyWorlds exhibit with Dr. Kristin and the family(above). It was awesome, educational, and the presentation was amazing. I give it two thumbs up for sure.

After the exhibit, we tooled around the city on foot for an hour or two just checking out the scenery. The downtown square was magnificant. All of the walking made us hungry so we stopped by an Italian cafeteria style restaurant that was excellent. It was a ten and the whole meal for Amanda and I was under twenty bucks. Can't beat that.

We are in our final week of work up here, and then it's time to blow this popsicle stand. Wish us luck this week, we have to fly to Reno to take our state exam. Hopefully the last test I have to take. Wait, I thought I already graduated.

Before I go, I want to congratulate my friends Gary and Stacey on their marriage this week. Also to Julie and Ben on their engagement. I heard the tulips in Washington are beautiful this time of year.

Best wishes to all the new couples,

Tom