Fantasy Football Xmas Finale

 

Wisner Family  December 2024

A Fantastic Fantasy Family and Friends Football Finale Frames 2024.  What better way to keep Sundays full of fun.  No waivers, trades or injuries required - as we are all healthy and continue to be blessed with plenty of game time. 

Jenna, Paul, Teddy and Wes (Defensive Backfield) – Teddy and Wes are no longer rookies and that backed up Jenna and Paul on defense.  Potty spring training was marginally successful which is why they remodeled their room for a new one.  Wes’s MOM cadence created many neutral zone infractions. Jenna’s Sunday cooking has made the NFL Ticket worth the investment. 

Ellen (KIcker) - Kicked up the Corporate Ladder, Ellen now can hold out for the best contract.  Her away game record during road trips for weddings, visits to friends, and ubering Susan to Akron has been unbeatable.  Plus, Pickleball Prowess Puts People in Place.  It was like a kick in the gut when Cleo, the cat, was blocked into a possible loss. Then an overtime miracle allowed Ellen to save the day. 

Susan (Quarterback) – Missing the fifth Chosen pick didn’t stop her in the draft.  Burrowing into first place Susan seems almost guaranteed to win the championship.  Susan doubled down in time and giving across three teams– Crossroads, Emmaus and Bridge.  I’ll ask a question on how to cruise into first place for next Season – maybe with an away opening game in England.

Garen (Offensive Lineman) – Seven decades and still in the game, Garen’s main offense is gaining pounds.  Can it be sitting in the chair is the problem?  His deep dive into spiritual small groups was Supercharged into Seven days in Utopia.  Fostering a new money offensive line will help protect the quarterback from social sacks and maintain security.

Podcast Play by Play – No notebook(LM) required for the Wisner activities this year. Lake Wawasee is now be traditional summer training camp for the entire team.  This year away games included AL, IN, and FL.  The home stadium gained some upgrades in garage parking, lavatories, grounds and main entrance.

Sadly, there were losses this year – too many for the Rufferee to recount.  Yet the good memories of past seasons of play can still revive the joy and new players (CAB) will give us hope. 

Regardless of your ranking this season, fans will return, championships are still a hope, and the real win is about being on a team.  Seasons come and go; the Wisner’s are grateful for another year to play with you in the Superbowl of Life.  

 

                                                

                      Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

                          “The most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable”

                                                                                                                                      Paintin’ Manning

                                                                                                                                                    

COVID Resolutions

 I have already violated one of my New Years Resolutions - "Stop the obsessive data collection of COVID-19 statistics".  Alas - last night I am back "on the wagon" and reading all kinds of COVID porn.  One of the antivaxer sites was spouting about a CEO of an Indiana Life Insurance company claiming that deaths for 18-64 year old working adults in Indiana have increased 40% and the deaths were not due to COVID.  Hmmmmm  sounds suspicious.  

My blog is not about fact checking that claim or article - but it launched me back into the CDC death statistics for the USA as a whole. Naturally they lag by a year.  Eurika - I found the stats and listened to the podcast and downloaded the pdf report - 2020 FINAL Death Statistics.

Here is my personal summary.  2020 had 3,383,729 deaths in USA an increase of 528,891 over 2019 - 18.53%.  The podcast does a good job of explaining COVID contributing deaths and COVID underlying deaths.   Simply put - 2020 COVID Underlying deaths were 350,831 and the third largest contributor to deaths in 2020. So that leaves the question - why did 2020 Non COVID deaths increase 170,060 (6%)?  The same excess is being investigated in the United Kingdom.

The big swings in prior year death rates may be due to the influenza.  There is always the growth rate in deaths that will naturally occur with the aging baby boomers.  But this number seems outside of statistical norms.    

The lockdown and fear of hospitals may have kept many people from getting necessary treatment.  Homicides in 2020 are at the highest level since 1995 (7.8 per 100,000).   Drug overdose for 12 months ending 4/2021 was 100,306 and increase of 28.5% over the 78,056 drug overdoses from the comparable 12 months in last year.  It CAN NOT be vaccine related (as the antivaxers might jump to), since EUA for Pfizer was only authorized 12/11/2020.  

You pick the poison/reason.  

Maybe the will to live is at play when faced with a mountain of suffering all around us and the infinite chasm of despair that lies under a mysterious knock at the door of hope.  

I have blogged before about the statistical correlation of holidays, key dates (birthdays), etc. that once achieved, death occurs.  Could our energy to live just petered out?

At our last Vistage Veteran's monthly meeting we discussed any New Year's Resolutions that each of us had for 2022.  We are "old white guys" (and of privilege) and unanimously had no comment.  Could that be because of our stage/age in life or might there be a COVID cloud affecting us also?

From the CDC report life expectancy at birth for 2020 (for males) is 76.3 (so that applies to Teddy).   For those age 65 at 2020 the male has 18.2 years and female 20.8 years remaining.  I'm older than 65 and let's confidently (or arrogantly) say, as a COVID survivor, I am healthier than average.  So assuming I have 16 - 28 years left to live, several questions came to my mind last night:

(1) What do I want to accomplish in the next 16-28 years?  What are my hopes and dreams?

(2) What did I accomplish in the last two COVID years (2020 and 2021)? 

(3) What didn't I accomplish in the last two COVID years (due to self-inflicted FEAR)?  Or how did I let COVID impede my hopes and dreams?

(4) What will I do differently in COVID 2021 to not let COVID interfere with my hopes and dreams?

I need some COVID Resolutions :)

Christmas 2021

Wisner Family (et al) December 2021

The circle of life surrounded the Wisner’s with plenty of change – a year of lost and found.  Joy is on the inside of suffering and finding that Joy took plenty of labor.  One Grandpa left us making some Leeway possible for another. This year we all discovered how much assisted living is necessary for each of us to both give and receive at every time in our life.  We are so grateful for the present – and the memories that are permanent.

Garen (“ ____ the Halls”) -  Man he looks good (in the Mirror that is), with his home maid haircuts.   Some call him a COVID Rogue with no verbal escape – can his hearing or speech be overpowered by even twin turbos?  Now a Vistage Veteran (or Hero), his entire focus has been Outback – chainsaw corridor, ____ design, pool potential, fire features, or grill gravitas.  Hands down, he travels in 4.2l uber select style.

Susan (“____ it’s Cold Outside) – Nana is now her Chosen name – Frozen in time but infinitely available for ____ tag team troubleshooting.  She makes a point of outside needles only for special stockings.  Restless in many ways, no medical mystery means much (Medicare in the making).  Susan expands her consulting business into real estate, hair styling, Euclid landscaping, J.H. Catering, and Dyson distributor. 

Ellen (“It’s the Most Wonderful ____) – It was a Rocky year for Ellen, but she Wrangled through her COVID infection.  A litter later, she vaxed up to New York City in frannic fashion.  Wasson Way welcomed her with whiskers when work waned.  Fidelity found favor in her free form phone finesse (and Flex-____).  

Jenna, Paul, & Teddy (“___ to the World”) – Now in the family business, Teddy arrived (4-13-2021) for his orientation and requires full time, stay at home, supervision 😊.   This new payroll pressure pushed Jenna to pick up Accounting versus picture projects.  Now the Aura is Teddy until the shining metal smile disappears.  Paul has the juvenile ___ in jabber, jumpy, juggling of jamboree….. and job. 

Yoshi & Cleo (“_______ Around the Christmas Tree”) – After 14 years Rambo and ______, no longer rule the house (inside that is).  Yoshi has exclusive prowl since Cleo prefers Ellen as her roommate.  Ollie roams Euclid when Wally takes vacation visits wearing out Fitch and Bella.   Without pets who could survive COVID isolation?

Travel was limited to sunny spots – Sea Island, Kiawah, and Naples (with a Dallas stop off). Now a full family of antibodies, social activities can resume.  Holiday gatherings test the paradox of friendship and love – apart or together.  Circumstances of this world interferes with the relationship glue that love provides.   Keep the Spirit of Love in your heart and let JOY make it overflow to bind us back together in 2022. 

 

                      Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal.”     Richard Puz    

 

Nevermind the Time

I thought 2020 was a year worth forgetting but eight months into 2021 this year has created the most emotional volatility.  On the upside - the birth of my first Grandson (Teddy Lee), Ellen's graduation and employment with Fidelity Investments and now the introduction of two new kittens - Yoda and Yoshi.  Sadly this year, Rambo and Rocky died (presumably of old age ailments and disease).  With Ellen's new kitten Cleo we have saved three kittens from their abandonment.  

Watching Teddy develop alongside kittens is an interesting contrast.  Yet the rapid speed shows the exponential power of growth (size, capabilities etc.).  Amid the COVID-19 deaths (now over 644K in USA) the perpetual machine of new life overpowers the sorrow of death.  This spiritual mystery (for some) just doesn't provide enough hope to overshadow the temptational cries of armegedon (e.g. Climate Crisis, Pandemic Fear, Economic Meltdown, Poverty and Starvation, Water Shortage, and yes.... even asteroid collision.  All worries related to time.

Drilled into my head constantly was my Mother's mantra of the power of positive thinking - the hopeful outlook of human improvement (time on this earth) and spiritual eternity (time outside this earth). 

At 4:45 am Friday driving Ellen to the airport, I listened to NPR's rebroadcast of BBC  World Service - Business Daily "Rethinking Time" .

Professor Adrian Bejan of Duke University states "Time is a human perception.  We feel the passing of time so there is a clock time that brings everyone together on this planet and then there is a mind time which is personal."  Mind time is like clicks of the eye - or frames in a movie reflecting change.  "Time is the name for the perception of change."   The time (clock time) from morning to night is fixed, yet the number of clicks (infant or adult) of mind time is variable by individual.  As we get older the number of clicks decreases (computer clicks too 😁).  

There are 72 waking non working hours  (clock time) available (assuming 40 hour work week and 8 hours of sleep) equally to each of us.  How are each of us mindful about these clock time hours?   How are each of us mindful about the click time available within that clock time?  

Mind what you look at and how you look at it. Nevermind the time - change your perceptions.