by David Jankoski

As indicated previously, we spent four days, May 5-8, out of town with visits in Wisconsin and Illinois destinations. Our Wednesday destination was New Glarus and time at a Polish Pottery Store. Before that experience, we had a wonderful lunch at Krisit’s Bistro Restaurant, which is located in a unique Victorian setting. May 5, being Cinco de Mayo, the entire menu was Mexican and the food was excellent. A few observations from along the way. The lowest gas price was $2.65.9 per gallon in Madison and the highest was in Chicago at $3.45.9. May is, “Motorcycle Awareness Month,” and there were billboards at various locations telling us so. Fruit trees throughout southern Wisconsin and Illinois were in full bloom. Lilac’s were also entirely out and smelled wonderful! We had a great three days with relatives who we hadn’t seen in what seems like forever. And it felt so good to be traveling again, even if only for a short duration.

A few interesting figures received at the Clark County Tourism Meeting I attended on Wednesday, April 21. Despite of, or because of COVID. the total 2020 sales tax collected by Clark County, from the half-cent county tax, amounted to $2,344,008.94 and that is compared to the 2019 total of $2,104, 408.98. That is an increase of $240,000 over the 2019 total.

From one of my Norwegian friends: Norwegian Blessing — May da ruts always fit da wheels in your pickup. May yur ear mufs always keep out da nort wind. May da sun shine varrn on yur lefse, May da rain fall soft on yur lutefisk. And until we meet again, May da Good Lord protect ya from any and all unnecessary Uff Das.

If you have driven by the new Courtesy Ford, you have likely noticed the lettering on the front of the dealership. Courtesy Ford is now done in prominent letters across the top of the business, that is located in the former Shopko Building. What a transition of a building! A little lettering has dressed the place up considerably and the new site is complete, at least from the outside.

Did you know we have five endangered species in Wisconsin. Of the five I am only familiar with two, the Whooping Crane and the Karner Blue Butterfly. The others are the Northern Long-Eared Bat, the Eastern Massasauga (one of two rattlesnakes in Wisconsin) and the Higgins Eye Pearly Mussel., an aquatic mussel being affected by zebra mussels, which have invaded parts of the Mississippi, St Croix and lower Wisconsin rivers. +++ Did you know that Gilman has joined Thorp for a cooperative high school baseball team. With baseball in doubt at Gilman, where only four players came out for the spring sport, Coach Dave Kroeplin, wanting his kids to play, contacted Stanley-Boyd who had enough players. Talking to his good friend Coach Cory Drost at Thorp, itwas suggestedperhapsthetwo schools could co-op. Ithasbeen worked out, so Gilman is playing with Thorp this year. By the time you read this, the Thorp-Gilman vs. Stanley-Boyd game will have occurred at Oriole Park on May 18. The two teams are scheduled to play their second game at Gilman on June l.+++There are now 2,677 companyowned restaurants operated by the McDonald’s Corporation and 36,521 franchised McDonald’s like the one we have in Stanley. That is a total of 39,198 worldwide McDonald’s restaurants. There is no country we’ve visited that we weren’t able to have a McDonald’s sandwich!+++Did you know that 33% of people never fill their prescriptions prescribed by teh medical person they saw and that 33% of people filling their prescriptions don’t take the medication correctly or at all.

Congratulations to Adam Smit for his 9th place finish in the Pine Line Marathon, hosted by the Medford Chamber of Commerce on April 24. Adam participated in the Half Marathon, along with participants from 19 different states. Former Stanley Attorney, and now Taylor County Judge Ami Rnox-Bauer, finished 54th in the same race. Another area runner, Andrew Nowak of Thorp finished 84th.

The headline read, “The pandemic has showcased the strength of corporate America to an unprecedented degree. Business can’t afford to abuse that power.” Embedded in the article were some interesting statistics from Edelman Trust Barometer: 72 % of Americans trust their own employer, 54% of Americans trust business in general, and 56% of Americans agree that “business leaders are purposely trying too mislead people.” Probably no real surprises in any of these findings.

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Being a chocolate lover carries a moral dilemma. Ethical chocolate is not readily available to a consumer who purchases a candy bar. After your asking, “What the heck has Jankoski consumed to write that statement.” Or, “What is he talking about?” Hopefully, I can shed a little light on what those comments refer too. I know that the information that follows was eye-opening, and demoralizing, to someone like me who labels themselves as a chocoholic. Most of the cocoa used to make chocolate bars comes from beans produced in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, both African countries. Grand View Research puts the chocolate industry to be worth about $136 billion annually, with production beginning amid crippling poverty and underage workers, who spend hours a day hacking away at cocoa pods with machetes for little pay. The number of such child cocoa laborers in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, according to the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center is 1.56 million. There are efforts being made by a Dutch chocolatier to prove that confection can be made without child labor, that is equivalent to slavery of human beings, who are paid pennies a day for their work and growers who subsist on less than $1.25 a day. I don’t think I will enjoy another chocolate bar without having some guilt and thinking of the its beginnings.

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Smile time. When asked, these are reasons that ministers heard, or reasons churchgoers gave for not attending church. +” I couldn’t get the lid off the peanut butter.” + “The church is too close to drive and too far to walk.” + “Both of my girlfriends attend church there.” + “The pastor stays in the Bible too much.” + “The pastor is too attractive. When I see him preaching I have impure thoughts and I am distracted.” + “My wife cooked bacon for breakfast and our entire family smelled like bacon.” + “The worship leader pulls up his pants too often. It’s distracting.” + “I always get hemorrhoids on Sundays.” + “Someone called me “brother” instead of using my name.” +++ And now more: Let’s face it – social media is one big accident waiting to happen. +++ Parenting is like being a juggler except all the balls are screaming.” +++ Little League is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets. +++ On my wedding day, my mom told my bride, “No refunds, no exchanges on sale items.” +++ Son: “Mom your invading my personal space.” Mom: “Well, you came out of my personal space. That makes us even.” +++ If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.