Christmas Letter 2012

Merry Christmas from the Reyersons!

The holidays are a crazy time, so if you’re too busy to read our letter right now, no hard feelings, here’s the short version: we’re fine, we went fishing this summer, the kids will be in college next fall and there’s a new patio in our back yard. But if you have a few minutes to spare, the long version is below:

Collin and Adrienne are now seniors at St. Louis Park High School, and the countdown is on. They both have a short list of schools to which they will apply after the 1st of the year. Adrienne is perhaps closer to choosing than Collin after visiting the very impressive campus of the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. Collin visited the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology out in Rapid City earlier this fall. He might wind up there, but he’s still evaluating options closer to home. Connie and I have made peace with the idea that both kids are going to start at a 4-year school as opposed to living at home and collecting their freshman Gen Ed credits at a nearby community college. Thirty years ago, I was at mile marker #18 and itching to get out there on my own, so we’ll support them no matter what they choose, simple as that.

In the past, the sum total of Connie’s Holiday baking has exceeded the Gross Domestic Product of most third world nations, but she throttled back on production this year, electing to prepare fudge, cookies, peanut butter balls and her world famous popcorn cake for friends and relatives only. She MIGHT switch it up next year and whip up a few holiday baskets to sell, but she wants to see how THIS year feels first! This fall, she began her 11th year working for the St. Louis Park School District, subbing in 2 of the 4 K-5 schools here in town. She loves those little kids, and she always has a funny story about what happened that day when we go out for our walk.

Far as vacations go, a lot of people I know like to do something completely different every year. I am not one of these people. This year, we rented the same cabin on the same lake, fished the same spots, drank the same brand of beer, played the same card games and told the same dumb jokes. And it was AWESOME. There were 21 of us up there altogether, including my cousin Wendi and her boyfriend Dan, who announced their engagement about halfway through the week. The weather was spectacular, Lake Owen was beautiful, I slept like a rock. DREAM VACATION!

Back in September, Dad finally sought a surgical solution to the back and leg pain that has been getting more severe the past few years. He jacked his back up back in 1960 (not a typo) playing football, and finally got around to doing something about it half a century later. Doesn’t like to be rushed I guess. At any rate, he’s feeling a lot better and is already talking about getting his golf clubs out next spring, and I have volunteered to serve as his first playing partner.

The holidays are a good time to take inventory of all the blessings in your life. This summer my golf buddy Reid finally talked me into putting a patio in the backyard. He helped us plan it, which was nice, but then showed up early one Saturday morning for the HARD part: helping me dig, scoop gravel and sand, and place the stones. By 4:00 pm we were enjoying ice cold beer on the new patio with Justo and Full Nelson. Turns out that Reid is good for something else besides outdriving me by 70 yards on the golf course. Connie and I have a lot of friends, but none that are any better than Reid. His name comes up just about every time we sit out there.

I don’t spend a lot of time talking about work when I’m not AT work, but I will tell you that I’m still at Best Buy and these last 12 months have been pretty wild. Lots of shake-ups at the tip top of the organization made for some interesting newspaper articles, but the work that I perform continued uninterrupted and during times like these, I feel mighty lucky to have a paycheck that takes care of all the bills.

This is our 17th year in St. Louis Park, and looking back, I think Connie and I picked out a pretty good place to put down roots. The kids have never known a house as home other than this one, we have good friends and neighbors here, and we’re just a short car ride away from home in Iowa. PRETTY GOOD GIG.

Well, that‘s our year on one sheet of paper! If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

Warren, Connie, Collin and Adrienne

Christmas Letter 2011

Going through our Christmas letters for the past several years, I have truly come to appreciate how fast the time goes. It could not possibly be 11 years ago when I sat in this very spot to tell you all about Collin & Adrienne’s first day of Kindergarten, but here we are just the same. A blink of the eye later, our babies are driving cars and looking at colleges. A word of advice to all our friends with kids younger than ours: enjoy every minute you get with them.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, Collin got his drivers license in April and has been on the go ever since. He is somewhat more “adventuresome” behind the wheel than his kid sister (who got her license in September). We have not yet found a highway (not even up here) that he’s scared to drive on, so driving to nearby Edina to his job at the pizza place is no big deal. He has begun looking over schools that offer a strong Engineering program, and oddly enough, there seems to be an inverse relationship between the proximity of the school to our home and Collin’s perceived quality of it.

Ever since learning to knit at the age of 9, Adrienne has really developed An uncanny knack for creating something out of nothing, whether with knitting or crocheting needles, or the sewing machine she bought at a garage sale this year. She joined the Theater group last year at school and has become a very valuable member of that team in the preparation of all the costumes. She is a very talented young lady, and she’s thinking about a career in teaching, which I think would be right up her alley.

A moment ago, Connie came in with a grocery bag chock full of marshmallows, and from this I can conclude that (1) there was a big sale on marshmallows at Cub Foods, and (2) it’s almost time for her to make her world famous popcorn cake, just one of the many sweet treats she whips up this time of year. The 2011-12 school year is her 10th at St. Louis Park Schools, but she always takes a little time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas to whip up treats for family, friends and co-workers: cookies, peanut butter balls, fudge and 9 or 10 popcorn cakes. And what a treat it is for me to come home after a long day, walk inside to see the tree lit up, hear Christmas music playing, and smell all that!

After a 4-year break, we rounded up the gang in late June and headed back to Lake Owen in northern Wisconsin. There were 16 Woods and Reyersons altogether, ranging in age from 8 to 71. The fishing was good, the weather was incredible, the Leinenkugels were ice cold, and my phone didn’t work up there at all, so it was a “dream vacation” no matter how you look at it. In my opinion, there is nothing better in this world - and I mean NOTHING - than a week at the lake.

Sort of an up & down ride for the Iowa Hawkeyes this fall, including an embarrassing 22-21 loss to Minnesota where they coughed up an 11-point lead in the last 8 minutes. My cousin Joe and his 11-year old boy Brady came to town and saw the game with me and my crazy Colombian neighbor Justo, who has adopted the Hawks as his favorite American football team. We walked out of that stadium with the rest of the Hawkeye fans shaking our heads in disbelief, but we had a good time just the same, and Joe & Brady got a big kick out of Justo.

We always come to Iowa for Christmas, but at Thanksgiving, Iowa comes to US! Nobody likes to cook for a crowd quite as much as Connie, and my folks are all too willing to let her scratch that itch every November, and it is always fun having them up for a few nights. As for our Christmas plans, we don’t get to Iowa as often as we should, so we plan to make the very most of this trip: 3 nights in Oelwein (starting 12/22), to Webster on Christmas Day and 3 nights down there before heading back home to ring in the New Year here in town. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather!

Well, that‘s our year on one sheet of paper! If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

Warren, Connie, Collin & Adrienne

What's Your Beef with Teachers, Warren?

For the record: I have no ax to grind with teachers. Teaching is a noble profession. NOBLE. Some of my closest friends are teachers. We NEED teachers. I also have very high respect for policemen and firemen. In fact, I have no problem with anybody out there making an honest buck. I do, however, have a huge problem with the incestuous alliance between the government & public sector unions, and have recently found myself paying close attention to what’s going on in Wisconsin under the watch of new governor Scott Walker.

AFSCME: 1.6 million members.
American Federation of Teachers: 1.5 million.
National Education Association: 3.2 million.

Barking about billionaire CEOs is good watercooler talk, but with these three unions alone, here are over 6 million people represented by public sector unions, and over the last 50 years or so, public sector unions have conspired with our friends in Washington to form a perfectly legal way to help themselves to YOUR DOUGH.

It sounds innocent enough: Boy meets union, boy joins union, boy pays union dues, union takes on management, better lives for union members. This story has been written millions of times over the last 100+ years. What is incestuous about that, Warren? Well, the dynamic is different when government plays the role of management, and here’s how:

When faced with union negotiations, private companies bargain with their own money. With public sector unions, the government bargains with OUR money. What motivation does the government have to go toe to toe with a union? There’s no earnings per share number they have to hit. What government official loses their job if they overspend? Nobody. They just tax us to fill the gap. Or simply allow the gap to grow (the term “unfunded pension liabilities” is as simple as it sounds, folks) and let the next guy worry about it. The result is larger salaries, better benefits and pension packages for public sector workers than people performing similar work in the private sector, and an increased burden for all taxpayers, either immediately or down the road.

It should surprise nobody that the government doesn’t negotiate as hard as the private sector, because it turns out that caving into the unions is good politics. Public sector unions dump millions into election campaigns (all but about 2% of it to the Democratic Party), so giving the unions what they want when they want it will help come re-election time, and in Washington, the point of all of it is to keep getting re-elected. That’s the incestuous part. Term limits, anyone?

Back to my original point: we NEED teachers. We need policemen and firemen. We needed them before they unionized, and we need them now. What we DON'T need is to be bullied by their union leadership to keep their members whole while the rest of us have to live with LESS. We have grown weary of the “kabuki theater” of so-called negotiations between unions and the government where everybody wins except the only party with no seat at the table: the American taxpayer.

With the Democrats safely tucked away in an undisclosed location somewhere in Illinois, Governor Walker is being painted as the villian in Wisconsin, and that is ridiculous. It would be WAY easier just to make a deal with the union and let the unfunded pension liability grow unchecked. After all, it won't be HIS problem when the pension fund runs completely out of money years from now. Walker is showing TRUE LEADERSHIP taking this on, and in my opinion, a discussion over deficit reduction that does not address the collective bargaining power of public sector unions is not a discussion worth having.

Great Moments in Iowa Hawkeye History

(Reader Warning: If you are not a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes, you may actually die of boredom by reading this)

Iowa 30, LSU 25
Capital One Bowl
January 1, 2005
Orlando, FL

This is the only bowl game on the list, and there’s a reason for that. With the exception of the big one, bowl games are little more than exhibition games designed to extend the college football season and give us all something to watch when the NFL isn’t on. This year, there were 35 bowl games, the majority of which will be all but forgotten by all but the most rabid fans of the teams who participated. Every now and then, however, two good teams hook up in a neutral site in late December / early January, and treat us to a game that folks will remember. The 2005 Capital One Bowl was one of those games.

New Years Day is when all the trash talking between the Big 10 and the SEC takes a day off so the teams can settle things on the field. I was not a big Nick Saban fan (still am not), so there was a houseful of heartbroken Hawkeye fans (including my aunt and uncle) when LSU scored late in the 4th quarter to take a 25-24 lead. As the seconds melted off the clock in the game’s final minute, I was furious at the Hawks’ clock mis-management, and as the Hawks lined up for what I figured to be the game’s final play, I was terrified at the prospect of the game ending with 2 Iowa timeouts left on the board.

Eleven…ten…nine….

Quarterback Drew Tate took the snap and 5 Hawkeye receivers streaked downfield. Darting between LSU pass rushers, Tate set his feet and spotted Warren Holloway, a senior with 29 career catches and no TDs who somehow managed to get behind the LSU prevent defense, and let it fly, and even then, I was asking myself “Why didn’t Ferentz use a timeout earlier in the drive?”.

Six….five…four….

Almost as if he had done this 20-30 times in the previous 4 years, Holloway snatched the ball out of the air at the 15, and outran 2 LSU defenders to the end zone. Touchdown Iowa, clock reads :00, HAWKS WIN, and a guy named Warren whom moments ago I had never heard of was the hero of the game!

What was LSU defense thinking letting a receiver get between them and the end zone? Here it is years later, and fans of both teams still ask that question, but as the Hawks lined up to kneel down for the point after touchdown they did not need, we didn’t care. The Hawks had beaten LSU, the Big 10 had beaten the SEC, and our little house in Minnesota was literally shaking as we jumped up and down and screamed the Iowa Fight Song.

Iowa 81, Georgetown 80March 16, 1980
NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament, East Regional Final
The Spectrum, Philadelphia PA

The “Fabulous Few” earned an improbable Final Four trip to Indianapolis, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit, making 17 of their final 21 shots and going 15-15 from the free-throw line. The winner was Steve Waite's 3-point play in the closing seconds.

The Hawkeyes’ spectacular play throughout the 1979-80 season in spite of injuries to key players (including star point guard Ronnie Lester, who missed 15 regular season games that year) helped them earn the nickname “The Fabulous Few”. Without Lester and freshman Mark Gannon, who was lost for the season in a game at Michigan, Coach Lute Olsen usually went with 6 guys: sharpshooting swingman Vince Brookins (#32), “twin towers” Waite (52) and Steve Krafcisin (54), defender extraordinaire Kevin Boyle (40), freshman Bobby Hansen (24), and backup point guard Kenny Arnold (30).

The Hawks started the season with 10 straight wins and a top 10 national ranking, but struggled with injuries to finish 5th in the Big 10 with a 10-8 record. Seeded #5 in the East Regional, they disposed of Virginia Commonwealth, North Carolina State and top seed Syracuse to get to the Regional Final.

As a young Hawkeye fan, the 1980 Tournament was my first real taste of March Madness, perhaps before they even started calling it March Madness, and for a couple of weekends in March some 30 years ago, the Hawks were indeed fabulous, and I fell in love with Iowa Basketball watching them with my dad in our downstairs den (with that ridiculous orange shag carpet).

Iowa 9, Michigan 7October 17, 1981
Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor MI

This one looked like a laugher on paper: the Hawks traveling to Ann Arbor, where they had won only once since 1924. In fact, none of the networks even bothered to televise what promised to be a convincing win for the Maize & Blue, but just 5 weeks after the jaw-dropping 10-7 upset of Nebraska at Kinnick, the Hawks took their act on the road and shocked another national football power in front of 100,000 hostile fans without scoring a touchdown.

Bob Brooks brought the game into our living room as Dad and I listened in awe. Tommy Nichol’s third field goal of the game provided the winning margin, and Iowa’s suffocating defense, led by Andre Tippett and Larry Station, held mighty Michigan to one touchdown. The win improved their record to 5-1, their best start since 1960. The Hawks would go on to earn a share of the Big 10 Championship and their first trip to Pasadena since the 1958 season.

After 19 straight years without a winning season, a new era began on a warm September afternoon in Iowa City when the Hawks shocked Nebraska, and 5 weeks later, for the first time in a generation, the entire college football world was paying attention to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa 12, Michigan 10October 19, 1985
Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

In a battle of teams ranked #1 (Iowa) and #2 (Michigan) in the nation, 4 Rob Houghtlin field goals, including a 29-yarder as time ran out, were enough to beat Bo Schembechler and the mighty Wolverines under temporary lights installed at Kinnick for this nationally televised game, which started at 2:30 p.m..

This is the only televised game on the list where I did not actually see the ending live. Brent Musberger and Ara Parsegian had the call on CBS, but I had to work the 5 to close shift at Burger King that night and was forced to settle for Bob Brooks’ call on the radio. The whole place went crazy when Houghlin’s kick from the right hash mark split the uprights, and my feet barely toughed the floor that night as I prepared Whopper after Whopper for happy Hawkeye fans who saw history made in person. The Hawks would win 4 of the next 5 for a share of the Big 10 title and their second Rose Bowl in 5 years.

Iowa 15, Michigan State 13October 24, 2009
Spartan Stadium, East Lansing MI

It was a hard-hitting game of nothing but field goals, 3 by Iowa’s Daniel Murray and 2 by Michigan State’s Brett Swenson, until Michigan State’s Blair White hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to give Sparty Spartan a 13-9 lead late in the 4th quarter, and the Hawkeyes’ perfect season was in jeopardy.

My neighbor Justo, a transplanted Columbian who has developed a deep appreciation for American football, helped keep me calm on the couch as I tried to come to grips with the fact that a guy named Blair was about to end our dream season. Seriously, who names their boy BLAIR? Justo handed me a New Glarus Spotted Cow longneck, claiming that it was good luck beer, and I was desperate enough to actually think a beer brewed in Wisconsin could help a football team from Iowa.

As we sipped on our Spotted Cows, Justo and I watched Ricky Stanzi lead the Hawkeye offense onto the field. They were 70 yards from the end zone and a field goal would not help them. 1:32 left on the clock.

Three Stanzi completions (16 yards to Marvin McNutt, 21 yards to Trey Stross, 16 yards to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos) moved the ball to the Spartan 15, and a controversial holding call have the Hawks a 1st and goal on the 7. Three incomplete passes later, it was 4th and goal when Stanzi found McNutt on a slant pattern. Touchdown Iowa, no time left on the clock, HAWKS WIN.

The win improved Iowa to 8-0. Their bid for perfection would end 2 weeks later in Iowa City, but they finished 10-2 and earned a bid in the Orange Bowl. The McNutt catch in East Lansing was an incredible finish to one of the best college football games I have ever seen.

Iowa 55, Minnesota 0November 22, 2008
HHH Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN

Most of the games on this list were in doubt until the last few seconds, but not this one. The last Gopher game in Metrodome history was over not long after the coin toss. Tailback Shonn Greene, who would finish 6th in 2008 Heisman Trophy balloting, shredded the Gopher defense en route to his 12 consecutive game with 100+ yards. It was 27-0 at halftime, and by the time it was 41-0, the Hump was half empty and only about 20,000 delirious Hawkeye fans remained.

It’s the only game on this list I saw in person. In fact, Collin and I were in the front row, right behind the Iowa bench, and were right in the middle of it all when the Hawks paraded around the perimeter of the Metrodome with Floyd of Rosedale. We high-fived all the guys and Collin even got to touch Floyd! Never had I had more fun at a sporting event. 5 weeks later, the Hawks would notch only their 3rd January win since 1959 with a 31-10 victory over South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

Christmas Letter 2010

Alright, here we are…Christmas 2010 is just around the corner. You know, years that end with a “0” are a pretty big deal in our family. More on that a little later in the letter. In the meantime, our year on one sheet of paper:

The kids are sophomores at St. Louis Park High school. Academically, the deal we make with both of them is if it’s all As and Bs, and more As than Bs, they won’t get any trouble from us, and on the most part, they hold up their end of the deal. It is also my duty to inform all of our readers that by the time you read next year’s letter, both kids will be licensed drivers. YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WARNED.

Collin took a year of baseball off to rest a sore arm and basically see what summer is like when you back out 40 games and 40-50 practices. He will never admit this, but I think he found it uncommonly boring, so he plans to be out there on the diamond next spring. Oh, and remember my prediction that he would be 6 feet tall by Christmas? He was there by Easter, and he’s only about an inch shorter than I am! Adrienne, on the other hand, filled many of her summer evenings up polishing her babysitting skills, mostly with two cute little girls who live down the street. She really has a soft spot for little kids.

One of Adrienne’s babysitting adventures on a Saturday back in June had a strange but fun ending. Our friends Reid and Ally dropped their little guy off with Adrienne to run an afternoon’s worth of errands, and we planned to have them stay for supper that evening. Meanwhile, I’m somewhere in South Minneapolis watching the USA vs. Ghana soccer match with Collin, Justo (my crazy Colombian neighbor) and many of his crazy Colombian friends. After the match, it was back to the house to get ready for supper. There had been a storm the night before and power had not been restored, so Reid and I were sitting in the front yard when Justo strolled up the sidewalk with a 12-pack of beer. Moments later, Justo’s friend Jose showed up with a case. Then another friend of Justo’s. Then some kids. Then neighbors Robyn and Full Nelson wandered over to see what was going on. Connie’s not seeing any of this because she’s out back grilling, but she wondered who could possibly be consuming all the beer she saw me hauling into the front yard. A moment later she looked out the kitchen window to a yard full of people tossing back beers waiting for the lights to come back on. Just like that, dinner for 7 became dinner for 20. Without hesitation, she cut all the ribs and chicken into little pieces, tossed the skillet beans and some chips out there and yelled “Come and get it!”. We ate, drank, and laughed the evening away. Never did run out of food. Great little impromptu party. WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

Back on June 23, Connie and I marked our 20 year anniversary and celebrated by spending a couple of nights in Red Wing, MN. Red Wing is just 60 miles down the road, and the kids jumped at the chance to have the house to themselves. We stayed at the historic St. James Hotel, ate a couple of nice meals, hiked Barn Bluff, took a riverboat ride, and walked all over the place. A nice weekend getaway.

About 7 weeks later, Mom & Dad celebrated their 50th anniversary, so Mike, Paula, Connie and I treated them to dinner at the White House in St. Lucas, IA. Not to be confused in any way with The White House in Washington DC, but a very nice meal just the same, and Mom & Dad had a mighty good time.

And just a few weeks after that, we all went to Cedar Falls to help Dad celebrate the 50th anniversary of the great 1960 Panther football season. The 1960 Panthers rode a balanced offense and thoroughly suffocating defense to a 9-0 start, a feat that would not be repeated by a Panther team for 47 seasons. They allowed only 2 touchdowns and a field goal in 6 conference games, and earned a bowl berth for the first time in school history. Dad wore #83 and scored 7 touchdowns in 1960, his senior season. In all, 22 teammates, 2 widows and an assistant coach came to town for the gathering, not bad for a team of 39 guys a half century after their last game together. The university invited them onto the field before the North Dakota State game, and showed them a great time all weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking football with all of Dad’s teammates who made the trip, and Dad had a blast.

So while we spent the better part of the summer celebrating some milestones, we close out the year in a familiar way: Thanksgiving at home, Christmas in Iowa if the weather doesn’t stop us. They’re saying it’s going to be a colder, snowier winter, so keep your fingers crossed for us!
Well that's just about it from here. If your travels ever bring you to the Twin Cities, please be sure to give us a call. St. Louis Park is a stone's throw from downtown Minneapolis, and we love to have visitors. Until then, warmest wishes for a safe, happy holiday from our home to yours,

Warren, Connie, Collin & Adrienne

Christmas Letter 2009

Merry Christmas from the Reyersons!

You know, I think I can almost still taste the stamps I licked for LAST year’s Christmas cards, so to say that this year went by in a hurry is an incredible understatement. Truth is, I don’t know where the year went.

Kids are doing great. They are just finishing up their first semester of 9th grade at St. Louis Park Senior High. Connie and I are both amazed at the SIZE of this place, but for 1,100 kids, you NEED a place that big I guess. Last time Connie checked grades, it was all As and Bs for both of them, so no complaints there. Collin opted for the Honors course load right away, and Adrienne will move into Honors English and maybe 1 or 2 others next year. I must also warn our readers that Collin began Driver’s Ed this semester and Adrienne is next.

Collin landed his first job this summer, as a caddy at the golf course here in town. He liked the work, but he often showed up but then would get sent home right away because nobody was asking for a caddy, so he’ll be looking for steadier work next summer. Collin also got in another season of baseball (team finished 18-17), and he found some time to volunteer at the Westwood Hills Nature Center between games and practices. Busy kid, and as you can see in the enclosed picture, he is growing like crazy. Grew 6 inches this year alone, and his feet are now bigger than mine! I predict he will be 6 feet tall by next Christmas.

At the tender age of 14, Adrienne doesn’t reveal a lot of information to her pop, so I struggle to come up with things to write about her. She just goes about her business at school and hangs out with her friends. Ridgedale Mall is one of her favorite places, which is what you might expect from the typical American teenage girl. She doesn’t fancy herself much of an athlete, but she ran the 200 meter on the track team this spring and WON a couple of heats. And when she’s not knitting baby blankets or the red scarf I have been asking her for years, she’s either texting or Facebooking somebody.

As the days grow shorter and colder, Connie is preparing for her favorite time of year in a familiar way: putting the holiday decorations on display, wrapping and hiding presents, and cranking up the goody machine. This time of year, when I get home, there‘s always Christmas music playing and the house smells great. Cookies, fudge, peanut butter balls, popcorn cake, Connie does it all. She’s been at the elementary school for 8 years now, helping out wherever she’s needed, and a lot of the ladies there buy goody baskets from her this time of year, which means (you guessed it) even MORE baking. She tried to talk me into a second oven when we remodeled a few years back and I just laughed. Now I’m starting to get her point.

What a season for the Iowa Hawkeyes! 9 straight wins to start the season, including wins at Penn State, Wisconsin, that heart-stopper in East Lansing, and a berth in a January bowl game. They are not the most talented Iowa team ever, but they fought through injuries, ground out 10 wins, and earned everything they got. What an EASY team to root for! I must say that a win in January would be a great way to not only kick off 2010, but also to take the sting out of what promises to be a pretty bad season of Iowa basketball this winter.

Mom and Dad came up from Oelwein for Thanksgiving and spent 3 nights. We’ve done that for 6 years now, and Connie likes to put out a big spread, and it‘s so fun to have folks up. As for our Christmas plans, it looks like 5 nights on the road: 3 in Oelwein, then off to Webster on Christmas Day for 2 nights with Connie’s side of the family. It is such a treat to have a few days off around Christmas to really enjoy friends and family, and it’s a shame we can’t get together more often.

Well, I‘m out of paper, so I‘d better wrap up! If you’re ever in town, be sure to stop by. Our house is just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we love to have visitors. We hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits, and we wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

8 Tips for President Obama

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: I am a committed conservative (fiscal and social) who is rooting like hell for President Barack Obama. We don’t have 4 years to waste, so to President Obama in his first week in office, I offer 8 tips for leading our nation to a better place. First, here are 4 things he can do that will almost ensure that President Obama will be a very unsuccessful 1-term President:

(DON’T) Pursue investigations of Bush & Cheney. I can’t think of one thing that would be more damaging to an Obama presidency than spending one moment contemplating the lawfulness of the Bush administration in its prosecution of the war on terror. Throughout his campaign, Obama’s message and tone was optimistic and forward-looking, and not once did he even hint that he would support an investigation. Even as unpopular as Bush was exiting office, an investigation would be political suicide.

(DON’T) Close Gitmo. I almost left this one off the list because he signed the order to close on Day #2 in office, but he still has nearly a year to reverse the order. There is no place in the world to put these 245 prisoners that will make Americans more safe than where they are today. And bringing them onto U.S. soil and try them in our criminal justice system is the worst possible option.

(DON’T) Issue tax rebates to people who pay no taxes. By any reasonable definition, such a practice is “redistribution of wealth”, something our tax code has enabled for generations. Checks for the non-tax-payers out there is welfare, no more, no less, and putting into action the “spread the wealth around” comment that brought fame to Joe the Plumber, will spell doom for President Obama.

(DON’T) Roll back the Bush tax cuts (or let them expire in 2011). After running as a “tax cutter”, increasing the tax rates on the majority of Americans is tantamount to the “Read my lips: No new taxes” campaign statement that sunk Bush #41. Saying one thing and doing another almost never works, and screwing tax-paying Americans will cost him in November 2012.

Here are 4 things that will help him earn a second term:

Capture or kill Bin Laden. This one is a no-brainer. While we can debate the long-term impact it would have on Al Qaeda, or the war on terror in general, nailing Osama Bin Laden would be jet fuel for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Enforce the law, which is what the Executive Branch of the government is supposed to do. Hire an Attorney General who will go after Immelt, Madoff, O’Neal and all the other corporate crooks who have not yet been introduced to the world. Nothing will restore Americans’ trust in government more than nailing to the cross people who are even less worthy of our trust.

Back off nationalized health care. Tom Daschle is going to go after this hard, just like Bill and Hill did 16 years ago, but as financially over-leveraged as our nation is, there could possibly be no worse time in our history to pursue such a program. Didn’t make sense 16 years ago, makes even less sense now.

Drop this Fairness Doctrine nonsense. Like the 43 guys before him, Barack Obama took an oath (twice!) and pledged to uphold the Constitution of the United States. I don’t you can do that and pursue the idea that government has any role in the programming of talk radio stations. Being President of the U.S. means respecting and protecting the freedoms and rights of all Americans, even Rush Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt and others you don’t agree with.