Fathers Day, Oh Fathers Day.....

This was a strange one for me. The traditional fathers day was gone. Normally we would have gone to my dad's or Diana's dad's for fathers day. My Dad passed away in September. God finally let him go out to play again.

This year we went to Minneapolis to be with my son Wade. We had a wonderful time. We went to a live musical "Savanna or Change", we went to the movie "Up", we went to the Science Museum and saw the Titanic display and movie, we ate at strange restaurants, and we hung out together. It was a great weekend. Thank you Wade.

Erica sent me a mushy fathers day card. Usually she sends me a funny one. I'm all about funny cards, but this year the mushy one was right. I was missing my Dad and needed propped up. I needed to feel the love this year especially. Thank you Erica.

Both my kids showed me the love and respect we like, but don't always feel we deserve. I wasn't the perfect Dad, but did the best I could all things considered. I was impatient, I was selfish, I was always busy at work or golfing. Do you know what's great about time? People forget the bad and remember the good old times. I am so thankful for that.

I was driving back from Cambridge City Indiana yesterday, taking all the small state roads, not the busy ones. I was thinking about how I love to do that. Then it dawned on me.....Dad did that all the time. It brings me joy to drive the road less traveled and see many of the things most people miss. Then when the road I was on crossed US24 I thought right down there is where Reynold Rhemke's daughter used to live. Dad did a lot of work for Reynold and also some for his daughter. I remember riding there with Dad to look at a job we had to bid. I had a really happy day yesterday, I was with Dad again, just for a minute, but he was right there with me, about 20 years ago. He was healthy and vibrant, full of confidence, telling me all about what we were going to do for the Rhemke's. It was so real I even said out load "You won't believe what they are doing to 24 now." , but he was gone already when I looked over to see his reaction.
What a pleasant drive. What a nice memory. What a wonderful fathers day I had. Thank you God for my Father.

Amazing Grace/House of the Rising Sun.2

Here is another link for the song with only Amazing Grace Lyrics. Enjoy

Amazing Grace/House of the Rising Sun

Here is a link to an interesting version of the hymn Amazing Grace mixed with The House of the Rising Sun. We are thinking of doing this in our church. This is a you tube link. Enjoy.

Then What!

How will our country ever got out of the huge debt we are amassing? We are in for high inflation, high interest rates and a general lowering in our standard of living. I am an eternal optimist and I will survive, but there are a lot of people who sincerely believe that the government will save them. What they don't understand about socialism is.......... sooner or later you run out of other peoples money to take care of you. Then what?

April Fool's Day

April 1st is always a day of tricks and trying to fool people. When I was a kid, I used to put salt in the sugar bowl before my sisters would come down for breakfast. That way they would salt their cereal instead of sugaring it. It was a lot of fun to see them take that first bite. I’d always get in trouble with Mom, but I didn't care, I got my sisters before they got me. Life was really good when that happened! When you grew up with three sisters you had to get up early to survive!

Of course the common April Fools tricks now are; your fly is down, or what’s that spot on your shirt, or your shoe is untied, or did you hear, the stock market dropped 300 points today, or did you hear, GM lost 9.6 billion dollars last quarter and might file bankruptcy!

Oh wait, those last two aren’t so funny are they. In these bad economic times we must keep a sense of humor, even though some days we might not feel like it. April Fool's Day is a day to have fun and forget the gloom and doom. I think along with some of the other sensible and rational things the federal government is doing today, they should enact a new national holiday, April Fool's Day. This holiday could be in honor of all us working fools paying for the bailouts and our ever growing federal government. Have some fun on this newly proposed holiday. Hey, there’s a spider on your ear! :-)

Super Bowl XLIII

Well, here I am pondering tomorrows Super Bowl XLIII. For those of you who were not forced to take two years of Latin in high school; X=10, L=50, and I=1. The other thing to remember is when when the lesser number is in front of the bigger number you have to subtract and if the lesser number is behind the larger number you have to add. Wow! So.......... it is -10(X) + 50(L) + 1(I) + 1(I) + 1(I) = 43(XLIII). Simple math, right?! What would be so wrong with just calling it "Super Bowl Forty Three"?

Another thing that bothers me is the shortage of chicken wings projected for the Super Bowl Parties! Isn't there some sort of stimulus package for the chicken ranch to get it up? (-; Can't we genetically produce a six wing chicken? I don't really like chicken wings, but I know a lot of people who do and I'm worried about them. What will President Obama do about this national crisis? I certainly hope they don't expect our children to go back to Hawaiian Punch and popcorn. The new generation deserves better!!!

You know the world has really changed recently, not because we have our first black president, but because the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl! Who or what are those Cardinals? That's almost as improbable as the Lions winning their division. Yikes! I am glad to see the Steelers in there again. Now that is a football team. I think they should walk all over the Birdies. Understand though, I also thought the Lions would win half there games this year, so you know I'm a real football expert!
That's about all I have to say about Super Bowl XLIII. If the Steelers aren't kicking butt by half time, it will an early bedtime for me tomorrow.

As a Lions fan all I can say is "Wait till next decade.".

I must be off!

Christmas? 2008

Christmas 2008.
This was a different Christmas to say the least. Many things made it different and almost not real to me. I was in a bit of a funk the whole week of Christmas and still not sure if we even had Christmas.
1. When people asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I actually give them a list. The past few years I would tell them I didn't want anything and ask them to donate what they would spend on me to charity. I realized that a couple of days before Christmas after the presents had been bought. I've felt selfish and disappointed in myself ever since. I'll have to work that out with prayer.
2. My Dad passed away in September, so for the first time in my life I didn't see my Dad on Christmas. What a big hole in our day. Dad was the man, the glue, the strength of our family.
3. Christmas was not in Edgerton. In the last 56 years, it's been in Edgerton every time except maybe twice. It's not normal. I'd better get used to it though since Mom moved to Lakeside. She's still the main one we gather to see.
4. This is the really really good part of this different Christmas. Erica announce that she and Steve would be parents!!!! That means Wade will be an Uncle, Diana will become a grandma and I will become a grandpa!
Wade, Erica and Steve were here for about a week. The time went so fast. I hated to let them leave. When they live so far away, when you say good bye, you say good bye for a while. When they leave, you know you won't see them for a couple of months. It seems to get more depressing every time they leave. You want to be a bigger part of their lives, but that's difficult at best.
I think a lot of my feeling this year are part of my mourning for my Dad. I never really said good bye to him. I never knew how to talk to him unless it was business. That's all he ever wanted to talk about. Now I think about my own mortality. I would like to talk to my kids on their own terms, not mine. I just want to love them and help them when they want my help, not when I think they need my help or advice. I'm sure when winter is over I will feel better. Life has been very good to me. I am very thankful!

JWL Died 9.15.2008

A Tribute to my Dad: As many of you already know my Dad, John Lutterbein passed away on September 15th, 2008. John is survived by his wife Myrtle, four children, Carol Johnson, Ruth Fischer, Bill Lutterbein and Alice Young, and ten grandchildren. John was a member of the Edgerton United Methodist Church, the Edgerton Masonic Lodge #357, John D. Smith Post #10 of the Edgerton American Legion, and the Edgerton Rotary Club, of which he was a Paul Harris Fellow, Past President and Rotarian of the Year. He and his brother, Dick, are also past Citizens of the Year in Edgerton.

Dad had two brothers, Dick and Ed and one sister, Marion. They were raised in Hicksville and Edgerton by their parents, Ben and Alma Lutterbein. Ben and Alma purchased a business at the current Lutterbein Lumber Company site in 1924. John and Dick came back to work the family business after the army and college. Over the last 84 years that company grew and evolved into what is now Building Concepts, Inc.

Dad had a passion for that family business and never stopped thinking about it. The last three years when he was in assisted living struggling with Parkinson's disease he would always want to talk business when I visited. He never thought of himself; only how Mom was, or how Dick was or how can I help you Bill or is the money coming in o.k.?

Dad did everything 100% and could do anything he put his mind to. He and Mom both got their pilots license the year they turned 60. What a team they made. It was obvious to us kids that they loved each other very much. Not only did they raise four children, they had exchange students from Yugoslavia, Japan and New Zealand.

When we were planning the funeral, my sister Ruth remembered Dad had a favorite Bible verse. It was in the book of Micah 6:8. It pretty well described my Dad. "And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Dad was a humble, but proud man, he was kind and compassionate, and he taught my sisters and me what is right and just.

Well, life goes on, the sun continues to shine, the crops will grow, babies are born and people die. We are all on earth for a short time, my Dad did his best. Our family greatly appreciates all the cards, memorials, kind words, support and prayers we have received. I miss my father, my business partner, my advisor, my hero, and my friend.

Sincerely, Bill Lutterbein

Click on the Title to see pictures of John.

Edgerton Rotary Picnic, 2008

Saturday August 23, 2008
The Edgerton Rotary Club had there annual picnic today at Dick's cottage at Pleasant Lake. This year was especially fun because we had three families with small children to entertain the rest of us old people. Another thing that made it special is that Denise received her Paul Harris award by Kandace, our current president.
The boat rides, the Segway attempts, the food and the fellowship made this a special day. Thanks to Dick and Fran for hosting it and thanks to the board for planning.
Click on the title above to see more pictures.

Burky Reunion 2008

Hello Friends,
The Burky Reunion happened again and was still fun and worth the 894 mile round trip to Helvetia, West Virginia. We took our 86 year old in-laws and had a nice time at the same time. We are happy for their good health.

We left Edgerton on Friday at 7:45 a.m. and arrived at Helvetia, WV around 6:15 that evening. We spent about two hours in Athens Ohio for lunch and a visit to The Donkey coffee shop. The owners were in Cosigner with our son-in-law while he was at OU. Then of course we had to buy a couple of Ohio University tee shirts.

When we got to Helvetia, we couldn't find anyone we knew, so we went searching for Sandy's house by memory from last year and low and behold, we found it first try. Luckily, we drove our little SUV because I would not have tried to drive a car up the steep and rocky driveway. When we got there the fun was happening and dinner was just about ready. Good timing. Great food, some local home made wine made things nearly perfect. We got back to Grandpa Johns around 11:00 p.m.

Saturday we slept in and the had lunch at Norman's cabin. That afternoon we mostly sat around under the trees and talked about the past and what happened to us this last year. These are wonderful times. Old and not so old communicating and relaxing.

Saturday night we went to the Helvetia town hall for a potluck and local music. See an example in the film clip. We call the banjo player BanJovi. He loves to play and has only been playing around 5 years. He is a kidder, so he gets kidded a lot back. Uncle Vernon, the fiddle player has been playing there for 60 plus years. The other two are newer, but both very good musicians. Food, fun, music, love, respect, and acceptance. West Virginia is almost heaven at least for a few days each year.

Sunday we went to the little wood frame country church and praised God for our good fortune and worshiped with friends and family. I might add I knew all three hymns and enjoyed singing out the base part.

After Church, we went back to Grandpa Johns, packed everything up and went to Alvan's house for another potlock and pictures. After that we headed back northwest towards Ohio.

More later