Morels

My son, Brian Unbehaun, loves to hunt for morels.  They're tough to find but worth the effort.  I too like those nutty-tasting fungi, but life is crazy busy--so I seldom find them before their season ends.

Midland Co-op Memorabilia

My son, Brian Unbehaun and I collect Midland Co-op memorabilia.  My dad worked for Midland Co-operatives for nearly 50 years, retiring around 1976.  So, we buy toys, signs, patches, clothing, thermometers, rain gages, glasses, bowls, ashtrays, road maps, gas/oil cans--anything that Midland gave away to it's customers and vendors.  If you have something for sale, contact us at unbehaun@gmail.com. 

Brian Unbehaun

I'm very proud of my son, Brian Unbehaun.  His mother and I helped him move last weekend as he assumed a full-time position with MN Energy--a job which holds promise of financial security and upward mobility.  By the way, there's another Brian Unbehaun living in southern Wisconsin whose something like a third cousin, once removed to my son.  I've not met him though I've met his parents--real nice people.  That's about it for now!

Boots

I feel good in boots, leather ones that come up over the ankle . . . no higher, no lower.  Come to think of it, maybe my love for boots started when I got my first pair of booties.

My first pair were Red Wings, back in my 20's.  Lace 'em up, and you're ready for anything including mud puddles and deep snow.

I left my first pair in Texas after visiting my brother.  I called to have them sent back to me and was told that they didn't have them anymore.  What?  Did they spot some Mexican doing yard work across the street and ask him if he wanted a pair of boots?  I'll never figure that one out.

So I bought another pair of Red Wings.  After they wore out, I went years . . . a lot of years before I bought another pair.  I was shopping in Home of Economy in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and they had a boot sale.  Bought a pair of Carolina's for around $40.00 (the company was going out of business).  It's 10 years later, and the soles are only about 25% spent.  I wear them in the winter, walking to work, and only for work projects in the summer.  So I expect to get a lot more years out of them.

Whenever I lace them up, I think of my old friend, Chuck Frautschi, who lived in his boots.  Chuck's a retired art teacher, and I have little doubt he wore boots to school every day. 

Cowboy boots?  Back in the 70's I bought a pair of pseudo-Cowboy boots.  But they always hurt the top of my foot.  Even when I drive long distances, I must loosen the laces on my shoes.  I should buy some slip-ons for traveling.

I also have a pair of knee-high water boots made by a Canadian company, Kamik.  WONDERFUL boots.  I used to deer hunt in them.  Didn't even need socks, they kept my feet warm.  In fact, maybe socks make it worse if you sweat.

If you don't have boots, buy a pair . . . any type . . . they'll make you happy.

Retirement

I dream of retirement.  Technically, it's slated for July of 2016, but with the way our economy is, and the high cost of health insurance (I thought ObamaCare was going to fix that), I'm not sure I can pull the plug quite that early.  Since I work for the State of Minnesota, I'm pretty sure I can cut down to working only three days a week and still get my health insurance paid for.  Then I could draw my full retirement without any penalty for earnings (not sure about that, better check it out). 

Retirement will not be sitting on the couch watching Netflix movies.  I'll continue my three passions:  Grandkids, performing my original songs, and genealogy research.  I should also be able to shed some pounds as I'll be more active riding bike and walking. 

My dad tried to retire from his employer, Midland Co-op, but they kept leaning on him to take assignments.  He was an Operational Consultant who covered five states trying to improve the profitability for local co-operatives who had contractual agreements with his company.  In simple terms, he was an auditor.  Eventually dad retired, and I don't think he missed the job, though I'm sure he missed the camaraderie.

The two bits of advice I can give to young folks is to SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU CAN and INCUR AS LITTLE DEBT AS YOU CAN.  It may not seem a big deal now, but if you can afford to retire at 55 or 60 instead of 66 or 70, it will be worth the sacrifices you made in your younger years.  Then you may enjoy a much longer retirement.

Thanks for hearing me out!

Ancestry.com

I spoke to a guy a while back who said that family history meant absolutely nothing to him.  I was amazed, not because he's not entitled to his opinion, but I have a such a burning desire for the subject.  Perhaps it's due to my not having known any of my grandparents (the last one died when I was five months old). 

So, I have an Ancestry.com account and continue to build my family tree and share it with those who are interested.  In case you didn't know, Ancestry.com is owned by the LDS Church.  They take genealogy very seriously as they believe in the "baptism of the dead" whereby the souls of their ancestors can be "saved" after they die.  (Please correct me if I'm not right about this).

It is my understanding that Ancestry.com are busy cataloging all sorts of records throughout the world, then making them available on their website.  One can pay monthly or annually.  The more-expensive World Explorer membership gives one access to records outside the U.S.A.  But it's a hit-or-miss situation.  I buy a World Explorer membership once or twice a year, then hit it hard.

Of course, when searching, it helps to have the right information.  And, for surnames that are often misspelled, one should check the "Soundex" box that results in similar-sounding names being included in the results list.  And don't forget that even census enumerators misspelled names and made other mistakes--so be ready to do a lot of interpolating.

A neat feature of Ancestry.com is that you can do a search for a person, then (on the left-hand panel) choose "Family Trees."  Here you can review other researchers' family trees, although you won't see info on living people. 

I've found so many people and surnames in my family tree--pleasant little surprises.  No famous people yet, but that will happen.  And the tree grows exponentially with each generation that's added.

In some small way, I think it's nice to know about these folks coz, if we ever meet up, I can say, "Oh, you're my half first cousin, six times removed, who owned a saloon in Chicago and whose wife was run over by a train!"  That would be a good conversation starter.

Customer Service

Whatever happened to customer service?  In a world of values clarification, I wonder if providing good customer service is now up to the individual worker.

Case in point.  Almost every morning, I go to the local Super One store for a maple-frosted, unfilled long john, for my granddaughter, Olivia.  Fairly often, there are ones with white frosting, ones with white frosting & chopped peanuts, ones with white frosting & coconut, and ones with chocolate frosting.  Now, forgive me for being too logical, but it seems to me that, if they always run out of the ones with maple frosting, maybe they should make more of those.  Call me irrational if you will, but the solution is to keep an inventory of what you make and what is left over.  That way, you can adjust what varieties you prepare each morning.

To make matters worse, I've nicely suggested this on many occasions, and NOTHING CHANGES.  I've mentioned it to the bakery workers and to the checkers.  Should I go to the manager about a silly sweet roll?  Time will tell.

While I'm at it, another problem has cropped up in the bakery.  A new worker started there, and all of a sudden the long johns were 2/3 the size they are supposed to be.  After mentioning it a half dozen times, it's gotten better.

So not only is customer service a dying art, but so is quality control.

Another thing that irritates me is when I thank a server, and s/he says "No problem."  No problem?  I certain would hope it's no problem waiting on me.  What ever happened to, "My pleasure" or, better yet, "I live to serve your ever need because, if it weren't for the customer, I wouldn't have a job."  Well, maybe that's a little overboard, but that should be the sentiment with which people wait on customers.

I won't even begin with the epidemic of tattoos and piercings.