An Old Damn Fisherman...

Sittin' up Now in some fancy boat

a pile of walleye caught

no limits

Blatz in a Brown Bottle

A jar of pickles at his feet

Be careful

The other jar is leeches

And there are minnows hanging off the back of the boat

But the Lake smells like a Lake

And the fish are Biting Fine

All Fish Stories Are True

Even when none of 'em are

Did You know the my Grandad grew the best tomatoes?

Drove a riding lawnmower over perfect grass?

Had a buzzcut?

Took us troll-hunting

in a white pick-up?

Trolls live under all the country bridges in Southern Minnesota.

We used to all pile into his Giant chair

whenever he got up

He'd find us there,

Laughing

Tell Me a Story...

Even my own babies did the same.

Pickles. Grandad's Pickles!

A secret Cow, kept in the shed?

Never saw him, only heard the moooooooo...

Hmmm.

He loved birds.

Suet, seed, the red liquor of the humming bird

all called to Grandad's Yard

where he'd swear at the starlings for making a mess,

Cursing Rabbits

preying on young lettuce.

Damn Deer.

Refill all the feeders.

Plant extra.

Build a better fence.

Beer Battered Perch!

Apples in BIG bags.

He claimed to have caught out the Easter Bunny...

Mercy shown...only the tail blown.

The last time I saw him

he was helping my Grandma carefully outside

to sit and sip the Cuba Libra (Diet Coke, Rum, Lime) he made her

Everyday at 5 pm.

Where she told him ghost stories that he hated

But he loved her so.

So.

Tomatoes.

Green Beans.

Out picking vegetables with his great-grandkids just last month.

Field and Stream.

Tired Marine.

Out of Breath, now.

My Grandad

We Loved you SO.

So.

With much love, tears, and appreciation for the wonderful person he was, we say a final Goodbye to my Grandad...or Grandad Dan as my kids called him...never Grandpa, because as he said, he wasn't a Pa...he was a Dad. Daniel Studelska listened more than he talked, loved to fish and hunt, had a wicked sense of humor, made the best pickles in the universe and was out in his large garden every day the weather allowed it. He used to pay us a penny for every lap we ran around the house. He claimed to know Santa personally and introduced us to the "fact" that Santa had a dog. As they say...He was "a man among men".

Chandra Fischer

headed home again.

Travels Home - A380 version

I (Bob) followed the family to the US two weeks later, my journey had more ups than downs.

After a very fast ride in the rain to the airport at 2 am, (I found out three weeks later that our driver crashed our car coming home from the airport - future blog as that saga has still not resolved itself) I boarded the 4 am flight to Dubai alone, checked two half full suitcases and one small carry on. Nice and quiet three hour flight.

When I arrived in Dubai I found out that I would be flying on the new Airbus A380, the new two level plane that only Emirates and one other carrier have to date. I had previously joked with Chandra that I was going to pay to upgrade to Business Class if I was on the 380. As my layover was less than two hours, I had just enough time to go to the ticket counter to find out how much my upgrade would cost. $2300 for the one way upgrade to NY! It was a nice try but not for that much. I called Chandra in the US to let her know my plan was derailed by cost. She laughed a bit and said you still do not have the two kids and the long layovers so I do not feel the least bit sorry for you.

A funny thing then happened when I checked in at the gate, the agent scanned my ticket and then ripped it up, she then printed me out a new ticket. Why pay for an upgrade when they give you a FREE one! I was now smiling ear to ear as I redialed Chandra on the phone, for some reason she was not as thrilled as I was, go figure.

While the plane seats about 500-550 people the upstairs has only 14 first class "suites" and 76 Business Class seats. First Class has access to a shower and behind Business Class is a small Lounge, not a bad way to spend a 13 hour flight. Watched a few movies, had some nice meals, slept a few hours on my lay flat seat with small mattress and even found time to have some great conversations while spending about four-five hours in the lounge. Imagine that, the 13 hour flight flew by!

The Lounge

I somehow managed to finish off an entire bottle of Port by myself

After a five hour layover in NY, I boarded a very small commuter Jet to Mpls. The flight was going along just fine until we were diverted to Green Bay due to lightning in Mpls. After two hours sitting in Green Bay, we finished the flight by flying through the storm anyway.

My total journey was about 32 hours, I highly recommend the middle flight!

After sleeping for about three hours my first meal back was Cheese Curds at the MN State fair.

Present and Accounted For...

Hello, fellow bloggers and readers of Blogdom. It may appear that the Fischers have faded into the Indian sunset...lost in some ditch or other...run clear off the road by the final Rickshaw, but...here we are. Alive and Well. A little lost and lazy, some might say...





I really did plan on blogging while we were visiting the land of our birth...kind of how I planned on keeping up with the yoga, running daily and restricting myself to only the occasional richly delicious real chocolate donut.





Well. Suspiciously tight trousers, aside...the rice and dahl have returned to our dinner plates and Bangalore is home once again.





I had glorious visions of relaxing moments over coffee and wine with friends, of days at the park, library or zoo... Instead, our trip from start to finish, was a whirlwind of constant activity. We had a great (if harried) time visiting family and friends, traveling in Minnesota, California and Philadelphia. There was great food, wine and coffee...just not enough time to see and do it all. If we missed you...well, we did miss you and hope to catch up next summer.





I'll leave you with the following thoughts and a photograph...Imagine a 51 hour travel time from Bangalore to Minneapolis. Alone with 2 kids, 6 checked bags, 3 carry-ons. Feel my pain as you don my sweaty shoes and find yourself in Dubai with a screaming 7-year old with ear pain, a 4-year old that refuses to stand up, and two duty free shopping carts with faulty wheels holding one of each...for 5 and a half hours, without a gate...cuz you're soooo early. Fast forward past the 13 hours flight to New York, past the planned 5 hour lay-over at JFK, past the additional 3.5 hour delay, past the 4.5 hours sat on the runway in the tiniest Delta jet, past the grounding of said flight, and finally towards the moment the Delta agent explains to me, not batting a false eyelash, "Ok, ma'am, we can probably get you out of here the day after tomorrow..." Feel the swelling of furious and uncouth words in my throat, damp, drooling and catatonic "babies" laying pitifully at my feet: "F*$%%&%%#@^*((*K!!!!!!!)





Standby to Atlanta (very late that night...courtesy of now fearful Delta agent)...Arrival near a full day later than planned...missing baggage...a fellow passenger who followed me about and seemed to think I had time, patience, and advice to offer regarding this, her terrible virgin airline flight. And finally, the rapturously overwhelming feel of the Super Target on Jet-Lag near my mother's house, where we stopped to buy the needful (baggageless and filthy as we were) and somehow ended up spending $300.00. Kind of Asleep.





It's all kind of foggy now... The memory of pain fades, replaced by the clarity of humor and the insane desire to TRAVEL MORE. There is pretty much no doubt in my minds that our kids are amazing travelers with the capacity to withstand...alot.

Dubai...finally passed out in the airport...God Bless 'Em.

Further Tales to Tell...

The Fischers

Bitten by the Viscious, Untamed, and Incureable Travel Bug

in Bangalore, India