Friends,
I'm just drinking my second full glass of Slivovitz (eastern European brandy) so my cogent thoughts are limited. Why Slivo? Because it represents European moonshine that was made with self reliance on a rural farm from whatever stone fruits they had in their orchards. (in my case, its plum based white liquor)
Why am I drinking it? I left southern Wisconsin by dropping out of high school with a 0.43 GPA having been informed that I didn't have what it takes to pursue higher learning. I was 17, I sold all my possessions, I harnessed my capital into two cheap suits, $750 in cash, and I headed for Chicago to try to find my way in life since my prospects for a brighter tomorrow were damned limited. I had a 5-year plan to make a few bucks, save away, and come back to Wisconsin with enough money to own a piece of land to enjoy fishing, hunting, and all things local community.
Well, the 5-year plan took 25 years to accomplish. I got a few consulting gigs, then my career progressed to the point of teaching grad students on the side. Then I did nationwide consulting. Then I picked up an MBA and started serving companies as an executive. All the while, getting out of socialist hellhole Illinois was on the forefront of my mind every day for 25 years.
My Sh*tty Illinois house sold today. I lost $350k on it over 15 years in this toxic hellhole of a State. I have a good job that allows me to hop a plane for work. I'm buying 30+ acres of virgin forest and prairie in Wisconsin with 1300' of prime trout fishing frontage in two weeks. I'm moving my family to a place that believes in two genders, hard work, and kindness towards their neighbors. I should have my little slice of paradise paid off in a year or so with 70% down payment.
Yep. I'm overserved, happier than I've been in 25 years, and I did it. I got the good Chicago job, plotted my career, plotted my escape, and I'm getting the hell out of here!
So now you know why I'm drinking the official drink of most of the Wisconsin settlers and so damned gleeful about leaving the woke leftism of Illinois permanently.
The only concern I have left in the world is if my less informed neighbors start to vote for the same policies that destroyed Illinois and created a 25-year cage for me to escape in the process. Lets hope the rural states reject leftist thinking and solve their problems as neighbors rather than as authoritarians with central control over all thought.
Cheers!
I'm just drinking my second full glass of Slivovitz (eastern European brandy) so my cogent thoughts are limited. Why Slivo? Because it represents European moonshine that was made with self reliance on a rural farm from whatever stone fruits they had in their orchards. (in my case, its plum based white liquor)
Why am I drinking it? I left southern Wisconsin by dropping out of high school with a 0.43 GPA having been informed that I didn't have what it takes to pursue higher learning. I was 17, I sold all my possessions, I harnessed my capital into two cheap suits, $750 in cash, and I headed for Chicago to try to find my way in life since my prospects for a brighter tomorrow were damned limited. I had a 5-year plan to make a few bucks, save away, and come back to Wisconsin with enough money to own a piece of land to enjoy fishing, hunting, and all things local community.
Well, the 5-year plan took 25 years to accomplish. I got a few consulting gigs, then my career progressed to the point of teaching grad students on the side. Then I did nationwide consulting. Then I picked up an MBA and started serving companies as an executive. All the while, getting out of socialist hellhole Illinois was on the forefront of my mind every day for 25 years.
My Sh*tty Illinois house sold today. I lost $350k on it over 15 years in this toxic hellhole of a State. I have a good job that allows me to hop a plane for work. I'm buying 30+ acres of virgin forest and prairie in Wisconsin with 1300' of prime trout fishing frontage in two weeks. I'm moving my family to a place that believes in two genders, hard work, and kindness towards their neighbors. I should have my little slice of paradise paid off in a year or so with 70% down payment.
Yep. I'm overserved, happier than I've been in 25 years, and I did it. I got the good Chicago job, plotted my career, plotted my escape, and I'm getting the hell out of here!
So now you know why I'm drinking the official drink of most of the Wisconsin settlers and so damned gleeful about leaving the woke leftism of Illinois permanently.
The only concern I have left in the world is if my less informed neighbors start to vote for the same policies that destroyed Illinois and created a 25-year cage for me to escape in the process. Lets hope the rural states reject leftist thinking and solve their problems as neighbors rather than as authoritarians with central control over all thought.
Cheers!
Maybe now you’ll be a little closer for that beer we’ve been talking about for couple of years now.
