Goodbye

[Brian Johnson]

Well everyone, I'm off to Wisconsin to go camping with family. I will be back on the 29th, we'll see ya then.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Have fun man, cya when you get back.

[ttjoon]

Watch that ankle, bro....

[PPI Brian]

Watch out for snakes. 

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Forget snakes, watch out for lightning!

[ttjoon]

Watch out for snakes with bad ankles zapping people with lightning.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Watch out for snakes with bad ankles zapping people with lightning.

Yea that about covers it.....

[PPI Glenn]

Watch out for snakes with bad ankles zapping people with lightning.

Yea that about covers it.....

Nope... try,

Watch out for snakes with bad ankles zapping people with lightning swimming down the overflowing river.

And BTW, since when do snakes have ankles??

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Snakes that zap people with lightning have always had ankles.....

[Brian Johnson]

This has just gotten wierd.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

You say that now..... but wait until your out camping and come face to face with them.

[PPI Brian]

You say that now..... but wait until your out camping and come face to face with them.

Yes, they're EVERYWHERE.  :o 

[Brian Johnson]

The worse thing they have up here is garder snakes.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

The worse thing they have up here is garder snakes.

Yes but do they have ankles?

[PPI Brian]

The worse thing they have up here is garder snakes.

Actually,  Wisconsin has 21 types of snakes including 19 non-venemous species and 2 venomous species, four of which are endangered and one of which is threatened with extinction.

Species information from the book Snakes of Wisconsin:

Non-venomous Snakes*
Prairie Ringneck Snake
Northern Ringneck Snake
Eastern Hognose Snake
Smooth Green Snake
Yellow-bellied or Blue Racer
Black Rat Snake or Pilot Snake
Western Fox Snake ("Pine")
Bullsnake
Eastern Milk Snake
Butler's Gartersnake
Eastern Plains Gartersnake
Northern Ribbon Snake
Western Ribbon Snake
Common Gartersnake
Brown Snake or DeKay's Snake
Northern Redbelly Snake
Queen Snake
Northern Water Snake

Venomous Snakes
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Timber Rattlesnake

And all of them have ankles!  

[PPI Karl]

This has just gotten wierd.

Shall I begin listing the wierdos that actually hale from Wisconsin?  (Of course, I'd have to include myself among them.  Remember, there are only 3.5 degrees of separation between me and Jeffery Dahmer.)

Have a fun and safe trip, Brian.  See you when you get back.  (Hopefully, I'll be actually moving to a new place then.)

[Brian Johnson]

You'd have to include me on that list, as well, Karl.

[PPI Glenn]

3.5 degrees? So what happened to that missing half degree? And please don't tell me he ate it!! :-)

This has just gotten wierd.

Shall I begin listing the wierdos that actually hale from Wisconsin?  (Of course, I'd have to include myself among them.  Remember, there are only 3.5 degrees of separation between me and Jeffery Dahmer.)

Have a fun and safe trip, Brian.  See you when you get back.  (Hopefully, I'll be actually moving to a new place then.)

[Brian Johnson]

tehee, he did.

[PPI Karl]

3.5 degrees? So what happened to that missing half degree? And please don't tell me he ate it!! :-)

This has just gotten wierd.

Shall I begin listing the wierdos that actually hale from Wisconsin?  (Of course, I'd have to include myself among them.  Remember, there are only 3.5 degrees of separation between me and Jeffery Dahmer.)

Have a fun and safe trip, Brian.  See you when you get back.  (Hopefully, I'll be actually moving to a new place then.)

My mother's ashes were interred in a cremation niche (along with her beloved pet's) in 1989 at Arlington Cemetery in Greenfield, Wisconsin.  I don't know if you're familiar with cremation niches or not, but they're kind of like those shelving units at the Gap stores, only they're made of concrete. A beautiful marble placard seals the urn and any other effects, and a typical "niche complex" stacks six rows high and eight or so across, two deep:

Anyway, five years later, Jeffery Dahmer was killed in prison after serving just ten months of his sentence.  Unbeknownst to anyone, his remains were cremated and his ashes were interred in the same niche complex as my mother's ashes.  That in itself would have been a creepy coincidence, except that the younger brother of one of his victims got wind of the location of his remains.  One night, he and a friend got very drunk and broke into the cemetery, found the cremations niches where Dahmer's cremains were, and vandalized all the niches.  In fact, they broke some of the niches open.  My mother's cremains were not disturbed, nor was anything taken from the niche.  Others, however, were not so lucky.  And Dahmer's ashes were violated and partially scattered in the area of the niches.  I think Dahmer's family recovered only half the remains (if that), so, technically speaking, I can boast 3.5 degrees of separation between me and Jeffery Dahmer.

I don't think they prosecuted the vandal to the full extent of the law. How can you blame a kid for feeling that kind of rage over his brother being murdered and partially eaten by some sick and twisted monster?  The damage to the niches was easily fixed afterward, too.  (Anyway, my mother's remains were moved to the same above-ground burial niche where my father was laid to rest last year.)

Oh, and welcome back, Brian!  How was your trip?

[Brian Johnson]

I had an amazing trip. I brought back some great memories and some great cheese.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Glad you had a safe and fun trip.

[ttjoon]

Glad you're back, Brian!

[ellie]

you wont BELIEVE what happend in the group while you were gone!

[Brian Johnson]

What, What?!?!?!

[ellie]

Absolutley nothing. I was just messing with you. LOL

[ttjoon]

No, really Brian!  You wouldn't BELIEVE it!!  Seriously, Dude.