51 minute read
Family Food
Make wise choices to combat the afternoon slump
TO YOUR HEALTH BY KARA HOERR W e’ve all been there – that dreaded afternoon slump. It’s that the sluggish feeling, the drooping of the eyelids and decreased alertness and concentration. And it’s a real thing.
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While caffeine or some quick energy (leftover holiday candy, anyone?) might seem like the simple and easy fix, it might not be doing the trick.
With the holidays behind us, we often think things will slow down and we’ll have more energy again, but if you’re like me, it seems like things just pick up again at full speed and I’m left scrambling to get things checked off my to-do list once more. This year, let’s start the New Year with a focus on how to stay energized so you’re able to knock those things off your to-do list – even when 3 o’clock rolls around and you find yourself dreaming about your next vacation.
That afternoon slump is more than just how much sleep you got last night (although that can definitely play a factor). Our natural circadian rhythm increases our desire for sleep between 1 and 3 p.m., as well as in the middle of the night (which is convenient for most of us).
8 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 While we can’t always take a nap in the middle of the day, we can make some wiser choices to help fight off those sleepy urges.
Filling your coffee mug for some caffeine might seem like logical. While this might help your immediate attention span, the effects won’t last long and can negatively affect how you sleep at night.
Instead, you’ll be better off if you stand up, stretch and go for a short walk around the office.
A recent study found that going up and down a flight of stairs for 10 minutes was more effective in your motivation to work than if you had chosen to have a can of soda, which contains about 50 mg of caffeine. Not only does this add in some steps to your day, but it gets your blood pumping and can warm you up – exactly what I need this time of year!
If you can get outside to soak in some sun rays, all the better. The light will also help increase your alertness. Melatonin, the hormone that causes sleepiness, isn’t produced when there is bright light.
Before the afternoon slump happens, plan lunch into your day. It’s easy to want to skip out on lunch when the work is piling up, but you’ll end up
being more productive in the afternoon by stopping to have a satisfying lunch now. Choose a lunch that contains whole grain
carbohydrates, lean protein and good-for-you fats.
When given the choice, opt for whole grains and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain bread or pasta, brown rice, or starchy veggies, over refined grains. Complex carbohydrates can sustain you and keep you satisfied well into the afternoon. When the afternoon comes and you start to feel a little hungry, have that snack. Think of your snack as a minimeal, and plan it into your day.
When we’re feeling tired, our bodies naturally crave sweets, which are highenergy foods. Because a candy bar, chips or fruity candy are refined grains, our body gets that energy into our blood stream quickly (just what they are looking for). However, just as quickly as your blood sugar spikes, it falls and you’re left feeling tired and edgy. Nobody wants a moody co-worker.
Instead, have whole grain crackers with cheese, some nuts paired with a piece of fruit (the fiber helps slow the release of the sugar), plain yogurt sweetened with fruit, popcorn (it’s a whole grain) or a hard-boiled egg.
If you have to depend on what’s in the vending machine, choose the bag of peanuts or trail mix. That mix of healthy fats and protein will give you lasting energy.
If you’re like me and you still like to have something sweet in the afternoon, have it in more nutrient-dense ways. This can look like cocoa dusted almonds, unsweetened dried fruit, a no-added sugar granola bar or trail mix with dark chocolate chips added.
Lastly, stay hydrated. Being mildly dehydrated can make you sleepy.
Have water nearby throughout the day and make it a priority to have at least one glass of water with each meal. Keep it interesting by choosing a sparkling water or adding your own fruit combinations to your water to flavor it. Here’s to a productive New Year! l
Kara Hoerr, MS, RDN, CD, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Kara Hoerr Nutrition. Contact her at karahoerrnutrition.com. This information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
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FAMILYFUN Connecting with nature in Dubuque D a y T r i p . . .
A water wheel sits outside the National Mississippi River museum. The museum, a part of the Smithsonian Institution, features hours of discovery and learning about the ecology of the watershed.
10 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 L ive in the Midwest long enough, and like clockwork, cabin fever will start to seep in by the time late February rolls around.
Almost a month ago, as we entered the last week of January, the cabin fever was already going strong, and I wasn’t sure how many more weekends I could stand inside. After all, most of my interactions with the outdoors at that time were the run between my car and my apartment door.
I’m not an outdoorsy person, by any means, but I couldn’t take being cooped up any longer. So on a Sunday morning, my significant other, Bryce, and I set out to try to connect with a little bit of nature in Dubuque.
We set out on our journey to get simply just get out of the house, and away from the couch and our Hulu account, but ended up finding a way to connect to nature, even with a few of our stops being indoors.
As we drove from our west Madison apartment down U.S. Hwy. 18-151, it was a day with heavy fog, lending a sense of mysteriousness to the already scenic rock formations that line the highway through southwestern Wisconsin. Story and photos by Kimberly Wethal
While we couldn’t take in all of the outdoor attractions that Dubuque offers, as inches of snow blanketed the ground, we found a few that are a good starting point to explore what lies outside your front door.
Our first stop should come as no surprise – listed as the top attraction in Dubuque on Tripadvisor, the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium is one of the city’s busiest attractions. We followed that up with lunch downtown and the Mines of Spain. National Mississippi River Museum
Because it was cold next to the river, when we got to the river museum, we ushered ourselves inside the closest door off the parking lot we could find. That led us to the Woodward Mississippi River Center.
Inside, we learned about the area’s ecology and the Mississippi River’s watershed and its significance to the North American continent.
We only scraped the surface in our hour-and-a-half there. The museum and aquarium consists of a boatyard where attendees can tour the William M. Black steamboat, a second floor where you learn about the area’s innovation in Dubuque County Historical Society’s exhibit and multiple opportunities to watch the sealife get fed.
On the eastern side of the museum, there’s a 4D theater, a Gulf of Mexico aquarium to explore, the River Library and archives and a conservation lab. You could spend hours inside the museum, and while still mostly inside, it’s still a step closer to nature than you’ll get on your couch. A map on the wall of the William Woodward Discovery Center shows how expansive the Mississippi River watershed extends. SPRING 2020 YOUR FAMILY 11 Continued on page 12 Ducks swim around at the Woodward Discovery Center.
CONNECTING WITH NATURE Continued from page 11
Other locations to explore
Crystal Lake Cave
Underneath the cornfields of Iowa, there’s a hidden gem that can take you back in time centuries.
The Crystal Lake Cave, located at 6684 Crystal Lake Cave Road near the Mississippi River south of the city, reopens each year in May and offers guided tours through October.
The hour-long tours through the cave would be best for older children – not only is it colder in the caves, but its layout prevents strollers or other wheeled modes of transportation to be used inside, as are pets and large baby carriers.
Kitchen-to-table
I stayed in the museum as long as Bryce would let me – he was getting hungry, and not being a breakfast eater, he was starving by the time 1 p.m. rolled around.
So after leaving the museum, we did a quick search of nearby restaurants and noticed one in particular that was hosting brunch. The two of us will never pass up an opportunity to go to brunch, so we headed to Brazen Open Kitchen, 955 Washington St., an “open scratch” kitchen that focuses on locally sourced ingredients.
Bryce ordered a Juicy Lucy, which is a beef patty stuffed with cheese served on a brioche bun with lettuce and tomatoes, plus breakfast potato wedges on the side and a bourbon iced tea.
Going against my usual pancakes or waffles order at brunch, I ordered a lunch staple for myself: A loaded grilled cheese, made with my favorite kind of cheese, muenster, and completed by caramelized onions, arugula and pears, all sandwiched between brioche bread.
We felt we weren’t being “brunchy” enough, so we also ordered a cinnamon roll, made with brown butter cream cheese frosting.
The foods flavors complemented each other well and it felt good to support local farmers, but prices can be somewhat steep outside of Sunday brunch hours.
A more median-priced option in the Port of Dubuque is the Barrel House, located at 299 Main St., which features burgers, tacos, pizza and salads. Magoo’s Pizza, 1875 University Ave., features personal pizzas that is a favorite of one of our reporters who lived in Dubuque for years, as is Salsa’s, at 1091 Main St., which he recommended for sit-down Mexican cuisine.
12 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 Swiss Valley Park and Nature Preserve
It’s not technically in Dubuque, but the Swiss Valley Park and Nature Preserve to the city’s southwest is worth a trip.
The nature preserve features 10 miles of hiking trails, and is an ample place for fishing during the summer, as the state Department of Natural Resources stocks with trout. During the winter months, there are cross country skiing trails, as well as free snowshoe rentals and a nature center on site.
Adjacent to the nature preserve, there’s a park where the kids can decompress for a while with a playground and nine-hole disc golf course. A campground is also nearby, for the people who really want to connect by nature by sleeping out in it during their trip, too.
For restaurants that feature vegetarian and/ or vegan cuisine, try L.May Eatery, which is more upscale, or Lina’s Thai Bistro.
Mines of Spain
Our next stop connected us to nature and a little bit of Dubuque’s history, as well.
We drove to the Mines of Spain, on Dubuque’s southern side. There, trails can take you out to the bluff overlooking the river, where the Julien Dubuque Monument stands in honor of the French Canadian who was one of the area’s first settlers in 1788.
The Mines have 10 trails ranging from a quartermile to three-and-a-half that will take hikers to the mines, forests, prairie and scenic overlooks.
The mines, which produced lead and led to Dubuque becoming one of the cities where bullets were manufactured for the Civil War decades later, have since been closed off, but patrons can learn about them at the E.B. Lyons Center, a modest, volunteer-run museum.
The museum includes an area for birding and provides information about the ecology and history of the area, as well as a children’s section set up in the downstairs floor of the building.
The day we went to the mines, it was recommended that we didn’t go down to the path to the monument because of ice, but during the spring and summer months, we were told, it’s a beautiful hike with a fantastic birds-eye-view of the river from above. l
Displays at the E.B. Lyons Center provide visitors information about Dubuque’s mining history.
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FAMILYLIFE after service The transition to civilian life has been a varied experience for area veterans Life
Story and photos by Justin Loewen
16 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 I n the heart of Madison’s isthmus, just a few blocks from the state Capitol, lies a tiny office nestled inside the CityCounty Building.
The Dane County Veterans Service Office features a staff of just seven people, but they provide a service of vital importance. The VA-accredited office assists Dane County veterans and their families with securing benefits for their service at the federal, state and local levels, which requires the expertise to sift through seemingly endless quantities of bureaucratic paperwork.
There are around 25,000 veterans living in Dane County, but veterans service director Dan Connery, an Army Gulf War veteran, said many do not know about the service office. Word of mouth, he said, is the most common way people hear about the resource.
“It doesn’t matter when they served, he said. “Don’t hesitate to contact us.” Many veterans return home and immediately get back into the swing of civilian life. Connery is one of those, as is 103-year-old World War II veteran Leonard Swingen, who can still be found chatting it up at his local American Legion.
Others, such as Iraq veteran Will Atkinson, have found the transition to be an ongoing process.
Some shut out their negative experiences entirely and carve out successful careers for themselves, only for retirement to finally unearth their hidden wounds, as was the case with Vietnam veteran Karl Gutknecht.
And even for those like fellow Vietnam veteran Art Johnson, who emphasized the ease of his reintegration, physical ailments from military service can continue to linger for decades.
For veterans who return with disabilities, the service office helps
Post-traumatic stress disorder common in veterans FAMILYLIFE
build the case for compensation claims and files appeals for claims already turned down. Recently discharged veterans can receive assistance in VA health care enrollment, while vets heading to college can get help in securing service-related education benefits.
“In fiscal year 2018, between disability compensation dollars and needs-based pension dollars, over $68 million came into the pockets of Dane County residents,” Connery said. “That’s not solely our doing, because people can file their own, but we’re very instrumental in a big portion of that money.”
The office even helps veterans who struggle psychologically with their wartime experiences by getting them in touch with the appropriate resources and treatment.
The Dane County Veterans Service Office is one of 83 such offices in the state, including 11 that serve tribal communities, and it is almost entirely composed of veterans, save for one support staffer. State law requires veterans service officers to be veterans themselves, which lends itself to creating an environment of empathy and understanding.
Connery, a Gulf War veteran, spent six months in the Middle East supporting the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division as a generator mechanic. He was discharged from the Army in July 1991 at the rank of specialist, two months after the war ended.
“My assimilating back into the community was pretty easy,” Connery said. “I was obviously near some harmful things, but I wasn’t directly engaged in combat myself, so my transition maybe would be different than someone that was heavily engaged in combat and really suffers from profound PTSD symptoms.”
As Dane County’s veterans service director, Connery now serves his fellow veterans of all military occupations, branches and eras.
“One-third of our veteran clients that we see on an annual basis are post-9/11 era veterans and then (another) one-third are Vietnam veterans,” Connery said. “And then the rest of it is between World War II, Korea, peacetime.”
‘Beautiful’ transition
Returning to civilian life was “beautiful” for World War II veteran Leonard Swingen.
“I didn’t have a rough life in the service, but it was nice getting out again,” he said.
After his discharge from the U.S. Navy in August 1946, Swingen hadn’t even hit the city limits of his hometown of Stoughton before the members of American Legion Post 59 were “jumping on him” to join the organization. He did and became the post’s commander just two
Continued on page 18
Dane County veterans service director Dan Connery and his office help secure benefits for many of the approximately 25,000 veterans in the county, though many of them don’t yet know about the resource.
Many veterans leave the military bearing the psychological scars of their wartime experiences, a condition now known as post-traumatic stress disorder.
“(PTSD is) one of the most common claims that we file,” Dane County Veterans Service Office director Dan Connery said.
PTSD can affect anyone subjected to traumatic events and is marked by flashbacks, anxiety and emotional detachment.
Though PTSD has received widespread awareness in recent decades, predecessors of the concept appeared throughout the last century.
One of the earliest attempts to diagnose war-related mental trauma came during World War I with the term “shell shock.” The battlefields of Europe took their toll on American “doughboys,” with 158,994 U.S. service members “psychiatrically inactivated” at some point during the conflict, according to the September 1997 edition of VFW Magazine.
After a brief decline in the awareness of traumatic disorders in the interwar period, World War II brought the issue back into the limelight. Around 1.4 million U.S. service members received treatment for “battle fatigue” across all theaters of war, according to historian Steve Bentley in “A Short History of PTSD.”
Five years after the end of World War II, the outbreak of the Korean War saw diagnoses of combat fatigue that were based on many future PTSD symptoms, with troops that were irritable, easily startled, highly alert and overly preoccupied with their traumatic experiences.
The definition of PTSD finally came about following the return of veterans from the Vietnam War and the American Psychiatric Association officially recognizing the psychiatric disorder in 1980.
The veterans service office helps veterans file claims and get connected to mental health resources, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, individual counseling or group counseling.
“There’s never a one-size-fits-all approach,” Connery said. SPRING 2020 YOUR FAMILY 17
years later.
The young commander was soon responsible for the creation of an impromptu bar at a Legion dinner, an idea that quickly blossomed into a permanent fixture at Post 59’s Stoughton location. Swingen went right back to his previous employer, the Stoughton Courier Hub newspaper, where he worked for 25 years before a job with twice the wages opened up at Straus Printing in Madison.
“I outlived my job at Straus,” he said. “My job was antique by the time I was 30 years there, so then I retired. All those years, never missed a day. My life was kind of laid out for me, and I followed it – it’s been a good one.”
Born Aug. 7, 1916, Swingen began his newspaper career on a paper route and was eventually putting the Courier Hub together by himself.
After the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Swingen’s indispensable role at the paper led to three draft deferments before he was finally drafted into the Navy in 1945. Germany had already capitulated to the Allies by that point, but the war against the Japanese Empire was still dragging on.
After finishing his training, Swingen reported to Naval Station Bremerton in Washington, where the U.S.S. Bunker Hill aircraft carrier was recovering from damage received in the Central Pacific during the Battle of Okinawa. The massive vessel had limped home after it was struck by two Japanese kamikaze planes on May 11.
“We were there (at Bremerton) quite a while,” he said. “When the ship was ready to go to sea, we were to get into the Pacific and tango with (the Japanese), but before we got to Pearl Harbor, the Japanese surrendered, so the war was over.”
The carrier returned to Bremerton and was reconditioned for a new mission of ferrying military personnel back from the Pacific. Swingen embarked on two long voyages before acquiring enough “points” to get out of the Navy – his repatriation brought him right back to his hometown.
18 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 The Orange blues
For U.S. Air Force veteran Art Johnson, adjusting to civilian life was easy, though the physical repercussions U.S. Air Force veteran Art Johnson, left, lives in Madison with his wife Patricia and continues to fight heart disease, a result of exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
of his service have followed him.
The 85-year-old native of Superior lives in Madison with his wife Patricia and with the effects of exposure to Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the Vietnam War. The U.S. military used the defoliant to remove foliage that provided cover for enemy forces.
“There’s so many people that have been damaged by Agent Orange, and some have really severe terminal illnesses,” Patricia said. “Art has heart disease from his. We have friends that had prostate cancer that have already passed – it was Agent Orange.”
As an aircraft mechanic, Art spent a year at a clandestine air base in Thailand from 1967 to 1968, where he was inadvertently exposed to the chemical when it was sprayed on weeds around the base’s flight line.
“They were operating out of Thailand right on the perimeter,” Patricia said. “They would send the aircraft off going over to Da Nang. They had these big orange tanks. They called it ‘foggy Friday,’ and they would just come through there and spray the perimeter and the aircraft and everything else.” When Art got out of the Air Force in 1973 as a master sergeant, he had concluded a 21-year career that took him across the globe.
Many of his domestic assignments included Presque Isle Air Force Base in Maine, where he worked on F-89 Scorpion fighter jets, as well as George Air Force Base in California, Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico and Duluth International Airport, just 10 miles from his hometown.
Art also spent many years at
strategically located air bases in Europe, which served to deter the threat of the Soviet Union. He was stationed at both RAF Bentwaters and RAF Wethersfield in England, British air stations used by the USAF during the Cold War, as well as Evreux-Fauville Air Base in France, where he married Patricia in 1959.
Adjusting to civilian life was easy, Art said, as he continued to work for the Air Force as a contractor at McClellan Air Force Base in California and WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Ohio. His civilian contract work included writing papers for USAF generals and inspecting the KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft.
Art also attended college at Sacramento State on the GI Bill and eventually received a degree in business, with a concentration in real estate. When Art finally retired from working with the Air Force in 1990, he was a “GS 13,” the civilian equivalent of a lieutenant colonel.
For many years, Art spent his retirement working as a real estate broker for Coldwell Banker. Working with the Dane County Veterans Service Office, Art recently managed to win an Agent Orange disability claim with the VA, though the award amount has yet to be determined.
The journey to peace
Sometimes it takes decades for veterans to finally come to terms with their wartime experiences, as was the case with Vietnam veteran Karl Gutknecht.
The return to civilian life was a “rude
adjustment,” he said, and he had trouble sleeping.
“I would walk into a grocery store, and I was dumbfounded at the choices,” he said. “I would get a cart, and I wouldn’t even know what to make of it, because things had changed in a year. People had just gone along with their lives, and I hadn’t. I lost two years of my life.”
Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, the Lone Rock native had dealt with the stressors of living in a war zone while serving as a combat correspondent from 1968 to 1969. It was just in the last five years that Gutknecht came to grips with his time in Vietnam and finally sought out help.
“I spent 45 years not wanting to be a veteran, running away from the designation,” he said. “It wasn’t until I was able to contact the Dane County Veterans Service Office that there was somebody that understood a lot of my reactions to things, because I had post-traumatic stress. They referred me to medical professionals at the VA who could diagnose and understand the toll that this takes. It’s a not-so-well-hidden price of combat.”
Gutknecht got out of the Army in 1969 at the rank of sergeant and forced himself to get on with his life. He completed a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and spent many years as the public information director for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Gutknecht retired from that role around 20 years ago and then spent his time organizing cultural tours in places like Europe, Asia and New Zealand, he said, all the while still haunted by his yearlong deployment to Vietnam with the 25th Infantry Division.
“I still deal with the repercussions of my service on a daily basis It informs a lot of the stuff that I do.” Will Atkinson, Iraq veteran
“I traveled by helicopter to battle zones (and) did reports back to this newspaper, the Tropic Lightning News,” he said. “Everything was dangerous, because you were in a counterinsurgency environment. We were in a base camp where Viet Cong, they were called, came up through tunnels with satchel charges strapped to themselves and blew themselves up.”
Gutknecht rode on UH-1 utility helicopters, known by the troops as “Huey Slicks,” and on light “bubble” helicopters. He received several awards for distinguished service, including a Bronze Star, an Aircraft Crewman Badge, a Meritorious Unit Commendation and an Infantryman Badge (for service in an infantry division).
“Your odds of survival were not good, because you were mortared and rocketed every night and there was no place to hide,” he said. “I slept underground in a dugout without ventilation. If you want to live, you do everything you can to survive.”
He said he is “indebted” to the Dane County Veterans Service Office for helping him “own” his experiences after years of carrying around the burden of combat.
“I think the journey to peace and adjustment has been exceedingly long, but I’m grateful for the help that I got from the VA,” he said. “That’s made all the difference.”
From battlefields to hospitals
Iraq War veteran Will Atkinson is “just moving through life” as he continues to adjust to being a civilian.
In 2011, the former U.S. Army combat medic concluded a career
Continued on page 20
VFW and Legion offer camaraderie, support When wars end, many U.S. veterans seek the company of those who best understand what they’ve gone through – fellow veterans.
This camaraderie has led to the creation of the country’s largest veterans service organizations – the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and the American Legion.
Many groups spawned from the conclusion of the 1898 SpanishAmerican War and the subsequent Phillipine-American War, with returning veterans looking for ways to share their experiences and to secure benefits for their service. After years of growing independently of each other, these organizations merged in 1913 to form the VFW.
Today, the VFW fights for veterans legislation and advocates for the creation of war memorials. At the local level, the VFW puts on community events, supports military families and provides academic scholarships.
There are 6,160 VFW posts across the world and over 1.6 million regular and auxiliary members, according to a VFW fact sheet from December 2019.
Dane County features 11 VFW posts, including three in Madison, along with Wisconsin’s oldest post in Stoughton, VFW Post 328. The state’s “mother post” received its charter in 1920 and celebrated its 100th anniversary on Jan. 20.
Not long after the creation of the VFW, the country’s largest veterans service organization rose in the aftermath of World War I. Veterans of that conflict formed the American Legion in March 1919 while stationed in France, with Wisconsin posts popping up in Edgerton, Stoughton and Mount Horeb before the end of the year. Like the VFW, the American Legion lobbies for veterans legislation, assists military families and supports the community through youth programs, scholarships and volunteering. The American Legion has grown to over 2 million members and more than 13,000 posts worldwide, according to the American Legion website.
There are 22 American Legion posts serving communities throughout Dane County, including a trio of Madison establishments and two posts in Waunakee.
SPRING 2020 YOUR FAMILY 19
that included two deployments to Iraq and a subsequent three-year stint in the Wisconsin National Guard.
“It’s like an anti-climax, you know, just the last day of the job,” Atkinson said. “I still deal with the repercussions of my service on a daily basis. It informs a lot of the stuff that I do.”
He is now a student in the master of public health program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is looking to become a doctor.
“I came back when I was 23,” he said.
“Most people are early in their careers or in college at that age. It’s a formative time, kind of transitioning from an old child to a young adult. Being in Iraq during that time, it’s meaningful by itself, and then being engaged in active combat operations is meaningful, too.” Atkinson’s first deployment to Iraq lasted from March 2004 to March 2005, where he worked as a member of a treatment platoon with the 515th Forward Support Battalion, and his second tour was in a supervisory role
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from October 2006 to December 2007. During his time in the country, Atkinson served in both Baghdad and the city of Baqubah, which was a hub for insurgent activity.
He finally got out of active duty in February 2008 and returned to Manitowoc, where he joined the Wisconsin National Guard.
“It wasn’t time well spent for me,” he said. “I didn’t really do anything. I ended up on a rear detachment, because I was ‘stabilized’ as part of the incentive package that they offered me.” Former U.S. Army combat medic Will Atkinson is now studying to become a doctor, though he still deals with his memories from Iraq on a daily basis.
“They really were pretty helpful when I was ready to file a claim. The process of engaging with government services can be challenging for some folks.’’ Will Atkinson
Atkinson now owns a rental property, volunteers with the Cross Plains Fire Department and is involved with Team Red, White and Blue (RWB) Madison, the local chapter of a veterans-based nonprofit.
He said he has used the Dane County Veterans Service Office for assistance with securing benefits for his service. “They really were pretty helpful when I was ready to file a claim,” he said. “The process of engaging with government services can be challenging for some folks l
Email crime doesn’t pay
MY BLOOD TYPE IS COFFEE BY RHONDA MOSSNER
Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to ignore the emails in my inbox. The constant threat of the email police shutting down my incoming mail meant nothing to me. In fact, I laughed at this possibility. I mean, it was just 13,397 emails, anyway.
Let’s face it, I’m a creative type. I have zero tolerance for mundane tasks such as deleting emails. I have cakes to bake, quilts to design and a cozy mystery to finish writing and an endless stack of books to read. The idea of sitting for hours and scanning old emails from friends and foes doesn’t excite me in the least.
This whole situation didn’t manifest itself overnight. I’m willing to confess that I haven’t deleted any emails since probably last spring. Unbelievable, but true.
Here’s how I approach social media. In the wee early hours of the morning, I curl up with a steamy cup of coffee under a snuggly quilt and see what’s out there that grabs my attention.
First, I scan my larger social media platforms and make sure I am up to date on my friend’s birthdays. With over 250 friends, it’s difficult to keep track. I rely on the handy algorithm to help me out there.
Most of these friends I have not spoken with face-to-face since high school graduation, which was over 35 years ago. But I have chosen to befriend them online just to stay in touch.
Then, I move onto my email Inbox. It’s not unusual that during the night and before the 6 a.m. hour I have accumulated over 75 emails. Most of these are passed over with a glance, or if I’m interested, opened and read and then passed on to the Everything Else file.
And there lies the problem. The Everything Else file is a trap. It silently captures all of those
thousands of emails I simply do not want to manage. It’s convenient. Plus, it opens up space for more emails to gather secretly there each day… week by week, month by month, until finally the email police show up on my home screen threatening retaliation.
I will admit, their warning shocked me at first. It did make me open my Inbox and see just how high my offense had risen.
When I first checked, it was around 10,500 emails in the system waiting for my attention, and the next thing I knew I was over 11,000, 12,000 and yes, the dreaded 13,000 mark.
Something had to be done, so I decided to ignore the problem.
From experience, I would not recommend that as the first go-to solution. It wasn’t long before a low storage warning then started appearing on my screen, and then I couldn’t load any new apps.
Things were getting desperate. I was in need of an Uber on vacation and couldn’t download the app due to lack of space available on my phone. I had to beg off my husband to line up my ride.
This also meant he had to pay for the ride, since, as we know, all accounts are linked back to your debit card. Needless to say, he was not happy to be an accomplice to my crime of email hoarding.
Finally, I did it. I started to delete. Page after endless page was deleted until I got my unread email number down to under 10,000. I almost stopped there thinking it would buy me a week or two on the lam.
Only one week later I was back up over 11, 000 edging on 11,500 sitting in the Everything Else file. This was unbelievable. These emails were multiplying, rather than diminishing! I realized the only thing to get me out of this predicament was to devote real time to this task of deletion. I needed to accept the fact I had a problem and deal with it.
I brewed a whole pot of coffee and got comfy in my easy chair. I took a deep breath and started in. Four large mugs of caffeine and three hours of constant deleting later, I did it. My email boxes were all empty.
I even got a note from my server (via email) congratulating me on completing my task.
I have been free of emails in both my Inbox and Everything Else files now for three whole days. I have been checking my status a couple of times a day, and if I have an email, I deal with it right then and there.
I am free! My online bondage has been lifted! Hallelujah!
With that being said, let me take a moment to warn anyone who has sent me an email in the last six months and is still waiting for a reply that I no longer have your message. Just send me an email. I wouldn’t recommend waiting for a rapid reply. l
In addition to her blog, TheDanglingThread.blogspot.com, Rhonda Mossner is a professional speaker, quilter and chef. SPRING 2020 YOUR FAMILY 21
FAMILYLIFEFAMILYLIFE Finding natural harmony
Wild Harvest Nature Connection goes beyond camping for kids The Wild Harvest Nature Connection, now in its fifth year of offering programming around Dane County, has summer camp opportunities for kids to help build connections to the natural world.
22 YOUR FAMILY SPRING 2020 S ometimes, to find the connection, you need to unplug.
There’s getting kids outside, and then there’s getting kids outside the Wild Harvest Nature Connection way – tracking animals, learning bird calls, building fires and most, importantly, learning about our connections to the natural world. The group is now in its fifth year, offering year-round programming for kids – and adults – that focuses on a variety of outdoor skills and activities. The idea started from weekly nature immersion sessions Springfield, Ill., native Heather Hutchinson and “life and business partner” Alex Britzius attended for several years at the Weaving Earth Center for
Story by Scott De Laruelle Photos submitted
Relational Studies in Sebastopol, Calif. There, she said, they learned a variety of skills and concepts they were eager to pass on.
“It was training of sorts for nature connection and community building and permaculture,” she said. “You go with a cohort of about 40 people, camping on a farm. Every Wednesday, you’d set up camp, and it’s lots of teachings and activities, immersing ourselves for two days.”
Before long, they both knew they wanted to run a similar program, though they didn’t know exactly where or when.
In the early summer of 2015, when they felt they had the training they needed, Hutchinson said, they
looked for places in Wisconsin, where Britzius grew up (Trempealeau County) and saw the Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona was hiring for nature camps that summer.
They jumped at the opportunity. And while they thought it would probably be a few years before they started their own business, within weeks, she made a connection through the center with a family who homeschooled their children and was looking for nature education opportunities.
“We were telling them eventually we’d like to offer programs for kids and families with a natural connection,” Hutchinson said. “They said the homeschool community
would really love that, and there are hundreds of families in Madison, and ‘we could reach out to email lists if you want to start.’
“It was very unexpected.”
By August, they formed Wild Harvest Nature Connection and were starting sessions. They have steadily expanded in the past few years, working with groups of homeschooled children during the academic year and public summer camps in the summer.
Daylong homeschool programs are held at Lake Farm County Park once
FAMILYLIFE a week, with kids split into groups based on age. There are typically two mentors and around 8-12 kids in a group.
Summer camps start June 22 and are interspersed throughout the summer, with the last session the week of Aug. 24. They are held both at City of Madison or Dane County parks such as Hoyt, Elver and Indian Lake, as well as some private property. Registration opens Feb. 1. Hutchinson said the summer camps focus on “connection to the land.”
“We aren’t really about teaching lessons as we are more about paying attention to kids’ curiosities, interests and passions and working to highlight those,” she said. “It’s asking good questions that support further curiosity, learning and relationships.”
Hutchinson and Britzius, who used to run programs out of their 8-acre farm in Mount Horeb before moving last year, have a variety of skills between them to teach. That’s everything from learning about wild edibles, tracking and how to build a
Summer programming
Statement of purpose
We support others in developing healthy and regenerative relationships to themselves, their circle(s) of people, their sense of community, and to the natural world.
Vision statement
We envision the larger culture of people tending to the earth (this includes themselves and each other) in a healthy and regenerative way that is in harmony with all life forms and elements of the earth. They understand the interconnectedness of all life and are committed to leaving this place better than they found it so that the future generations may flourish and thrive.
Find out more at
fire to making pottery, tools and cooking using traditional methods, including one of her favorites, clay baked pork roast. “You wrap a pork roast in leaves and some cordage you’ve made from plants that are obviously non-toxic, and pack it all in clay and put it under the fire,” Hutchinson said. “Let it sit for a couple hours and it’s really yummy.”
A summer camp day generally starts with an opening circle, including a game and song, and then starting the day’s activities by going out exploring or setting up a crafting station, Hutchinson said.
Kids bring their own snacks and lunch and everyone eats together, and at the end of the day, they return for a closing circle that includes sharing highlights, challenges and stories from the day.
“We get to focus on some specific things, and the kids really love it,” she said. “That’s the goal of the immersion experience, so when people leave, they have these skills, because you’re mixed into that environment so much that it just becomes ingrained.” l
is
A good ref hard to find FAMILYFUN
MAYSA, local clubs looking to bring in more soccer officials MAYSA, local clubs looking to bring in
Story and photos by Mark Nesbitt
Retaining and training qualified referees to cover local soccer games can be a challenge. There are numerous reasons why there can be referee shortages at some levels, including the increasing challenge of dealing with the treatment of unruly fans who challenge calls.
The Madison Area Youth Soccer Association is one group that has experienced this and is taking a lead role in educating and training referees, with help from the Madison Area Soccer Resource Unit.
There are about 740 MAYSA soccer referees in the Madison area, or 24.6% of the 3,000 statewide, Scott Irwin, president of MASRU, told Your Family magazine. MAYSA clubs are still looking to add more referees for the upcoming season that runs April through June, Irwin said, with the group increasingly turning to younger applicants to fill its ranks of referees.
To boost numbers this spring, the U.S. Soccer Federation has revamped the referee educational program, bumping up the minimum age to become a referee from 12 to 13. Having the flexibility to use younger players as referees offers learning opportunities about the game, as well. For some teens, many of whom are players, becoming a soccer referee is an opportunity to earn some money and get valuable work experience.
“For many of the 13, 14 and 15 year old kids, it’s their first job,” said Oregon R There are numerous reasons why there can be referee shortages at some levels, including the increasing challenge of dealing with the treatment of unruly fans who challenge calls.
The Madison Area Youth Soccer Association is one group that has experienced this and is taking a lead role in educating and training referees, with help from the Madison Area Soccer Resource Unit.
There are about 740 MAYSA soccer referees in the Madison area, or 24.6% of the 3,000 statewide, Scott Irwin, president of MASRU, told Your Family magazine. MAYSA clubs are still looking to add more referees for the upcoming season that runs April through June, Irwin said, with the group increasingly turning to younger applicants to fill its ranks of referees.
To boost numbers this spring, the U.S. Soccer Federation has revamped the referee educational program, bumping up the minimum age to become a referee from 12 to 13. Having the flexibility to use younger players as referees offers learning opportunities about the game, as well. For some teens, many of whom are players, becoming a soccer referee is an opportunity to earn some money and get valuable work experience.
“For many of the 13, 14 and 15 year old kids, it’s their first job,” said Oregon
Soccer Club president Eric Anderson. Verona Soccer Club president Jon Longley said finding a large enough pool of referees has been a constant challenge, beginning with the U9 level. Games typically require three referees (two linespeople and one center referee), but sometimes that’s not possible when only two are available.
“No one volunteers to referee because they want to get yelled at.” Oregon Soccer Club president Eric Anderson
“Since a big number of these refs are also players, not every game has three refs, but most of them do as our assigner tries to fill these holes with refs for as many games as possible,” Longley said. If there are not enough referees for a game, Anderson said, they will pull an older brother or sister from the crowd to use as a referee.
MAYSA and MASRU have been proactive in the education and retention of referees. New and young soccer referees can have a more experienced referee observe them during a game and give them feedback.
Anderson said the mentoring referee program from an older certified referee has been a strong program in helping develop young referees.
Another way some youth soccer clubs are trying to attract referees is by an increase in pay for some tournaments. Referees for MAYSA soccer games can earn in a range from $12 to $55 per game depending on the age group, whether they serve as the head referee in the center of the field or a referee on the sideline.
When Oregon hosts its annual Fall Fury soccer tournament, Anderson said, the organization pays referees for a full game, even though the games during the Fury tournament are shorter.
“We try to pay competitive rates to make it worth people’s time to come to a tournament,” Anderson said.
Anderson said many of the MAYSA club soccer teams have agreed to small increases in registration fees with the stipulation that the extra money goes back into training and retaining referees.
And he reminded spectators to remember good sportsmanship when considering the people officiating the games.
“No one volunteers to referee because they want to get yelled at,” Anderson said. “We need the referees. We can’t do it without them.” l
FAMILYFUN By the Numbers 3,000 Total number of soccer referees statewide 740 MAYSA soccer referees (24.6%)
Requirements for refs
Those interested in becoming a referee must complete an eighthour online course and complete an in-person five-hour training to get certified through the U.S. Soccer Learning Center in conjunction with MAYSA.
Referees must be recertified every year by the Madison Area Soccer Resource Unit.
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