LETTERS TO THE
E DITOR Let’s just talk about it
To the editor: My Dad died suddenly on the 13th day of June, and I must admit, it’s been hard. How’s that for an opening sentence? Are you still reading?...or have your eyes already moved on to the next page? I know. I get it. It’s not easy to talk about death. Yet, it is a universal part of the human experience. If you are on planet Earth long enough, you will undoubtedly, inevitably, experience the death of a loved one. And if you are currently living and breathing, you, yes you, will have to face your own death. It is a 100 percent guarantee. I hope you’re still reading… Why don’t we want to talk about death? Maybe it’s because it’s so final. It’s an ending, a departing, a finish. It’s so hard to say goodbye. When you think about it, absolutely everything is in a state of deterioration. And the moment a beautiful baby is born into this world, the aging process has begun even for that little one, too.
As for my Dad, he was blessed to live a full life, dying at the age of 91. He was a widower for almost 11 years. When my Mom passed away, he was never quite the same. He missed her so much and was so very lonely. But, just the same, he kept going. Even when it was hard, he was a survivor ‘til the end. He kept living. Maybe this is the lesson to be learned here, at least one of them anyway–to keep on keepin’ on. No matter how hard life is, we must embrace life wherever we’re at. We must try to find contentment in our circumstance.
During my Dad’s visitation, I talked to so many people who paid their respects to my Dad and offered their condolences to my family. What I found so moving is that so many people wanted to share their own experiences with me of how death had touched them. They wanted to talk about it. They wanted to share. Some told me about the time when one of their parents or both parents had passed. Others shared when they lost their spouse. And all said in one way or another, it is never easy to lose a loved one.
After my Dad’s funeral, my whole family came to my house to spend time together for the remainder of the day and into the evening. It was so special to see everyone together in my home. My Mom and Dad’s biggest legacy was, and is, their family. They had six children together, three boys and three girls. I’m the youngest. We literally are a “Brady Bunch” minus the perfection, of course. And even, just like the TV show, my three brothers had brown hair and my two sisters and I, well, we were all blondes. As of late, two of my brothers are now bald and the other has gray hair, and for us three sisters, well, now we’re all as blonde as we pay to be! Yep, that’s right! Just like that newborn baby, we’re all aging too! My Dad’s eight grandchildren were also at my home that day and his three great grandchildren too. Three generations all represented. It was beautiful!
Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re so moved you feel as though you’re looking at it from a distance? I had one of those moments. As I looked at everyone, all three generations together, I thought to myself, “This is how it’s supposed to be.” Life goes on. Life continues. We spent that day together visiting, remembering, and yes, even laughing. We talked and shared, and it was very healing.
When you think about it, life is like a book really. All of us have our own lives. We’re all writing our own life stories. All of us are in a different place in our storybook. Some further along in their books than others.
What’s your story like? What chapter are you on? As hard as life can be sometimes, life still is and can be a beautiful thing! And as for death, it is the final chapter in one’s storybook. Let’s just talk about that chapter, too. Really, it’s OK.
As for me, I will always remember my Mom and Dad. I will still be grieving and processing my Dad’s passing for quite some time because it is so recent, and it happened so suddenly. My faith in God will see me through and there will be days in which I will simply need to talk about it and allow myself to grieve. I do believe my Mom and Dad are together in heaven after eleven years of being apart. The thought of that helps me too and allows me to feel joy amidst my grief. And I, like the rest of my family, will keep on keepin’ on, continuing to write in our own storybooks of life. If death has touched you, I hope you’re able to keep on keepin’ on too. Keep writing in your book. I am so thankful that my Mom and Dad were blessed with a storybook full of many chapters. Even though death was the final chapter in their book and one day death will be the final chapter in all of our books, it’s good to talk about it and it’s OK to talk about it.
Connie Skwierawski Trempealeau
Cheese bill down but not out
To the editor: Once again we come into another year where bureaucratic mis-action flipped the cheese platter; the Colby Cheese bill awaits its turn to go through legislation.
Previously, I wrote about the bill reaching the farthest it has ever been; getting out of the Senate committee Government Operations, Legal Review, and Consumer Protection and on its way to the Senate floor for a vote. The expectation then was to see if it can make it to the Assembly side of the State Capitol, and then eventually to Governor Evers’ desk. Instead of a lively debate amongst our public officials once out of committee, it met cold shoulders. Word got out from the Assembly that the Local Government committee, headed by Todd Novak (D), wasn’t in support of the bill and would be dead-on-arrival. With the path ahead being closed the “Org” (Committee on Organization, responsible for scheduling bills for floor debate) put the cheese bill out of its misery, and sent it back to Representative Donna Rozar and Senator Kathy Bernier’s desk.
To make things more interesting, the last remaining original writer of the bill, Senator Bernier, retired this spring. Her staff have all moved on to different offices/jobs and her seat remains to be claimed during the upcoming November elections. This particularly was a tough day learning she, and her staff, would be moving on, considering I have been working so-close with that office to get Colby cheese its state symbol title, and they all did such a tremendous job with making this bill viable. I cannot thank them enough for all they did.
But all-is-not-glum. The bill is still very much alive and is planned to be introduced at the next session (January 2023), and the parties/individuals working on this goal is growing. As people get involved with Colby cheese they find that its story, its origin, is the story of Wisconsin. Colby is more than just cheese at that point; it becomes bigger than themselves. That’s why this bill won’t go away, and why people will continue to fight for it.
Once a month my kids will ask, as I am tucking them in for bed, “Will Colby be the state cheese?”
I always say the same thing: “Of course. I promise.” I share that not to virtue-signal, but to assure you, the reader/rural resident/Wisconsinite/ Colby kid/Colby cheese supporter, that our work will continue to make this happen for Colby cheese, no matter how long it takes. As we get closer to next session, we will be ramping up awareness and support for the bill, and be calling on YOU to help us make another big-push towards the finish line…so stay tuned!
