Welcome to My 1/4 acre - The Adventures of Mr. Ed and Little Punk

Hello, my name is Ed.

OK, that’s how I start off every conversation in my sales career, and it feels just tad tripe.
How do I introduce myself? I’ve only recently joined the Patch community here, as a local blogger. And I’ve been spotty at best with active involvement in politics over the last several years, but I’ve always enjoyed writing about it. I’ve been tearing up Facebook with my rants, raves and misgivings for years now. So, a few of you know me because of my online passion already. But to a larger audience – the Community I live in – I want to have a part in adding to the character, the substance and maybe even the entertainment of the people that make up this virtual tax shelter I call home.

I moved to Caledonia in May of 2008, primarily because my family needed a larger home, but equally as important, the direction of the County I was in. I wanted lower taxes, more space, and a friendly community. Milwaukee County, despite the best attempts of its County Executive was simply headed in the wrong direction, so my wife and I moved to a wonderful ¼ acre lot in southern Caledonia, or as I affectionately refer to as, “So-Cal”. It’s my ¼ acre in “Cali,” and you can’t take that dream away from me.

The last three and a half years have brought me many joys (a new company that grows in a recession), various pains (an unwanted divorce) and new friends. I have the great privilege of raising my four-year-old son full-time. Having been raised as an only child by a single mother myself, I have a distinct, first-hand knowledge of the challenges and joys of living the life I have accepted.

From the time he was born, I’ve always given my son Riley the affectionate name, “Little Punk.” So for anyone potentially offended by this, understand it’s a term of endearment, not a reckless, burping, name-calling, and chauvinist bachelor showing a lack of tact. Little Punk and I enjoy riding his Power Wheel Jeep at Cliffside; late nights driving to Pick n Save because I forgot to buy milk, and playing ball at Crawford Park. We even got to enjoy some CRICKET with Indian men who stopped by this last summer. So far, it has already been an unforgettable experience living here, as I’m sure it has been for you.

Every March for the last five years, I’ve attended Spring Training in Phoenix, AZ to watch the Brewers play baseball in the sun. Learning the names of future major leaguers, meeting promising and current stars on the team and enjoying the AZ desert have been great traditions for me and now I get to share them with my son. This year will be his fourth Spring Training; yes, he’s only four… (I couldn’t even find an appropriate onesie for the little guy when we took him for the first time, so I just had him wear a Brewers bib every day.) We already have our tickets for this next March. Wanna come?

My childhood was a blessed one, being raised by a single mother who ran a bookstore, homeschooled me and raised me entirely on her own – Only God knows how… Superwoman? She led me through the high school years, getting her GED in the process, and teaching me most of all how to love experiencing new things, and HOW to actually learn. I graduated top of my class… har, har… went to college, the first in my family to earn a degree. My mom deserves the credit for being two parents in one for me. Blessed even more was the life I lived because she took me travelling to places all over the United States, and it taught me so much about the nation I love and the people that make it great.

I still remember, vividly, going to Washington, D.C. when I was five. Never mind the fire I started I the hotel sink with matches and plastic cups, it was an amazing experience, even at five. We travelled to Florida; journeyed over the mountains to California when I was seven; hoofed down to Texas for a business convention – where I rode a horse for the first time, experienced puppy love with a girl named April and swam in jeans in a Texas-shaped pool at a “Dude-Ranch” – experienced a Christian mission trip to Honduras when I was 9... I saw many parts of the world, and even though I was young, I still remember them like yesterday. I intend on giving my son the same incredible memories as long as I am able.

In the last year I’ve made no secret of my political interests, and having previous experience in various local, state and national elections I finally decided to pour myself this year into one particular candidate I used to despise in my ignorance and now admire with every fiber of my being. As of last month, I have been given the opportunity to travel to Iowa 26 days from now to help my candidate on his road to the White House. My son and I will be travelling to Iowa to help educate caucus goers, distribute signs and literature, make phone calls, meet residents and just have a good time in an old-fashioned political way, for my candidate: Gov. Rick Perry – America’s most experienced and successful public Executive.

Whether you agree with the politics I share with him or not, my goal for you in this Road Series is to be entertained by the adventures, educated by the details and engaged by the human experience of a single dad taking his only son on the trip of a lifetime, even if Riley doesn’t entirely understand what is going on. Yet.

I hope you enjoy reading the series as much as I will enjoy writing it. I invite lively debate, and hope it makes my community feel a part of this significant, Middle-American tradition: the Iowa Caucuses!

I’d be even more enjoyable for me if I could caravan a bunch of you all with me on this road trip to Des Moines late this month! Of course, only if you were voting for the same guy.
Just jokin’…