My last name isn’t exactly common. And 9 out of 10 people mispronounce it (rhymes with trust, not truce). So, imagine my surprise when – upon moving to Wisconsin – a stranger asked me if I was related to the Lake Mills Petruskas. Correct pronunciation and all.
“I don’t believe so!” I replied, and assumed that was the end of that.
That was not the end of that. It has happened time and again, to both me and Tara. Handymen, store clerks, tree trimmers, bartenders, credit union members, and used car salesmen all ask if we are related to the Lake Mills Petruskas. Apparently, they are teachers. Dick and Carol were also teachers.
Is everybody in Wisconsin a teacher?!
Not that I’m psychic or anything (well, I am, but that’s not the point here), it’s gotten to where I can anticipate the question before it’s even asked. I’ll mention my name, and there’s a thoughtful pause, a certain gleam in their eyes, and there it is: Are you related to the Lake Mills Petruskas?
While there’s no direct relation I’m aware of, it’s certainly possible. Wisconsin has a large population of Eastern European settlers, from whence my ancestors came. You can’t take more than three steps around here without bumping into a polka party, and I do have Polish (and Hungarian and Czech) blood, so who knows! I should reach out to them sometime. Apparently, they’re quite popular.
One other fun name-related thing happened recently. I got a LinkedIn message with the subject line, Mark Petruska World Domination Forum. Liking the sound of that, I clicked on the message. It was sent to me and a third Mark Petruska, and read:
Hi guys! I’m Mark Petruska from Hungary, tried to collect all of us here, just for fun…So, nice to meet you all. Now, onto the main question: how do we conquer Earth to rename it to “Globe of Mark Petruska”?
We exchanged pleasantries. He’s a computer programmer and seems like a nice guy. Incidentally, I already know the third Mark Petruska. I sent him a Facebook friend request on a whim way back in 2011, and he accepted. In the ensuing years we have gotten to know each other if not fairly well, at least in passing. We’ll comment on posts occasionally, wish each other a happy birthday, that sort of thing. Again, a nice guy.
No word yet on how we’re going to conquer the globe. I’ll reach out to the Lake Mills Petruskas and get back to you all on that.
Winter, at long last, has finally decided to make an appearance in southern Wisconsin.
It snowed yesterday. Again, not a ton – an inch or so at home, two inches in Madison, where we spent several hours shopping and eating subs. But January finally looks like January.
I guess this is just an appetizer, because they’re forecasting the possibility of a much bigger snowstorm starting Monday evening. You know things are going to be interesting when they give winter storms a name. But, come on: Finn?! I guess that’s great if you’re a Star Wars or Mark Twain fan, or a fish, but it hardly inspires shock and awe otherwise.
Winter Storm Ember wasn’t much better. Sorry, Northeasterners.
That’s a 92% chance of 4″+ and a greater than 50% chance of 8″+ (but you have to put on your reading glasses and zoom in to tell).
I remain a bit skeptical because, for a snow lover like me, this seems too good to be true. Especially given our recent warmth and lack of snow. But the National Weather Service seems on board.
There are also two more potential snowstorms after this one, and they’re predicting zero degrees next weekend, so maybe winter will be showing up after all. Thankfully, Tuesday is a WFH day for me, but Tara has to go into the office. My wife being my wife, when I asked if she was the slightest bit concerned over a possible dicey commute, she said not in the least because her new truck has great tires and she’ll just drive slowly.
Tara Petruskas are also hellbent on world domination apparently.
Mark My Words 
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