Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
NOVEMBER 18, 2023 FAILING THE GRADE ANOKA, MN – SEPTEMBER 1967 – END OF AUGUST 1968 Dad loved history and politics, which is probably why from an early age, I loved both too. Dad subscribed to American Heritage magazine, and by the time I reached my teens, years of bi-monthly, hard-bound editions had accumulated on …
NOVEMBER 17, 2023 A “BEAR” IN THE WOODS . . . AND INSIDE THE CABIN GRINDSTONE LAKE, NW WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 9 – 10, 1967 The evening before, Dad had announced his intent to head up to the cabin first thing Saturday morning to check on Grandpa, who was still summering up there alone, and …
NOVEMBER 16, 2023 DOG TRAINING ANOKA, MN – AUGUST 16 – 31, 1967 The next morning, I hopped on my 10-speed and rode to the public library on the other side of town. I checked out several books on dog training and hauled them back to the house, where I plunged into my own sort …
NOVEMBER 15, 2023 A BARK IN THE DARK EARLY HOURS OF AUGUST 16, 1967 That night, after everyone in our household had fallen asleep, all was still except for crickets chirping away contentedly in the backyard. The windows in each of the bedrooms were wide open to allow for maximum cross-ventilation—and, as it turned out, …
NOVEMBER 14, 2023 MELTDOWN ANOKA, MN – AUGUST 15, 1967 AFTER ABOUT 5:15 P.M. Just then, Jenny was helping Mother set the table. The sound of two violins—one playing scales, the other Bach—emanated faintly from the floor above. Standing at the edge of the dining room, I heard Dad enter the house and his shoes …
NOVEMBER 13, 2023 NOT ACCORDING TO PLAN ANOKA, MN – AUGUST 15, 1967 AFTER ABOUT 2:30 P.M. UNTIL ABOUT 5:15 P.M. In retrospect, I have no idea why Mother thought she could leave a big, new, feisty, unruly dog unsupervised in the hands of three not-quite-nine-year-olds, but somehow she did. And I have no idea …
NOVEMBER 12, 2023 HELLO, GOODBYE – ANOKA, MN – AUGUST 15, 1967 UNTIL ABOUT 2:30 P.M. The heat and humidity continued. By the headlines I knew it was getting hotter in Vietnam, too—in the Mekong Delta, 15,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops pummeled Viet Cong massing for an attack on the outskirts of Saigon. In …
NOVEMBER 11, 2023 A KING’S CASTLE – ANOKA, MN – JULY 13 TO AUGUST 2, 1967 In late July flames fanned by race riots lit up the nighttime sky over North Minneapolis, not more than 20 miles downstream from our quiet town. Before the violence was over, damages to homes and businesses would reportedly exceed …
NOVEMBER 10, 2023 “BJÖRN” – ANOKA / MINNEAPOLIS / ANOKA, MN – JULY 13, 1967 The day was overcast, warm and humid—and boring. I got my glove and a tennis ball and went out on the driveway to practice fielding long grounders by throwing the ball off the back wall of the open garage. The …
NOVEMBER 9, 2023 THE CLASSIFIEDS – ANOKA, MN – JULY 10, 1967 I remember three things about the Larkins: there were a lot of them; their old, cramped house on the corner of Benton and State was heated with a smoky, wood-burning stove (one of the Larkins was a school chum of mine, and on …
NOVEMBER 8, 2023 SAME DAY, DIFFERENT LETTER – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JULY 7, 1967 The postman pushed his cart along the sidewalk and stopped in front of the next house. He pulled out the mail addressed to “Berg.” The top letter was from the U.S. Army and was addressed to “Mr. David Berg.” As the …
NOVEMBER 7, 2023 PERSUASIVE WRITING – ANOKA, MINNESOTA – JULY 7, 1967 Undaunted by Dad’s unequivocal kibosh of her idea of getting a dog, not-quite-nine-year old Jenny resorted to honey. That is, she sat down and wrote him a letter. Spreading honey in that fashion came naturally to her. Dear Lovingful Father, I am sure …
NOVEMBER 6, 2023 – THE LETTER – ANOKA, MINNESOTA – JUNE 17, 2010 For nearly a month, I had followed the same routine. After work and a quick supper, I’d drive up to Anoka and spend a minimum of two hours going through the volumes of stuff that Mother and Dad had accumulated over the …
NOVEMBER 5, 2023 – “A FAREWELL TO A GENTLE SWEDE” – ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA – MAY 12 – 14, 2010 The big, white, stately house graces the east end of Summit Avenue, not far from the St. Paul Cathedral and the James J. Hill Mansion. Inside, the house is spacious, well-crafted and well-appointed but by …
NOVEMBER 4, 2023 – (Cont.) I turned off the paved county road and onto Coppersmith Road, a narrower dirt road serving Björnholm and two neighboring cabins to the east. As was my custom at the juncture, I switched off the A/C and lowered the windows to fill my lungs with fresh, northwoods air. So Beth …
NOVEMBER 3, 2023 – DOUBLE BIRTHDAY DAY – GRINDSTONE LAKE, NORTHWEST WISCONSIN – AUGUST 7, 1997 The light, steady breeze played across the big, sun-splashed lake and teased the pine standing guard on the steep bank in front of the cabin. Drifting from the windows was the sound of an old recording of Jussi Björling, …
NOVEMBER 2, 2023 – Many years ago Beth, our two sons, and I went on vacation in Sedona, Arizona. We hiked, skied (well, three of us did), ate, played cards, slept (in)—mostly because we’d stayed up late playing cards—visited the Grand Canyon, toured the Lowell Observatory, and went on a dune buggy expedition among lots …
NOVEMBER 1, 2023 – There were times in 2021 and 2022 when I worried about the toll that Rutherford was taking on Cliff and me. Was the dim promise of an uncertain reward worth the stress? My cancer diagnosis at the outset of 2022 heightened my doubts. In the cool light of day I knew …
OCTOBER 31, 2023 – During the first week of May 2022 in a galaxy far, far away from Rutherford, I underwent what I referred to as “stem cell transplant boot camp.” Each day I attended various sessions with two groups of medical personnel. One group scared the living daylights out of me regarding the stem …
OCTOBER 30, 2023 – Sometimes when you run out of options you have to fall back on true-and-tried ancient methods, such as crossing your fingers. That’s what I did when Cliff called to report back what he’d learned about “water vs. foam” on the night of the Great Fire. The answer was . . . …
OCTOBER 29, 2023 – Miraculously—by the power of positive influences and advances in medical research and treatment—after mid-February I was feeling much better. And the purchase agreement for the Rutherford properties was at last fully signed, sealed, and delivered. Cliff and I could now focus on expediting and responding to Steve’s due diligence. Cliff assumed …
OCTOBER 28, 2023 – To welcome in the new year, I had my first encounter with an oncologist specializing in cancers of the blood. “We’ll need to schedule you for a bone marrow biopsy to confirm,” Dr. Kolla said, “but the blood test results strongly indicate that you have multiple myeloma.” Multiple myeloma. Both Dad …
OCTOBER 27, 2023 – Sure enough, Cliff returned from Florida with a positive weather forecast. Steve would take another look at the concept drawings we had, make a site visit (his second since having heard of our project) when he could squeeze it in, and make some kind of offer. I’d need to summon more …
OCTOBER 26, 2023 – Over three years had passed since we’d retained a land use lawyer and an architect, and all we had to show by the fall of 2021 were the concept drawings our architect had prepared in mid-2018 and (finally) an official designation of our properties as “an area in need of redevelopment.” …
OCTOBER 25, 2023 – The one positive feature of the negative condition of the country toward the end of 2020 was that the housing market had not collapsed. I remained sanguine that with patient persistence, we’d one day still realize significant value from the Rutherford properties as a mixed-use, multi-family housing development. Progress, however, remained …