Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MARCH 16, 2021 – Hanneys were unusual for our insular town, which straddled the Rum River where it debouches into the Upper Mississippi. Father Hanney spoke with a Welsh accent, and his wife Nell talked with an English one, though I couldn’t distinguish between the two accents. To my young American ears, the older Hanneys …
MARCH 15, 2021 – The shoreline of Björnholm, our family’s retreat in northwest Wisconsin, presents an engineering challenge. After years of fighting the steep embankment in front of the cabin, Dad and Grandpa moved the dock and boatlift to more accessible terrain down the shore. Years later lake ice re-arranged that location. Over time, Dad …
MARCH 14, 2021 – Yesterday I lay low, wrapped in a blanket, watching Disney movies with my wife (to educate ourselves about our grand-daughter’s world), and just waiting it out. I was side-lined by the side-effects from my second vaccination the day before. Mind you, at no time did I regret the vaccination. (Get yours …
MARCH 13, 2021 – Yesterday marked an anniversary—the last time I rode a bus; my last day at my downtown office; the day I sat for 20 minutes across a table from a voluble guy, who experienced severe symptoms the following day, winding up on a hospital ventilator and nearly succumbing to The Plague. I …
MARCH 12, 2021 – Last Wednesday I wrote about “church town” U.S.A., which was a tad weird, given that I’m wholly unholy. Call it nostalgia or . . . the aging process amidst a world in constant tumult. My earlier post, however, didn’t go inside any of the mentioned churches. That’s because I myself never …
MARCH 11, 2021 – In her prime I didn’t appreciate Mother. She wasn’t afraid to try new things, meet new people, consider alternative ideas. As I myself struggled to conform to community standards, I found her unconventionality unbecoming. Take for instance the time members of the Minneapolis Symphony (now Minnesota Orchestra) staged a concert at …
MARCH 10, 2021 – Where I grew up, sometimes you’d run into a kid who went to Mt. Olivet Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, hidden on our side of town; the Baptist Church, standing across from Monty’s Pure Oil at Main and Ferry; the Congregational Church, sitting modestly behind Anoka Junior High School; the understated Methodist …
MARCH 9, 2021 – On today’s local news the youthful forecaster cheerfully promised bright sunshine and record high temperatures. Mercury’s already flying high—well above 40. My main concern is . . . over the past 24 hours, how much snow has disappeared from my remaining run in nearby “Little Switzerland”? Yesterday, before the sun got …
MARCH 8, 2021 – Until my wife and I watched The Crown on Netflix, British royalty was barely a blip on my radar (See 2/24/21 post). By the end of the series, however, the blip was a battleship. Then came last night’s airing of Oprah’s interview of Harry and Meghan. My wife and I watched …
MARCH 7, 2021 – The details are so intricate and interwoven, only by patient review of the fast-paced, suspenseful, multi-dimensional back-room political dealing can a person appreciate the episode in its full expanse. It unfolded in the final days of the 1960 presidential campaign. At the center was Martin Luther King, Jr., adamant about his …
MARCH 6, 2021 – PING! I checked my phone—a message on WhatsApp. Since I’m connected with only three people on that Facebook-owned app, by easy deduction I knew the text was from our son Byron. “If you are looking for an interesting documentary [. . .],” it read. “Yes?” I replied “The Social Dilemma[.]” “Netflix?” …
MARCH5, 2021 – On August 5, 2019, I met Idris, a 27-year old Somali immigrant who made an immediate positive impression. The next day, I wrote about him in a blog post (I’d misspelled his name, adding an extra “s.”). Yesterday, Idris called out of the blue. I was delighted to hear from him, and …
MARCH 4, 2021 – As my closest friends (and imaginary psychologist) know, for years my exercise regimen involves a weekly quota of a mile of vertical feet—stairs and hiking or skiing uphill. This works out to 750 feet a day, plus an extra 30 feet (called “leap feet”) per week. Much of my climbing occurs …
MARCH 3, 2021 -The big news on an otherwise slow news day: six Seuss classics banned for life. My reaction? Hmm. I’m an acknowledged American “leftist” (the equivalent of center-right in much of good ol’ Europe), and anyone reading my posts knows how I feel about the need for racial justice in the Disunited States …
MARCH 2, 2021 – Yesterday, while walking home from my skiing, I pondered material for today’s post. A fertile patch: news items I’d scrolled through an hour before, just before heading out the door. One story in particular was Sunday’s CPAC appearance by you-know-who and a statement by South Dakota Governor Noem that “We aren’t …
MARCH 1, 2021 – (Dedicated to the memory of my late brother-in-law, Dean Rhodes, tax accountant (etc.) extraordinaire) What finally tripped up the murderous gangster Al Capone was . . . tax evasion. He was convicted at the surprisingly young age of 32 and sentenced to 11 years in the Big House. After his conviction, …
FEBRUARY 28, 2021 – Though my dad was athletic, he was not into sports. In fact, he openly despised our culture’s obsession with sports. But he loved to ice skate, and he did so with perfection. Each year he’d drive the family 20 miles down the (Mississippi) River Road to Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis, where a …
FEBRUARY 27, 2021 – Yesterday evening our five-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter was working hard at a life-size drawing of “make believe” on a large sheet of paper. When I approached, she waved me off. “You’re not allowed to look yet, Grandpa!” she said, “It’s not done yet.” Obediently, I repaired to a nearby chair to continue my …
FEBRUARY 26, 2021 – I remember the story well—how Mother backed her car into a lamp post in the parking lot next to the church, bashing the bumper and trunk lid. What impressed me most, however, was Dad’s sense of humor about it. After all, Mother had managed to back into the same lamp post …
FEBRUARY 25, 2021 – After practicing law all day, what did I do yesterday evening? I watched Nuremberg, the 2000 mini-series starring Alec Baldwin. This cinematic experience was the inevitable sequel to my having watched Tokyo Trial. (See my 2/23/21 post.) Despite some historical inaccuracies, Nuremberg provides a reasonably satisfactory overview of the proceedings against …
FEBRUARY 24, 2021 – My wife and I have been watching The Crown on Netflix. I’m surprised. I’ve never been interested in British Royalty—they’re British and they’re royalty. Besides, I’ve always thought the current members were off kilter; not up to the job. Now I’m learning that apparently the Queen lacks a normal range of …
FEBRUARY 23 2021 – Recently, I watched on Netflix the four-episode, historical drama, Tokyo Trial (2016). It’s the Pacific (war) Theater counterpart to Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and mini-series Nuremberg (2000). A Japanese-Canadian co-production, Tokyo Trial was co-directed by a Dutchman and an American and filmed mostly in . . . Lithuania. Nominated for Best …
FEBRUARY 22, 2021 – Most likely no American outside our family knows that today is the birthday of our Swedish cousin, Mats-Åke Svensson. Sadly, I’ll bet that all too few Americans know it’s George Washington’s birthday today as well. Back when America was great, every school kid knew February 22 as Washington’s birthday. Then in …
FEBRUARY 21, 2021 – Yesterday I spent two-and-a-half hours transacting business at a car dealership. During long waits, I had no choice but to observe and ponder the goings-on around me—I can’t stand wasting time just “waiting,” which is why I take writing and reading material wherever I go, but yesterday, I’d forgotten. (Beyond a …
FEBRUARY 20, 2021 – Years ago I ate occasionally at the Texas Steak House—a restaurant chain where on a budget you could pretend you were in the money by eating . . . steak. The slab of beef came with extra-large fries and a piece of “Texas toast,” about two inches thick and soaked in …