Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
MAY 25, 2024 – (Cont.) In the morning of May 25, Dan and I found our way to the Dalkon Shield Settlement Claims Administration facility occupying a full city block in downtown Richmond. On hand to greet us was Mike Sheppard. I remember him well even without the aid of my journal. He engaged with …
DECEMBER 24, 2023 – (Cont.) As my Grandpa Nilsson used to say on this day (out of earshot of other adults, except Dad), “’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring . . . not even a mouse turd.” Then he’d laugh at his own joke, and as …
DECEMBER 23, 2023 – During the course of my 24-hour stay at the Red Cabin, a dense fog filled the surrounding woods. When I hiked along the lakeshore path, I seemed to be walking along the border of infinity: beyond about 50 feet from shore, the lake itself was completely missing from view. Back in …
DECEMBER 22, 2023 – Today I drove through mist, fog, and rain to our “Red Cabin” on the shores of Grindstone Lake in northwest Wisconsin. Usually the lake surface freezes by Thanksgiving, and by Christmas the ice will safely support any number of recreational activities, from skating, skiing and ice-fishing to cross-lake snowmobiling. Trees of …
NOVEMBER 29, 2023 REMEMBERANCE 505 RICE STREET, ANOKA, MN – APRIL 20, 2011 / BJÖRNHOLM, GRINDSTONE LAKE, NW WI – A WEEK LATER After a year of evenings and weekends clearing out the house, the property was ready for sale. Included was Björn’s house and kennel, overgrown with vegetation but otherwise undisturbed since Dad had …
NOVEMBER 28, 2023 “FULL CIRCLE” CLIFTON TOWNSHIP, WI – MAY 31, 1995 She was named Maia Grace after her great grandmother on Jenny’s side and her grandmother on Garrison’s side. Born on December 29, 1997 in New York City, Jenny and Garrison’s daughter made her Minnesota debut a couple of weeks into January. Her christening, …
NOVEMBER 27, 2023 APHC, LUNCH, DINNER, AND A WEDDING KENNEDY CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C. – DECEMBER 10, 1994 / DOCKS OYSTER BAR, NYC – SOMETIME IN EARLY 1995/ST. MICHAEL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND LA MIRABELLE, NYC – NOVEMBER 21, 1995 As the sell-out Kennedy Center crowd wound down its enthusiastic applause, the “ON THE AIR” sign on …
NOVEMBER 26, 2023 AT HOME WITH A PRAIRIE COMPANION ANOKA, MN – DECEMBER 10, 1994 On that early Saturday evening, Mother and Dad cut a classic Norman Rockwellian image as they sat in the living room, their ears and eyes focused on the stereo tuner. Along with the rest of the national audience of around …
NOVEMBER 25, 2023 “THE FINAL JOURNEY” ANOKA, MN – JULY 13, 1979/BJÖRNHOLM – GRINDSTONE LAKE, NW WI – JULY 14, 1979 Mother made the arrangements. It had always been that way—Dad making the decisions and Mother carrying them out. But when it came to the actual trip to Doc Andberg, Dad alone assumed the burden. …
NOVEMBER 24, 2023 “LAST LEGS” ANOKA, MN – JULY 9 – 10, 1979 After dinner Dad changed out of his office attire and with a reluctant gait headed back to the kennel. He carried the leash—out of habit, no longer as as a precaution. Ever since I’d trained Björn a dozen years before, he heeled …
NOVEMBER 23, 2023 “THE PORTRAIT” BJÖRNHOLM – AUGUST 1974 The years passed. As my sisters and I pursued our training and educations away from home, our parents continued their old routines, which for Mother included preparing Björn’s daily meal, and for Dad, taking Björn for long daily walks. Every August our parents . . . …
NOVEMBER 22, 2023 “BJÖRNHOLM” – GRINDSTONE LAKE, NW WISCONSIN – JANUARY 1, 1972 / AUGUST 5, 1972 My arms loaded with firewood, I trudged through the snow from the woodpiles and toward the back steps of the cabin. Millions of stars lit up the heavens above, and the bitter cold of the first day of …
NOVEMBER 21, 2023 “ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN . . .” ANOKA, MINNESOTA – JULY 1969 Dad exited the courthouse and walked to his Buick Special, parked in the adjoining lot. The blue sedan was his first ever brand new car, but it was a base model with no frills. He had negotiated the …
NOVEMBER 20, 2023 A MAN’S BEST FRIEND ANOKA, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 1968 We piled into the house to the sound of dueling three-octave scales and arpeggios emanating from the two violins upstairs. “We” were Mother, Dad with my suitcase, Jenny, and I in my white shirt, tie and Sterling blazer showing through my open overcoat. …
NOVEMBER 19, 2023 “BEST IN CLASS” CRAFTSBURY COMMON, VERMONT – SEPTEMBER 1968 As any preppie of that era could tell you, some aspects of boarding school were to be cherished and some were to be hated. What I liked most about Sterling School were the surroundings—Vermont at its finest. The school sat atop a hill …
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 …