Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
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 …
JUNE 1, 2023 – We humans are expert at treating life as one big experiment. We often talk about our country that way, as in, the “Great American Experiment,” which, if any aspect of our lives is an experiment, our construct of a nation-state certainly is. In a scientific context, experiments originate from hypotheses, but …
APRIL 5, 2023 – (Cont.) As the directors of food and hunt prize procurements helped Fred pack up the surpluses, the director of communications, pulled me aside. I’d noticed her activity in the thick of the extravaganza but hadn’t had a chance to greet her. “Hi, Eric,” she said. “You might not remember me, but …
APRIL 2, 2023 – (Cont.) I’d always been curious how in the world or anywhere else you could drive a tank faster than one mile an hour without crashing into everything in sight—or rather not in sight, because absent high-tech cameras, how would you see more than 1% of your surroundings through the narrow viewing …
MARCH 14, 2023 – Today I put the dismal science aside in favor of a true story about funny money. It has nothing to do with economics but everything to do with human nature. The setting was Rutherford, NJ, hometown of my great grandparents and two subsequent generations of our family. During ancient times my …
NOVEMBER 12, 2022 – No one likes to sit down with coffee on a Saturday morning to read The Times . . . and hear one’s spouse call from the basement, “WE HAVE A PROBLEM DOWN HERE!” You can’t hide. You have to forget The Time and face the music. Taking hard steps to signal …
NOVEMBER 10, 2022 – (Cont.) According to a story my dad later told, however, George Campbell was as thrifty as my Swedish grandmother was frugal. One fall day when the Campbells were closing up their cabin for the season, George hiked over through the woods to offer my grandmother a leftover, half-stick of butter wrapped …
NOVEMBER 9, 2022 – The directive was clear. Soon after Beth had left this morning in search of more inventory for her online-used book sales, she sent me a text: “Could you please try and get your car in the garage today.” Implicit was the sub-directive (or was it the main directive?): clear out all …
AUGUST 12, 2022 – (Cont.) Blogger’s note: As threatened, the next number of posts will chronicle my “little adventure” into the land of treatment for multiple myeloma. May the reader excuse self-exemption from my self-imposed daily word limit. It’s the competitive marathoner’s worst nightmare: not getting to the starting line on time. That nightmare happened to …
AUGUST 3, 2022 – I have three sisters, two older, one younger. The older ones have always been at the head of the class—any class in which they’ve found themselves. When we were growing up, each was my gold standard for brains, talent, and deportment. As far as I knew and observed, they always toed …
AUGUST 2, 2022 – (Cont.) At the time, I knew nothing about homeowner’s insurance, but as I now reflect on the event, I understand why horse people who invite their friends along should have plenty of liability coverage. Unlike Mother, who was fond of horses and had some riding experience in her upbringing, Dad was …
AUGUST 1, 2022 – (Cont.) On the subject occasion, whoever was leading—it might’ve been one of the hired hands—had the bright idea that when we reached the last field before returning to the stables, we should canter across. At the mention of the bright idea, Buster and I were in the middle somewhere—our usual placement. …
JULY 31, 2022 – When I was a kid, my mother would take my sisters—or at least one or two of them—and me horseback riding. About 10 miles due east of town was the “Circle Pines” horse ranch, and it seemed that on a regular basis during the summer, Mother would load us into the …
JULY 30, 2022 – (Cont.) I learned another business lesson at Matheny’s on one hot summer day when I was in fifth grade. For a nickel I went for a one-stick Fudgsicle instead of buying a two-stick Popsicle, which you could split into two, one-stick Popsicles by using the metal splitter fastened to the wall …
JULY 29, 2022 – (Cont.) At the checkout counter, Beryl rang up the groceries, then opened a drawer where a bunch of bound receipt books were stored, each with a family name written across the top binding. I recognized “NILSSON,” and by the end of first grade, I could identify the names of most of …
JULY 28, 2022 – You know you’re hearing from a codger when the story’s about the “good ol’ days” and bygone institutions such as . . . Matheny’s Corner Store. Matheny’s, as everyone called it, was at the corner of Benton and Ferry—one street up from ours and two long blocks to the east. My …
JULY 26, 2022 – (Cont.) In the protracted process, I’d developed a good rapport with the lead investor and spokesman for the group (although I was a lawyer, I was working in my capacity as a banker; ethically, I could deal directly with the investor, while the bank’s outside attorney communicated with the borrower’s lawyer). …
JULY 25, 2022 – Last week an insurance agent in NJ informed me by email that a recent premium refund I’d received had been overpaid. The minimum earned premium hadn’t been taken into account, and the agent’s firm was on the hook for the overpayment. He asked that I call him. I phoned immediately. When …